Us cell phone packages

[mark14]

Hi does anyone know if Public offers anything other than their ten day USA travel packages. It seems quite cumbersome and expensive to renew every ten days. We are going for three months and hate to leave public Mobile as they have been awesome. Just wondering if anyone knows of any options.

thanks

Mark

[darlicious]

@mark14 

Public Mobile offered such an innovative industry leading Canada/US plan for about 4 months in 2019 that proved to be almost too popular and was pulled from market just as snowbirds were beginning their migration south. I believe this was ordered by telus fearing a sudden loss of premium paying customers flocking to pm for this plan. If you ever see a private sale for a pm account with this plan snap it up! But if they werent for sale in the last 18 month's I don't see many willing to give up this plan.

$60 Canada/US roaming plan: Unlimited calling/texting(international SMS/MMS), 8GB(canada) data, 2GB US data including call forwarding, voicemail and 3 way calling (additional 10 day roaming data can be added $10/250mb, $15/500mb and $20/1GB)

I read thru zoomers US/Canada plans and once I wrapped my head around them they certainly offer convenience at a price. But their current offer that doubles the usage are a good deal by are best suited for couples sharing a plan since usage with one another is unlimited. Otherwise single $40/150 min/unlimited texts and couples $70/$35 each is pricey and with data added at $20/500mb for singles then couples begin to save with $30/1GB ($15 each). The current promotion doubles these amounts.

It's difficult to compare pm and zoomer but the closest would be the following per 30 days....

Public Mobile : $15/100 outgoing minutes (canada), unlimited incoming minutes, unlimited international texts (SMS/MMS), 250mb data (canada)+3×$20/10 day US roaming add ons w/ unlimited minutes, international texts (SMS/MMS), 250mb data (750mb total US data)=$75

Zoomer : $80/1000 min, unlimited international texts (SMS/MMS) and 1gb data

                 Couples : $130/$65 each

So you pay $5 more for convenience which is $5 well spent or save $20/$10 each for couples by going with zoomer while in the US as these plans are both countries. The equivalent pm plan for Canada would be the $25/1gb plan. I am unsure about plan change flexibility with zoomer.

[mark14]

Thanks for the response, I Ordered aUS Mobile SIM card. Really disappointed in Public’s US plans. I almost switched to Zoomer,time will tell.

[mark14]

thanks for the response. I ordered a US Mobile SIM card. Really disappointed with Public’s US plans ,I almost switched to Zoomer time will tell.

[mark14]

Thanks for the response, I ordered a US mobile SIM card from the states. Really disappointed in Public’s US plans almost switched to Zoomer time will tell.

[cellphoneuser1]

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@DennyCrane wrote:

Prepaid sims definitely serve a purpose, but when I travel to the US i need my Canadian number for calls and texts. I wish all my contacts would ditch SMS and go with WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal, but unfortunately that's not my reality. A good alternative is a secondary data-only US e-sim so I only have to worry about talk and text roaming from PM.

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Is that because you can't forward text messages?  Public Mobile doesn't let us forward calls to an American number but some services do. So at least you can get calls if you forward the Public Mobile number to another Canadian number and forward that number to an American number if the other carrier allows it.

[DennyCrane]

Prepaid sims definitely serve a purpose, but when I travel to the US i need my Canadian number for calls and texts. I wish all my contacts would ditch SMS and go with WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal, but unfortunately that's not my reality. A good alternative is a secondary data-only US e-sim so I only have to worry about talk and text roaming from PM.

[Meow]

Suspend your PM account and remember to reactivate it after 85 days to keep account, number and rewards.

Definitely look for US SIM or use TextNow for calls/text.

[darlicious]

@mark14 

Indeed @Triguy 's suggestion of mint mobile is an excellent one. Their 3, 6 and 12 month packages start at $15/3gb to $30/unlimited data per month w/unlimited texting and calling to Canada and Mexico. Their sim cards are available thru B&H Photo for shipping to Canada if you want to have services available to you as soon as you arrive in the US. If you have a dual SIM phone even better!

Spoiler

Options for your account and service....

