Invalid Sim error for SIM purchased at Walmart (Gerrard Square Mall) with Luck Mobile SIM

[alphaghetti]

I purchased a new Public Mobile SIM from Walmart at Gerrard Square Mall in Toronto for $10.

Tonight I go to activate it and keep getting the frustrating "Invalid SIM" error.

I enter the SIM card number labeled 'SIM Card #' on the large card that holds the SIM itself (19 digits, 891223*********8135) and get Invalid SIM. I enter the number on the nano SIM itself (20 digits, 893026**********2168). Same story. Invalid SIM.

Note: The numbers do not match.

I never am able to press on the 'Continue Button' because it wants me to fix the SIM.

I have not provided Public Mobile with any credit card information.

The email address I'm using has never been used before with a mobile carrier of any kind, ever.

I've tried registering in Chrome for Android, Chrome for Windows, Chrome for Windows Incogneto mode, FireFox for Windows.

When I put the SIM card in a phone it does not show up as activated. I cannot place calls and I cannot call 611.

In the network selection I see TELUS, Freedom, EXT, Lucky.

With my Koodo SIM in I see Koodo, EXT, Freedom, Bell.

Upon closer inspection I see that the SIM card itself is LuckyMobile.ca branded. Are Public Mobile and Lucky Mobile both now owned and operated by Telus?

When I look online I see that LuckyMobile.ca is a BCE/BELL owned brand (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Mobile). Huh? Did someone scam Walmart and now I've been inconvenienced?

Note: the iPhone 6 I tried the SIM in is currently on Koodo.

[alphaghetti]

---

@geopublic wrote:

---

@alphaghetti wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@@

---

What did you tell the clerk? What did they say in response? (other than just giving you another SIM)

---

It was such a nondescript event that I don't really remember.

I think I told him that I had bought a Public Mobile SIM card a few days earlier and that it came with a Luckymobile SIM card instead.

He said something along the lines of maybe it was a mistake and they gave me the wrong SIM card. He took it back immediately no questions asked and gave me another one which I checked to see if the numbers matched before leaving :).

What I find sad is that someone felt they had to do a fraudulent return to save $10. Hopefully they'll experience better times sometime in the future.

PS I do have a picture of the card still in case anyone from Public Mobile wants to follow up (someone already asked).

---

@alphaghettiNow that I think of it, another possibility is that a Lucky Mobile customer visited that store that wanted to switch to PM and port their number over. The clerk activated the PM card and put the old Lucky sim card in the PM sleeve to give back to the customer and maybe the clerk forgot to give it back to them or the enlightened Lucky customer forgot to take it back and somehow it accidentally was sold to you.

Just thinking out loud.

---

I like your explanation. Hopefully that's what really happened.

It is a touch annoying to say the least but I did learn a thing or two about how Public Mobile works.

[LovesToPM]

@geopublic  I'd really like to think it was an accident too. Another possibility is that someone wanted a free SIM and got it.

If I were a new unsuspecting customer and couldn't activate succesfully at home, I may decide that Public Mobile is not worth the trouble. It can be a win for the Walmart wireless rep who gets to trash PM and sell the unsuspecting client a plan with a "better" carrier.

I hope @Alan_K can keep us informed, but I suspect there will be some info he cannot divulge. Perhaps he can let us know the findings from the SIM in question and let us draw our own conclusions...

Btw I wonder what the wireless rep did with that SIM card.

[geopublic]

---

@alphaghetti wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@@

---

What did you tell the clerk? What did they say in response? (other than just giving you another SIM)

---

It was such a nondescript event that I don't really remember.

I think I told him that I had bought a Public Mobile SIM card a few days earlier and that it came with a Luckymobile SIM card instead.

He said something along the lines of maybe it was a mistake and they gave me the wrong SIM card. He took it back immediately no questions asked and gave me another one which I checked to see if the numbers matched before leaving :).

What I find sad is that someone felt they had to do a fraudulent return to save $10. Hopefully they'll experience better times sometime in the future.

PS I do have a picture of the card still in case anyone from Public Mobile wants to follow up (someone already asked).

---

@alphaghettiNow that I think of it, another possibility is that a Lucky Mobile customer visited that store that wanted to switch to PM and port their number over. The clerk activated the PM card and put the old Lucky sim card in the PM sleeve to give back to the customer and maybe the clerk forgot to give it back to them or the enlightened Lucky customer forgot to take it back and somehow it accidentally was sold to you.

Just thinking out loud.

[alphaghetti]

---

@will13am wrote:

Wow, this is serious.  Tampering with the SIM card like this amounts to fraud and has potential serious security implications.  @Alan_K , can you follow up on this case.

