This is a great deal! Just be aware that to get the "next 30 days free" (after 30 days), you must sign up for a 30 day plan. There is no "next 30 days free" deal for a 90 day plan. And the promo is for "in store" signups ONLY (no promo for "online" sign-ups) Public Mobile is owned by Telus so you get nationwide coverage wherever you would get Telus - Telus is one of the big three so coverage is not an issue (Stay away from Freedom Mobile). I get $1 off per month if you use my number as a referrer. Send me a private message if you need a referer number and you'll get a $10 credit to your account.
I recommend going to London Drugs if you live in Western Canada.The one at Robson and Bute in Vancouver is the one I used and recommend - 1187 Robson street, Vancouver. Their tech support people are on the ball.
I signed up six months ago for the same deal.
DO NOT CANCEL YOUR SERVICE WITH YOUR CURRENT PROVIDER - you will lose your number if you do that - Public Mobile will take car of that for you. Once you are sure you are getting service from Public Mobile, it is OK to check with your OLD provider.
There are a few drawbacks that you should be aware of
1) The plans are 30 day plans - they are NOT for a full month - good deal in February 🙂
2) It is a pre-pay service so you have to pay ahead and ensure there is enough in your account at renewal date or set up autopay via a credit card - you can and should do that - you'll save $2 a month if you do that. Setting up auto-pay is a little finicky accepting your credit card address - have your name and address on your Credit Card EXACTLY the same as your Public Mobile name and address and don't use a space between the third and fourth character in your postal code.
3) There is no live support - all questions are handled online ONLY.
4) Lots of data available in the 3G Data plans. 3G is still plenty fast - you can watch 1080p video with 3G. If you really need LTE, you can select that option, but it will cost more - absolutely unnecessary for me. Because Public Mobile has ONLY LTE and not VoLTE, your phone has to switch to 3G to make or receive a call - this switching can fail 1-2% of the time resulting in a missed call so I highly recommend turning off LTE and using 3G all the time, eliminating the need for your phone to switch to 3G on incoming calls.
5) The ONLY potential problem, as far as I can see, is when you change your service initially to Public Mobile when you go in the store, e.g. London Drugs. You have to be on the ball for this. Although not required, I recommend printing your bill from your current provider with your account number and address on it and bringing it with you to the store. They are going to give you a new SIM card and port your old number to that SIM card so you can keep the same number. Your time in the store is about 15 minutes - sign some stuff and set up payment etc. but it takes about 30 to 60 minutes to "port" your number to Public Mobile and to your new SIM card (you don't have to wait around for this at the store). That process should go smooth but if it doesn't, go back to the store. Don't deal with it online. At London Drugs, they have a direct line to Telus (Public Mobile) to fix porting issues and activation issues. I call it the "BAT PHONE", but it's ONLY for porting and activation issues. Ask them at the store if they have a "bat phone". If they don't have a "bat phone" go to another store that does.
6) An add-on to seriously consider. You can add this add-on anytime, not necessary to add when you sign-up. Occasionally, we all have to call the USA, and it can be very expensive to do that with EVERY other provider. Public Mobile hast the best deal by far for that.
400 International Long Distance minutes for $15. Any unused minutes will roll over to your next cycle. That's Key!
Included countries: Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela.
