I'm moving to India

[milanp440]

I'm moving to India, can I keep my phone number, but pause the billing cycle until I come back?

[milanp440]

Thank you so much for all your help. I have decided to stick to the cycle until I am back. Correct me if I am wrong here:
1. Cancel my subscription now
2. April 16, 2026 - Reactivate my subscription
3. Deactivate it when? A day after activating?
4. 85th day from the end of last cycle - Reactiavate again
5. and so on

[slusagm]

oh @milanp440 

I misunderstood what you meant earlier

you can login to My Account using a browser here:

https://myaccount.publicmobile.ca/

you will not receive 2FA via sms , but you can receive it via email.  Click Didn't Receive code or Resend code and choose Send Email

remember to try logging in via the browser once before you leave for India.  Make sure that receive via email works

[milanp440]

How can I deactivate and reactivate my subscription if I am not able to login to PM app?

[slusagm]

1. no Wifi calling. And you won't receive any text in anyway with PM while you are in Inda

2. doesn't matter to leave your PM sim card in the phone or not or airplane mode, the PM service simply won't work at all

[milanp440]

Understood. 
1. Can I stay on that cycle via WiFi only? In the past, I was charged a ton by a different provider when I received a text message while being abroad. 
2. If I stay on PM, can I keep my card on? or will I have to stay in airplane mode or remove the SIM card from the phone.

[slusagm]

receive 2FA on Fongo is unreliable.  So, you shouldn't bet on it

even with the Suspend-1 month way to stay with PM, you won't receive 2FA

So, you need to change all your 2FA to email or authenticator app before you go to India.  If you bet on 2FA via text, it is doomed to fail

[milanp440]

I see. Will I be able to receive regular SMSs from banks and for OTP on Fongo?

[slusagm]

no, PM does not issue refund for leaving before the cycle end

But don't wait till last day to port out as porting to VoIP like Fongo could take 3 to 7 business days

[milanp440]

Porting to Fongo seems like a good solution to me. If I port to Fongo right now, will I get back a part of my payment back with Public Mobile that got deducted from my bank account on Dec 22.

[slusagm]

@milanp440 

you disable Autopay by logging into My Account, go to Payment -> Manage Subscription and disable "Subscribed"

Your account will be suspended at the end of the current cycle.  You have to take note of that date. 

On the 85th day, login My Account and click "Pay and Resume services now" to make a manual payment to resume service.  That would resume service for 30 days.  Since Autopay still disabled, the account will be suspended after 30 days

Again, you make sure you know the first day of the suspension, and repeat the same on the 85th day

But if you are planning to leave long, it is better, and cheaper, to port out the line to Fongo.  Only $25 port in fees to Fongo.  You will then use Fongo app on the phone for the phone number.   When you are back in Canada, you can then find a mobile provider and port it back to the provider

[milanp440]

Yes, can you please explain how I can perform the Suspend > Pay and Resume > Wait for 85 days cycle. 
I am leaving for at least 6 months to one year. 
It appears that my cycle renews every 21st of the month, it says it renews on Jan 21, 2026 next.

Thank you for your help.

[slusagm]

@milanp440 

you can only pause for 90 days and no more, or your account will be closed

how long you are leaving? if you leave more than 90 days, a way to keep the account is to suspend first, and come back to pay and resume the service at around the 85th days, then let it suspend for another 85 days and keep it like that.  Let us know if you need to do it and we can explain in details

[Socrates8567]

If you log into your account, turn off autopay. It will then end at the end of this cycle. You will have 89 days to return to Canada to keep the same plan. If it's more than 90 days, you'll lose the plan and the number.

If you really want to keep the phone number, you can port the number to Fongo where it can be held up to 5 years and then when you return to Canada, you can just port back to public mobile. FYI, you can use the Fongo app with WiFi in India or data. This way you can keep communicating with friends back here in Canada.