Just joined. And I want my money back.

[LRod]

I just joined late last night and I'm regretting my decision.

First it says to enter my IMEI # to see if I'm eSIM compatible. It says yes and I proceed with the payment process. Payment is taken but then this website tells me my phone is NOT eSIM compatible. I then contacted CS and I was told it was best to buy a physical SIM and I'd have the cost credited to my account.

Okay, so today I go and get a SIM card from a Telus store. I go into My Account but it's stuck on trying to activate my eSIM, which it obviously can't. There is no way to reset or bypass this on the PM website or app. So back to CS.

They manually activate my physical SIM, ported my number, and I was able to plug it into my phone. Great. But then I notice I'm on the 4G/LTE network. I paid for 5G so what gives? Back to CS.

CS wants to insist that it's most likely my phone and I should contact the manufacturer. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G. I was with Rogers up until today and was on their 5G network getting 5G speeds until I ported over to PM. My phone is up-to-date and works flawlessly. There is no logical, technological, or even magical way my phone degraded somehow simply because I swapped my Rogers SIM card with the PM SIM card. 

So in less that 24 hours I went from being excited to join and save with PM, to being absolutely miserable because I wasted my Sunday on this. With no resolution because CS has gone silent on me.

I've been with all the Big 3 at some point in time. I've also been with Fido, Koodo, and Freedom. This is by far the worst experience I've ever had as a new customer with any other provider. I want my money back.

[dest1]

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@will13am wrote:

With respect to 5G connectivity, this service has a whitelist for 5G and VoLTE access that I can only describe a restrictive.  Having a phone with compatible hardware and software is not enough.  

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Could you advise with the list of devices with Public Mobile's 5G network compatibility, regardless of VoLTE compatibility?

Thank you.

[dest1]

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@will13am wrote:

With respect to 5G connectivity, this service has a whitelist for 5G and VoLTE access that I can only describe a restrictive.  Having a phone with compatible hardware and software is not enough. 

---

I found the list of VoLTE compatible phones, didn't find 5G compatible ones. Could you help?

I'm looking for full list of 5G compatible phones, not necessarily VoLTE compatible.

Thanks.

[golfball]

The mobile carrier has carrier settings that get sent to the device when you put a SIM in and restricts or allows certain features. If you are not using an iPhone it is guesswork whether they put your particular phone model on the allowlist.

The phone being 5G capable does not mean they will allow it. My only suggestion, if you have a software update available try to install it.

[softech]

@LRod 

Another member suggested  NetMonitor :

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/E-sim-not-compatible-after-the-site-sayin...

[LRod]

So there are a ton of these "QuickShortcutMaker" apps -- same or similar names and icons. Kinda sketchy, with most having low ratings or no ratings at all. I don't download apps I can't trust. 

[LRod]

The Rogers SIM was no longer active at this point as I had ported my number. Since the account was closed it would not connect to the Rogers network. However, as shown in the videos, even with the inactive Rogers SIM the VoLTE connection and the 5G mode are present and activated. But install the PM SIM and they disappear completely.

I spoke with one of their techs this morning and he still thinks it's an issue with my phone. They want me to buy another SIM to test out. I don't care that they'll credit my account for it, I do NOT want to waste anymore time, money and effort into this. This is what makes PM's business model poor. There is no actual store, service centre, or calling centre to address issues in real-time. Messaging cannot convey issues clearly, and writings can be misconstrued and/or misinterpreted. A lot of people have a hard time communicating verbally as it is. And you want these same people to write to you?? Ridiculous.

I'm going to see if they can mail me a replacement SIM. I'll update later.

