40GB Canada-US

[FDizzle]

I just signed up to Public Mobile's 40 GB Canada US plan. This seems pretty obvious but I'm looking to confirm to ensure 100% accuracy

This allows us to use all 40 gigabytes, including unlimited talk and text anywhere in Canada and IN THE UNITED STATES, correct? 

Meaning you can roam all over the US and use your plan with no additional charges as it's included with your plan. 

Right? 

[DennyCrane]

@BHarg It's under the main settings on your phone, usually under network settings, possibly within the sim card settings. Depends on the phone you have.

[BHarg]

@softech how do I connect to TMobile and enable Mobile roaming data on my phone to access the data in US?

[KyleT]

Hi, yes. Sorry, I got sick near the end of our trip. Anyhow, I will say that T-Mobile (where you can receive cell signal) will give you cell data for the internet, google maps, etc. And AT&T will give better coverage but zero cell data - text and call only. You can find these providers manually or automatically (depending on your phone) and make sure you have roaming on! - even if you are only texting or calling. I had to restart my phone after crossing the border back into Canada, but maybe that's just my phone. So, yes it works, just be prepared for a lack of T-Mobile coverage (outside of major cities) and the speed wasn't the greatest, so you're often hunting down WiFi hotspots. 

[kittyroara]

You will have to turn on roaming (data and calls) and select T-Mobile/AT&T as your cell network to connect properly, and you may need to choose 3G/WCDMA or GSM/2G as your network mode to make calls.

It isn't supposed to happen to those that signed up after Feb. 2023 but it still does for some.

[LSBartlett]

Did you ever get a resolution to this

[hTideGnow]

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@Pstone1 wrote:

Hi, I'm traveling to the US for 2 weeks and thinking to subscribe to this Canada-US plan.  Did it work well for you while traveling.

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HI @kittyroara  Yes it is .  You will need to make sure the phone connects to T-Mobile or AT&T and turn on Roaming Mobile Data

and it is a good choice to change to Canada-US plan for a month and then change back to a regular plan if you no longer need the US roaming. 

[kittyroara]

Hi Pstone1 - read through the forum thread for more details. The gist is that you will need to turn on call and data roaming when you go to the US, you may need to manually select T-Mobile/AT&T as your cell network to connect properly, and you may need to choose 3G/WCDMA or GSM/2G as your network mode to make calls.

[Pstone1]

Hi, I'm traveling to the US for 2 weeks and thinking to subscribe to this Canada-US plan.  Did it work well for you while traveling.

[DennyCrane]

@KyleT Even though you have a US plan, you still need to enable data roaming on your phone because you are in fact roaming. Yes it's included in your plan, but it's still roaming. And as @softech mentioned, this service is prepaid and as such there can be no surprise bills. Either the service works or it doesn't. 

[softech]

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@KyleT wrote:

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll try and follow all them and report back when I can.  I was very leery of putting Roaming on as I have heard many horror stories of atrocious billing over the years, s

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@KyleT 

no worry about surprise billing, PM is prepaid provider and you need to buy before using anything, so there won't be huge bill that surprises you .   And yes, since you are using AT&T or T-Mobile in US, which is not PM network, Roaming Mobile Data has to be turned on to access the US network. 

Enjoy your trip

[KyleT]

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll try and follow all them and report back when I can.  I was very leery of putting Roaming on as I have heard many horror stories of atrocious billing over the years, so I will make sure it's on. My main problem was with data (Google maps directions! ). I t would he nice if Public Mobile would send an email explaining how to make this plan work correctly in the USA, after you sign up for such a plan.  BTW, I have a Samsung A32 5G phone. And I have noticed that it switches in the States between T-mobile and AT&T, so I have manually set it to T-Mobile. 

[kittyroara]

As mentioned earlier in this forum thread, you may have to switch down to 2G/GSM for making calls in the US, and you'll need to turn roaming and roaming data on. Try that and let us know if it works (or doesn't)!

[DennyCrane]

@KyleT I've personally used it in Washington state many times. Where were you in WA? What wasn't working? Were you connected to T-Mobile or AT&T? Were some services working, or none? Phone? Text? Data?

Make you you have Data Roaming on in the network settings on your phone.

What phone do you have? And are you aware if it's VoLTE on Public Mobile?

[softech]

@KyleT 

many tried and able to use the service (voice and data) in US.  @DennyCrane  was one of them and reported his experience in US:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/US-Roaming-w-5G-plan-AT-amp-T/td-p/103362...

So, don't be upset and let us try to help.

