General Troubleshooting for Astound Mobile

These are general guidelines and a good starting point for you to help your customer. 

Note: Voice Support does not handle / support Mobile.

• If customer was in Non-Pay status, made a payment and Non-Pay work order was canceled
  • Try restarting the device
     
  • As a last resort, perform a Network reset on the active phone number
  
  
  • If still not active click the Create Work Order or Technical Case button on the Work Orders tab in BOLT
     
    • Fill out the information as described below and click Submit
       

      Trouble Call or Tech Case	Trouble Call
      Service Category	Mobile
      Problem Description	Activation Failure - New Number -or- Activation Failure - Ported Number
      Select	Mobile Line(s) Affected Type of mobile device
      Notes	Non-Pay, restart or network reset did not work

iPhone:

1. Tap Settings
2. Tap Cellular
3. Tap Cellular Data Options
4. Tap Voice and Data to change to
   • 5G Auto: Enables Smart Data mode. When 5G speeds don’t provide a noticeably better experience, automatically switches to LTE, saving battery life
   • 5G On: Always uses 5G network when it’s available. This might reduce battery life
5. Tap Data Mode to change to
   • Allow More Data on 5G: Enables higher data-usage features for apps and system tasks
   • With this setting, your phone can automatically use 5G instead of Wi-Fi when Wi-Fi connectivity is slow or insecure on a network you visit occasionally. To turn this feature off and on for a certain network, go to Settings > Wi-Fi
   • Standard: Allows automatic updates and background tasks on cellular, and uses standard quality settings for video and FaceTime. This is generally the default mode
   • Low Data Mode: Helps reduce Wi-Fi and cellular-data usage by pausing automatic updates and background tasks.

Android:

1. Tap Settings

2. Tap Connections

3. Tap Mobile Networks

4. Toggle On to Allow 5G service

5. (Optional) Toggle Off to Allow 2G service for protection against SMS Blaster fraud:

   • 2G networks are vulnerable to cyber attacks due to weak encryption and lack of authentication. Disabling 2G helps prevent attackers from intercepting communications and sending fake messages that appear to be from trusted sources.

• If the status is Inactive, the SIM card will not work as the phone is not activated yet
   
• If the status is Suspended, check if there is a pending network reset. It’s possible the system requires tech intervention
   
• Appropriate suspended states – bill is overdue, manually requested
   
• Mobile data may be paused if the customer needs additional data
   
• If a phone was just activated, the device may take up to 15 minutes to fully connect to the surrounding towers. Ask the customer to turn their phone off and on after a few minutes and test again
   

• If so, they should talk with their old carrier to check on locked status, and have them unlock it
   
• Possible errors:
   
  • Sim invalid
  • Sim not supported
  • Network unlock PIN request
  • SOS only
     
• Did the customer purchase the device from a reseller store or person? Resellers can claim devices are unlocked, but do not state that phone is unlocked for a specific carrier
   
• Even if a device is claimed to be unlocked for major carriers, it can still be locked and unable to be used on MVNOs outside of those carriers. Customers should contact their reseller and check the status of the phone eligibility to be used on other carriers
   
• It’s always recommended that customers purchase unlocked (also called SIM free) phones directly from manufacturers to ensure the eligibility of the device being used on all carriers
   
• If customer receives an error "eSIM is not compatible" when scanning the QR code, the phone is locked and they must contact the old carrier to unlock it
   
• Special note regarding iPhone
  • You can find out if your iPhone is locked by going to Settings > General > About. If "No SIM restrictions" appears next to Carrier Lock, your iPhone is unlocked.
     

