topic Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1 in Get Support

Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

Michael99 — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:25:11 GMT

Hi everyone,

Starting about a week and a half ago, I’ve been unable to make phone calls to any 1-800 or 1-877 numbers, or to some numbers outside my local Toronto area code (647, 416, 437).

For example, I tried calling an Ottawa number (area code 343), and the call immediately failed.
I’ve received two different error codes: 8B1 and 8UM1, both with "Your call cannot be completed as dialed".

These errors happen instantly after dialing, not after ringing or connecting.

Some other info:

My phone plan is with Public Mobile, using an eSIM.
My dad also uses Public Mobile with an eSIM, and when he calls the exact same numbers, his calls go through normally.
Regular local calls within Toronto work fine for me. Weirdly, certain numbers with area codes outside of Toronto work -- for calls to two different Ottawa numbers, one worked and one didn't.
I recently travelled to New York about a week ago, and I used my public mobile plan there.

I would greatly appreciate any help with troubleshooting, or resetting whatever might be causing this issue?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Re: Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

hTideGnow — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:31:25 GMT

HI @Michael99

we are just customers here, remove your phone number

yes, the 1800 is a problem for some customers but support agent can resolve the problem

submit a ticket with CS Agent using Chatbot here:
  https://widget.telus.tiia.ai/publicmobile/publicmobile.html
Type the question "Submit ticket", Then click the following in order: "Contact Us" , "Other", "Log In".
   (If unable to receive 2FA SMS, click "Didn't Receive Code" or "Resend Code" and Select "Send Email")
If any issue with ticket submission, you can submit ticket by direct message:
  https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

Remember CS_agent will reply to your Community inbox within 2 to 4 hours, please check your inbox here:
https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/privatenotespage

Re: Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

Chalupa_Batman — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:37:20 GMT

Folks have been saying to contact a CS Agent as they are the only ones who can fix this. However, I'm wondering, have you tried doing a Network refresh on your phone? What this does is clears your current connection and reconnects you to the Public Mobile network. I'm wondering if this help. Would you mind trying this first before you contact a CS Agent? Always interested in trial and error to see what works and what doesn't.

Thanks.

Re: Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

hTideGnow — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:45:06 GMT

hi @Chalupa_Batman

as far as I know and experienced, a network reset won't help. It is a network issue, not a device issue

and @Michael99 , you might not want to try a network refresh as you will have to re-setup all the Bluetooth and Wifi connections after.

If you need to call 1800 number urgently and can't wait for support to reply back, download VoIP app TextNow and make the 1800 number with the app instead

Re: Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

Dunkman — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:07:12 GMT

@Michael99

Known issue with dialing 1800 number (mainly for customers who recently traveled outside of Canada). PM is aware and working on a fix, but this will take several weeks. In the meantime, try to reboot your phone. For some models, that will fix the issue.

Otherwise, you will need to contact customer service agent for a fix on their backend.

Re: Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

Chalupa_Batman — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:07:55 GMT

@hTideGnow wrote:
hi @Chalupa_Batman
as far as I know and experienced, a network reset won't help. It is a network issue, not a device issue
and @Michael99 , you might not want to try a network refresh as you will have to re-setup all the Bluetooth and Wifi connections after.
If you need to call 1800 number urgently and can't wait for support to reply back, download VoIP app TextNow and make the 1800 number with the app instead

I had a feeling you'd make a comment. Once again, things are about trial and error. It never hurts to try thing to see if they can help. However, please note, resetting network settings on iPhones do not clear bluetooth and wifi settings, that is only on Androids. Apple has separated them so they are not affected.

Re: Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

Michael99 — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:15:58 GMT

Thanks all,

I have submitted a ticket and I will use the TextNow workaround for now. Hopefully the issue gets resolved soon. Just to confirm, this is a known issue and others are facing the same problem?

Re: Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

Dunkman — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:20:02 GMT

@Michael99 wrote:
Thanks all,
I have submitted a ticket and I will use the TextNow workaround for now. Hopefully the issue gets resolved soon. Just to confirm, this is a known issue and others are facing the same problem?

@Michael99

Known issue for certain. I have been following up with these posts for the last month or so. PM is aware of the problem and is rolling out a fix, but supposedly going to take several weeks. Again, mostly affecting customers who recently traveled outside Canada.

I remember one customer who toggled airplane mode on and then off. That seems to work for them. Another one manually selected LTE network (instead of Auto) and that worked for them. But, the fix can be done by customer service agent. Problem is the wait times are longer on weekends.

Re: Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

hairbag1 — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:21:39 GMT

@Michael99

Correct… lotsa folks having similar issues calling those 800 numbers… good news is Public mobile customer support can fix it quick.

Re: Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

hTideGnow — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:35:17 GMT

hi @Chalupa_Batman

it is me again

I Reset network settings on iPhone and Bluetooth and Wifi were both cleared

i thought it was only me, but I Gogled, I checked multiple Ai sources, and all confirmed my experience was what expected

and thanks @Dunkman for confirming the system issue. Yes, I rebooted phone and reseted network and both failed to resolved the issue.

Re: Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

Chalupa_Batman — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:41:36 GMT

@hTideGnow wrote:
hi @Chalupa_Batman
it is me again
I Reset network settings on iPhone and Bluetooth and Wifi were both cleared
i thought it was only me, but I Gogled, I checked multiple Ai sources, and all confirmed my experience was what expected
and thanks @Dunkman for confirming the system issue. Yes, I rebooted phone and reseted network and both failed to resolved the issue.

Hello @hTideGnow

It's me again too. I'm not sure what Gogled is but sure.

I have the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 Pro Max. For giggles, I just reset my Network Settings on both. And what do you know. All my bluetooth and WiFi logins and passwords are still there. Oh, of course, I'm just sharing my experience moments ago. Lest we forget, Gogle is never wrong. 🙂

Re: Calls to 1-800 / Out-of-Area Numbers Failing — Error Codes 8B1 and 8UM1

JoeYoussouf — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 21:20:40 GMT

Airplane mode toggle worked for me! I have recently been travelling a lot, so that may be correlated