UPDATED: Public Mobile response to COVID-19

[Alan_K]

Update as of May 1, 2020: This offer (US Roaming Credit Back) is now expired.

Update as of March 31, 2020: As of April 1st, online SIM purchases will no longer be discounted and will return to their regular price of $10. 

Update as of March 26, 2020: The $5 discount for online SIM purchases will only be available on purchases through publicmobile.ca. Please note that Amazon deliveries may be significantly delayed due to COVID-19. Make sure to check your estimated delivery date before ordering through Amazon.

Hey Community,

At Public Mobile, the health and safety of our customers, team members, and partners are paramount to us. That’s why, with COVID-19 concerns top of mind and rising uncertainty surrounding the extent of disruptions to day-to-day activities for our customers, we will be committing to make it stress-free to stay connected with friends & family. How are we doing that?

US Roaming credit-back

Public Mobile will be crediting back the full cost of US Roaming Add-Ons as account credits.

• Eligible customers: Customers who have purchased and used any US Roaming Add-On from March 13 to April 30th, 2020. Note that usage of a US Roaming Add-On is mandatory.
• Account credit will be applied to accounts within 7 business days of usage, beginning March 23. No action is required. Customers will receive a SMS when credit is applied.

$5 off SIM card when you buy online

During this challenging period, we want to ensure that our customers are staying as safe as possible and purchasing SIM cards online, if you need to. 

• For a limited time starting from March 20th, get $5 off when purchasing a SIM card online from us via Amazon or Publicmobile.ca.
• No promo code necessary.

Any changes or updates to these items will be shared on this page. We encourage you to view further details on what we’re doing to help keep you safe and connected by visiting this help article for more information.

We thank you for being a Public Mobile customer, and hope that this helps make things easier during this difficult time. 

Thanks,

-Public Mobile Community Team

[AE_Collector]

I hadn't seen anything in the news indicating that Public Mobile had caused all of this. Nor that public mobile would be hiring everyone laid off and will pay their mortgages. 

A $13 Cell plan from PM is about the best deal you will find to keep in contact through this. Unlimited texting and unlimited incoming calls! People need to take responsibility to  make some required cost saving adjustments and not wait for everything to become free. 

My my favourite so far was someone starting a petition that ICBC, the BC auto insurer should cancel monthly payments! My thoughts to this person included:

-I pay for the year up front so I pay while you drive for free?

-ICBC loses about $1B a year already, they are more broke than you are!

-And finally, if you are out of work and self quarantining..cancel your car insurance!

AE_Collector

[CannonFodder]

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@Chicklit wrote:

The second I can switch to anyone besides pm i will be.  I live in canada and have lost my job over this crisis.  Now i have no income and no phone as well.  I'm on the verge of losing my home so thanks for nothing pm.  I will be sure to spread the word

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While all of those things suck in a big way, I'm just curious about what you were expecting/hoping PM was going to do?

[darlicious]

@Chicklit  What is the reason you have lost your phone service. Maybe we can help. It's a tough time for everyone. Reaching out it is the first step.

[Chicklit]

The second I can switch to anyone besides pm i will be.  I live in canada and have lost my job over this crisis.  Now i have no income and no phone as well.  I'm on the verge of losing my home so thanks for nothing pm.  I will be sure to spread the word

[Triguy]

 A SIM card delivery will usually take between 3-7 business days to arrive.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/UPDATED-Public-Mobile-response-to-COVID...

Update as of March 26, 2020: The $5 discount for online SIM purchases will only be available on purchases through publicmobile.ca. Please note that Amazon deliveries may be significantly delayed due to COVID-19. Make sure to check your estimated delivery date before ordering through Amazon.

[zakhan78]

Hi,  Is there any delay in shipment of SIM ? What is the normal delivery time?

thanks

[darlicious]

@terrahughes  You can sign up for a koho card (prepaid visa) online and open an account with them. It's free, takes about 5 minutes and 5 business days or so to recieve your card. You recieve a minimum 0.5% cash back on purchases made with your card and can be used for autopay to recieve the $2 reward. You can pay with it or continue to use vouchers.

[Pawprints1986]

I didn't notice much delay when ordering through PM, ordered the evening of the 24th, received and activated by the 27th. Just FYI

[Luddite]

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@terrahughes wrote:

So what about the customers in Canada that have to go buy their minutes at a store every month and are self isolating and they don't own a visa card to pay for their minutes online??? 

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@terrahughes A bit off the wall, but how about a friend with a charge card who you repay. I do that with my sister.

You could get a PayPal account linked to your bank account and use it for online PM vouchers; recharge.com, ding.com. There's premium relative HST but you'd only need it while quarantined.

[JoyLuck]

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@AE_Collector wrote:

Updated on March 26 to say tge $5 SIM discount is only from PM, no longer Amazon due to potential delivery delays. 

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I got lucky. I ordered 2 sims for $5 each on March 22 from Amazon. The estimated delivery date was April 19. I received my items today from Amazon delivery on a Sunday! 

For those of you baby boomers....remember the days when nothing was opened on Sunday. It was a day to just relax and spend time with your family and friends.

[AE_Collector]

Updated on March 26 to say the $5 SIM discount is only from PM, no longer Amazon due to potential delivery delays. 

And look ok at how the update was done (in red)...I've been heard!

[Korth]

@terrahughes

Public Mobile can't really be blamed for failing to perfectly service the needs of customers who lack credit cards or other convenient (online) payment options.

You could purchase enough payment vouchers to buy multiple months of service in a single trip to the store.

You could ask someone else to buy the payment voucher at the store (and text/email the PIN), you can repay them without going to the store.

