Hey Community,
We heard that there were some questions around how to transfer or change phone numbers, so we wanted to help explain what to expect in different scenarios related to transferring or changing phone numbers. (Please note that all this information can be found in this Help Article. The Help Article will also include examples of SMS messages.)
Whether you are transferring an existing number from another provider into Public Mobile, or transferring your Public Mobile number to another provider, here is the experience you can expect:
Transferring Your Number Into Public Mobile During Activation
You will be provided with the option to transfer your number during the activation process. Here are some things you should know:
Mobile Phone Number Transfer |
Landline Phone Number Transfer |
Old service provider brand |
First and last name of account holder |
IMEI Number OR Previous Provider Account Number |
Complete billing address |
Alternate Contact Phone Number |
Alternate Contact Phone Number |
For additional security, your previous service provider may also send an SMS text to validate the transfer.
Follow the instructions in the message within 90 minutes to approve the number transfer.
If you have missed the 90 minute window to respond, we will send you an SMS with instructions on how to re-initiate the transfer.
Tips:
Please note, it may take up to 2 hours to complete mobile number transfers, and up to 3 business days for landline number transfers. You may experience mixed service during this time until the transfer is complete.
Transferring or Changing Your Number After Activation
You can change your phone number once every 30 days after you have activated. To change or transfer your number after activation, go to your Self Serve Account here and:
You will need to provide the same information as requested during the activation process above.
Your previous service provider may also send an SMS text to validate the transfer, so ensure your old SIM card is still in your device so you can receive and respond to this message. Please do not replace your old SIM card with your Public SIM until the number has been successfully transferred.
Transferring a number from TELUS or Koodo (including formerly PC Mobile)?
If you wish to transfer an existing number from TELUS or Koodo (including formerly PC Mobile), you will need to first complete your activation with a new number, then reach out to our Moderator team here in order to transfer your existing number to Public Mobile.
Transferring Your Public Mobile Number To Another Service Provider
To help protect our customers from fraud, Public Mobile will send you an SMS text message should we receive a request to transfer your mobile phone number to another carrier. This step is designed to protect your account by confirming if the request is genuine or fraudulent.
If you have made a request to port your number to another carrier and have not received an SMS from Public Mobile to confirm your request, please open our chatbot via this link. This will put you in touch with our moderator team who will be able to assist you.
We hope that you found this helpful! Feel free to visit this Help Article for more information.
- The Public Mobile Team
... Glad this one comes back.. for some reason, the one from 2 weeks ago was deleted.
If there is issue during Porting, is there still a phone number to call?
@Catherine_T : Might I suggest locking and/or pinning this topic. Delete this suggestion post in that meantime.
@softech : I think the other one was collateral damage from the system sweep of removing mention of the porting number. The irony.
Thanks for tips and info
Now it would really be great to have extra safety step with changing sim number. Pin would probably help.
It seems we now have more fraudulent sim swapping then fraudulent ports (great job btw in lowering those)
Thanks for bringing this back but should this not be pinned in "Getting Started"?
@softech wrote:... Glad this one comes back.. for some reason, the one from 2 weeks ago was deleted.
If there is issue during Porting, is there still a phone number to call?
That thread must have the port support phone number in one or more posts. PM/Telus/Koodo do not want that number to be access by the general public by doing Google search.
Great info as always! Thank you for this explanation!😊
Good to re-post this, Catherine T, thank you. Also thanks to @ShawnC13 for clarifying a similar inquiry from recently.
The toll-free number for porting issues is still out there and they still receive and manage porting problems.
However, it's been misused for items other than it's intended purpose, thus unnecessarily clogging up the service's intended (and limited) purpose.
The suggestion made to me was to Private Message an OP should their issue be strictly porting related, with the clear indication they will ONLY deal with porting-related issues and NOT other account-related matters.
@Catherine_T , we have had a number of very important help articles announced in recent times. I think it is time to think about bringing back the knowledge base (or alternate name) forum to house these help articles. I recognize that they are readily searchable. A lot of customers do come to this forum for help. Having a help article section would enhance visibility.
@will13am I believe Help Articles (publicmobile.ca) is basically what the old KB morphed into.
that being said even thought it is easily accessible though the get help link it is still kind of hidden. It would be nice if PM somehow managed to make it more prominent or merged into the community. I really dislike having 3 distinct vertical sylos to get help (SIMon, help articles, community)