How do I know if my phone will work on the Public Mobile network?

[Lachlan_M]

Public Mobile works on following frequencies: 

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

Which means most of the 3G,4G HSPA/ LTE phones that are compatible with these frequencies will work on Public Mobile. If your phone is locked to specific carrier, you’ll have to get it unlocked. 

Phones compatible with Telus, Koodo, Bell, Virgin will work on Public Mobile network. All 3G, 4G phones from Rogers, Fido and ChatR are compatible and will work on the Public Mobile network. 

To verify if you phone will work on Public Mobile network click here 

[srlawren]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@The reply function here doesn't indicate who one is replying to. One has to use the username or @-username or quote a previous post to indicate who one is replying to. Some forums show who you're replying to. Oh well...something I need to get used to.

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@Anonymous for future reference, you can also use the quote feature to quote all or some (I trimmed down the above to the relevant portion, for example) of the person's posting for context.  In this particular case it proably wasn't necessary since I'm replying to the previous reply right above this and it would be easy for people to see the context.  However, I've seen peoeple reply to multi-page threads without quoting or tagging and leaving a reply to a question that may have been several pages back but there's no way to tell.  

[Anonymous]

Thanks @computergeek541. @sheytoon actually answered my musings earlier. I was actually replying to @mpo with my thoughts which turned out to be no longer relevant with modern technology which was the second part of my comment. Or something along those lines.

The reply function here doesn't indicate who one is replying to. One has to use the username or @-username or quote a previous post to indicate who one is replying to. Some forums show who you're replying to. Oh well...something I need to get used to.

[computergeek541]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm very new here (although I've used cellphones for decades) but I have an opinion.

I seem to think that Telus and Bell (and their budget brands) are somehow technically different from Rogers and its budget brands. Therefore, Rogers (and budget brands) may have difficulty working on the Telus/Bell network.

This might possibly only apply to the old CDMA systems and may no longer be true for modern GSM systems.

I could be completely wrong too. Hopefully no geese will be chased 🙂

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Back in the days of CDMA phones, it wasn't even possible to use these phones at Rogers no matter what you did try to get them to work. 

For current phones, there's no such limitation to get a Rogers phone working on Telus or Bell.  All current phones that Rogers sells have 3g, meaning that will absolutely work at Public Mobile.  There are some older Rogers model phones (no longer sold at retail) that are 2g GSM-only type phones;  these older ones will not work at Public (and neither will Rogers analog or TDMA network devices).

Where you get into problems is configuring one carrier's phone to work with cellular data at another carrier.  This is almost always an APN issue, and in most cases that a user can't get it to work, it's usually just user error.  (exception:  Android 8.1 phones being locked out of adding new APN settings)

[computergeek541]

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@mpo wrote:

3G/4G in my phone was working with Chatr but not working with Public Mobile. Means not all Chatr / Rogers phone will work with Public Mobile.

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If your phone was connecting to 3g on Chatr, it's litterally impossible (save for incorrect user settings or a malfunctioning device) for this phone, if unlocked, not to work at Public Mobile.  Simply put, Chatr and Public Mobile use the same types of frequency ranges for 3g. 

[sheytoon]

@Anonymous, that was true in the CDMA days. With today's UMTS and LTE networks, it's the same technology and the same frequency bands.

[Anonymous]

Edit: This was in reply to mpo.

I'm very new here (although I've used cellphones for decades) but I have an opinion.

I seem to think that Telus and Bell (and their budget brands) are somehow technically different from Rogers and its budget brands. Therefore, Rogers (and budget brands) may have difficulty working on the Telus/Bell network.

This might possibly only apply to the old CDMA systems and may no longer be true for modern GSM systems.

I could be completely wrong too. Hopefully no geese will be chased 🙂

[sheytoon]

@mpo, unless your phone had specific Rogers firmware that prevented it from working on other operators, that's not possible.

[mpo]

3G/4G in my phone was working with Chatr but not working with Public Mobile. Means not all Chatr / Rogers phone will work with Public Mobile.

[Rockdaddy22]

Great stuff 👍

[horemansus]

This is the phone I use. It works 100% on all Canadian networks including the one ( starts with F) that is on AWS3.

Pretty well future proof for the next couple of years.. Until 5G arrives.

[Rockdaddy22]

This is a great resource https://willmyphonework.net/

[srlawren]

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@bowsy51wrote:

Hello, I'm looking to switch my Samsung Galaxy 5 over to a Samsung Galaxy J7 Neo, and I'm wondering if the Galaxy J7 Neo will work with public mobile. Thanks very much for your help!

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@bowsy51 it sounds like that phone is probably intended for another market (India, Latin America, or the Philippines, if this spec sheet is correct: https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_j7_nxt-8785.php.  

It looks like all of those versions will work fine for talk, text, and slower data via HSPA+:

3G bands

HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100

For the faster 4G LTE data, it depends which version you have.  If you have the J701M intended for latin america, you will have the important band 4 LTE as well as some additional bands that will help you in some areas.  That verison is fully compatible.  If you have the J701F/DS intended for India, then you are missing the core band 4 so you will only get LTE coverage in some areas of the country.  If you have the J7 Core from the Phillipines, then I'm not sure since it's bands don't appear to be included here.

