Newbie start up question - Call barring clarification

[Radix-Lecti]

First post.  Please bear with me.  I'm old and totally new to the world of cell phones and have just recently joined P.M. with the $15 plan.  I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 that a friend gave me as I face more time in hospital and eventually a hospice facility so she can keep apprised of my condition.

My question is:  Does P.M. support call barring?  I've been trying to enable it but keep being prompted for a 4 digit numeric password.  It can't be my screen lock password as it's alphanumeric.  Samsung said 0-0-0-0 and on the community forums here, 1-2-3-4 but neither work.  "Failed to read data.  Call barring rejected" is the pop-up message.

I ask because I somehow hit the dial icon accidentally as I created my contacts list.  So far, I've been lucky and been able to hang up before the call connects but with only 100 outgoing minutes, I can't waste minutes as I really can't afford this plan, let alone a more expensive one.  Call barring to prevent outgoing calls would keep this fumble fingered "doddering old fool" from making unwanted calls and wasting precious minutes while still allowing texting and internet.

Thanks for any assistance.  Apologies for the long post.

[Radix-Lecti]

@hairbag1   To be honest, I almost went with one of the other carriers that offered call centre support as I hate posting to forums in general.  One slip up in protocol and everyone jumps all over the poor "newb".  Things tend to get off-topic, posts aren't read properly, and the post eventually degrades into a name calling war.  I haven't posted to a forum since the 90's and debated at some length before posting here.

I can say that my first posting experience has been nothing but amazing.  The P.M. community has been friendly, respectful, welcoming and most importantly, helpful.  I can tell that the users of this community deeply care for each other, the P.M. brand, and try their best to quickly resolve any issue, answer any question or to suggest solutions based on their experience.

I was shocked at how quick the response was to my query after I hit the "Post" button.  Who needs a call centre with customer service like this?  Certainly not me.  I will not hesitate to post in future if I need assistance with anything else.  Thank you all for the warm welcome and positive experience.

[hairbag1]

@Radix-Lecti...glad we could help...don't ever be afraid to ask any questions about  your PM service.. even us 'ol guys need help once in awhile !

Welcome to Public Mobile.

[Radix-Lecti]

@geopublic   Wow!  That's a valuable add-on at a great price.  I'll definitely be adding this $5.00 for 500 minutes Canada-wide Long Distance to my plan in the near future.  No doubt I'll be fumbling around trying to figure out the learning curve as to how cell phones work for quite some time and $5.00 is cheap insurance should I really foul things up which I'm sure I'll do.

Appreciate your time.

[Radix-Lecti]

@gblackma   Great suggestion, once again.  I double checked my plan and I do have unlimited incoming minutes on my plan so all I have to do is text whoever I want to speak with and ask them to call me.  Simple.  Brilliant!

Loving all the practical support from the P.M. community.  Thanks.

[geopublic]

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@Radix-Lecti wrote:

Sounds reasonable.  To clarify, is this a $5.00 one-time add-on charge until the 500 Canada-wide long distance minutes are used up (and then you buy another $5.00 add-on) 

@Radix-Lecti  Correct

or is this $5.00 per month to always have 500 minutes available? No, you will have to purchase the add-on manually whenever you run out.

As to the former, for how long do the 500 minutes carry over, i.e. do they have an expiry date from time of purchase?  There is no expiry date, the minutes stay on your account until all used up.

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[gblackma]

@Radix-Lecti you have unlimited incoming calls and texting. whenever you would like to talk to someone. If possible, text them and ask them to call you. Stay safe.  

[Radix-Lecti]

@LurganIeUk  Actually, I was trying to disable my cell phone from making unwanted outgoing calls due to my own ineptness.  If it was a feature available in P.M., which I now know it is not, I would have enabled it, then disabled it whenever I wanted to make an outgoing call.

I have been having loads of fun plying my way through all the phone menus and Googling what they do.  I can say that what I'm trying to do differs from 'Do not Disturb' which I have enabled during the overnight hours.

At this point, I have no need to 'Block Callers' as I haven't been receiving Spam calls ... yet.  I am now also familiar with this feature but again, it differs from what outgoing call barring is intended, at least in my case.

Thanks for the link to Samsung's help page.  I did try the 4 digit password 0-0-0-0 as they suggested prior to posting but since someone has confirmed that Call Barring is not supported by P.M., it's the reason why I'm receiving the "Failed to read data  Call Barring rejected" pop up.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

[Radix-Lecti]

@gblackma  Thanks for the suggestion.  I'll be able to use it whenever I have access to WiFi but when I'm away from home i.e. in hospital, I won't be able to access WiFi unless I pay the exorbitant internet access fees.  And with the limited 250 Mb Data bonus on the $15.00 plan, I don't know if the voip app TextNow would cause it to run out before the 30 day billing cycle renews.

I'm on the tightest of budgets right now as I can't work, have no income and don't qualify for any of the recent government wage programs.  When I'm in the hospital, I can't afford the phone, tv or internet so this phone will be my saving grace moving forward.

I'll install the TextNow app shortly and follow your detailed instructions.  Much appreciated.

[Radix-Lecti]

@hairbag1 Sounds reasonable.  To clarify, is this a $5.00 one-time add-on charge until the 500 Canada-wide long distance minutes are used up (and then you buy another $5.00 add-on) or is this $5.00 per month to always have 500 minutes available?

As to the former, for how long do the 500 minutes carry over, i.e. do they have an expiry date from time of purchase?

[LurganIeUk]

Are you wanting to have some DO NOT DISTURB settings? So your phone does  not ring/accept calls between certain hours. 

OR 

Are you wanting to block some callers. 

OR

Do my assumptions not fit your request.

I did find.  

[gblackma · Accepted solution]

Sorry @Radix-Lecti PM doesn't support call barring. I have the same $15 plan. You can add the voip app TextNow and use it over WiFi to make/ receive/ send calls and texts within Canada and to and from the US for free. You can also use it as I do to check my voicemail from my own phone without using the minutes from the PM plan. Simply dial your PM phone number - reject the call when it rings (this sends the call to voicemail) - press the * key to allow you to enter your password. - enter it followed by #  - and you are in your voicemail account - Hang up when you are finished. No minutes used.

[hairbag1]

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@Radix-Lecti wrote:

First post.  Please bear with me.  I'm old and totally new to the world of cell phones and have just recently joined P.M. with the $15 plan.  I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 that a friend gave me as I face more time in hospital and eventually a hospice facility so she can keep apprised of my condition.

My question is:  Does P.M. support call barring?  I've been trying to enable it but keep being prompted for a 4 digit numeric password.  It can't be my screen lock password as it's alphanumeric.  Samsung said 0-0-0-0 and on the community forums here, 1-2-3-4 but neither work.  "Failed to read data.  Call barring rejected" is the pop-up message.

I ask because I somehow hit the dial icon accidentally as I created my contacts list.  So far, I've been lucky and been able to hang up before the call connects but with only 100 outgoing minutes, I can't waste minutes as I really can't afford this plan, let alone a more expensive one.  Call barring to prevent outgoing calls would keep this fumble fingered "doddering old fool" from making unwanted calls and wasting precious minutes while still allowing texting and internet.

Thanks for any assistance.  Apologies for the long post.

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FYI...you can get an extra 500 minutes of Canada wide calling add-on for $5. Those minutes stay on your account until you use them up even if that takes several month or longer. If you use up your regular plan minutes, you'll have the 500 minutes as a back-up until the 500 minutes are gone...then you can get another 500 minute / $5 add-on.