Having trouble getting my phone to work.

[Ruggybuggy]

Hello

I'm having trouble getting my Samsung S5 working on the PM network.  My phone is unlocked and currently has a sim card from Bell and I'm located in Kenora Ontario.  I bought my PM sim card at a Walmart in Winnipeg MB and registered it on the PM network.  I used a new phone number and and selected the $10 plan in case it didn't work.  When I go onto the PM site my account shows active.  When I put the card in my phone I can not get it to work.  When I do a network search I see the Public Mobile displayed and if I chose it I get a messsage saying the network is not available, try again later.  When I go back I see the Telus network operators is selected when on the LTE/WCDMA/GSM (auto connect) but it changes to Bell when I select the WCDMA/GSM (auto connect).  I've tried powering off the phone and have removed the sim card and reinserted.  I've also gone as far as reseting my phone back to the factory default.  I've checked the IMEI number on PM and it shows my phone as compatible. 

Any and all help greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

 @Ruggybuggy: I just gotta say that throughout your ordeal, you always remained respectful and patient and no hairs were harmed.

Glad to hear it's all sorted for you.

[Ruggybuggy]

I did set up the auto renew so I'm benefiting from that.  Nice to see a company reward its customers for their loyalty.  After the hour of wait time I found out from Bell that my service had already been canceled.  It happens when you transfer your number.  Guess I'm never going to get that hour back in my life.

Anyways I'm one happy PM customer 

[mpcdesign]

That is super awesome your phone is now working with Public Mobile. Make sure you set your phone to Auto-Pay to give you extra rewards aka discounts each month. 

When I signed up with Public Mobile, they canceled my plan with Fido. Because before I know it, Fido, suddenly started to email me and text me "Come Back Deals," which I wanted but said "Nope!"

[Ruggybuggy · Accepted solution]

Good news, my phone is up and running.  It was a technical issue with the PM sim not registering on the network.  After being contacted by a moderator it was corrected.  I upgraded to 6 gig of data plan and was amazed at the speed.  54mbs is 3 times as fast as my home connection (rural area).  The only pain in the butt part was contacting Bell to cancel my service.  I was on hold for more than an hour.

Thanks again everyone for the help.

[Ruggybuggy]

Thanks for the response.  Sure hope I can get this done soon.   I'm really tired of Bell.

[Dunkman]

@Ruggybuggy

It has been longer than usual the wait.  About 72+ hours....  unfortunately.  So hopefully tomorrow in your case...

[Ruggybuggy]

How long does it take moderators yo contact you after you have PMed them?

[Ruggybuggy]

Unfortunately no stores in the area that sell the PM sim so it would have to be online.

[Anonymous]

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@Ruggybuggy wrote:

I just private messaged a moderator.

I'm starting to think I may have a bad sim.  Anyway to get a new sim sent out without having to pay $10?

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When you finally get in touch with the mods maybe they would do that for you. I don't know. I don't recall reading about that here though.

Maybe you could take up the promo today and then when you do hear from them they could somehow link everything together. Again I don't know if that's a thing.

Do you have any of the other stores in your area other than your Walmart that doesn't sell the SIM's?

[Ruggybuggy]

I just private messaged a moderator.

I'm starting to think I may have a bad sim.  Anyway to get a new sim sent out without having to pay $10?

[Anonymous]

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@Ruggybuggy wrote:

I think I've already done the network reset when I actually reset my whole phone back to factory.  What a pain that was to get back to normal.  

I just sent a message to the moderators.  Should I also PM a moderator as well?

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PM = private message

(and also Public Mobile 🙂 )

[Ruggybuggy]

I think I've already done the network reset when I actually reset my whole phone back to factory.  What a pain that was to get back to normal.  

I just sent a message to the moderators.  Should I also PM a moderator as well?

[Dunkman]

Here is an article on network reset.  

https://www.androidcentral.com/how-return-settings-and-network-settings-their-default-state-galaxy-s...

Send a private message to moderator through the following link :

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

Please include in the private message your phone number, your account number and PIN code.

[Anonymous]

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@Ruggybuggy wrote:

So I visited the  https://apn-canada.gishan.net/ site and it shows my phone is compatible.  All my numbers in the apn are the same.  I tried the lost/stolen option and reactivated the service after about 10 min and it still doesn't work.  

One thing I noticed on my account it shows that I phoned 705.780.4001 twice to 6 sec and then 11 sec.  I never made this call.  Is this significant?

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Maybe that's the voicemail number?

Did you restart your phone after the lost/stolen try?

The wait times for mods seem to be several days. It seriously sucks but it is what it is. Once you get past initial issues the service is great and you save a bunch of money. I haven't needed any assistance for anything since I got here. It was an oft repeated slam at Public Mobile but really...when I was with Telus for like ever I only rarely needed to talk to someone. And I haven't needed to here.

[Ruggybuggy]

I haven't contacted mods yet.  How long are wait times?  How do you do a network reset?  

I'm starting to think I may have wasted $20 buck and a whole pile of my time.

