Get 4.5 GB at 3G speeds for $40!

[Brooke_C]

Update as of October 16, 2018: This offer is now expired.

Hey Community,

Effective July 18th, 2018 as a competitive response, we are bringing back our 4.5 GB at 3G speed for $40 plan for a limited time only!

Plan details:

$40 for 4.5 GB at 3G speed

• 30-day plan
• 4.5 GB of data at 3G speed
• Unlimited Canada-wide Talk
• Unlimited International Text and Picture Messaging
• New and current customers are eligible

How to get this offer:

New customers	Current customers
Purchase a SIM Card: Click here to order online or locate a participating retailer to purchase a SIM Card. Visit activate.publicmobile.ca and follow the instructions to activate your SIM Card. If purchasing from a participating retailer, the retail associate can assist you with the activation. During the activation process, select the Ready-made plan “$40 for 4.5 GB of data at 3G speed”.	Log in on Self Serve Go to “Plan and Add-ons” Select “Change Plan” Select the Ready-made plan “$40 for 4.5 GB of data at 3G speed”. You will have the option of changing your plan immediately or upon the next renewal date.

To learn more about Public Mobile, click here.

-Public Mobile Community Team

Spoiler

FAQs

Question	Answer
How long will this plan be in market?	This is a limited time offer and is subject to change without notice. Please refer to Public Mobile’s Service Terms.  Please note that the promotion will not be honoured after it has ended. This includes SIM cards that have been purchased online, are in-transit and not yet activated.
Will I keep the same plan forever? Will my plan change?	Please refer to our Terms of Service for more information about our plans.
I am an existing customer. What is the difference between changing my plan immediately and changing my plan on the next renewal date?	When changing your plan, you have 2 options: (1) change your plan immediately or (2) change on your next renewal date. Here is the difference: Changing your plan immediately... You may choose to change your plan immediately if you have used all or most of your services, if your account is suspended and you would like a different plan, or if you would like to get started right away on the new plan. Here are some things you should know about this option: ●     There must be enough funds in your account to cover the full amount of the new plan. ●     A new payment cycle starts when you activate your new plan. ●     Your plan will not be prorated, which means that any days remaining in your current payment cycle will not be credited to your new plan. ●     Due to system limitations, if your account is suspended, you will need to send a private message to our Moderator Team here to change your plan immediately. You will need to be signed in to the Community for the link to work. ●     Any earned Rewards will be applied on your next renewal after the plan change. Changing your plan at the next renewal date… On the other hand, you may choose to change your plan on your next renewal date because it allows you to use the services you have already paid for. We recommend this option so your money can go further. Here are some things you should know about this option: ●     If you choose to change your plan on your next plan renewal date, the amount owed will be automatically updated. ●     If you have AutoPay set up, the amount of your new plan will be charged on your payment due date. ●     You can cancel a future-dated plan change at any time by clicking on the ‘Plans and Add-Ons’ tab and selecting ‘Cancel Order’. ●     Any earned Rewards will be applied on your next renewal after the plan change.
What happens if the “$40 for 4.5 GB at 3G speed” plan becomes unavailable before my next plan renewal date?	If you chose to change your plan to “$40 for 4.5 GB at 3G speed” on the next renewal date and the request has been submitted successfully, you will still switch to “$40 for 4.5 GB at 3G speed” even if the promotion ends before your renewal date occurs.

[mtfolks]

@NDesai Is that up and down or only down? Been searching but not a lot of clarity on upload speed. 

[NDesai]

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@mtfolks wrote:

@NDesai Interesting. Thanks!

I’m thinking of moving a few plans over to this so that’s good to know. What’s the current download/upload speed for the 3G on LTE? Is it still 3mbps for both? Anyone have a current speedtest they could share?

---

3Mbps on LTE and on 3G, it will depend on the signal strength. Expect to be somewhere between 5-20mbps.  

[ghune]

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@Michael77 wrote:

PM's plan is a pretty good deal.  However, I think Lucky Mobile really wants your business. Today Lucky Mobile is giving a Free Sim card, $25 Credit and $5 for 8 months. Lucky Mobile is offering the exact same plan as PM. It is a Canadawide plan with no zones. 

---

Tempting as well! A few things come to my mind:

+ with all the rewards available, Public mobile can be as cheap or even cheaper... and for more than 8 months.

+ PM is on LTE with reduced speed. It seems more responsive when you browse (ping is lower, etc.). I noticed that it's a different "experience" from 3G.

+ roaming is available.

