No Service One Month After Activation (One month review included)

[Zenshi]

First, I've switched over to Public Mobile for one month now and here is my review and frustration;

The Good Stuff: Public Mobile's service (once it was working) was good, I can't say flawless because I had the service drop a few times in the city but I was inside a warehouse at the time so there might've been a lot of interference. Phone calls never dropped, SMS always went out and the data (internet) worked seamlessly. The community is very helpful with each other, and theres always people trying to help others with problems or give the words of encouragement when there are problems. As everyone knows, the prices are quite reasonable for what we get. There are a few other providers following PM's promo deal, but PM does have a small edge on them due to their 'rewards'.

The Bad Stuff: When I first signed up, I requested to port my number but I encountered a small glitch/error and it took approximately a day to resolve (back end issue on PM's part). After my number was ported, I wasn't getting data so I did a search for APN settings and everything was solved, I had working Public Mobile Service. After a couple weeks, I went to pay off my bill from my old provider, they told me they didn't receive notice of the port and was not aware my services should have been cancelled. Long story short, I got into a dispute with them but in the end I had to pay for the time that I had already ported over to PM. (Frustration, paying for services that I didnt use!) I am not sure who's at fault on this issue of 'cancelation' but to make things simpler in my life, I believe it was my own fault and fingers shouldn't be pointed.

Now, after exactly a month after my 'payment for 90 day plan' (not the time my PM services started working), my SIM does not connect to the PM network and I get message on my phone that says my SIM is unregistered and my SIM can not register to this network. I even called my phone from another line and I got this scary message: "XUC1, this number is not in service." (Ok, my number is not in service?! Has my service been cancelled?)  Then I began to troubleshoot, I've power cycled my phone many times and took SIM out and tried different SIM to connect to another network and the different SIM worked, as a result, I've concluded that there is infact something wrong with my 'SIM' or 'Account' with PM. I thought I'd give it a day to see if it was a server or maintenance issue but I am still unable to connect to the network and I get the same message ("XUC1, this number is not in service") when I call my number. -SIGH- It is the weekend and now I am afraid I might not have service for my limited personal time.

My conclusion of one month on PM: There is no live person you can speak with, or a physical store to help you with problems that you run into therefore, I only recommend Public Mobile for people that are tech savy. People switching to PM must know how to use the internet to resolve their problems,

know how to type out their problem in a detailed way because the time for response is quite 'long'.  . For the cheaper services that we do pay for, we can't expect the same service as the big providers out there but the world is give and take right? When PM is working, its a great service! But when problems are encountered, you must have patience or you will end up eating yourself inside (because cell phones have become a part of our lives).

Cell phone coverage: 4.5/5

Data Speed: 4/5

Pricing: 5/5

Customer Service: 2.5/5 (From my personal experience, due to backlogs response has been delayed and long. I'm sure this rating will go up over time. Hopefully PM is doing something to resolve this problem. But the MoDs are extremely helpful when they do get to dealing with the problem.)

Therefore, @Shazia_K @Mary_M or which other PM Mods, (or anyone that has any other ideas), please help me out again. I understand everyone is busy and backlogged, therefore I have given patience to the issues I have encountered.   

Thanks for reading everyone, I will keep everyone updated and will do another review after another month.

[Mana]

I am so glad that your service is up and running again. 

You must have a lot of patience because I am not sure how you survived without the service for so long. 

Cheers!

[Zenshi]

Today, Sunday Dec 18, 2016 at about 5:00 PM. Public Mobile came through my services suddenly work!! Tried Data, Incoming, Outgoing, Texting and I have my original phone number.

There was no message, notification or anything... it just started working. So thank you mysterious person! But I ain't complaining!

Thanks PM, happy holidays!! I'll do another write up when my two month ani. comes up.

Thanks all that gave their input! 😄

[Rockdaddy22]

@Mary_M anyway you could help out here?

[Zenshi]

Morning Bump Again!

Day 7, another weekend approaching without service...

[Zenshi]

@kav2001c thanks! that's good to know, so I dont need to send them all individually. 

[kav2001c]

@Zenshi the mods share mailboxes, so if you private message 1 mod often another can reply.

Also all mods can read messages without them showing as read.

[Zenshi]

Alright, morning bump to see if the MoDs can get to this today.

[Rockdaddy22]

We'll try and help you get it solved in the morning. It couldn't hurt to send a detailed message to a mod.

[Zenshi]

Well here is the thing,

a mod responded to my message but it wasn't the MoD I messaged, he told me he reset my account and everything should be working. He asked me to power cycle my phone but in the end no service.

So the messages I sent to the other Mods are still "unread" in my sent box, but I've got a response to it.

Should I make a completely new message? I did a Re: to the MoD that reset my account...