• 5G cannot be a guaranteed signal strength at all times in all areas
   
• Check the customer's area/address for 5G:
   
  1. Log into Reach Central
      
  2. Click on Tools
      
  3. Click Check Coverage
      
  4. Type in address found in ICOMS, and click Check Coverage
      
  5. You'll see something like this. In this case, 4G coverage is great, but 5G coverage is only good
      
• Try restarting the device
   
• As a last resort, perform a Network reset on the active phone number
   

• The customer must be using the SIM Card or eSIM Astound Mobile has sent them. SIMs/eSIMS from previous carrier will no longer work
   
• In Reach Central, check that the customer's ICCID is the same that's in their phone. Validate the last 4 or 5 digits of the SIM with the customer
   
• The number is on the physical SIM itself as well as within the settings of the phone
   
• If the wrong SIM card is in the phone, ask the customer to locate the proper SIM. If they no longer have it, you may do the following:
   
  • Perform a SIM swap from Reach Central:
     
    1. Locate the SIM they are using from the SIM ICCID within the Customer Timeline
        
    2. Copy the SIM ICCID and put it into the SIM swap quick action
        

• If customer recently activated, this is very important
   
• If given a  recent Data Add-On, the phone may also require a restart  if the added data is not working
   

• Make sure the software version the phone is up to date. If an update message was received, request for the customer to perform the update and restart the phone
   
  • iPhone:
     
    1. Go to Settings
        
    2. Tap General
        
    3. Tap Software Update
        
    4. The screen shows the currently installed version of iOS and whether an update is available
        
  • Android:
     
    1. Open your phone's Settings app
        
    2. Near the bottom, tap System,  System update
        
    3. You'll see your update status.  Older Android may have Settings | Software update
        
  • Google Pixel
     
    1. Open your device's Settings app
        
    2. Near the bottom, tap System, System update. (If needed, first tap About phone)
        
    3. You'll see your update status
        
• It’s also important to check if the customer has a carrier update. Carrier updates only appear when they are required underneath settings in General, towards the top of the menu
  
   

1. Power off the phone
    
2. Take the SIM card out
    
3. Restart the phone
    
4. Allow the mobile device to say No SIM
    
5. Power off the phone again
    
6. Re-insert the SIM card
    
7. Restart the mobile device again
    
8. Give the device about 5 minutes to completely load
    
   • eSIM Refresh - iPhone:
      
     1. Go to Settings
         
     2. Tap Phone 
         
     3. Check if the active number appears next to My Number
         
     4. Tap Settings
         
     5. Tap Cellular
         
     6. Tap Turn On This Line with an indicator switch turned green
         
     7. To refresh the eSIM profile, switch the indicator off, which will turn the eSIM profile OFF
         
        • Note – this will not remove the eSIM profile
           
     8. The customer will see the screen saying Cellular at the top of the page and the Used as Primary – Phone Number underneath
         
        • There will be a message telling you to add eSIM. Do not do this
           
     9. Instruct customers to click on Used as Primary and select Turn On This Line to switch the indicator back to green
         
     10. Once done, instruct the customers to turn the phone off and back on after about a minute
          
   • eSIM Refresh - Android:
      
     • No viable option for Android devices at this time that does not require the customer to remove the eSIM profile entirely. Perform a Network reset on the active phone number
        

1. Turn off WiFi
    
2. Check for LTE, 4G, or other types of symbols
    
3. If the customer has at least one bar of 4G/LTE, ask the customer to access the internet, send an SMS, and make a phone call
    
4. Are there any error pop ups when performing one or all of these steps? Be sure to note what is and isn’t working for escalation tickets, if required
    
5. If calls and SMS are working but data is not, this can indicate a device lock
    

• For example: No SIM, Invalid SIM?
   
• No SIM or Invalid SIM could indicate a locked phone and or a bad SIM card
   
  • If the SIM can make and receive calls, send and receive SMS, the likelihood a bad SIM card is slim. This mostly indicates a device lock
     
  • If an iPhone cannot send and receive iMessage, this indicates an issue with data specifically as iMessage is data-reliant
     
• NOTE: We cannot fix device lock issues. SIM locks are used to ensure subscribers finish their service contracts with their previous carrier. If the contract period is over, the phone may be unlocked by entering a code from the previous carrier. In any case, the customer must resolve the issue by contacting the previous carrier.