Brand new sim but no service

[Celou]

Has anyone had a similar problem? I've watched every YouTube video possible tried every trick and spent 24 hours on a chat with Smarty. The sim works on other phones in my household but not mine. Smarty advisor tells me it's my phone that is not compatible with their sim because my phone doesn't support 4G but I got 4G from Lebara no problem. Now Smarty has stopped my contract with Lebara which means I none of my sims work. 

[WelshPaul]

What phone do you have?

[Celou]

Samsung Galaxy S9+

[WelshPaul]

Make sure that the phone is configured to use 4G/3G/2G (auto connect).

If the phone is configured to use only 3G/2G then you won’t have any service because SMARTY have no 2G or 3G network. You also need to enable VoLTE.

[Celou]

My phone is configured to use LTE/3G/4G. Like I said I get 4G with my Lebara sim. Anyway I have gone to Lebara now, literally Smarty has messed me around so much, they were supposed to come back to me regarding the issue, no one has bothered. The guy on the chat keeps repeating the same thing to me. Now I am trying to get a PAC from Smarty so I can transfer my phone number back (again) to Lebara. Ridiculous. I thought it was supposed to be a malarkey free mobile network. Joke.

[WelshPaul]

Was the handset supplied via a mobile network and, if so, is the handset unlocked so that it can be used with other networks @Celou? For example, if Vodafone supplied you with the handset, then it would only work on the Vodafone, Asda Mobile, Lebara, Talkmobile and Voxi mobile networks. Normally, I wouldn't mention this because phones have been supplied unlocked since 2021 but the S9 Plus was released in 2018.

It's worth mentioning that soon not all 4G phones will be able to make or receive calls. A handset must support both 4G and VoLTE moving forward. At present, depending on the network, a 4G phone that doesn't support VoLTE (or if VoLTE has been disabled) will fall back to either 3G or 2G to complete the call. SMARTY cannot fall back to 3G because THREE have closed down their 3G network.

All that being said, the S9 Plus supports 4G and VoLTE and, providing both are enabled, the phone is unlocked, it should work with SMARTY. 

[Celou]

Thank you, @WelshPaul  for your reply. Yes like you said my phone supports 4G and VoLTE so I don't get what's going on. Also it was unlocked when I bought it (not via a network provider). Anyway now I'm going through hell trying to get a pac from Smarty. Thanks again though!

[MSF]

@Celou Can you explain why you are having a problem getting a PAC?

Should be straightforward via your account

[MSF]

@Celou  I know you tried the sim in other phones.

Did you try other sims in your phone as well to exclude a phone issue?