Thanks for the replies Rockdaddy

[Rockdaddy22]

Bump this thread in the morning if possible. I assume you've sent messages to the mods

[Zenshi]

Update: I found someone that is also setup on public mobile and took their SIM and inserted into my cellphone and vice versa. The other person's SIM worked in my phone and was able to connect to the PM network (almost instanteously), therefore I know this is not a problem with my phone. My SIM however, did not connect to the PM network and was having the same issues on his phone (the other person's cell phone that was running on PM network). 

Now, I also removed the other person's SIM and left it out, and before re-inserting it into his phone, I decided to call his phone to hear what messages I would encounter. As I guessed, it went directly to his voice mail and did not come pop up the message "6UC2, This number is not in service." This leads me to believe that my number/account is deactivated/bugged out somewhere.

I checked my self serve account, and everything is activated and paid up to March of 2017. 

@Shazia_K @Mary_M or which other MoDs are out there, please give me a hand?

Thanks

[Rockdaddy22]

@Shazia_K if you have time at some point today, this issue could use a mods help.

[Zenshi]

Bump!

Actually, one of the mods reset my account and said everything should be working but no service still.

I wonder why that is, I keep getting the same messages on my phone, "This SIM can not register to this network" and when I call my number, it still gives me the "6UC2: This Number is not in service" (XUC2?)

I really hope it doesn't mean my number is disconnected and unretrievable...

Because normally, when your number is still in service but unreachable, it should goto voicemail, no?

[Rockdaddy22]

Bump this thread in the morning, hopefully someone can help you then.

[Zenshi]

Day 5 Still no service, I power cycle my phone every morning hoping it will work when I wake up. Haha.

But on a serious note, I hope this doesn't become one of those 20 Day+ Issues... I can't get an estimated response from time from the 'technical support email contact' because of 'email do not match' error.

I can only wait for message response...

[Rockdaddy22]

@Shazia_K here's someone with no service

[Zenshi]

Day 4, and still no service or response from team, is it still 12 day response time?? 😞

[Zenshi]

Strange, i tried to email / message tech with that link you gave me luddite, but it keeps giving me my email does not match message. I logged into my self serve and all the information matches. Strange, eh?

[Luddite]

Suspect there is no quick solution. When there has been an data input error, someone (aka a moderator) must look at the account, "guess" which is the error, contact the customer (or previous carrier), wait for response, input correct data, confirm account is now active, contact customer. Mentally I assume this all takes at least 20 minutes which means a "clearance" rate of about 120/week/moderator. 

[Zenshi]

Thanks for the response guys, fongo only allows me to make phones calls when I'm on WiFi which doesnt fix the problem when I am out, but thanks for the advice! 😃

@Luddite , thanks for the advice. I will try to those other forms of messaging to see if I can a speedier response there until then I will have ... patience. But it will terrible to spend the weekend without service.

I understand the backlogs, but it's been like that for couple months now, don't you think they should staff up or find a solution? I see they decided to extend the promo? x_x

[Luddite]

Seems to be a new bug that affects current customers: SERVICE JUST STOPS. Payment is up to date and  account may even say "Active". 

Do one, or all, of the following:

- post your issue to PM on Facebook/Twitter

- send tech support the webform found by following the "buttons" in this link, https://publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help

- send a private message to any moderator with your phone number and a description of what has happened, but given their backlog it will likely be several days before they respond.

Meanwhile, if your service is down you can make phone calls with an application like that from fongo.com. It provides free calling across Canada from wherever you are connected to wifi.

[jimmyche]

 

---

 After a couple weeks, I went to pay off my bill from my old provider, they told me they didn't receive notice of the port and was not aware my services should have been cancelled. Long story short, I got into a dispute with them but in the end I had to pay for the time that I had already ported over to PM. (Frustration, paying for services that I didnt use!) I am not sure who's at fault on this issue of 'cancelation' but to make things simpler in my life, I believe it was my own fault and fingers shouldn't be pointed.

---

You should report your old provider to CRTC/CCTS. The moment you phone number is ported out. They should realized that your original phone number is no longer with them and this would trigger your account being cancelled. While I normally recommend double checking with the old provider, It is not your own fault for not advising your old provider. Reporting to CRTC/CCTS is an online process that takes about 10 minutes. Once done CRTC/CCTS will act as the mediator to help you out on this.

Click here for the CRTC Complain section

Switch Providers and Keep your Number

Once you’ve picked your new service provider, we recommend that you ask your new service provider to transfer your existing services on your behalf. (You don’t even need to talk to your current provider!Footnote1)

How does this work?

• All you need to do is phone, email or send regular mail to your new service provider to request a service transfer. Your new service provider will cancel your existing services and start your new services with them.
• As soon as your current service provider receives the notice of cancellation from your new provider, they will cancel your services immediately. Alternatively, you can ask to have your services cancelled at a later date.
• You do not need to provide 30 days notice before cancelling your phone, mobile, Internet, or TV services.Footnote2

Keep your phone number when you switch

Most importantly, do not cancel your service before you switch to the new provider.Tell your new phone provider that you want to keep your number. They will take care of the transfer for you – they’ll ask for some personal details to set up your account and ask you which services you want to keep, remove or change.