So in short, if your specific model number matches 

[bowsy51]

Hello, I'm looking to switch my Samsung Galaxy 5 over to a Samsung Galaxy J7 Neo, and I'm wondering if the Galaxy J7 Neo will work with public mobile. Thanks very much for your help!

[srlawren]

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@adamwithers wrote:

From what I read on your link, your ZTE V5 3 4G Phablet will work with Public Mobile (assuming it is unlocked of course)

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@adamwithers were you replying to this post?

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@hasni wrote:

Hi, i want to buy this phone : http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_227746.html 

ZTE V5 3 Network:
2G: GSM 900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz

i want to know if it's compatible with quebec public mobile please, thank you.

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 @adamwithers if so, that posting was from 2015.  I'm pretty sure that hansi has already worked out the compatibility by now.....

[adamwithers]

From what I read on your link, your ZTE V5 3 4G Phablet will work with Public Mobile (assuming it is unlocked of course)

[wetcoaster]

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@G_Le wrote:

Hello,

 Would this phone https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/polaroid-link-18-gsm-unlocked-mobile-phone-a1wh-white/6000195503672 work with PM?

If not, could you recommend the cheapest phones out there (in Toronto) that could work?

Thank you.

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@G_Le

It says right in the description that the phone doesn't work on the Telus network (which PM uses, since they are owned by Telus.)

I'd stay away from very cheap phones that only mention "GSM" in the description since Telus/PM doesn't support the GSM protocol.

Any phone that has 3G (UMTS/WCDMA/HSPA) bands B2(1900) and B5(850) will work for talk, text on PM (and data over the 3G network).

If you are looking at making good use of a data plan have a look at this post about frequencies from @sheytoon: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/LTE-network-fundamentals/m-p/198799/highl...

[G_Le]

Hello,

 Would this phone https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/polaroid-link-18-gsm-unlocked-mobile-phone-a1wh-white/6000195503672 work with PM?

If not, could you recommend the cheapest phones out there (in Toronto) that could work?

Thank you.

[sheytoon]

@sdlbmart

No issues with those specs. It will work fine.

[Rockdaddy22]

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@sdlbmart wrote:

Looking at buying an International version Samsung S8 G950F version.   Will there be any limitations vs the Canadian model?

NETWORK

Technology	GSM / HSPA / LTE
2G bands	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
4G bands	LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 32(1500), 66(1700/2100), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
Speed	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (4CA) Cat16 1024/150 Mbps
GPRS	Yes
EDGE	Yes

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Here’s a great resource https://willmyphonework.net/

[sdlbmart]

Looking at buying an International version Samsung S8 G950F version.   Will there be any limitations vs the Canadian model?

NETWORK

Technology	GSM / HSPA / LTE
2G bands	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
4G bands	LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 32(1500), 66(1700/2100), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
Speed	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (4CA) Cat16 1024/150 Mbps
GPRS	Yes
EDGE	Yes

[sheytoon]

No need for B30. The rest that you mentioned are the main ones 🙂

B12 and B17 can be considered the same in most places, so one or the other is sufficient.

[Chesterfield]

Thanks @Rockdaddy22, @srlawren, @sheytoon for your help.  So the Bands to look for are Band 2, 4, 5, 7, 12, and 17 (possibly 30)?

[sheytoon]

B40 is for a separate TDD LTE network. It won't (shouldn't) work on smartphones.

Here is my summary:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/LTE-network-fundamentals/m-p/198799#M5822...

[srlawren]

@Chesterfieldhere are the bands I personally saw in the greater Vancouver area on my OnePlus 3: 

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/Fun-with-LTE-Discovery-widget-LTE-ban...

I'm not 100% sure about band 40. I think it is in limited use in some areas but my phone doesn't support it so I can't verify for sure. @sheytoon@ would probably know.

[Rockdaddy22]

Let ma tag someone who might know. @Srlawren

[Chesterfield]

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@Rockdaddy22 wrote:
https://willmyphonework.net/

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That website shows that Public Mobile has Band4-AWS, Band40-2300MHz, Band7-2600MHz is that correct because the initial post does not list Bands 40 and 7.  Should we treat this website as up to date?

[wendigo]

PM also support 2600 MHz but only part of the city.

[Luddite]

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@aashish1981 wrote:

Hi

I am buying Mi Max 2. It has the below network frequencies. Could you help me is it compatible for Public Mobile

Network Bands
GSM: B2 / B3 / B5 / B8
CDMA: BC0
UMTS: B1 / B2/ B5 / B8
FDD-LTE B1 / B3 / B5 / B7 / B8
TDD-LTE: B38 / B39 / B40 / B41
TD-SCDMA: B34 / B39

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@aashish1981 Likely fine on 3G but very poor coverage for LTE (just Band 7). If go ahead, plan on not using LTE.

[Rockdaddy22]

https://willmyphonework.net/

[aashish1981]

Hi

I am buying Mi Max 2. It has the below network frequencies. Could you help me is it compatible for Public Mobile

Network Bands
GSM: B2 / B3 / B5 / B8
CDMA: BC0
UMTS: B1 / B2/ B5 / B8
FDD-LTE B1 / B3 / B5 / B7 / B8
TDD-LTE: B38 / B39 / B40 / B41
TD-SCDMA: B34 / B39