ONEPLUS 7 Pro US model - problems with cell data
 

Recently bought a oneplus 7pro online from oneplus store in the US. All phones sold by them are unlocked. (not so if u buy from tmo)

Thought I was being clever and making my life easier - good specs, cheaper than samsung, etc, unlocked, dual sim so I could leave my US sim and insert local sim. Well it didn't quite work that way. No problem in the US (well except for some issues which were mostly solved by putting the sim in slot 1 and some that weren't solved at all like audio notices not working, etc.)

However, when I got to Thailand and topped up my AIS for data (one that I had used before in my samsung) got a strong 4g signal but NO data transfer at all. This puzzled me since AIS sells oneplus phones and the specs look the same (bands, etc) 3 hours of trouble shooting in 2 AIS shops led to no solution (my sim worked in salesman's phone and his sim did not work in my phone).

Oneplus support has been hopeless. I think the problem is that oneplus does not have an agreement with the Thai carriers (but that doesn't make sense since the ones sold in Thailand work) - or maybe there is something like a band missing from my phone???? AFAICS, though the specs listed for the phone sold in Thailand look basically the same as the one I bought.

Anyway a caution for anyone considering this phone to use in these circumstances :(

I assume you set the APN settings correctly? These usually update automatically via a text message, but sometimes need setting manually.

https://www.manual-owner.com/ais-apn...-thailand.html

Yes, sadly checked by staff who tried a few settings - part of the 3 hour time spent with three different staff.
Besides not fixing it they unfortunately reset my device without asking me causing me to have to redo about 15 minutes of stuff :(

What about TRUE? (You mentioned AIS here and on reddit and you also mentioned DTAC not working on reddit, but no mention of TRUE).

-David

Sorry an oversight. Yes tried all 3 true, AIS, and dtac. Visited at least 2 large stores for each b/c the level of English and technical assistance knowledge/willingness to help varied a lot. Also had concierge from hotel call them and one said no agreement one said didn't work with oneplus, etc but the answers seems random. All referred to manufacturer but of course there is no AIS shop in Bangkok (or the US except maybe NY? but all tech support is by email.
If the same model weren't sold in Thailand and working I wouldn't be so surprised but I'm thinking it has to be a missing band (even tho the specs look like there isn't)

There are no missing bands, and if there were you wouldn't be seeing a 4G signal.

Something is wrong with the way you have it configured, but if it's not APN then I don't know what it could be...

Yeah every time I had issue with no Data it was the APN settings. But maybe OP's phone is defective because he mentioned that he had problem even in US unless he put the sim card in Sim 1 slot. Maybe it is not a problem with US bought phone, but a problem with that particular phone?

As others have mentioned, if you're getting signal, the phone's radios support the country's cellular network. Thailand uses LTE bands 1,3,5,8,40,28. Other than some of the Verizon-crippled phones, even the cheapest, nastiest LTE phone will support at least two of those frequencies.

I'm still leaning with the others -- configuration error. If the cell networks were going to deny the phone, it wouldn't be able to establish a 4G/LTE connection with the tower. Instead you'd get the No Signal or Emergency Calls Only messages.

Yes I checked the apn settings (per the store altho one salesman didn't even know what I was talking about but I looked for the apn myself and it looked correct. Yes the whole idea that I have a good 4g signal but data doesn't work is astounding. Haven't tried any voice call cause I never use that but the phone says carrier is whatever sim is there and strong 4 bar signal - so I'm stumped.
It's very much like a problem I had in Vietnam years ago where the router for wifi used a band that wasn't on my phone but when I got the owner to switch the router setting it worked - maybe a different problem this time but that is what sticks in my mind.
I do know that in the 3 hours I spent with AIS different people checked the apn and reset btwn 2 different (but similiar apns) multiple times and that didn't fix it :(

I really wish I could find someone who has purchased a US phone and then was able to use it here but none of my searches have found that. I'll keep looking.

The problem I had in the US wasn't data related and I've always tried the Thai sims in sim 1 just in case (with no sim in the other slot to keep things simple)
Wish I could find somewhere that doesn't just try for 3 minutes then tell me it has to be oneplus issue and to call them :(


Oh and just to complicate things even more - sms from AIS (only) showed up on my phone but one message showed up on whatsapp shortly after my first visit to the AIS store (when I thought it was fixed- but I couldn't reply) and when I went back to the store an hour later they couldn't explain or get it to work. Also had another shop check that my service was configured correctly and it did show that I had the use of the data I had purchased.

I know this is stupid. But OP - had anyone checked if the data has been disabled?

Same with others, I also lean on the configuration issue rather than the phone. If it is a phone issue, you won't even be able to get 4G reception.

I'm pretty sure it isn't an IMEI whitelist since your old Samsung worked and was presumably non-Thai Samsung and 4G signal icon appears on the new phone. But IMEI whitelist is a thing some carriers do (*stares at Sprint*) which hasn't been mentioned. Can you get it to latch to a 3G connection and get data?

>buy a phone so junk it can’t recognize the network it’s on and configure itself appropriately

Why do lagdroid users put themselves through this sort of suffering?

The settings have a 2g/3g/4g (automatic) setting but I think it doesn't have 3g only setting - but it something to try if I get another sim card here.

https://willmyphonework.net/ ...says you shouldn't have a problem...defective phone maybe??

I had a similar Experience in Vietnam with a one plus phone , the solution that worked for me was manually selecting a carrier & network , interesting the issue was only at north Vietnam
no issue at all in south Vietnam with the same networks