Beginner’s Guide to the Community

[Catherine_T]

Hey Community Member!

Welcome to the Public Mobile Community. Our Community is a place where you can search for answers to your burning questions, help other Community members, earn rewards, and so much more!

Navigating the Community might seem a bit daunting at first, but we’re here to help you. Let’s start with the basics:

What is the Public Mobile Community and why does it exist?

 The Community is an online platform for Public Mobile customers to search, ask, and answer questions related to your service. In addition to providing help and support, the Community also serves as a way for us to better connect with you.

Public Mobile is constantly evolving, and we wouldn’t be able to do so without your feedback and suggestions. You are an essential part of the Public Mobile family, and we are growing together. In addition to that, using online platforms like the Community helps us keep costs low, which means more affordable prices for you.

What can I do in the Community?

Mostly commonly, Community members search, ask, and answer questions. Here are some helpful tips and tricks to help you settle into the Community:

Try searching your question first: you may find that someone has already encountered a similar situation and that an answer has already been provided. If your question hasn’t been asked before, start a topic. You only need to post once—someone will answer your question.

Asking and answering questions: the more specific you are, the more helpful it is for everyone. That said, helpful partial answers are better than nothing. Just make sure you don’t post any personal account information (e.g. credit card numbers, phone numbers, etc.).

Post in our “Get Support” board: If you have any question Public Mobile related, our Get Support board is the place to find answers. No support question is off limits, here you will find topics for: Rewards, Certified Pre-owned Phones, Service, Payment, My Account and more! 

Stay on topic: when it comes to support questions, it’s best to stay focused so that problems can get solved quickly. If you do want to discuss the news, or nearly anything else, there’s the Discussion board for that!

Recognize when your question has been answered: when the Community has served up a solution, click ‘Accept as Solution’ on the response. It helps people find answers more quickly and communicates your appreciation to the people who helped you.

Participate and get Rewards: it’s your Community, too, and that’s why we encourage everyone to get involved. In addition to Rewards for eligible customers, we have added a ranking system and badges to your profile. It’s our way to thank you and let others know that you’re a stand-up member of the Community.

Point out offensive content: we want our Community to be welcoming, respectful, and friendly. Offensive and rude comments are not welcome, and if you see anything that does not meet our Community Terms of Service, let us know by clicking the ‘Report Inappropriate Content’ button.

Check out this post on How to Navigate the Community.

 How do I benefit from the Community?

You can earn rewards as a Public Mobile Community member. Based on your level of involvement with our Community, you can earn up to $20 every 30 days. The amount you are rewarded depends on your contribution level relative to overall contribution, which can change month to month even if you contribute very consistently. For more information on Community rewards, check out this Help Article.

Rewards don’t stop at the Community - check out this Help Article on how you can earn even more rewards.

 What are the different roles in the Community?

Public Mobile Employees:

Members with a “PM” badge are Public Mobile product managers. Our goal is to enhance your Public Mobile experience by listening to your feedback and making improvements to our services. We are inspired by YOU - the Public Mobile Community.

Members with a “CS_Agent” badge are Community Customer Support Agents. These members are here to help you troubleshoot any tech-related or service-related issues.

Oracles:

Members with a star badge are Oracles.

The Oracles are a small group of Community members who have extensive knowledge about all things Public Mobile, and are passionate about making the Community a better place by helping our members. Oracles have used their knowledge to make a positive impact in the Community, by being helpful and providing constructive solutions and ideals, and their reward is legendary status—we view them as part tech wizard, part boy/girl scout, and part Jedi master.

While the Oracles do actively help the Community, please remember that they’re customers like you, and not Public Mobile employees. Please reach out to the Customer Support Agent Team for tech- or service-related issues.

Meet our Oracles here.

Community Citizens:

The Community wouldn’t be here without our amazing Community “citizens” (i.e. members). Depending on length of membership and level of activity, Community members can unlock different titles - the newest being “New in Town”, and most tenured being “Mayor”.

• Mayor
• Deputy Mayor
• Town Hero
• Model Citizen
• Great Citizen
• Good Citizen
• Great Neighbour
• Good Neighbour
• New Neighbour
• New in Town

Regardless of title, everyone plays an important part in making the Community a welcoming place for everyone, and every member’s contribution to the Community is appreciated.

Terms of Services

To ensure the Community is a safe and enjoyable place for everyone, all members must follow the Community Terms of Services.

We hope this post was helpful in introducing you to the Public Mobile Community. Thank you again for choosing Public Mobile.

- The Public Mobile Team

[computergeek541]

@Anonymous 

When signing up for a new Community account, this site also asks for your name. During the process, it doesn't say that you can leave it blank. If you do fill i  a name, if gets placed in your public profile.

[Anonymous]

 @Catherine_T 

So after seeing yet another username looking a lot like a real name, I went looking.
1. First of all, nowhere on the community landing page does it say where to register or sign up. Nor does it say to in your Beginners Guide. Only after wonderingly clicking Sign in does one see mention of registering. Perhaps it could say "Sign in/Register" on the Community landing page instead of just Sign in. And in the guide, perhaps a line just before let's start with the basics... "If you wish to participate or have questions then click on Sign in/Register then New User? Register here."
2. Perhaps an idea would be to delete the a and insert the words "an anonymous" before user name. And bold IT instead of the link to the account. Perhaps add "for Rewards" at the end of that sentence.
3. Perhaps an idea would be to add "Preferably anonymous" here too.

