Activating Ontario number in Manitoba

[Pallav13]

I have moved to Winnipeg from Toronto and would like to switch to Public Mobile keeping the same Ontario number. Can I go to any Walmart or London Drugs location and transfer and activate Ontario plan? Also, will I be able to take advantage of activating a plan in store?

Please advise because I am not getting any answers from an internet search and unfortunately PM doesn't have any call centre..!!

[computergeek541]

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@slash407 wrote:

u can keep the number but understand that whoeever calls u will be charged long distance if they have a local plan and dont have a toronto number.

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 The other person doing the calling could be in Winnipeg and have a Toronto phone number and it would still be long distance to call another Toronto phone number.

[stonechucker]

I find it difficult to live in a different province, or even a different city, without a local telephone number to be contacted day to day.  As mentioned above, forcing others who are local to you to call long distance costs you nothing, but they will be paying more.

If you want to keep your Ontario phone number for the convenience of friends and family in Ontario to reach you, look at porting it to a VoIP service that will forward directly to your local phone number.  It’s costs pennies to do this, and makes things a lot easier for everyone else.

[computergeek541]

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@mimmo wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@mimmo wrote:

actually you might want to actiavte with an alberta number, and save yourself the PST.

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Wouldn't you need an address in AB to do that?

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@Anonymous I coulde be wrong but from what i recall the taxes are based on the number not the address else everyone could have a local number and an alberta address and not pay taxes.

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You're not wrong. Sale tax rate is based on the province of the phone number.  Your billing address is irrelevant.  It's set up like this at all carriers.

[computergeek541]

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@Pallav13 wrote:

Thank you everyone for the help and advise. Appreciate it.

I will visit Walmart here in Winnipeg tomorrow to get the promotion and ask them to port my Ontario number.

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There's actually no such thing as an "Ontario plan".  Public Mobile offers the same plans nation-wide.  You can definitely keep your Toronto phone number if you wish, or you could even get a new phone number based out of any city that Public Mobile has access to. 

Keep in mind that after you transfer your Toronto-based phone number to Public Mobile, the sales tax percentage will be based on Ontario's rates (13% HST). 

In addition, people calling you will be calling a Toronto phone number.  This means that you may be forcing people to pay for long distance to contact you even if they are in the same city.  This may not be a good idea as it means that some people will refuse to call you, whether it's friends, family members, or potential employers. 

[Anonymous]

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@mimmo wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@mimmo wrote:

actually you might want to actiavte with an alberta number, and save yourself the PST.

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Wouldn't you need an address in AB to do that?

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@Anonymous I coulde be wrong but from what i recall the taxes are based on the number not the address else everyone could have a local number and an alberta address and not pay taxes.

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I guess I don't mind paying some taxes to help pay for the public good. Otherwise, how would stuff get paid for?

[will13am]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@mimmo wrote:

actually you might want to actiavte with an alberta number, and save yourself the PST.

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Wouldn't you need an address in AB to do that?

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NO.  Generally only brands that have regional pricing will forbid customers to sign up with out of province numbers/plans.  For my data only plans, I use AB numbers to save the tax.  Frankly I would like to use AB numbers for everything.  Too many of my contacts are still paying long distance to call across the street and it these people who I need to accommdate. 

[mimmo]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@mimmo wrote:

actually you might want to actiavte with an alberta number, and save yourself the PST.

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Wouldn't you need an address in AB to do that?

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@Anonymous I coulde be wrong but from what i recall the taxes are based on the number not the address else everyone could have a local number and an alberta address and not pay taxes.

[Anonymous]

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@Pallav13 wrote:

Thank you everyone for the help and advise. Appreciate it.

I will visit Walmart here in Winnipeg tomorrow to get the promotion and ask them to port my Ontario number.

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Tomorrow?! Oh wait...it's Saturday.

Just be aware that it *could* get messy. So if it does don't come here setting your hair on fire. Just regular complaining 🙂 It'll most likely be perfectly smooth of course. We only see those complaining. Good on you for doing some investigating beforehand.

[Pallav13]

Thank you everyone for the help and advise. Appreciate it.

I will visit Walmart here in Winnipeg tomorrow to get the promotion and ask them to port my Ontario number.

[Pallav13]

Yes, I am aware and that is the reason want to migrate to PM..

[Anonymous]

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@mimmo wrote:

actually you might want to actiavte with an alberta number, and save yourself the PST.

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Wouldn't you need an address in AB to do that?

[mimmo]

actually you might want to actiavte with an alberta number, and save yourself the PST.

[will13am]

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@Pallav13 wrote:

But if I go to the store and get a new SIM and activate it, then it will be Manitoba number.

After getting this, will I be able to change that Manitoba number to Ontario? Can I not ask the person in the store to port my current Ontario number at the time of activation?

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@Pallav13, there are no regional differences in pricing with Public Mobile and there are also no restrictions on what number you decide to use.  So, you should be able to have the store port your Ontario number to the service during initial activation.  As the activation process can be buggy, it is advisable to activate with a temporary number and then port the permanent number afterwards.  Porting can be done easily in the online portal.  I assume you are aware of this weekend promo. 

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/FLASH-SALE-From-October-20-to-21-Get-a-...

[KMG]

You can ask them to port your Ontario number over at the time of activation if you want.  The community recommends that you don't do that in case of a problem during your port, which could result in no service for a couple days.

[Anonymous]

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@Pallav13 wrote:

But if I go to the store and get a new SIM and activate it, then it will be Manitoba number.

After getting this, will I be able to change that Manitoba number to Ontario? Can I not ask the person in the store to port my current Ontario number at the time of activation?

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Yes. It's called number porting.

You could but it seems to be a preferred strategy to get settled in with and THEN port the old number.

[Pallav13]

But if I go to the store and get a new SIM and activate it, then it will be Manitoba number.

After getting this, will I be able to change that Manitoba number to Ontario? Can I not ask the person in the store to port my current Ontario number at the time of activation?

[KMG]

Yes you can keep your same number.

I would recommend that you sign up with Public Mobile with a new number.  Once everything is working, then use the "change your number" function to port your old number over.

[mimmo]

Easiest thing to do is activate with a temporary number  and then once you are setup then port your number.   

[Anonymous]

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@Pallav13 wrote:

I have moved to Winnipeg from Toronto and would like to switch to Public Mobile keeping the same Ontario number. Can I go to any Walmart or London Drugs location and transfer and activate Ontario plan? Also, will I be able to take advantage of activating a plan in store?

Please advise because I am not getting any answers from an internet search and unfortunately PM doesn't have any call centre..!!

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Keep your existing service. Sign up with Public Mobile (get SIM/activate) before midnight tonight ET to get the promo. When all is settled and working then go into the change your number feature and put in your old number. Bam. Public Mobile on old Ontario phone number.

Keep in mind that this will close and cancel your previous service with probably no refunds or credits.