topic Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do? in Get Support

Phone Unusable - What to Do?

Sepherene — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 20:51:55 GMT

Hello

Tonight, while using my near brand new phone Samsung Galaxy A71 (purchased May 22/20), the whole thing froze and then the screen turned off. I tried turning it back on, nothing, I tried turning it off by holding the power button, nothing, then I tried a hard reset and it vibrated, and then showed me just a fuzzy grey screen like it is broken internally.

There are no cracks or water damage, and I'm hoping that I can get it fixed under my warranty but my actual question is: What happens with my monthly service bill if I am physically unable to use my phone? Can I suspend it until I can get my phone sent in to a service center, and fixed?

Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do?

Jb456 — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 01:19:08 GMT

Your plan is 30 days not monthly and you pay in advance for those 30 days.

If you have a card on your account and are registered for auto-pay. You will have to disable auto-pay.

Since your phone is not working you can't dial 611 to disable auto-pay. However technically you could call 1855-4PUBLIC from another phone and get into your account like dialing 611 and disable it.

At next payment due date the system will not collect your payment and your account will be suspended. It can stay in this status for 90 days. At 90 days the account is deleted. So set a reminder to log into your account around 85 days to reactivate your plan if you phone has not been fixed by then.

As for your phone itself this is not a Public Mobile issue. Since it is a Samsung phone go to Link below and you can speak to Samsung Live Chat. Maybe they can help you.

https://chatbot.samsungcs-canada.com/chatbot?source=dotcom

Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do?

esjliv — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 01:18:55 GMT

Hello @Sepherene ,

Sorry about the issues with your phone, that is no good at all. 😞

Lost/Stolen Phone and/or Suspend Service:

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/ns/get-help/articles/lost-or-stolen-phone

Lost Or Stolen Phone

If your Phone is lost or stolen, you can Suspend your service if you’d like to prevent any calls or messages from being sent or received. Doing so will not keep your plan from expiring; however, it will ensure that your credit card is not charged at your next renewal date if you’re on AutoPay.

Just follow these steps:

Log into your Self-Serve account
Go to Plan and Add-Ons > Lost/Stolen Phone
Select Suspend Service

Note that after 90 days in suspend, your account will be deactivated permanently so be sure to return to this page if you find your phone or decide to get a new SIM card.

Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do?

computergeek541 — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 01:32:20 GMT

@Sepherene wrote:
Hello
Tonight, while using my near brand new phone Samsung Galaxy A71 (purchased May 22/20), the whole thing froze and then the screen turned off. I tried turning it back on, nothing, I tried turning it off by holding the power button, nothing, then I tried a hard reset and it vibrated, and then showed me just a fuzzy grey screen like it is broken internally.

There are no cracks or water damage, and I'm hoping that I can get it fixed under my warranty but my actual question is: What happens with my monthly service bill if I am physically unable to use my phone? Can I suspend it until I can get my phone sent in to a service center, and fixed?

Hopefully, you have warranty because paying to repair devices sometimes isn't worth the repair prices.

Plans cannot be stopped at Public Mobile. While you can cut the service off by telling Public Mobile that your phone is lost or stolen, this will not stop the clocking from running down on the plan that you've already paid for. Reporting your phone as lost or stolen does prevent your plan from renewing but be sure ~~not~~ only to leave it in this state for less than 90 days. Otherwise, your account will get closed.

Repairs can sometimes take a while. If you can, see if a friend has a old/spare phone to lend you. If possible, I would also considering buying another device, and once your current device is repaired, decide which phone you like better and sell the other.

Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do?

computergeek541 — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 01:21:01 GMT

@Jb456 wrote:
Your plan is 30 days not monthly and you pay in advance for those 30 days.

If you have a card on your account and are registered for auto-pay. You will have to disable auto-pay.

Log in and click "Payment" then "Manage auto-pay". You can disable it from there.

Since your phone is not working you can't dial 611 to disable auto-pay. However technically you could call 1855-4PUBLIC from another phone and get into your account like dialing 611 and disable it.

At next payment due date the system will not collect your payment and your account will be suspended. It can stay in this status for 90 days. At 90 days the account is deleted. So set a reminder to log into your account around 85 days to reactivate your plan if you phone has not been fixed by then.

There would be an excpetion to this if there are enough available funds already in the Public Mobile account when renewal time comes around. In that case, the plan would still renew even with autopay disabled.

Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do?

Jb456 — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 01:24:24 GMT

@computergeek541 Very true. Busy at work upgrading servers had a brain fart lol.

Thanks for correcting me.

@Sepherene So if you have a balance greater than your plan payment ignore my post and consider lost/stolen option

Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do?

darlicious — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 01:27:25 GMT

@Sepherene

I'm sure @computergeek541 meant don't let it be suspended for more 90 days not less. In other words reactivate your service around day 85 to be safe. I prefer @esjliv method of using the lost/stolen feature to suspend service and leave everything else intact. Your voicemail will still recieve calls and you can check your messages, change the greeting etc...after your current 30 day plan runs out.

Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do?

Jb456 — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 01:44:24 GMT

@Sepherene

Watch YouTube link below. 6 things you can try for your issue for a Galaxy A71 black screen.

Maybe one of the steps will work for you. Fingers crossed 🤞🤞

https://youtu.be/5cbSlvBZYJI

Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do?

darlicious — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 02:25:39 GMT

@Jb456

Was that a coincidence that a public mobile commercial played before that video?

Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do?

CFPartDeux — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 06:46:06 GMT

@darlicious wrote:
@Jb456
Was that a coincidence that a public mobile commercial played before that video?

Yes, it was..... I got a Grammarly ad instead.

Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do?

mm80 — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 08:01:15 GMT

@CFPartDeux Ads are based on browsing history. Ever notice how afer looking at stores webste or a cell carrier homepage, banner ads match up with those?

Re: Phone Unusable - What to Do?

CFPartDeux — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 18:20:43 GMT

@mm80 wrote:
@CFPartDeux Ads are based on browsing history. Ever notice how afer looking at stores webste or a cell carrier homepage, banner ads match up with those?

That may be true, for those that don't regularly turf their browser's history. I've noticed that ads are often based on location..... for instance, I regularly visit the Montreal Gazette web site, and while there, I often get banner ads for Maple Ridge(BC) Chrysler.

As for the aforementioned Grammarly ad I was served, that wasn't based on either browser history(since I've never checked them out), nor location, and I get that ad A LOT.