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 

[sonician]

Here's the specs including the bands:

2G bands	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
	CDMA 800 / 1900
3G bands	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
	CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
	TD-SCDMA
4G bands	LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)

[srlawren]

@sonician 3G is great, you will get talk, text, and 3G data.  Can you find the 4G specs listed in bands instead of in MHz?

[sonician]

@srlawren, this look better?

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

Thanks!

[srlawren]

@sonician yeah make sure the phone has both 850MHz and 1900MHz 3G frequencies for compatibility.  For LTE 4G data (if desired), look for band 4 at a minimum, with optionally any of bands 2, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17 being an asset (bands 2 and 7 being the most commonly available after 4, it seems)

[sonician]

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated. I will have to do some more research and be careful to note the band support.

[srlawren]

@sonician that phone is not good for use with Public Mobile. You will get no talk, no texting, and only some lte data in certain areas. The 3G section is the biggest problem as it lacks both 850 and 1900 frequencies used by pm.

[sonician]

Hello,

My Galaxy Note 4 died due to a bad memory chip on board.

I was going to pickup the Oukitel U13 as the specs are similar, hardware-wise, but was curious about the network support.

Here's the details:

Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 800/900/1800/2100/2600MHz (Bands: 1/2/7/8/20)

Thanks!

[texwood]

---

@deyneko1 wrote:

Hi,

I am going to buy unlocked BLU Advance 5.0 on Amazon.ca for my daughter. It will be her first smartphone, so she can lose it etc. For this reason, my wife and I decided to buy a phone less than 100CAD.

But I found HERE that one person wrote the phone doesn't work with PM:

"This product was thoroughly disappointing. I purchased 9 of these for my business and I wish I would have done more research, this phone does not live up to expectations in any way. Terrible phone, claims it is unlocked but will not work on telus, koodo or public mobile. 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?"

It is strange because I checked tech data and it should work in 3G and http://willmyphonework.net/ "said" it is OK with PM.

What do you think?

---

Yet if you look at other reviews you'll see the exact opposite:

Person A:

"So far this is a great phone, It's able to do just about everything I want a phone to do. There isn't as much internal memory as I would like. But for the price this is a great phone. Good reception on the Telus/Koodo network."

Person B:

"Good unlocked phone for the price ($90 + tax). Fast delivery ahead of schedule. Working with TELUS network..."

Person C:

I bought this phone for my son because his Telus phone died. So far, we have no complaints. It was super easy to setup and connect to the network. I've seen a lot of complaints about available space. But, really, I have never had a phone that didn't require an additional SD card so that is not an issue. I am quite sure that we will be buying another BLU when someone in the family needs a new phone.

Person 😧

As a hardcore Apple user, I am astounded by this phone. I bought it for my mom who was still using a 15 year old flip phone, therefore I didn't want to invest in a high-end phone she would barely use. I set it up for her as a pay-as-you go with Telus in a few minutes...

Person E:

...Edit: I forgot to mention that I tested it on WIND mobile and Telus (both at the same time) and it worked right away.

[srlawren]

---

@computergeek541 wrote:

I believe that many customers would be fine with a phone not having LTE much of the time, but to not have one of the 3g bands is asking for trouble, especially when the 850MHz band is often important for indoor coverage.

---

@malbrax I agree with @computergeek541's assessment completely.  

[srlawren]

@deyneko1 that is strange, the phone appears to be compatible.  If you search the reviews for "Koodo" you can find a second review that says it didn't work with Koodo.  This is definitely disconcerting, though I'm not sure why in this case.  

To be completely honest, this is a VERY low-end phone, that came out nearly 4 years ago (April 2013), has a terrible resolution, VERY little storage (4GB--there would be almost none left for the user right out of the box), and only a half gig of RAM that will make running more than one application at a time a nightmare.

If I were honest, I wouldn't even buy this for a child.  They are going to want to do things on it and be frustrated right away and continuously.  If you want to keep the cost to a minimum due to potential for losing the phone, maybe pick up a used phone on craigslist?

[deyneko1]

Hi,

I am going to buy unlocked BLU Advance 5.0 on Amazon.ca for my daughter. It will be her first smartphone, so she can lose it etc. For this reason, my wife and I decided to buy a phone less than 100CAD.

But I found HERE that one person wrote the phone doesn't work with PM:

"This product was thoroughly disappointing. I purchased 9 of these for my business and I wish I would have done more research, this phone does not live up to expectations in any way. Terrible phone, claims it is unlocked but will not work on telus, koodo or public mobile. 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?"

It is strange because I checked tech data and it should work in 3G and http://willmyphonework.net/ "said" it is OK with PM.

What do you think?

[computergeek541]

I believe that many customers would be fine with a phone not having LTE much of the time, but to not have one of the 3g bands is asking for trouble, especially when the 850MHz band is often important for indoor coverage.

[srlawren]

@malbrax only miminally.  You will get some 3G talk, text, and 3G HSPA data on the 1900MHz frequency but you're missing the other core 3G frequency of 850MHz, and only band 7 of your LTE is compatible--and that will only get you some LTE data in certain areas of the country.

You could try, but I don't think you're going to be happy with the service on this phone, unfortunately.

[Rockdaddy22]

http://willmyphonework.net/

[malbrax]

Hello,

Will my phone work? 