[Anonymous]

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@terrahughes wrote:

So what about the customers in Canada that have to go buy their minutes at a store every month and are self isolating and they don't own a visa card to pay for their minutes online??? 

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 @terrahughes 

Do you have a Paypal account linked to your bank account?

I know at least recharge.com takes Paypal. They cost a little more than in a store so call it a convenience fee.

[Anonymous]

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@Cottagegirl wrote:

Thank you so very much... I went thru all settings looking for how to find t mobile.. ahhh mobile networks... I couldn’t have done this on my own... you and other community members are so very helpful...

I did all the things you suggested and now my phone calls work!

and thanks to Public for this bonus during this crisis... it will make the long drive home a little less stressful 

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 @Cottagegirl 

Glad you got it going. So now that you know where to find the networks...you might experience low reception in some areas. So go back in there and try the other network. It'll only be either AT&T or T-Mobile. Switch to the other one and maybe you'd get better reception.

[Dunkman]

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@Cottagegirl wrote:

Thank you so very much... I went thru all settings looking for how to find t mobile.. ahhh mobile networks... I couldn’t have done this on my own... you and other community members are so very helpful...

I did all the things you suggested and now my phone calls work!

and thanks to Public for this bonus during this crisis... it will make the long drive home a little less stressful 

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Great to hear that things are working now.  Safe travels home.  Remember to self isolate when you get back.  Stay safe.  

[Cottagegirl]

Thank you so very much... I went thru all settings looking for how to find t mobile.. ahhh mobile networks... I couldn’t have done this on my own... you and other community members are so very helpful...

I did all the things you suggested and now my phone calls work!

and thanks to Public for this bonus during this crisis... it will make the long drive home a little less stressful 

[terrahughes]

So what about the customers in Canada that have to go buy their minutes at a store every month and are self isolating and they don't own a visa card to pay for their minutes online??? 

[Cottagegirl]

Thank you so very much... I went thru all settings looking for how to find t mobile.. ahhh mobile networks... I couldn’t have done this on my own... you and other community members are so very helpful...

I did all the things you suggested and now my phone calls work!

and thanks to Public for this bonus during this crisis... it will make the long drive home a little less stressful 

[gblackma]

@Cottagegirl  since you can get into your account try the lost/ stolen trick. From your self service account enable the lost/ stolen feature log out, wait 5  minutes, log in and take it off. Log out and restart your phone. 

[Dunkman]

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@Cottagegirl wrote:

I’m totally clueless! How do I select another carrier?

i powered off... on at the top by the time is says roaming 

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@Cottagegirl 

Depends on your phone.  Generally, go to your settings icon.  Then choose carrier option.  

Here is a help article of US roaming

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc/get-help/articles/us-roaming

[hairbag1]

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@Cottagegirl wrote:

I’m totally clueless! How do I select another carrier?

i powered off... on at the top by the time is says roaming 

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What make / model telephone are you using ?

[Cottagegirl]

I’m totally clueless! How do I select another carrier?

i powered off... on at the top by the time is says roaming 

[Dunkman]

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@Cottagegirl wrote:

My Plan

($25)

Current Add-Ons

• US Roaming - 250 MB Data (10-day)
• US Roaming - Unlimited Talk (10-day)
• US Roaming - Unlimited Text (10-day)

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@Cottagegirl 

You do have the right add ons then.  

Maybe try the following:

Enable roaming

Rebooting your phone

Manually selecting either AT&T or T Mobile US carriers.  IF not working, choose the other option.

Toggle airplane mode on, then off.

[Cottagegirl]

My Plan

($25)

Current Add-Ons

• US Roaming - 250 MB Data (10-day)
• US Roaming - Unlimited Talk (10-day)
• US Roaming - Unlimited Text (10-day)

[Cottagegirl]

I went to my a count and found this as my add ons

My Plan

($25)

Current Add-Ons

• US Roaming - 250 MB Data (10-day)
• US Roaming - Unlimited Talk (10-day)
• US Roaming - Unlimited Text (10-day)

[Anonymous]

 @Cottagegirl 

Right. But there's a stupid bug where if you buy multiple talk add-ons this problem happens. So we'd like to verify that that is the problem.

You'll likely end up having to contact the moderators but if we can direct you to the problem then their fix might be faster.

Edit: the talk or text add-ons don't show up on the overview page. We can verify it for you by you seeing the Plan Details or your payment history.

[Dunkman]

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@Cottagegirl wrote:

I just wanted to be able to make calls and text my family as to our location and progress getting back to Ontario with this virus all around.

and wanted to search for hotels rooms and restaurants along the route...

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@Cottagegirl 

Easiest thing is to buy another US roaming package:

U.S. Talk and Text Bundle
Unlimited Talk and International Text for just $15 for 10 days.

Then you will have all three functions: text, talk and data.

[Cottagegirl]

I just wanted to be able to make calls and text my family as to our location and progress getting back to Ontario with this virus all around.

and wanted to search for hotels rooms and restaurants along the route...

[Anonymous]

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@Cottagegirl wrote:

I reactivated my phone from suspension while in Florida... today I did the add on for US roaming calls, text and data for our return to Ontario this week.

but my calls aren’t going through to family and friends in Ontario... it days dialing but does not connect... it disconnects after 20 seconds... any ideas what I’m doing wrong? My first time with this.

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Go to your overview page and click on Plan Details. Under add-ons there, what all add-ons do you see? Maybe post a screen snip of that page. Blank out personal info of course.

[Cottagegirl]

Oh no! As a senior I made a mistake... I thought that’s what I needed

i get so confused with all this stuff!