[Handy1]

@LRod  Check out my thread in Samsung s20 and how to get 5G to show in phone Telus sim makes the option there not not PM sim . But with firmware it can be worked around maybe this Samsung s21 same issue 

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Samsung-s20-5G/td-p/1043088

[dust2dust]

My Samsung gives a little 5G indicator by the bars with data on. Your Rogers sim didn't seem to do that. But definitely all that should be there is there on Rogers. With enabled volte here, that volte switch doesn't exist. We have to find the evidence elsewhere.
I firmly believe Telus is up to controlling shenanigans with a non-standard proprietary implementation of all this. It's ridiculous. Trying to take us back to the dark ages of tight control over devices rather than the open BYOD of recent times.
Or, more poor IT competence that we see in the web site and app. For a billions of dollars profit multi-national corporation I find that hard to fathom. I think there's intention. But I'll still say incompetence anyway for the front facing parts that customers see.

[hTideGnow]

HI @LRod 

is your S21 a Canadian one or US?

and did you try your sim card in another phone? try it on an iPhone or phone that has 5G showing and we can confirm if it is a PM account issue/sim issue or device

[Phil_Adelphus]

@LRod I don't think Samsung/Android has the auto option of switching between 5G and LTE based on what one is doing but I find my iPhone on that setting switches anyway depending where I am.  Have you tried checking when you're out and about?  For some reason my iPhone doesn't get very fast speeds when I'm in a relative's apartment in the city but gets up to the PM max of 250 Mbps in other places even relatively rural.  Perhaps it is a tower placement thing.  Apparently there is a way to force a 5G band change on Samsung, I don't know if that would be worth a try:

https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/manually-switch-different-5g-band-your-samsung-galaxy-0323193... 

[LRod]

The question mark was because I turned off autoconnect, that's all. And yes, I tried everything.. I toggled every switch, turned whatever off and on, etc.. all to see if anything would make 5G work on the PM SIM. But no such luck.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@LRod   I assume you did the usual stuff, like powered off the phone while you switched sims or at least rebooted with the PM sim?  Assuming yes, since that didn't work tried toggling airplane mode on, wait a few minutes and then off again?  What I'm wondering is why the wifi symbol on your screenshot has a question mark?  Does the phone have something like iPhone's wifi assist, where it can switch between wifi and data depending on signal strength?

[LRod]

Ya I tried resetting network. It's not that. It's the PM SIM that's doing something wonky, as the videos show. CS has no idea how this is happening and are trying to figure it out.

I tried going on Reddit but apparently PM just auto-deletes any new posts. I guess they're not taking questions on Reddit 😒

[softech]

@LRod 

not sure if you did yet (I don't think you have confirmed), did you try to click "Reset All Networks"?

Also, you can try to use an app called NetMonitor and it could bring the 5G option.  Click Service menu and seelect NR/LTE/GSM/WCDMA

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@LRod wrote:

Unless of course the SIM is only 4G. But there's nothing on the SIM card packaging that says it's a 4G SIM. 

---

there is no 4G or 5G sim.  All PM sim can be used to access 5G network and all PM's network, no difference in terms of network access

[LRod]

So I just took these screen recordings and uploaded them to YouTube so I could send them to CS. I thought I'd share them with everyone as proof that the issue is not with my phone but with the Public Mobile SIM.

https://youtube.com/shorts/KnJcROgDp9g?si=aTLFXuykXCra6uzx

https://youtube.com/shorts/BkXbTWhmEBg?si=5aPqnQtXbU6qIK3C

[dust2dust]

I wouldn't say the sim exactly. I would guess the OS sees the carrier from the sim and has a notation in the OS to turn off features. Or maybe bit flags on the chip and the OS sees that and turns off features.

[LRod]

To dot my i's and cross my t's, I will be making a trip to the Samsung Service Centre (read as "booth") later today. It boggles my mind that PM SIMs could possibly alter my phone's system.

Anyhow, thank you all responders. It was helpful -- some more than others lol! I'll update once I visit Samsung, and hopefully CS will have gotten back to me with a resolution. Cheers all!

[LRod]

Really?? Is this the reason? That their SIMs have some sort of malware that changes my phone's system?

