Few questions regarding PM before applying for their service

[bintz]

I currently don't have any mobile service in place yet and was thinking of going with the PM's $40/month plan , but got few questions before going with PM.

1. As I don't have any mobile servies at the moment , I don't have any canadian phone number and was wondering if it's possible to apply for one through PM? Additionaly , my phone is Note 4 from Korea with LTE and was wondering if the phone is compatiable with PM's service along with LTE?

2. It seems that the previous promotion from PM is delaying them from spreading their services and was wondering how long it would take for me to get their service in effect after applying for it?

3. If I apply for the $40/month plan right now and there is a new promotion going on Christmas or boxing day , would I be able to sign up for any new possible promotion that could happen during boxing day?

Sorry for my english as it's not my native language and please remove or relocate the post if it's not in a proper section of forums.

Thank you in advance.

[computergeek541]

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@James161722 wrote:

So been looking into public mobile was with Telus and looking around for a good alternative rate plan and came upon public mobile. Wondering if there's anybody out there that's currently with public mobile and what's the network like? Is it similar to Telus as I did my research and it says that it has exactly the same coverage the same reception. Same everything as Telus has except for some minus features like Wi-Fi calling and some other features

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It's exactly the same network.

[James161722]

So been looking into public mobile was with Telus and looking around for a good alternative rate plan and came upon public mobile. Wondering if there's anybody out there that's currently with public mobile and what's the network like? Is it similar to Telus as I did my research and it says that it has exactly the same coverage the same reception. Same everything as Telus has except for some minus features like Wi-Fi calling and some other features

[srlawren]

@WearySky points taken!

Regarding BC and the Vancovuer area, I remember some older posts from @7789849803 (whom is no longer around here) where he had seen some 2, 4, 5, 7, and maybe 17 as well in Vancouver area.  I'm in greater Vancovuer too, but the LTE Discovery app for me mostly tells me either band 4 or "unknown band", which I'm assuming is probably band 2.  I don't check it very often either.

EDIT: but yes that's a great point about phones not intended for the NA market often only having band 7.  Whenever people post here about those models i always just say depending where they are they may get SOME LTE but they should have band 4 for the LTE support across the country.

[WearySky]

@srlawren I was speaking specifically to BC when I said out west - and I misspoke on that front - depending on where you go, you MAY get some band 2 coverage (in parts of Vancouver).  Folks living in the big cities in Alberta (Calgary/Alberta only) and parts of Northern BC have Bell coverage (mostly bands 2/4/17, with the occasional band 7 tower), and Bell looks to have better coverage in Yukon and NWT, but outside of those areas, Bell coverage is sparse (none at all in Sask/MB, for example). It's fairly rare to find a phone that supports band 2, 7 or 17 but not band 4, though.  The more likely scenario that people tend to run into (for a phone purchased outside of Canada, particularly cheap Chinese phones) is a phone for which the only Canadian LTE band supported is Band 7.  And WillMyPhoneWork is AWFUL for those kinds of phones in Canada, unless you're on Rogers, because Band 7 doesn't have very good coverage, nationwide.

It's a far better idea to tell people to find out exactly what frequencies their phones support on the network in question (hey, they can even use WillMyPhoneWork), and then point them to the cell tower map to find out exactly what frequencies are supported in their area.  

[srlawren]

@WearySky that's not right at all, people out west have seen other bands than just 4.  

FYI willmyphonework.net is entirely not needed for anyone using a phone on Telus or Koodo, as they are definitely compatible with PM, exactly as they are with Telus or Koodo.  You should be recommending it to people on other networks (Rogers/Fido/Chatr, Bell/Virgin, etc), or people on Telus or Koodo that are shopping for a new phone.

[WearySky]

I always try not to recommend WillMyPhoneWork.net, particularly with Telus/Bell customers but also for Rogers to a lesser extent.  Because depending on where you live in Canada, the frequencies you can use for LTE are entirely different.  If you live out west, where there's only Telus towers, you can only use Band 4 LTE.  Whereas if you live in Toronto (or St John's, Newfoundland, among other select markets), you can also take advantage of Bell's Band 7 towers.  And in other Bell areas, you've also got access to Bell's band 17 and band 2 towers as well.  WillMyPhoneWork gives a very incomplete picture.

