Move from bell to public before or after activating a new phone?

[Rob101]

Howdy. I plan to move from bell to public and I also plan to upgrade from an SE1 to a refurbished SE3. Also I have no experience doing any of this! Yes an old guy! 
Should I get my phone first or change providers first? 
How do I transfer my phone number and contacts ?

Should I just switch SIM cards or get a new one?

Step by step would be great! Don’t skip any common sense steps !
thanks 

[Rob101]

I meant keep my bell account !

[Rob101]

I think I will keep the public mobile account and simply change phones first to make sure it works fine. To change phones do I simply take the SIM card from my SE1 and put it in my SE2 or is there more to it than that?

[BKNS27]

@Koko08 

Yes they are but when my friend ported over from Fido. He still had questions. I see the problem that the PM app are very small to read and he also need to read every single question carefully. He just skimmed through the questions. Also, he need to update his reading glasses.

[computergeek541]

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@Rob101 wrote:

Howdy. I plan to move from bell to public and I also plan to upgrade from an SE1 to a refurbished SE3. Also I have no experience doing any of this! Yes an old guy! 
Should I get my phone first or change providers first? 
How do I transfer my phone number and contacts ?

Should I just switch SIM cards or get a new one?

Step by step would be great! Don’t skip any common sense steps !

---

Before doing anything, it's important to check that the number can be ported to Public Mobile.  Most numbers are fine, but there are some regions that can't have those phone numbers ported to Public.

[Koko08]

These are the exact steps that I followed when porting over from Rogers and it was completely seamless for me!

[BKNS27]

@Rob101 

Make sure you keep your Bell account active before porting over to PM. Once you port over your Bell account will automatically close.

Here are the steps:

The steps must be followed in exact order if you are porting your number over to PM:

• Make sure your old SIM is active so don’t cancel serviced with them.
• Purchase a PM SIM from Amazon ($5) or Canadian Cell Supplies ($4) or pick one up from Telus/Koodo/Mobile Klinik store ($10.00) or eSIM from Public (ONLY if your phone is eSIM compatible so check). If you order from PM ($5) it may take up to 3 weeks to arrive.
• Download the PM app on your phone to activate the SIM. Use the old account number and not the IMEI to avoid issues. Complete to step 6. 
• Keep the old SIM in your phone and wait for the text from old carrier and confirm with YES you are porting over to PM within 90 minute window once you get the text.
• Keep the old SIM in your phone until porting process is completed because the old SIM will continue to work for about 2 hours.
• Power off the phone once porting is completed then switch to PM SIM and power on your phone.

[hTideGnow · Accepted solution]

HI @Rob101 

either way is fine.  

I think for me, I would change phone first.  Make sure the phone works and works well before changing carrier

[AK32]

Hey there, i would suggest you get your phone first, then make sure you do not cancel your old plan on Bell yet. You will need a get a new sim card (or esim if you dont need a physical one) from Public Mobile.  

If you want to keep your phone number, you will want to port out from bell to PM, once the port is complete, your bell account will automatically be cancelled (you must keep your bell account active for the port/number transfer). 

Hope this helps, and feel free to ask if you have any more questions!