I am facing a severe technical issue with my Airtel prepaid number while on international roaming in the US.
Issue Details:
Handset: Redmi 13C 5G (Dual SIM setup - Both SIMs were Airtel).
Active Pack: Active Rs. 118 Global Roaming Pack on Primary Line (Valid till August 13th - Incoming SMS only pack).
Primary Issue: All cellular SMS / A2P OTPs stopped delivering after August 3rd, and the SIM cannot perform network scans or latch to any US network.
Working History: From May 9th to August 3rd, incoming SMS and OTPs delivered seamlessly on this exact same Redmi 13C 5G handset in the US.
Exact Trigger: Around August 3rd at 05:37 AM IST, my secondary Airtel line on the same phone was deactivated due to non-recharge. At that exact minute, my primary active Airtel line’s roaming profile was abruptly blocked.
Technical Evidence / Error:
When “Automatically select network” is toggled OFF, the handset throws an explicit system error: “Couldn’t search for mobile networks.”
None of the US host networks (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) appear in the manual search list.
The SIM profile is blocked at the Airtel backend, preventing network attach/scan requests.
Troubleshooting Done:
Wi-Fi turned OFF, Preferred Network set to Prefer LTE, International Roaming enabled.
Repeated manual network search, Airplane mode toggles, and device restarts.
Has anyone experienced a complete SIM profile/HLR block where manual network search fails with “Couldn’t search for mobile networks” after a secondary Airtel line deactivation? Any advice on how to get Airtel Core Network / Roaming Engineering teams to unblock/refresh the VoLTE Roaming Profile would be greatly appreciated.
**•** Put the primary SIM in a different, non-Xiaomi phone and manual-scan US networks. Lists and attaches means it’s the Redmi. Still can’t scan or gets denied means it’s the SIM/network block. Most decisive test.
**•** Check Settings, About, SIM status. “Denied” or “Not registered” is a network reject. Stuck on “Searching” is device/radio.
**•** Reset network settings, re-enable roaming, retry manual select to clear a corrupted local state.
Then escalate past L1 to roaming/IN provisioning and ask them to:
**•** Clear any Operator Determined Barring (ODB) for roaming on the primary IMSI/MSISDN.
**•** Confirm the IMSI is provisioned for US roaming partners under the Rs.118 pack.
**•** Purge the stale VLR/MME registration (HLR Cancel Location / subscriber refresh) so the VPLMN accepts a fresh Location Update.
**•** Confirm Steering of Roaming isn’t suppressing AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon.
The pack validity till Aug 13 is irrelevant if the IMSI is barred; the bar clears first and SMS returns once the Location Update is accepted.
still in the US or back in India — and I’ll give the single clean reply for that case instead of both.
Thanks for the detailed technical breakdown. I am still in the US.
Regarding testing in a non-Xiaomi phone:
Xiaomi Official Confirmation: I have already escalated this to Xiaomi India Customer Support twice (Work Orders: ISIN20260806000081-011A & ISIN20260809000119-2944). Xiaomi officially confirmed via email that device software updates do not block SMS or VoLTE roaming, and confirmed that roaming availability depends entirely on Airtel’s carrier configuration/agreements.
Proven History: This exact same Redmi 13C 5G handset delivered all cellular SMS and A2P OTPs seamlessly for 3 consecutive months (May 9 to Aug 3) at this exact US location.
Exact Trigger: Service failed at the exact minute (Aug 3, 05:37 AM IST) my secondary Airtel SIM was deactivated on the same device.
Switching phones is not feasible for me here in the US, and the evidence clearly points to an Airtel backend block rather than a device fault.
Could you please provide the single, clean email draft with the specific technical escalation requests (ODB clearing, HLR Cancel Location / VLR purge, US Roaming Provisioning check, and Steering of Roaming suppression) so I can send it directly to Airtel Appellate / Nodal teams?
I am currently located in the United States and require your assistance with a critical international roaming issue affecting my Airtel prepaid number.
Issue summary:
Active roaming pack: ₹118 Global Roaming Pack (incoming SMS pack)
Device: Redmi 13C 5G
Roaming location: United States
Service worked normally from May 9 to August 3.
Incoming SMS, including banking and authentication OTPs, stopped working on August 3.
The SIM can no longer perform manual network scans.
Manual network selection returns the error: “Couldn’t search for mobile networks.”
No US partner networks (AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon) appear during a network search.
I have already completed the following troubleshooting steps:
Enabled international roaming
Set the preferred network mode to LTE
Disabled and re-enabled automatic network selection
Restarted the device multiple times
Removed the secondary SIM card completely
Repeated manual network scans
I also contacted Xiaomi support, and they confirmed that device software updates do not block SMS or international roaming services and that roaming functionality depends on the carrier’s roaming configuration.
I would appreciate it if your roaming engineering team could specifically verify the following items:
Confirm that no Operator Determined Barring (ODB) is active on my IMSI/MSISDN.
Verify that my IMSI is correctly provisioned for US international roaming under the active ₹118 Global Roaming pack.
Perform an HLR/HSS subscriber refresh, including Cancel Location and VLR/MME registration cleanup, to remove any stale roaming registrations and allow a fresh Location Update.
