topic Re: Out of country for 5 months in Get Support

Out of country for 5 months

Tim_Walker — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 11:56:13 GMT

We will be in Mexico for 5 months. Is there a way to suspend your account and pick up where you left off when you get back to Canada? We will be using a Mexican SIM card while in Mexico as Public Mobile doesn't work in Mexico.

Can anyone recommend a good option to avoid paying normal monthly fees for 5 months when we can't use it. I used to just switch to a $15 plan so I could still get voice mails in Canada. But I don't see any plans like this anymore.

Thanks.

Re: Out of country for 5 months

hTideGnow — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 03:54:44 GMT

hi @Tim_Walker

why don't you get one of the Canada/US/Mex plan so you can continue use your service in Mexico with the same number?

if you really don't want the service in the 5 months, you can suspend your service but pay one month in between

PM only allows suspending your service for up to 90 days before the account is permanently closed and you lost your number So, go to My Account, Payment, Manage Subscription and disable Subscribed to turn off Autopay

Service will be suspended at the end of the cycle. Come back around 85th day, use the link https://myaccount.publicmobile.ca/en/account/payment/funds/card to load enough funds to resume service for one month and it will suspend again since Autopay still disabled

Repeat this until you are back

Re: Out of country for 5 months

Tim_Walker — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 03:55:49 GMT

I did not know there were plans including Mexico. Are there?

Re: Out of country for 5 months

hTideGnow — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 03:57:54 GMT

hi @Tim_Walker

yes there are

You might not see all of them but you should see similar plans to these:
https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/plans?network=BLACKFRIDAY

Re: Out of country for 5 months

Tim_Walker — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 04:25:18 GMT

This is great!!!! I've been wanting to have this for so long. My phone is 5g compatible, but my wife has a Galaxy S10.

I see the Canada/US/Mexico plan listed under the Black Friday category says 5G. Will my wife's phone work with this even though the phone is not 5G?

Re: Out of country for 5 months

Tim_Walker — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 04:35:53 GMT

I see when I click on the link you sent, there is a Black Friday category. But when you log into your account and click on 'change plan', they do not list the Black Friday $35 deal. Is there a way to get it?

Re: Out of country for 5 months

hTideGnow — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 04:38:09 GMT

HI @Tim_Walker

not everyone get the $29 or $35 roaming plans

to get the $35 plan, some have to change to the $30 plan first using Change Now and then schedule a plan change later for $35

You can also try asking the support agent , but most got declined

Re: Out of country for 5 months

DennyCrane — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 04:58:48 GMT

@Tim_Walker These new Mexico plans are a first for Public Mobile, and only became available on November 21st, 2024.

Unfortunately Public Mobile seems to have adopted a new unwritten rule where they don't offer many options to downgrade your spend. I was on a $34 plan and was able to upgrade to the $35 Mexico plan without issue. However, those on $35 and above plans did not have that option, and instead had $45 as the cheapest Mexico plan available.

A workaround is to immediately renew into one of the $30 plans (that doesn't include Mexico), which seems to be available to most as a downgrade. Then once that's processed you should be able to renew into the $35 plan (as you're increasing spend), future dated for your next renewal date. The downside to this is if you have a long time left in your cycle you won't get any credit for what's left. If you're near the end of your cycle it won't have as much of an impact. But for someone like you who spends 5 months a year in Mexico, it might be worth the one time $30 hit to get this amazing plan. It may or may not be available after Black Friday, but I wouldn't bank on it.

Re: Out of country for 5 months

Tim_Walker — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 05:01:42 GMT

That's good advice. Thank you.

Re: Out of country for 5 months

Phil_Adelphus — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 11:38:01 GMT

@Tim_Walker My phone is 5g compatible, but my wife has a Galaxy S10.

Galaxy S10 is not whitelisted for VoLTE by Public Mobile so may not work for voice calls in the USA since there is no longer any 3G network there. It has been said recently that more phones have been allowed by Public Mobile to use VoLTE but there's no updated list. I don't know the 3G status in Mexico, anyone? Eventually 3G will be phased out in Canada also but it's said to be a long way off for Telus and Bell although Rogers is shutting theirs down in March 2025.

Re: Out of country for 5 months

Tim_Walker — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:16:17 GMT

Okay, so the US/Canada/Mexico plans are a great option for me. What I don't understand is whether this will work for my wife's phone which is a Galaxy S10. The mobile network listed in the phone settings says, LTE/WCDMA/GSM.

Does anyone know if her phone will work on the US/Canada/Mexico plans? These Public Mobile plans say "5G". So I don't know if her phone will operate on this or not. I would appreciate a definitive answer on this before we switch her plan. Thank you so much.

Re: Out of country for 5 months

hTideGnow — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:17:47 GMT

HI @Tim_Walker

S10 is not on VoLTE whitelist with PM. So, voice won't work

but she can still use data and text. So, she can use Whatsapp to make voice calls, or download VoIP app like TextNow or Fongo to make calls

Re: Out of country for 5 months

DennyCrane — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:27:15 GMT

@Tim_Walker The lack of 5G on the phone is irrelevant. That's just marketing max speeds you get access to. All Public Mobile plans get access to the 3G, 4G, 5G networks, regardless of which plan speed you have. Obviously she won't be able to connect to 5G with a 4G phone, but she is able to use the 4G and 3G networks with her 4G phone on a 5G plan.

The issue is whether the phone is VoLTE compatible or not. Text and data won't be an issue, but phone calls may be an issue in the US if her phone isn't VoLTE compatible. This is because the US shut their 3G networks down, and without VoLTE (ability to make phone calls on the LTE/4G network) your phone needs to fallback to the 3G network to make phone calls (which is non-existent in the US).

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help/articles/volte

Re: Out of country for 5 months

Tim_Walker — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:26:00 GMT

hTidGnow, this is very helpful to know!!! She can easily function without 'voice calls' over the phone, as she does have WhatsApp. The main thing she needs in addition to this is to be able to receive text messages to the phone number. Because of the "two step verification" required with online banking etc... she can't login to accounts without having the ability to receive a text message to the Canadian number.

So just to be clear, the text messaging feature of the Canadian phone number will still work in Mexico, even though she can't make voice phone calls with that number?

Thanks again.

Re: Out of country for 5 months

Tim_Walker — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:27:41 GMT

Thank you Denny. That's awesome to know this.

Re: Out of country for 5 months

DennyCrane — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:28:06 GMT

@Tim_Walker No issues with SMS and data with her phone.

Re: Out of country for 5 months

hTideGnow — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:35:36 GMT

hi @Tim_Walker

yes, text will continue working without problem. She will be able to send and receive