Activate an Inactive number that has not been given to anyone else

[kdsharma1]

Hi,

My friend had a number with Public Mobile. He had to go to India and got stuck there because of Covid. He is back in Canada but his number is inactive. Turns out no-one has gotten his new number. Public Mobile used to have this feature that let you search for a custom number to see if its available. I don't see that option anymore. How can he get his old number back?

Thanks everyone.

[darlicious]

@Yummy 

With a little luck and some patience you can come across your old number. If it means that much to you or you have access to accounts tied to it then sure it's worthwhile. I came across that website after seeing an ad on Craigslist offering $1000 to anyone who could get one of 2 sets of phone numbers that happen to spell out his business name. 

[Yummy]

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@darlicious wrote:

https://www.npanxxsource.com/area-code-lookup.html

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Very interesting site. Thank you.

As you mentioned, the only way to stumble across number not in use belonging to PM is to play number refresh game every day.

But is it worth it...?

[darlicious · Accepted solution]

@kdsharma1 

Make sure your friend has a sim card and is ready to activate. Then by using the resource below identify the area the phone number belongs to after ensuring that the number has not been reassigned (call it) and that it is originally a pm/koodo/telus issued number ( you can double check on that website as well).

Once you have confirmed everything above start searching for it in your change number feature of your account by going back and forth between your specific search area and another that will refresh the 5 options displayed. This can be time consuming but give it a try to see if you luck out initially and happen upon the phone number before activation.

Otherwise your friend should activate, choose a number and then every morning spend 15 minutes searching for his old number. ( New numbers are released every morning from the hold number pool.) If he finds it he can choose it and change numbers on the spot. You have the ability to change numbers up to 4 times per 30 days.

https://www.npanxxsource.com/area-code-lookup.html

[HALIMACS]

@kdsharma1 

If it has been greater than 90 days since the service was active, the chances are slim to none the number can be reassigned.

If it has been less than 90 days, the plan & number can be retrieved by accessing self-serve (or using *611) and making a payment to reactivate the service.

Time is of the essence here.

[Anonymous]

@kdsharma1 

Reactivate A Suspended Plan

Missed a payment? After your plan expires, all you need to do is top-up your balance to keep the current plan going. You have up to 90 days to make a payment and, after doing so, your payment cycle will restart and your service will resume.After 90 days of non-payment, your account will be permanently deactivated, which means you will:

• Lose access to your phone number, and won’t be able to transfer it to a new provider in the future.
• Need a new Public Mobile SIM card if you decide to activate a new Public Mobile account.

Reactivate a suspended plan (publicmobile.ca)

[mimmo]

@kdsharma1  agents have been told by management not to give specific numbers. So yes chances are slim to none.

[kdsharma1]

So the number was originally with Public Mobile. Are chances still slim you think?

[esjliv]

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@kdsharma1 wrote:

Hi,

My friend had a number with Public Mobile. He had to go to India and got stuck there because of Covid. He is back in Canada but his number is inactive. Turns out no-one has gotten his new number. Public Mobile used to have this feature that let you search for a custom number to see if its available. I don't see that option anymore. How can he get his old number back?

Thanks everyone.

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@kdsharma1  chances are very slim to get this number back. Especially, if it originally belonged to a different provider (Bell, Rogers, etc.)

If you are really needing to know this, you can ask CSA if there is any possibility, but Don't get your hopes up here.

To contact the Public Mobile Customer Support Agent (CSA)_Team, there are two methods to reach them:

1 -  Faster - Click the bubble comment circle on the bottom right-hand side of your screen,

or use this link to: Get Help With SIMon the Public Mobile chatbot

OR

2 – Slower - Use this link to:

Private Message to Public Mobile Customer Support Agents (CSA)