---

Alan K is on the case :). Will provide Alan with the relevant info ('lucky' <groan> that I take pictures of things if they're unusual).

[alphaghetti]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@@

---

What did you tell the clerk? What did they say in response? (other than just giving you another SIM)

---

It was such a nondescript event that I don't really remember.

I think I told him that I had bought a Public Mobile SIM card a few days earlier and that it came with a Luckymobile SIM card instead.

He said something along the lines of maybe it was a mistake and they gave me the wrong SIM card. He took it back immediately no questions asked and gave me another one which I checked to see if the numbers matched before leaving :).

What I find sad is that someone felt they had to do a fraudulent return to save $10. Hopefully they'll experience better times sometime in the future.

PS I do have a picture of the card still in case anyone from Public Mobile wants to follow up (someone already asked).

[Anonymous]

---

@alphaghetti wrote:

Just an update:

Took the card back to Walmart and the sales clerk swapped it immediately. It didn't even seen like he really set it aside or threw it in the garbage. I wouldn't be totally surprised if it gets sold again since time in the future ;).

This time the nano SIM that I received did not have Lucky Mobile branding on it (it lacked any branding at all and was indistinguishable from the Koodo mobile SIM it replaced) and both the nano SIM card and the sleeve it came in had the same SIM card number :).

---

What did you tell the clerk? What did they say in response? (other than just giving you another SIM)

[alphaghetti]

Just an update:

Took the card back to Walmart and the sales clerk swapped it immediately. It didn't even seem like he really set it aside or threw it in the garbage. I wouldn't be totally surprised if it gets sold again some time in the future ;).

This time the nano SIM that I received did not have Lucky Mobile branding on it (it lacked any branding at all and was indistinguishable from the Koodo mobile SIM it replaced) and both the nano SIM card and the sleeve it came in had the same SIM card number :).

[Alan_K]

@alphaghetti PM'd you for further details, please check your inbox.

[will13am]

---

@RobertQc wrote:

---

@alphaghetti wrote:

I purchased a new Public Mobile SIM from Walmart at Gerrard Square Mall in Toronto for $10.

Tonight I go to activate it and keep getting the frustrating "Invalid SIM" error.

I enter the SIM card number labeled 'SIM Card #' on the large card that holds the SIM itself (19 digits, 891223*********8135) and get Invalid SIM. I enter the number on the nano SIM itself (20 digits, 893026**********2168). Same story. Invalid SIM. The numbers do not match.

I never am able to press on the 'Continue Button' because it wants me to fix the SIM.

I have not provided Public Mobile with any credit card information.

The email address I'm using has never been used before with a mobile carrier of any kind, ever.

When I put the SIM card in a phone it does not show up as activated. I cannot place calls and I cannot call 611.

In the carrier settings I see Telus, LuckyMobile, EXT and a fourth name (don't remember it).

Upon closer inspection I see that the SIM card itself is LuckyMobile.ca branded. Are PublicMobile and LuckyMobile both now owned and operated by Telus?

When I look online I see that LuckyMobile.ca is a BELL owned brand. Huh? Did someone scam Walmart and now I've been inconvenienced?

---

@alphaghetti  You bought the wrong sim card. (Edit, or if the notion is correct a scam / mistake if the outside says public mobile but the inside its lucky, can you please verify if this is the case?)

The only sim card that will work at public mobile is a public mobile sim card.

Lucky mobile sim, works only at lucky mobile. Sorry.

To pour salt in your wounds, I actually purchased 10 (ten) lucky mobile sim cards because they only cost $0.99 each on ebay with free shipping. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/273808962037

I also purchased 10 (ten) virgin mobile sims https://www.ebay.ca/itm/273804359411 and 10 (ten) bell sim https://www.ebay.ca/itm/163646680051 cards. I guess its a waste of $29.70 since I now have 30 sim cards I don't need, but its fun to keep things.

---

Come on Robert, this is a help forum first and foremost.  What does buying 99¢ SIM cards have to do with OP's concern.  All you do is string out the thread with off topic discussion.

[will13am]

Wow, this is serious.  Tampering with the SIM card like this amounts to fraud and has potential serious security implications.  @Alan_K , can you follow up on this case.

[RobertQc]

---

@LovesToPM wrote:

@RobertQc Any idea where we can get Public Mobile SIMs at those prices?

---

@LovesToPM  I wish, best price is about $7CAD with tax and shipping a couple times a year. Public mobile used to sell sims for $5, but stopped with the reason "we shipped so many, yet not all of them got activated" which really upsets me, because people keep them on hand for future sim failures and future referrals. It's unrealistic to expect every sim you sell will be activated quickly.