[LRod]

Of course it can, and it's the providers that limit and cap everything. That said I'm still only averaging about 50Mbps on 4G/LTE. I am not getting what I was promised when I subscribed. Not to mention all the issues I had to deal with just to get up and running. So your point may be valid, but it's inconsequential in my current predicament.

[computergeek541]

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@Chalupa_Batman wrote:

Hi @LRod 

Sadly because Public Mobile is pre paid, I really doubt they'll refund you. However, your phone IS eSIM compatible so I'm not sure why it didn't work. 

It might say LTE on your phone but do a speed test and if you're hitting over 200mbps, you're getting 5G. 

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While the advertising used by Public Mobile is only meant to mean that the 5G plans have a maximum speed of 250Mbps, getting a download speed result of over 200Mbps gives zero indication of the 5G network being used. The LTE network is actually capable of speeds near 1000Mbps.

[computergeek541]

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@will13am wrote:

@LRod , are you not seeing 5G as a preferred network type option on your phone. That's what I am up against.  I think there's enough blame to spread a little venom to Samsung.  

---

Who knows if it was Samsung or Telus/Public Mobile behind all his nonsense, but what I do know is how the software on several Samsung devices is programmed in such a way that the option has been removed if a Public Mobile SIM card is being used.  There's just no acceptable reason for this.  Interestingly enough, Public Mobile even sold one particular model in the Galaxy S20FE 5G as a CPO device, yet the option is still disabled on devices sold by Telus. 

[dust2dust]

To add salt to the wound, that screenshot indicates that you also don't have volte.
Someone with an S20 did a non-rooted firmware change to a different country and 5G showed up. But it's a lot to go through. Perhaps there's a similar avenue for your S21.

[LRod]

I can appreciate what you're saying. For me however, I want what I paid for. And since they took my money, I expect them to keep up their end of this transaction. Had I known I was only going to get 4G/LTE, I would've paid for the the lower tier. But I did pay for 5G so I expect 5G.

Think about it this way: right now I'm averaging 50Mbps which is 20% of the 5G cap. If you ordered a 20oz steak and only got 4oz, would you be okay with that? And you continue to pay for a 20oz steak but only get 4oz each and every time? I'd rather not go through that.

[softech]

@LRod  please try Reset All Networks. It might be the one step you need

[LRod]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G. It's up-to-date and everything works flawlessly. It was on 5G with Rogers up until a few hours ago when I ported my number. And now my phone is on PM's 4G/LTE network, not 5G.

[LRod]

I'll be reaching out to Samsung in the morning. But again, I don't see how I could go from 5G with Rogers to 4G with PM. Swapping SIMs shouldn't change anything. Unless of course the SIM is only 4G. But there's nothing on the SIM card packaging that says it's a 4G SIM. Funny enough though, it says "Experience the power of 5G: Get access to our award-winning, reliable 5G network across Canada." I call bs.

[softech]

@LRod how about network mode? what choice do you have there??

Settings > Connections > Mobile networks > Network Mode.

[LRod]

Yes, I did all this. It was also one of the suggestions from CS. But it's still just on 4G/LTE. Here's my SIM card status:

[Chalupa_Batman]

I fully understand where you're coming from.  We have never seen anyone get a refund before. 

I would try to help you but I'm not an Android user. It really sucks what you're going through. Like you mentioned in your original post having the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, I've seen folks have issues with Public Mobile. You can always enter "Samsung Galaxy S21" into the search engine and see what others have had to say and see if there is anything they did to fix the issue. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G is a nice phone and should work very well along with the Public Mobile network. There are a few guys at work on the Public Mobile network with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G phone and they get much higher speeds than you get. I hope it is all worked out for you. 

[LRod]

But it's literally been less than 24 hours since I subscribed, and for the majority of that 24 hours, my phone was inactive. It would be ludicrous for them to not do so because the services I paid for have not been met.