Of course all this requires people to actually read stuff but it sure could help new arrivals to guide them in protecting their identities.

[Janey2]

an Excellent post for those new to the community.  I had not seen the link to the “let’s get started” before it was pointed out here!  Thank you

[ZacharyC]

thanks

[gpixel]

@Xcapri598 sorry, but auto-pay fails. I suggest manually topping up your account 2-3 months ahead or a week before your renewal date to avoid this issue. this is the way I've managed my account and I haven't had any service issues. treat the payment system like a prepaid credit card and always keep the funds loaded

[Xcapri598]

i need help this same crap happened last month, why in the hell is my phone not working. I pay the same plan every month and i am so sick of this inconvience to have to go into my account go to simon send a ticket...i need my phone running for job call backs! 

why is this happening this is now 3 x ! 

i dont want this to happen again or i am goin to go with another provider 

[darlicious]

@Djenkins 

If the lost phone has been set up with a google account and "find my phone"you have options to secure the phone. Once you contact the moderators if you intend to continue the service with pm once acquiring a new phone and new sim card then suspending the service via the lost/stolen feature in the account will prevent autopay from charging for the next renewal. When you unsuspend you will still have a card registered to make a payment. You will also still be able to retrieve voicemail on the account with this method. If you dont have a back up phone to use heres a cheap interim phone for basic texting, calling and limited internet access til a better option can be purchased.

Spoiler

[Anonymous]

---

@Djenkins wrote:

I don't know the pin. We've never been able to get past user name

---

If you're like me and you barely delete anything, you might find the PIN in your text messages from 611. If it's an Android phone and you have used it since activation then you might find it on the SIM itself.

The username is the email address used at activation. If you still have the welcome email from then then that's the username.

So then you can use the Forgot your password? link to reset it. At that point you'll need to know the answer to the question you set up at activation or afterwards. The same with the PIN...you set it up.

[JoyLuck]

@Djenkins 

Put your phone in lost/stolen mode too.

[JoyLuck]

---

@Djenkins wrote:

I don't know the pin. We've never been able to get past user name

---

Contact a moderator.

Here’s how to contact the Moderator Team (Public Mobile representative) for assistance:

• Get help with your account the easy way by starting a conversation with our virtual assistant, SIMon. It’ll take you to relevant help articles, or if it’s something more urgent, it can help you submit a ticket to the Moderator Team. Click here to get started.
• Alternatively, you can send a private message to the Moderators by clicking here. You’ll need to be logged in to your Community account for the link to work.

[Djenkins]

I don't know the pin. We've never been able to get past user name

[JoyLuck]

---

@Djenkins wrote:

I have tried to log into my account for years. Now my daughter has lost her phone. So iwant to stop auto pay

---

You can try calling 1-855-4PUBLIC to remove autopay if you know her pin. If not contact a moderator.

Here’s how to contact the Moderator Team (Public Mobile representative) for assistance:

• Get help with your account the easy way by starting a conversation with our virtual assistant, SIMon. It’ll take you to relevant help articles, or if it’s something more urgent, it can help you submit a ticket to the Moderator Team. Click here to get started.
• Alternatively, you can send a private message to the Moderators by clicking here. You’ll need to be logged in to your Community account for the link to work.

[Djenkins]

I have tried to log into my account for years. Now my daughter has lost her phone. So iwant to stop auto pay

[Frog12]

Search public mobile online

[darlicious]

@tjchili 

First bit if advice.....tag the member your replying to so they and others know who you are referencing. Tap the "@" key and a box will pop up with members names from the thread in it or start typing the name and it will give you options to choose. Thus makes things easier to read.......

 Type in the search bar "community reward" and tap go and a ton of related threads will appear......just read, learn, bravo, post when you can and eventually youll be able to help others. The search bar is your friend it can find most of the answers for you. Look for green checkmarks indicating a solution. Welcome to the community!

[tjchili]

What does one have to do?  Or, go read the Community Guide?

[tjchili]

Are the Bravo stats cleared on a Calendar year basis?

[tjchili]

Wow...really!  2 years?  Good gig for those who have it...

[darlicious]

@Simonewmetz 

Come hang out, read, search, post, bravo, question and most important.....learn because that will lead to helping but feel free to share because everyones contribution enriches the community.

@JBBounzer 

Tell me after a year if you still believe your statement....I'm here for just over a year with two accounts. Combined my bills are $0. Public mobiles marketing is spot on!

[Anonymous]

---

@Simonewmetz wrote:

1. True im trying my hardest to earn some extra bucks off n seems it is definitely harder then they let on lol but i will continue to try

---

 @Simonewmetz 

Well...you'll need to try a little harder than this one post starting from today. 🙂

Welcome to Public Mobile though. Just put in time posting when you feel like it. If you put in sufficient time doing that then you could see a little surprise early each month.

[Simonewmetz]

1. True im trying my hardest to earn some extra bucks off n seems it is definitely harder then they let on lol but i will continue to try

[JBBounzer]

I appreciate this comment as you are completely correct. The promise of being able to help and earn credit on my PM account certainly was draw, though not my main one, to signing up with PM. This ought to be taken out of the marketing materials. The plans are cheap enough that this aspect of things wouldn't make a difference. 

Also, there is a typo in the post. 

"Mostly commonly" is not correct. 

[devraj5698]

@Catherine_T

Thank you, this was very helpful!