Injoo Max 3 LTE, not sure on the right version from the list

Thanks,

Network & SIM TYPE

2G: Yes, 850/900/1800/1900
3G: Yes, 900/1900/2100

4G: Yes, LTE 3(1800)/7(2600)/20(800)

Sim Type: Dual sim slot, Micro sim

[Rockdaddy22]

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

[mumpstar]

---

@computergeek541 wrote:

---

@mumpstar wrote:

Hello,

I have a Sony XPERIA XZ Dual F8332

which says it has the following bands:

• 2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (dual-SIM model only)
• 3G bands HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 - F8331, F8332
• 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), 19(800), 20(800), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 32(1500), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500) - F8331, F8332
• Speed HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (3CA) Cat9 450/50 Mbps
• GPRS Yes
• EDGE Yes

The IMEI is being rejeced "Unknown" in the Public Mobile checker.

Will this work?

Thanks!

---

Public Mobile's IMEI checker giving a positive result is not a requirement for the phone to work.  As you already know, there are errors in that database, and there are also missing IMEI numbers.

If the specifications that you pasted here are accurate, your phone will work fully.  All UMTS and LTE bands that Public Mobile uses appear to be supported by your phone device.

---

Thank you computergeek541!

[computergeek541]

---

@mumpstar wrote:

Hello,

I have a Sony XPERIA XZ Dual F8332

which says it has the following bands:

• 2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (dual-SIM model only)
• 3G bands HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 - F8331, F8332
• 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), 19(800), 20(800), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 32(1500), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500) - F8331, F8332
• Speed HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (3CA) Cat9 450/50 Mbps
• GPRS Yes
• EDGE Yes

The IMEI is being rejeced "Unknown" in the Public Mobile checker.

Will this work?

Thanks!

---

Public Mobile's IMEI checker giving a positive result is not a requirement for the phone to work.  As you already know, there are errors in that database, and there are also missing IMEI numbers.

If the specifications that you pasted here are accurate, your phone will work fully.  All UMTS and LTE bands that Public Mobile uses appear to be supported by your phone device.

[mumpstar]

Hello,

I have a Sony XPERIA XZ Dual F8332

which says it has the following bands:

• 2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (dual-SIM model only)
• 3G bands HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 - F8331, F8332
• 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), 19(800), 20(800), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 32(1500), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500) - F8331, F8332
• Speed HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (3CA) Cat9 450/50 Mbps
• GPRS Yes
• EDGE Yes

The IMEI is being rejeced "Unknown" in the Public Mobile checker.

Will this work?

Thanks!

[computergeek541]

---

@mishafljin wrote:

Hi,

I have european Samsung J500FN

Quad Band 850/900/1800/1900
GSM 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS 850/900/1900/2100
LTE cat4 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600 (bands 1 3 5 7 8 20), TD-LTE 2300 (bands 40)

Is this device going to be okay?


Thank you

---

If those specs are accurate, voice services will work fine.  Data services will also work fine in UMTS mode but for LTE, you're probably not going be conncted to that much of the time.  Your phone is lacking LTE Bands 2, 4, and 17.

[Rockdaddy22]

http://willmyphonework.net

[mishafljin]

Hi,

I have european Samsung J500FN

Quad Band 850/900/1800/1900
GSM 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS 850/900/1900/2100
LTE cat4 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600 (bands 1 3 5 7 8 20), TD-LTE 2300 (bands 40)

Is this device going to be okay?


Thank you

[Rockdaddy22]

Great phone, used it for a year on the PM network.

[apple0315]

Thanks, I'm gonna buy a iPhone 6S that locks to Telus.

[srlawren]

Hi @apple0315, what that means is that the phone will work with the Public Mobile network *after* it is unlocked. There are two aspects to compatibility :

1) does it have the right network frequency support? Yours should yes.

2) is it either unlocked, or locked to Telus/Koodo? Yours fails this condition until it is unlocked.

[apple0315]

I didn't get it.

you said " If your phone is locked to specific carrier, you’ll have to get it unlocked."

and also said "All 3G, 4G phones from Rogers, Fido and ChatR are compatible and will work on the Public Mobile network. "

What if I have a phone that is locked to Fido/Rogers/ChatR?

Thanks.

[stonechucker]

@jpstcharles

You're good to go.  A phone locked to Telus or Koodo will work on this network.

[jpstcharles]

I have an Telus Iphone, do i have to unlock it to make it work with the Public Mobile Network?

Thank you!

[Xcurior]

Ah, thanks! I'll just make a new thread next time then. Will definitely be using that website for all my phone purchases -- so far about once every 7 months. I'm surprised they have the phone inventoried. 

I may test the waters with Wind again if I'm hardly getting LTE anyway, but for the price point and coverage reliability I'd like to try PM. 

I do have one question though. I hardly talk or text -- if I get a data only plan with PM, is there a rate at which I'll be charged for minutes/text messages, will I even be able to have a phone number? I seem to have trouble navigating the website to find that rate if so. I'm happy using VoIP as I was forced to with Wind, but it's a nice convenience to have an actual cell number as well. Also here's to hoping that 4GB doesn't remain the largest data plan with PM 🙂

[Luddite]

@Xcurior In future post a brand new message; don't add to an old one. You are lucky I noticed it.

Based on http://willmyphonework.net that phone should be fine on PM's 3G network, and will sometimes access LTE. Also: Will my phone work?

If you are not already a customer, you can test it for just $11: Risk Free Activation - costs $11

If you are a customer, just install your current sim.

Any other questions, feel free to ask.