[LovesToPM]

@RobertQc Any idea where we can get Public Mobile SIMs at those prices?

[LovesToPM]

@alphaghetti 

I would say you were scammed.
- Lucky Mobile SIMs are 20 digits.
- Public Mobile SIMs are 19 digits.

It looks like someone inserted a (possibly used) Lucky Mobile SIM into a Public Mobile Card slot and sleeve.

As Walmart does not accept SIM card returns and the SIM cards are usually kept under lock and key, I'd say only the wireless reps could have "played" with them. In fact, the "thief" has left a trail via the 2 SIM Card numbers in your possession.

You should return to Walmart for a refund or exchange.

If Walmart refuses, I'd bring up the issue with Public Mobile mods. They may be interested to know the 19 digit SIM you have in your possession.

Even if it is only $10, it is still fraud.

[geopublic · Accepted solution]

---

@alphaghetti wrote:

I purchased a new Public Mobile SIM from Walmart at Gerrard Square Mall in Toronto for $10.

Tonight I go to activate it and keep getting the frustrating "Invalid SIM" error.

I enter the SIM card number labeled 'SIM Card #' on the large card that holds the SIM itself (19 digits, 891223*********8135) and get Invalid SIM. I enter the number on the nano SIM itself (20 digits, 893026**********2168). Same story. Invalid SIM. The numbers do not match.

I never am able to press on the 'Continue Button' because it wants me to fix the SIM.

I have not provided Public Mobile with any credit card information.

The email address I'm using has never been used before with a mobile carrier of any kind, ever.

When I put the SIM card in a phone it does not show up as activated. I cannot place calls and I cannot call 611.

In the carrier settings I see Telus, LuckyMobile, EXT and a fourth name (don't remember it).

Upon closer inspection I see that the SIM card itself is LuckyMobile.ca branded. Are PublicMobile and LuckyMobile both now owned and operated by Telus?

When I look online I see that LuckyMobile.ca is a BELL owned brand. Huh? Did someone scam Walmart and now I've been inconvenienced?

---

Wow so you purchased a card from WalMart that came with a Public Mobile sleave and contained a Luck Mobile sim card inside. You need to take that card back ASAP. Sounds like somebody returned the card and WalMart resold it to you. The fact that the card number on the label comes back invalid suggests that the PM sim card number has been previously activated. The Lucky sim card is a different company and will never work with PM.

[Anonymous]

 @alphaghetti 

Oh dear. Two things. 1) No... Lucky Mobile and Public Mobile are competitors. 2) those SIM numbers should match from the holding card and the actual SIM piece.

[RobertQc]

---

@alphaghetti wrote:

I purchased a new Public Mobile SIM from Walmart at Gerrard Square Mall in Toronto for $10.

Tonight I go to activate it and keep getting the frustrating "Invalid SIM" error.

I enter the SIM card number labeled 'SIM Card #' on the large card that holds the SIM itself (19 digits, 891223*********8135) and get Invalid SIM. I enter the number on the nano SIM itself (20 digits, 893026**********2168). Same story. Invalid SIM. The numbers do not match.

I never am able to press on the 'Continue Button' because it wants me to fix the SIM.

I have not provided Public Mobile with any credit card information.

The email address I'm using has never been used before with a mobile carrier of any kind, ever.

When I put the SIM card in a phone it does not show up as activated. I cannot place calls and I cannot call 611.

In the carrier settings I see Telus, LuckyMobile, EXT and a fourth name (don't remember it).

Upon closer inspection I see that the SIM card itself is LuckyMobile.ca branded. Are PublicMobile and LuckyMobile both now owned and operated by Telus?

When I look online I see that LuckyMobile.ca is a BELL owned brand. Huh? Did someone scam Walmart and now I've been inconvenienced?

---

@alphaghetti  You bought the wrong sim card. (Edit, or if the notion is correct a scam / mistake if the outside says public mobile but the inside its lucky, can you please verify if this is the case?)

The only sim card that will work at public mobile is a public mobile sim card.

Lucky mobile sim, works only at lucky mobile. Sorry.

To pour salt in your wounds, I actually purchased 10 (ten) lucky mobile sim cards because they only cost $0.99 each on ebay with free shipping. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/273808962037

I also purchased 10 (ten) virgin mobile sims https://www.ebay.ca/itm/273804359411 and 10 (ten) bell sim https://www.ebay.ca/itm/163646680051 cards. I guess its a waste of $29.70 since I now have 30 sim cards I don't need, but its fun to keep things.