Can I transfer my public mobile phone number to a different provider?

[Anja33]

I know this is possible the other way around but I couldn't find any answer if it works from public mobile to Telus for example. Thank you so much.

[thunderseed]

Oh sry I also forgot to add I can’t find VOLTE but I changed it to LTE (if that’s the same?) and 4G with no difference plus did lots of other things they told me to do 

[thunderseed]

I just created a new topic about it, but my issues are constant dropped calls, or not hearing people or they can’t hear me. And also if they do hear me they say I sound like I’m under water . Or it keeps cutting out. And also sometimes very weird sounding interference noises! 

[softech]

@thunderseed should have nothing to do with 3g data plan.  your plan is in fact 3g speed plan and you can,  likely already, use the 4g network, but just a capped speed.

What exact problem you are facing? voice? or data slowness?

since you have an iPhone 14, turn on VoLTE on the phone and make sure you change your preferred network type or network mode to 4G and see if it helps

[thunderseed]

My new SIM card actually didn’t help my reception issues 😔

Im not very techy and having a hard time figuring out that map thing . Well my area is courtenay bc Canada, and I’m not sure where the towers are 

So they had me run all these tests on my phone and nothing worked so we thought it was the SIM card but I guess not. 

It’s a brand new iPhone 14. The girl at best buy told me, maybe it’s just not compatible with my 3G data plan and I should try the 4g instead . Could that be true? 

[maximum_gato]

@thunderseed 

Your signal strength will be dependent on your location compared to the cell tower service areas in and around the Gulf Islands. I suspect you have a mountain between you and your closest tower. However if it's just a matter a few hundred feet that impedes your signal then a signal booster (around $100 from amazon) and a little troubleshooting from tbe community with where to locate it and set it up could resolve your issue. ( If it doesn't just make sureī you return it within Amazon's 30 day return policy window.)

Here's your interactive network coverage map by cell tower/coverage zones....

https://www.cellmapper.net/map?MCC=302&MNC=720

If and when you consider replacing your cell phone if you are purchasing from the second hand market ask sellers if the device was originally from Telus. If so it may be already be provisioned for wifi calling and unofficially work with pm. If you have a friend with a  telus phone you could put your Sim card in their phone and test this possibility. It's YMMV....

[thunderseed]

Oh I see! Thank you 🙏 ☺️. I guess public mobile has cheaper plans than Telus or koodo. I love my number too much to let it go lol 

[softech]

@thunderseed   while most numbers can be ported around , but some numbers can be only ported within some providers.

Every number belongs to a rate centre (pretty much City).  To port the number to another provider, that new provider, must have "operation" in that rate centre

Your number belongs to Gulf Islands, BC.  There ONLY Telus has a rate centre and no one else.  Sorry.  So, you can only port your number within Telus family: PM, Koodo , Telus

[softech]

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@thunderseed wrote:

I was thinking about it just because I was having terrible service issues here, but i just changed my SIM card today hoping that might work, it just hasn’t been long enough to test it out.

The area code is 1 250. Which I thought was a common number for around my area on Vancouver Island BC Canada. Well actually 250 is local. But it’s an unusually unique number and if I remember right I thought it said it was a gulf island number. 

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@thunderseed   give me the next 3 digits after area code 250 for me to lookup for you

[thunderseed]

Oh sry I forgot the next 3 digits , so it’s 1 250 222

[thunderseed]

I was thinking about it just because I was having terrible service issues here, but i just changed my SIM card today hoping that might work, it just hasn’t been long enough to test it out.

The area code is 1 250. Which I thought was a common number for around my area on Vancouver Island BC Canada. Well actually 250 is local. But it’s an unusually unique number and if I remember right I thought it said it was a gulf island number. 

[softech]

@thunderseed   first , you want to transfer your PM number out to another provider?

do you mind to give me your area code and the next 3 digits?   Can try to find out where your number can port into

[computergeek541]

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@thunderseed wrote:

I checked with a few companies and they said my number couldn’t be transferred over to their database. Is there any way to get around that? 

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For a number to be portable to another provider, both involved carriers need to offer phone numbers for that same city. 

[thunderseed]

I checked with a few companies and they said my number couldn’t be transferred over to their database. Is there any way to get around that? 

[softech]

@Anja33   I don't think iPhone 6s will work be compatible on PM's VoLTE.  At the moment, only iPhone 8 and above are compatible with VoLTE on PM

As to when you will have it, you might receive a text from PM telling you that your profile is VoLTE enabled.  If you didn't receive the sms yet, it could mean your profile is not enabled yet.  But to be sure, I suggest you to open ticket with support to confirm

[Anja33]

Hi there thank you for your reply. Could you please let me know when this roll out will be and inform customer service that I consider to leave because of my reception issue? I have an Iphone 6s which worked with Wifi calling with my previous provider, it is not working anymore since I have pm which is unfortunate as the receiption is very poor. Sometimes it shows LTE even, I don't know. Thank you for your help.

[maximum_gato]

@Anja33 

Public Mobile is implementing VoLTE calling for its customers. That means your voice calls will not be restricted to the 3G network but will use the 4G LTE network. They are rolling out the provisioning of VoLTE in customers accounts in batches so you may not have it yet but will in the next couple of months. Do you have poor reception with both the 3G and 4G network? Did you have wifi calling with your previous provider?

I can tell you this.....while pm does not offer wifi calling there is a glitch whereas if you have a former telus phone that had been provisioned for wifi calling it may still work with pm. I have recently discovered for the second time after purchasing a used device (Sonim XP-8 and a Google Pixel 4) that wifi calling works when suspended. I have to further test with an active account without outgoing plan minutes to see if it also works.

If you want to wait out VoLTE you can use a voip provider like textnow as a workaround in the meantime by call forwarding pm number to your textnow number so you don't miss incoming calling.

You may also be able to get VoLTE provisioned in your account ahead of time by explaining to customer support that you are preparing to leave pm because of your reception issues when you have just learned about VoLTE for pm customers and if provisioned ahead of the scheduled roll out for your account that it may prevent you from leaving if it solves your reception issues.

[Anja33]

Unfortunately yes because in my area the reception is not very good and Wifi calling is disabled with Public Mobile. I also wish I could talk to someone on the phone when I had issues.

[maximum_gato]

@Anja33 

Are you unhappy with your pm service?

[Anja33]

Thank you very much!

[softech · Accepted solution]

@Anja33   definitely possible.  But keep in mind, while most number can be ported, some cannot be ported into specific provider, so, check with the new provider first

To port out, you start the process from your new provider

But first, make sure your PM account is currently active and you can receive text without problem.  Login to My Account and get the account number from Profile page

https://selfserve.publicmobile.ca/en/account/my-profile

While you are at My account, you might want to also disable Pre-Authorized payment just in case.  

Then activate your new line with your new provider and request to port a number. Provide them PM's account number as the porting information

this is critical:  Then still have your PM sim card in the phone, wait for PM to send you a text to confirm your porting request.  You need to reply YES within 90 mins

After you replied yes, you can put your new sim card in the phone and wait until you get incoming calls.  Once you are getting incoming calls, porting is completed.  Your PM account will also be closed at this stage (you will no longer be able to login to PM My Account after)