[srlawren]

@Mana my pleasure.  If in doubt, ask in the community with a specific model number, and one of us can help determine compatibility.  Or, you can always try http://willmyphonework.net/ too 🙂

[Mana]

Thank you

[srlawren]

@Mana depends on the variety.  

Nexus 5 as long as it's the north american version then yes.  The international one, not so much (it has band 5 and 7 so you will get some LTE but it lacks the core band 4).

GS4 there are a million different models.  If you have an i9500 then you're out of luck as it has no LTE at all.  i9505 SGH-i337 has band 4 so great, but there is at least one other sub-model that lacks band 4 and will only give you partial on band 5 and 7. i9502 lacks LTE altogether.  Either variet of i9506 will give you partial on band 5 and 7 (or just band 5 for SHV-E330S) but lack band 4.  i9295 GS4 Active I537 sub-model gives you band 4 plus 2 5 and 7 to augement so it's great but non i537 lacks band 4 again.  

(EDIT: I didn't look at the GS4 Mini, but it also has several sub-models with varying support)

So, it all depends!  In general, if you bought it as an LTE capable North American phone, you should be okay, but you alwasy have to look at the very specific model number.

[Mana]

Are Nexus 5 and Galaxy s4 compatible with PM LTE?

[srlawren]

@bintz Based on the spec sheet I found online, I agree with @dirk

[dirk]

You are correct. No LTE, just 3G. So phone calls will work and speed will be 3G at most.

[bintz]

I have the N910S and from your reply , I'm assuming that my note 4 is compatiable , but can't be provided with LTE and rather 3g? As long as my phone is compatiable in receiving the phone services with any form of data I'm fine with it.

[srlawren]

@bintz I see there are 3 different Note 4's available in the Korean market:  N910K/N910L/N910S.  Do you know which one yours is?  

The N910K only has band 7 LTE compatible with Public Mobile, so you will get limited LTE compatibility. 

N910S appears to have no compatible LTE bands.  

N910L has bands 5 and 7 which will again give you some LTE, but only partial.  You really want band 4 in addition to some optional bands (2, 5, 7, 12, 26, I believe).

You are fine for 3G HSPA+ at 850MHz and 1900MHz, however.

[dirk]

Most of the wait is now for the sim card, it took about 36 hours to ship to me. I activated my sim as a new number and that took about 5 minutes. Porting to my old number was about 30 minutes so they are catching up. You shouldn’t have any issues with a new number.

From How do I know if my phone will work on the Public Mobile network? it says you need:

• For 3G use (UMTS/HSPA): 850MHz/1900MHz bands
• For 4G/LTE use: 1700MHz/2100MHz bands
• For 4G/LTE use: 700 MHz band

Make sure the phone is unlocked.

[ShawnC13]

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@bintz wrote:

I currently don't have any mobile service in place yet and was thinking of going with the PM's $40/month plan , but got few questions before going with PM.

1. As I don't have any mobile servies at the moment , I don't have any canadian phone number and was wondering if it's possible to apply for one through PM? Additionaly , my phone is Note 4 from Korea with LTE and was wondering if the phone is compatiable with PM's service along with LTE?

2. It seems that the previous promotion from PM is delaying them from spreading their services and was wondering how long it would take for me to get their service in effect after applying for it?

3. If I apply for the $40/month plan right now and there is a new promotion going on Christmas or boxing day , would I be able to sign up for any new possible promotion that could happen during boxing day?

Sorry for my english as it's not my native language and please remove or relocate the post if it's not in a proper section of forums.

Thank you in advance.

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1. Yes you can get a new PM number that is an option while setting it up.As for your phone I am not sure as you will have to check to see what Band it is for and what Band PM is operating on.

2.  Most issues have been from porting numbers or incorrect information given for previous provider.  If you get a SIM and get it activated you should be able to be up and running with a new PM number in Minutes.

3.  PM allowed current custoemrs to get the last promo so I can't see them changing that policy but I can't see them offering a new promo that quick as theya re still dealing with issues from the last one.

Your english was fine.  I hope you decide to join PM I have had no issues and find it to be a great service at an AWESOME price.

[Rockdaddy22]

Yes you can get a new Canadian number, once you get a sim, you could be up and running in minutes.

You would be eligible for any new promotion.

[Rockdaddy22]

Check phone here
http://willmyphonework.net