- however, PM doesn't have a call centre (I personnaly don't care)

For my needs, I would still choose PM. And I am. Glad to see more competition, though!

[mtfolks]

@NDesai Interesting. Thanks!

I’m thinking of moving a few plans over to this so that’s good to know. What’s the current download/upload speed for the 3G on LTE? Is it still 3mbps for both? Anyone have a current speedtest they could share?

[NDesai]

@srlawren @mtfolks 3G/HSPA speed is not throttle. Yes, they told us they will throttle, but not yet. 

[srlawren]

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@mtfolks wrote:

I thought they had set it to throttle on both LTE and 3G? Is this in the first 48 hours of setup as speeds take about 48 hours to take effect? Can anyone confirm?

---

When the first launched the "3G" speed plans, there was indeed a loophole that if you forced your phone to HSPA-only (or disabled LTE), the cap was not present and you could enjoy full HSPA+ speeds.  I *thought* they had corrected that after a time, but no longer have a 3G plan to test with.  

But you're right that it can take up to 72 hours for the throttling to take effect when signing up with a 3G plan (or changing between a 4G and 3G plan in either direction); however, that would have also given them unthrottled LTE as well--so I doubt that's the factor in play here.  

[mtfolks]

I thought they had set it to throttle on both LTE and 3G? Is this in the first 48 hours of setup as speeds take about 48 hours to take effect? Can anyone confirm?

[horemansus]

Hint from redflagdeals..

Connect on 3g and get unthrottled access

My speed on 3 g.. at Oakville hospital, Dundas Street

 As much as 17.9 mbits down! Usually around 10 mbits, ping 30 to 40 ms..

Beats throttled 4 g

[dna2016]

Aweomse, nice to see PM wants to remain competitive in the marketplace.  For those who missed out here's your chance again.

[raulg]

Yay! Is back!!!!

[manikar]

True, this is one of the best plan ever created for their consumers on Canadian networks

[computergeek541]

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@trevrs wrote:

I have quite a few funds in my Koodo Prepaid account. I'd like to start up with this Public Mobile plan.  If I port my Koodo Prepaid number, can I keep my Koodo prepaid active with a different phone number?  Or does the account automatically cancel when I port the number?

Alternatively, can I run with this Public Mobile plan/sim on a new number, then port my Koodo prepaid number a month or so later?

Thanks

---

If you port your number from Koodo, your Koodo account immediately get closed and your prepaid funds are lost forever.  There is no way to continue the service with a different phone number.

As for porting in your phone number to Public Mobile at a later time, you can do that any time you wish, as long as your Koodo line is still active.  Porting a prepaid line from Koodo requires you to ask a moderator to do it for you.

[cappaj]

---

@computergeek541 wrote:

---

@Michael77 wrote:

PM's plan is a pretty good deal.  However, I think Lucky Mobile really wants your business. Today Lucky Mobile is giving a Free Sim card, $25 Credit and $5 for 8 months. Lucky Mobile is offering the exact same plan as PM. It is a Canadawide plan with no zones. 

---

At first, I thought you had made mistake on the no-zones part about the Lucky Mobile plan.  Lucky did previously come out with a zoned $40/4.5GB  plan, but their current version is in fact, zone-free (ironcially, the zoned plan at $40 only includes 2GB)

I'm not big on one time or credits that happens only for a set amount of time, but I guess the purpose of those is to convince you sign up to them instead of the competitor.  Plan and price-wise, Lucky's current $40/4.5GB plan is the same as Pubic Mobile's.  I would say that customers will be choosing between call centre customer services (Lucky) and rewards (Public).

---

I've heard that one other important difference is US roaming - Public Mobile offers Add-Ons for US Roaming, while Lucky does not (something to consider if you travel to the US).

[trevrs]

I have quite a few funds in my Koodo Prepaid account. I'd like to start up with this Public Mobile plan.  If I port my Koodo Prepaid number, can I keep my Koodo prepaid active with a different phone number?  Or does the account automatically cancel when I port the number?

Alternatively, can I run with this Public Mobile plan/sim on a new number, then port my Koodo prepaid number a month or so later?

Thanks

[computergeek541]

---

@Michael77 wrote:

PM's plan is a pretty good deal.  However, I think Lucky Mobile really wants your business. Today Lucky Mobile is giving a Free Sim card, $25 Credit and $5 for 8 months. Lucky Mobile is offering the exact same plan as PM. It is a Canadawide plan with no zones. 