Confirm that Steering of Roaming policies are not preventing network discovery or attachment to US partner networks, including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
Confirm whether my Location Update requests are reaching US roaming partners and provide the associated network reject cause, if one is being returned.
The timing of the failure is also notable because the issue began immediately after my secondary Airtel SIM was deactivated on August 3.
I would greatly appreciate an escalation to the international roaming engineering team for a detailed backend investigation.
Thank you very much for the detailed technical points you shared. I have incorporated your suggestions into my latest escalation to the Airtel Appellate team. Your expertise has been invaluable in helping me push them for a real technical investigation rather than just generic responses.
I have a couple of questions based on my situation:
The “Swap” Logic: Airtel repeatedly insists I put the SIM in another phone. If I were to test this with a relative’s phone here in the US and the SIM happens to work, would moving it back to my original Redmi 13C 5G restore the service, or would the issue likely persist?
Technical Possibility: Given that the service worked perfectly on my Redmi phone for 3 months and stopped the exact minute my secondary SIM was deactivated, is there any technical scenario where the network “stuck” my profile in a way that only a handset swap would force a re-registration? Or is this purely an attempt by the carrier to avoid admitting a backend error?
I am currently restricted as the ₹118 pack validity has expired, but I am trying to resolve the underlying technical fault regardless. Any insights you have on why a carrier forces this “handset swap” strategy would be very helpful.
My view is that Airtel’s request to test the SIM in another handset is a standard troubleshooting step rather than evidence of an attempt to avoid a backend investigation.
A handset swap can trigger a completely new registration sequence and force the network to rebuild the subscriber context. In some cases, that alone is enough to restore service.
If the SIM works in another phone, moving it back to the Redmi may or may not preserve the restored state. Unfortunately, that result isn’t predictable.
That said, your timeline is still significant:
Roaming worked on the same handset for almost three months.
The failure occurred at the exact time the secondary Airtel SIM was deactivated.
Incoming SMS stopped.
Manual network scanning stopped.
No US partner networks appeared.
Those observations certainly justify a deeper investigation by the roaming engineering team.
I would continue to request verification of the following items:
Operator Determined Barring (ODB).
US roaming provisioning associated with the IMSI.
HLR/HSS subscriber refresh and Cancel Location procedures.
VLR/MME context cleanup.
Steering of Roaming policies affecting US partner networks.
If Airtel continues to insist on a handset swap, I’d ask them one specific question:
What network-side procedure do you expect the handset swap to trigger that cannot be performed through a backend subscriber refresh?
That question may help move the discussion from standard troubleshooting to a more detailed technical investigation.
I am writing to follow up on my previous escalation regarding the loss of international roaming service on my Airtel prepaid number while I am currently in the United States.
I appreciate your recommendation to test the SIM card in another handset. However, before I attempt that step, I would like to understand the technical basis for the recommendation.
My concern is that the evidence collected so far appears to indicate a network-side event rather than a device-related failure.
The following observations remain unchanged:
The same Redmi 13C 5G handset worked without any roaming or SMS issues from May 9 to August 3.
Incoming SMS and A2P OTP delivery stopped on August 3.
The failure occurred at the exact time my secondary Airtel SIM was deactivated.
Manual network scanning stopped functioning.
The device now reports: “Couldn’t search for mobile networks.”
No US roaming partner networks appear during manual network selection.
If a handset swap is required, could you please clarify which specific network procedure you expect that action to trigger?
For example, are you expecting the handset change to initiate:
A fresh LTE attach procedure?
A new IMS registration?
Recreation of the roaming subscriber context?
A complete Location Update refresh?
I would also appreciate confirmation that the following technical checks have been completed by the international roaming engineering team:
Verification that no Operator Determined Barring (ODB) is active on my IMSI/MSISDN.
Confirmation that my IMSI is correctly provisioned for US roaming services.
Execution of an HLR/HSS subscriber refresh.
Execution of a Cancel Location procedure and cleanup of any stale VLR/MME registrations.
Verification that Steering of Roaming policies are not preventing network discovery or network attachment to US partner networks.
Even though the ₹118 roaming pack has now expired, I would still like to identify and resolve the underlying technical issue to ensure that the same problem does not reoccur after future roaming recharges.
I would be grateful if this case could be reviewed directly by the international roaming engineering team rather than through standard customer support procedures.
Subject: Heartfelt Thanks for your Telecom Expert Guidance & Update on Airtel Issue
Dear Mr. Frutos,
Thank you so much for your deeply insightful technical guidance regarding my Airtel International Roaming issue on telecomHall.
Your precise technical diagnosis (HLR/HSS profile corruption and routing blocks) gave me immense confidence. Based on your expert opinion, I have now escalated the matter formally by filing an official complaint with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Government of India.
I have also quoted the technical execution steps you drafted (HLR Refresh, Cancel Location, ODB Verification) in my government grievance petition so that Airtel’s Core Network Engineering team handles it directly.
I am truly grateful for your valuable time, guidance, and assistance in helping a senior citizen. I will keep you posted once I receive an official response from DoT/Airtel.