1. You can turn off autopay and allow the account to suspend at the of your current 30 day cycle but this is your least advantageous option. Pay and reactivate by day 85 or so.
2. If you have an account balance that exceeds your plan amount then you need to suspend via the lost/stolen feature in your account before midnight eastern on the evening of your renewal. Then on day 85 or so resume your service to pay and reactivate.
3. Suspending via lost/stolen before midnight eastern will keep your voicemail active allowing you retrieve voicemail and any verification sent by phone calls. However your rewards will not be applied to your account. Moderator contact after paying and reactivating is necessary to have the rewards applied manually.
4. Voicemail can be accessed by calling your pm number from a different phone by calling your phone # and pressing * once connected and entering your 4 digit voicemail pin #.
5. If you don't have an account balance or enough balance to cover your plan amount you can suspend via lost/stolen after midnight but before 2 am eastern on the day of your renewal. Once your rewards have been applied (usually by 12:15 am et) then suspend your account. Voicemail access will be lost.
6. Switching to the $15 plan with rewards helping to cover a partial or full amount of your plan allows you to call forward your pm number to your fongo number. Be sure to perform all call forwarding while in Canada. Now any incoming calling to your pm number will ring thru to your fongo number while on wifi or mobile data (w/a local or global sim card) You can access your fongo voicemail for all voicemail messages.

Most important mark on your calendar day 85 of your suspension and day 90. Do not forget when you must unsuspend your account via lost/stolen and/or pay and reactivate your service so you don't lose your phone number and account.

Spoiler

Here is some info about US roaming add ons that should help you.....should you choose this route....

1. While you have to have an active plan to purchase and use US roaming add ons the type of plan you have does not affect the roaming add ons features.
2. US roaming add ons start the moment you confirm and submit your purchase in your self serve account and expire 240 hours later (10 days×24 hours).
3. You can pre-load the funds needed to purchase the add ons in your self serve account so you only have to log in, select the US roaming add on and then confirm and submit your purchase.
4. Wait til late as possible to purchase since they are immediately valid so on free wifi at the destination airport or stopping shortly before the border at mcd's or timmy's to buy the add on while on free wifi.
5. If you are staying longer than 10 days you must wait a minimum of 24 hours to purchase the same US roaming add on or contact the moderators to add it before the waiting period ends.
6. If you have two US roaming add ons with a talk feature that overlap the talk feature basically gets disabled. Avoid this....but you will have to get one removed by a moderator to get your calling feature back if this happens.
7. After purchase reboot your phone and manually select either at&t or T-mobile to get better reception. Some areas have better coverage by either provider so when travelling around the US you will be better served by choosing the provider with better signal strength by locale.
8. You will recieve incoming texts without any US roaming add ons. Adding the fongo app and textnow app for use on wifi are good to use for a back up plan or you could call forward your pm phone # to your fongo # before you leave Canada and purchase just the US data roaming add on. Fongo also works on mobile data (1 min=0.5mb/100 min=50mb) so you could still recieve incoming pm texts, recieve incoming pm calls to your fongo #/app, outgoing calls from your fongo number and outgoing  texts from textnow for free or small fee from fongo.
9. All US roaming add ons have either unlimted text, talk or both. Only data has limits depending on your purchase 250mb/500mb/1gb. Once the data is consumed it will just stop you could then purchase different roaming add on, wait 24 hr to buy or contact the moderator to buy the same US roaming add on again. (* except talk as previously mentioned.)

Happy travels and Stay--Safe!

[t_p]

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@mark14 wrote:

Hi does anyone know if Public offers anything other than their ten day USA travel packages. It seems quite cumbersome and expensive to renew every ten days. We are going for three months and hate to leave public Mobile as they have been awesome. Just wondering if anyone knows of any options.

thanks

Mark

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@mark14 

For a 3 months stay, it's definitely worth it to buy a local SIM card and plan. For ex Mintmobile cheapest plan @$15 give you a LOT more data than equivalent PM plan.

The money you save by suspending your PM account (via Lost/Stolen) would help pay a good chunk of the outlay. Just remember to reactivate the account before 90 days so you won't lose the phone number and your account.

[Triguy]

Check mintmobile.com who offer longer plans or purchase a local sim.

[Dunkman · Accepted solution]

@mark14 

Unfortunately, Public mobile only offers the 10 day roaming packages.  It is a hassle for customers staying for longer periods of time.  

It is usually more cost effective to purchase a local SIM/plan from a US mobile company for longer stays in the States.