---

At first, I thought you had made mistake on the no-zones part about the Lucky Mobile plan.  Lucky did previously come out with a zoned $40/4.5GB  plan, but their current version is in fact, zone-free (ironcially, the zoned plan at $40 only includes 2GB)

I'm not big on one time or credits that happens only for a set amount of time, but I guess the purpose of those is to convince you sign up to them instead of the competitor.  Plan and price-wise, Lucky's current $40/4.5GB plan is the same as Pubic Mobile's.  I would say that customers will be choosing between call centre customer services (Lucky) and rewards (Public).

[CalvinW]

It’s back again. Watch it become a regular plan soon 

[pakmode]

Good to see this deal back. 

[smp99]

Competition is good. Glad to see Lucky doing this. It can't compare for me with the various credits I am getting. I don't think Lucky has any roaming either. 

I understand the PM model and I don't have time to learn the Lucky Mobile plans, but this should keep the 3rd tier providers in check. 

[Michael77]

@Dunkman,

Very true. The friend credit is good. Hopefully people have someone they can refer. I think most people sign up alone. I would like to see PM match Lucky Mobile. At least for today. People are going to look at this and pick Lucky over PM. Lucky also has a call centre.

[Dunkman]

---

@Michael77 wrote:

PM's plan is a pretty good deal.  However, I think Lucky Mobile really wants your business. Today Lucky Mobile is giving a Free Sim card, $25 Credit and $5 for 8 months. Lucky Mobile is offering the exact same plan as PM. It is a Canadawide plan with no zones. 

---

Lucky Mobile deal is fairly competitive.  Public Mobile does offer the friend referral credit, ongoing autopay credit, loyality credit, etc.  Wonder if Public Mobile will match it or offer similar deal.  

[Michael77]

PM's plan is a pretty good deal.  However, I think Lucky Mobile really wants your business. Today Lucky Mobile is giving a Free Sim card, $25 Credit and $5 for 8 months. Lucky Mobile is offering the exact same plan as PM. It is a Canadawide plan with no zones. 

[retsina]

This is great!!

[MoreYummy]

Many are waiting for this, and they are happy now!  

[umarku]

Glad to see this offer is back 🙂 I had missed it by a few days the last time while waiting for my sim to come. But unfortunately as of right now i cant lock in the offer as the site is under maintenance, hopfully i will be able to lock it in before it goes away.

[mimmo]

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@crtowns wrote:

I just read this in the fine print on this deal:

"Plans with 4G LTE data can access maximum LTE download speeds (manufacturer rated at up to 750 Mbps; expected average speeds 12-200 Mbps). Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network."

Any comments on this?!? This is telling me with my iPhone 7 that I won't actually be limited to 3Mbps, I could get up to 12-200 Mbps on the 3G plan. This almost sounds to me like they are saying you still good be receiving LTE like speeds on this plan. 

Does anyone have an insight on this? 

---

On 3g plans yourmax speed is  3mbs

[crtowns]

I just read this in the fine print on this deal:

[will13am]

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@wmleung wrote:

Just signed up.  Phone number was ported over within 30 minutes; but still no data after 2 hours.

What's wrong here.  Can any one help?

---

Data should work right away even before porting is complete.  It could be an APN set up issue.  Take a look at this knowledge base article and confirm the APN settings on the phone.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Knowledge-Base/Setting-up-Data-APN-on-your-phone/ta-p...

[wmleung]

Just signed up.  Phone number was ported over within 30 minutes; but still no data after 2 hours.

What's wrong here.  Can any one help?

[will13am]

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@youbme wrote:

Awesome! I already switched the two lines in my family from the 3gb/90days to 4.5gb/30days but several friends missed the promo - they'll be happy to have another chance to get the bump in data.

Regarding Koodo offers, I got one for 1GB of LTE data at $35/month....they're going to have to do better than that for me to consider a switch - especially with PM's rewards.

---

You likely got that offer based on your old 3GB/90 day plan.  It would be preposterous to offer a 1GB plan as an option to someone who has a 4.5GB plan, regardless of price.  The overage charge would be a disaster. 

[will13am]

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@Canadiankid wrote:

My wife and I both got koodo offers (4g LTE and unlimited for $40). I don't find my 3g speed at all slow so I have no reason to jump on that deal. 

Also it's great that public has brought back this 4.5g offer. Nice work.

---

I find a little bit of both is the right level of spice.  There is no such thing as the panacea.  Have some family members at Koodo to take advantage of hardware options.  Stay here for the other fringe benefits like rewards, real bill shock protection and not just data shock protection, and of course the camaraderie in the community.