Call forwarding set inside Canada but brought the phone to US

[Bingjian]

Hi Community,

Before traveling to US, I had my PM phone call forwarded to another number that has Canada-US roaming plan.

Unfortunately, I just found out that I accidentally brought my PM phone to the US too, without turning the phone to airplane mode. Although I had the cellular roaming turned off, I still received a text message from PM saying welcome to US and giving me suggestions to purchase roaming add-ons.

Does that mean even now I have my PM phone turned to airplane mode and turn off, PM will still consider all forwarded calls roaming calls and charge accordingly? If so, is there a way to cancel the call forwarding without encountering further charges?

Many thanks!

P.S. I tried to connect with PM support team but the website is showing “forbidden A1” error whenever I try to submit a ticket. Hence, any help from the community will be my life saver. Thank you so  much!

[JohnEleven]

Sorry didn't realize this post took effect, I seemed to be unable to post it so I created a new thread. Bottom line is it won't work anyway as I'm told you cannot forward your phone to A US number.   Pitty. 

Same issue, no 'POST' option so I guess So I guess hitting reply posts it.

[hTideGnow]

HI @Bingjian  yes, all eSIM compatible phones can take multiple eSIM profiles. 

What you can do is to disable the eSIM if you want.  But be careful, you want to disable it and not to delete it, if you deleted it, you will have to pay $5 for a new one

[dust2dust]

@Bingjian- It's a known experience that when the sim (or esim) sees and connects to a US tower that call forwarding reverts to the standard voicemail forwarding number. So you could turn off the sim (or esim) and leave it in the phone. But then that limits other options to use the slot and whatever esim can do. I think some phones can hold multiple esims but I'm not sure.

[DennyCrane]

Be careful, because forwarding isn't always the same as having long distance calling minutes. Just because you have long distance minutes doesn't necessarily mean you can forward to the US. I'd be surprised if you could, but be sure to test it ahead of time.

[Bingjian]

I have only forwarded my PM calls to a Canadian number and have never tried a US number. I will be able to do some testing this week when I am going to US.

Removing the sim from a phone should not interfere with the call forwarding. I have an e-sim in my phone and my calls were always forwarded no matter the phone is turned off, out of battery or in airplane mode.

[dust2dust]

@JohnEleven- No. You can't call forward to a US number even with the long distance add-on. Get a voip app and a Canadian number and forward to that number. Then those calls will come to the app when connected to the internet.

[JohnEleven]

Hope you haven't left town yet and you seem quite knowledgeable so perhaps you can answer this question:

I have an Android phone on the Public Mobile network (Canada) which allows me to forward the phone calls to another phone. If I select this option and I remove the sim card will calls still be forwarded?
What I would like to do:
Buy U.S. calling Add On from Public mobile.
Forward phone to my U.S. number (currently inactive)
Remove SIM card from phone
While in US put US Sim card in same phone.

So when someone calls my Canadian pm number will it go through?

[Bingjian]

Oh I see. So as long as it is working, all of the working functions should be included in the price I prepaid. That’s great to know. Thank you so much! @DennyCrane 

[DennyCrane]

@Bingjian Overage charges are not possible on PM as it's prepaid. You either have service or you don't. Further to that, any roaming add-on's or plans all have unlimited calling.

[Bingjian]

@dust2dust  Yeah! That is why I was so worried about any roaming charges as I won’t be able to tell if the call is for my usable phone or the PM phone. My pleasure to provide some updates! Thank you!

[Bingjian]

@DennyCrane My great pleasure to help out community!

[dust2dust]

@Bingjian- That's a great update. Thanks for reporting back with your findings. That didn't used to work once the phone hit a US tower.

[DennyCrane]

@Bingjian That's a great sign. Thanks for sharing that. 

[Bingjian]

Hi @DennyCrane ,

Thank you very much for your help.

PM might have changed that now. I did try the call forwarding by asking my friend to call the PM number. It was actually still working as the call was directed to my other phone with Canada-US plan.

Thanks again for your help!

[dust2dust]

Yes, as soon as the phone with a PM sim in connects to a US tower call forwarding breaks and goes back to the default voicemail number.

[DennyCrane]

I don't have any personal experience with this, but I've heard from others on here that call forwarding will cancel as soon as you connect your phone to a US network. There's no chance of roaming charges for forwarded calls, but it's possible forwarding won't work now that you've connected your phone in the US. 

[Bingjian]

Oh my! @Chalupa_Batman You are the real hero! Hats off to your heart of gold! 🙏🙏🙏

[Chalupa_Batman · Accepted solution]

Nope. You're good. You have already call forwarded your Canadian Public Mobile number to another Canadian phone number while you were in Canada. You can leave your phone on if you wanted, it wouldn't matter as the call forward has already been done. But ya, just keep the phone off for now. No biggie. There will not be any charges. No roaming charges as it's been forwarded to a Canadian number that has US roaming. Your safe. Enjoy the trip to the US.

[Bingjian]

Hi @Chalupa_Batman ,

Thank you so much for your help. 

I have already turned my PM phone off. However, my concern is that as PM already know and pinpointed my phone in the US. Will all future incoming calls forwarded be considered as being picked up in US and encounter roaming charges? 

Thank you so much again for your input.

[Chalupa_Batman]

Hey @Bingjian 

The website is currently down right now.

With your PM phone you can still receive text messages, however if you did not purchase a US package you can not use your phone there. You can however open the app and purchase a $15 add on that gives you 15 days of Talk and Text only. No data is included. That is $30 for 3GB plus unlimited talk/text. However with the website and app being down, you can't really do anything right now.

If you have forwarded your number to the other phone, I'd just turn off your PM phone and stick it in your suitcase for the rest of the trip and use that other phone.