Problems with new Bell/Telus Network in Canada

My Wife and I just bought new iPhones and we are having issues. Mine seems to be working fine but hers is having problems. She can make calls and receive them, she can send and receive text messages but she cannot access Safari or any other web based apps. She gets an error message saying "Could not activate cellular data network-you are not subscribed to a cellular data service" Does this sound like bug in the network (it being a new network and all.) or did the guy who set the phone up screw this one up?

I posted the fix today for not receiving calls
Settings>Carriers> choose "Bell 3G" once it loads >enjoy!

Thanks very much! It worked! My wife is much happier now 🙂

I'm also having trouble with my Bell iPhone 3GS that I purchased last Saturday. I cannot call 1-800-555-1111, which is Bell's toll free number you dial to use a calling card.

I am also having trouble with the underground network we have here in Montreal. Around Peel, McGill, St-Laurent, and Berri-UQAM metro there is a very strong bell network that I was always able to access with my old phone, but now my iPhone does not detect it. I have tried turning off and on the phone, which has helped a few times, but sometimes it just does not find the network. I also have trouble finding the network when I come up from being inside the metro. Even when I am at street level I sometime have to turn off and on my phone for it to pick up a signal - even when the signal is a full 5 bars in the area!

Yesterday I found that I had also been having trouble receiving text messages. My boyfriend sent me a text that took 1/2 hour to arrive. He showed me the sent time on his phone, and I didn't receive it until a full half hour later! Same thing with the text I sent to him. He didn't get it immediately - it took about 15 minutes to be delivered.

I am very happy with the other features of the iPhone, but after all it is A PHONE, and should work properly as such...

Bought the 3GS w/ Combo 55 package from Bell Canada yesterday (h/w upgrade from Moto Rzr)... package includes 1GB data plan. I am seeing a number of issues, the two biggest are:
1) MS Exchange e-mail push set up was easy... works like a charm... as long as you have a WiFi connection!! For some reason, when I turn WiFi off, I can no longer connect to the Exchange Server... which tells me the 3G data connection is not working.
2) The 3GS is a power hog... very short battery life... 100% last night... dead this a.m. Is it just the WiFi, or is there something else? Does anyone know of an app that toggles the WiFi on/of w/o having to step through the settings menues...?

On location services and them not being yet activated, I got a Bell iPhone and they work fine on my device. I'm in Montreal and it pinpoints my location perfectly.

Does Telus allow you to create your own ringtones? In the past they've always locked their phones to prevent this.

I bought the iPhone from Telus nov 11. I have problem with the coverage. When I was in the commercial center, right after it was activated, I had full bars. Then, 10 feets farther, no signal. Then, another 10 feets or so and I get 2 bars. Then again, no signal, and then, back to full bars...

I have no problem with the location thing. When I use locate me from the maps app it finds me. No problems with calling or being called... But for now its only landlines (mostly from Bell) who called me, no cell yet.

I do have a problem with text messaging : My friend (fido/rogers) sent me a text and I received it an hour later. I tried to send photo messages to another one of my friend on Rogers and he tried the same thing on his side but we each never received the messages.

I then asked a friend with an iPhone on Rogers's network to send me a picture message... I never received it (it's been days now).

I wonder if it is because the network is not yet completed ? It is supposed to be all done in spring 2010. For now... all I need is to be perfectly sure to get my texts messages, and in time. That's all I want 😉 !

I BOUGHT THE TELUS IPHONE NOVEMBER 15, LOVED IT BUT, I KEPT GETTING NO SERVICE IN A NUMBER OF AREAS, THE MOST IMPORTANT NO SERVICE IN MY OFFICE. TELUS TRIED TROUBLE SHOOTING, BUT ADVISED IT GOOD TAKE 3-4 DAYS TO RESOLVE AND TROUBLE SHOOT, BUT IT REALLY APPEARS AS ASPOTTY NETWORK, BECUASE ROGERS SHOWS UP PERFECT ON MY IPHONE. ANYWAYS LONG STORY SHORT A RETURNED EVERYTHING AND WENT BACK TO MY CDMA BLACKBERRY TELUS IS NOT READY.

I set up the IPhone 3G with Bell this week... I am able to send text messages, but I can not recieve any. Also there is no indicator on the phone when someone leaves me a message. I have escalated this already to Bell and they have created a ticket. It is a unlocked phone, but I have been told by Bell that it is compatable with the Bell network. At this point, nobody has fixed them problem....

Does anyone know how to fix this?

I've had my iPhone from telus for a day now and the service is intermittent at best. No service in my office at all. Better at home but not great. My location is right (port colborne, on) but mail and texts are in cyberspace somewhere. I have a help ticket in as well...stay tuned.

I bought the iPhone 3GS from Telus on November 6. I'm in east Toronto.

When things go well, I'm generally happy with the reception. I've had no problems with voice mail. I haven't used messaging yet, and probably won't as it's not included in my plan.

I have experienced a problem with dropped calls. The odd thing about the dropped calls is that they are taking place in a spot where my signal strength is quite strong. I do have dead spots in my house, but I make all of my calls from a spot where my signal strength usually registers four or five bars. I can be speaking with someone for 30 minutes, and everything is fine, and then suddenly they can no longer hear me, and then the call drops out. I have also noticed that my signal strength seems to occasionally go to zero.

One person noted a problem with reception in the Montreal underground. This may be related to a situation unique to Bell/Telus iPhone owners. In addition to being a 3G-capable phone, the iPhone works on a traditional GSM voice network. Unlike Rogers, Bell and Telus do not have a GSM network - their pre-existing voice network is based on the older CDMA standard. So if a Rogers iPhone customer can't access their 3G or EDGE networks, they can fall back on GSM for voice-only. If a Bell/Telus iPhone customer can't access their 3G network, they no longer have a phone - they have an iPod.

This means that you are not absolutely sure of being able to use your Bell/Telus iPhone wherever you used your old Bell/Telus cell phone.

There's an discussion of this concept here: http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/iphone-rogers/telus-sues-rogers-over-false-advertis ing/

In theory, Bell and Telus are supposed to have overlapped their existing CDMA networks with their new 3G network - or have plans to finish doing so. But the situation described in the Montreal underground makes it sound kind of like they haven't extended 3G into the metro - or simply don't have it working. I'm just speculating, but perhaps they gave priority to outdoor towers, in order to rush their new network into service. I suspect that there were probably a lot of rush-jobs and quick-fixes involved in getting this network ready, and we're going to be living with the aches and pains for a while.

When I bought the iPhone, I had planned to give up my landline in order to offset the cost of the monthly plan. I think I'll hang onto that landline a while longer.