[Ruggybuggy]

So I visited the  https://apn-canada.gishan.net/ site and it shows my phone is compatible.  All my numbers in the apn are the same.  I tried the lost/stolen option and reactivated the service after about 10 min and it still doesn't work.  

One thing I noticed on my account it shows that I phoned 705.780.4001 twice to 6 sec and then 11 sec.  I never made this call.  Is this significant?

[Anonymous]

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@Ruggybuggy wrote:

Do I have to worry about the access point name.  My phone shows mobile internet sp.mb.com.

I read somewhere to set up a PM access name.

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You're not ready yet for APN. That's for data and texting. Once you get going then if you're having a problem with data then that can be looked at.

The lost/stolen trick is in the self-serve. You call it lost. Log out. Wait a little while...like 10-15 minutes allegedly and then log back in and call it found. Log out and restart and see what happens. It's harmless for this trick. It otherwise suspends your account.

I don't know if it'll solve the problem but we are grasping at straws. I hope you've long since sent a message to the mods just to get in their queue due to the wait times for them to respond.

[Dunkman]

@Ruggybuggy

Ensure you have the correct APN settings by visiting https://apn-canada.gishan.net/. Select the brand and model of your phone, scroll down the page and then select Public Mobile. After doing so, you will be provided with the exact APNs required for your phone on our network.

The report lost/stolen phone is not that drastic.  It is a trick that resets the SIM card and sometimes re-activates the account.  In self service account, choose lost and stolen phone.  Logout.  Log back in in a few minutes and report the phone found.  

Might want to do a network reset if you have not tried yet.  

[Ruggybuggy]

Do I have to worry about the access point name.  My phone shows mobile internet sp.mb.com.

I read somewhere to set up a PM access name.

[Ruggybuggy]

I did check the coverage map and it indicates that I'm good to go.  I'm connected to the telus network and show full bars.  The message "not registered on the network" keeps coming up so I'm assuming it's a registration problem?  I checked the last four digits on the sim and they are the same as the one shown in my account.  I just went ahead and chose the change sim card number and typed the sim number that appears on the card to the account just to make sure the full number is correct (account only shows the last four digits) but I'm still having the "not registered on the network" message.

So how does the lost/stolen phone work.  Seems like a very drastic method. 

[Anonymous]

No. It'll work across Canada having been bought from anywhere in Canada. Wherever Bell or Telus works, PM will work. Have you checked the coverage map? Tbaytel uses Rogers.

Power cycling should be the same thing but maybe try airplane mode on/off.

Another reach might be to try the lost/stolen trick.

[Ruggybuggy]

Reinstalled the PM sim and tried the *#7465625# and the message comes up not registered on the network.  The phone shows it's connected to telus.  

Is it possible that the PM sim will not work in North Western Ontario?  The reason I ask is because I bought the PM sim in Winnipeg at Walmart.  I tried to buy it at Walmart in Kenora and they don't stock them.  I checked stock online in Thunder Bay and Fort Frances and they are not available.  Are they not available because they don't work in our area?

[Anonymous]

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@Ruggybuggy wrote:

Well the phone is definitely unlocked.  I put my wife's tbaytel sim in and it worked without issue and I was able to place a call.  Did have to mess with anything, it just worked.  Wished the PM would.

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In the self-serve, did you check to see if the last 4 digits are the same as physically on the SIM? I think you can only see the last 4.

I'm thinking you'll need to contact the mods to figure this out. No one else is offering ideas so I guess that's where we are.

[Ruggybuggy]

Well the phone is definitely unlocked.  I put my wife's tbaytel sim in and it worked without issue and I was able to place a call.  Did have to mess with anything, it just worked.  Wished the PM would.

[Anonymous]

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@Ruggybuggy wrote:

I just dialed *#7465625# and pressed call and got the message no connection or wrong MMI.  This is with the bell sim installed and not the PM.

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It's funny. The quick preview of the post shows a space in the dial code but here it doesn't.

Oh well. I guess that function doesn't work for your phone.

How'd it go with the other SIM?

[Ruggybuggy]

I just dialed *#7465625# and pressed call and got the message no connection or wrong MMI.  This is with the bell sim installed and not the PM.

[Anonymous]

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@Ruggybuggy wrote:

 Just tried *#7465625# and nothing happens.

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In your dialer? Press go or call or whatever? And no space.

[Ruggybuggy]

 Just tried *#7465625# and nothing happens.

[Anonymous]

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@Ruggybuggy wrote:

Excuse my ignorance but what is the Bellus network?

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far.  I just realized that my wife's iPhone is with Tbay tel.  I'll try to put her sim in my phone to see if my phone is locked.

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Bell and Telus use the same infrastructure and frequencies so some jokingly refer to it as Bellus. Bell Telus.

Of course will13am is correct. If it was working on Bell then the phone should be fine.

Try dialing *#7465625# . It might give you the locked status. I don't have an Android so I'm not sure this will work. I googled around a little. Not even sure about Android version.

[Ruggybuggy]

Sorry guys/gals, made a mistake.  My phone is a S7 and not a S5 if that makes a difference.