Critical part to US roaming depends on T-Mobile/AT&T coverage and whether you can connect to T-Mobile/AT&T network or not 

If the phone is not connecting to T-Mobile/AT&T, change the Network Connection from Automatic to Manual and select and test both  T-Mobile  and AT&T and see which network you can connect.

If your issue is with data, make sure your Roaming Mobile data is enabled and you have disabled your mobile data limiter.  Also change your network mode to 4G (and don't try 5G until you can connect and it works on 4G)

If your issue is with voice, make sure VoLTE is enabled on the device setting.  And if it does not work, try to change the Network to T-Mobile ONLY  Preferred Network Type or Network Mode to 2G and see if the calls goes through
Also, you can download VoIP app TextNow as a workaround to make calls and text if you have Wifi or if your roaming has data component and data  is working

[KyleT]

PS - I am in Washington state

[KyleT]

I subscribed to this plan ($50 for 40Gb) in August, and entered the US today (September 9,2023). I soon found out that Public Mobile's description of this plan is misleading and incorrect. I have no coverage now. I had to find a wi-fi spot to log into my account and purchase an add-on for roaming. And now I am unable to resubscribe to my old plan of $30 for 40Gb! Ask me how happy a customer I am.

[DennyCrane]

@mixxim10 I would consider this plan a promo in itself. Like others have said, plans have been changing rapidly around here, so you never know. I personally wouldn't expect much lower for this though. My hope would be for a smaller data bucket that includes US data.

[mixxim10]

Thank you!  I will definitely keep watch and will change if the plan is offered.

[Handy1]

@mixxim10  It’s tuff to say no one knows . When or if it will be gone or promos code added for it . But PM has been changing the plan offerings a lot this summer . So if you see a plan you like I’d just make plan change for next renewal and go for it .

[mixxim10]

Hello,

I am interested in this plan. In the past Public Mobile has offered promos to certain plans.  Can We expect a promo soon where the plan will be discounted if you autopay every 3 months or something close to that nature?

[mixxim10]

Do you know if there will be any promos for this plan anytime soon?

[kittyroara]

Possibly. It's not supposed to be an issue for people who sign up after Feb. 2023 but it was with me (Huawei P20 (2018)). You may have to select GSM/2G from your network settings to make calls from the US. But maybe not!

[Hmajd]

Wait, what?? I am on virgin right now, I have a note 10 and volte works fine over here. I'm just waiting for the sim card to be delivered right now to switch on this can-us plan. My note 10 is not on the list. Are you telling me I'll lose volte calling on pm???

[Yzeguy]

I would recommend logging into your account and swapping for the new 5G option (same price) at renewal. Just my two cents but speed is 250MB vs 100MB and costs the same. 

[dust2dust]

@kittyroara- So for the most while at home leave it on the first option. For testing purposes if there might be a problem with LTE in your area then you could use WCDMA only. Then if calling doesn't work in the states try to use the GSM only as you said. But in some areas of the states, the phone will automatically drop down to GSM. I was on Oahu last winter and in one area it dropped automatically but not in another area. I switched manually and it worked fine. Then I returned to the first area and it worked automatically again.

Of course all of this would be solved if volte-capable phones were properly, industry-standard, enabled. I think Telus is doing something proprietary, non-standard with their volte implementation. It sucks for those with phones that can use volte on other providers but not here.

[kittyroara]

Thank you for listing it as GSM! My phone doesn't say 5G/4G/3G/2G anywhere in the network/data settings, but it does list:
LTE/WCDMA/GSM auto
WCDMA/GSM auto
WCDMA only
GSM only

So now I know to select GSM only and try calling again when I next go across. Thanks so much!!!

[dust2dust]

The phone ought to have dropped to 2G GSM. But I had also experienced needing to change it manually in another area. Can you see if you have a 2G GSM option to select? Then next time you can change to it for talk and text. Text will also work on LTE along with data.

[DennyCrane]

There's your problem. Text and data should work fine, but voice calls won't work because there's no 3G network in the US. While your phone may be VoLTE compatible, unfortunately I don't believe Public Mobile has made your device compatible on their network.

So your options for voice calls are to hope PM eventually adds your phone to the comparable list, get a new phone that is on the list, or see if you can force your phone into 2G service when you need to make calls (YMMV).

[kittyroara]

Here's the really weird part: I activated with PM in April 2023, so this shouldn't even be an issue...

[kittyroara]

Oh I thought it was just because I was in the US that it would do that! I called my voicemail with wifi off, from Canada to Canada, and sure enough, it dropped to 3G.

Now to figure out if that's because of my phone or because of PM (probably the latter)...