Public Mobile system suddenly doesn't support my phone（Purchased outside Canada）

[XZM]

OPPO A58 5G  with Android 13（Purchased outside Canada）

It was temporarily unavailable 10 days ago, but was later restored. Now it can no longer be used. It's not the phone's problem. It's a problem with the operator's network.

This phone comes from China. There is no problem with the mobile phone and it can be used with other operators（Videotron and Chatre, I only have 2 to test).

[hTideGnow]

HI @XZM 

thanks for the update

It seems that PM has also enabled VoLTE for everyone started on Nov 13.  Maybe that helped your case

[XZM]

2024-11-15 Around 10 a.m., several of my inoperable mobile phones automatically returned to normal. It is estimated that the PM system discovered the problem, updated it and solved it.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@XZM  I hope this issue will attract PM’s official attention

To do that you need to open a ticket at the chat icon bottom right of this page, this is a customer forum and Public Mobile employees don't necessarily check posts here.

[XZM]

To add, these mobile phones of mine are used in the Ottawa-Gatineau area. The cell phone numbers are from Quebec and Ontario, and they both have the same situation.

[XZM]

my phone is good, and it used to work normally on public mobile more then 3 months. 10 days ago, PM suddenly stopped supporting this phone. Tested: This phone can be used normally on Videotron and Chartre system.

My PM account has always been normal, and PM's SIM card works fine on other mobile phones purchased in Canada.

I have restarted my phone many times and it still can't be solved.

The phone has not been restored to factory settings because there is a lot of data in the phone.

Among my friends, at least 4 phones have the same problem. These four mobile phones were all purchased in China(brand are Oppo, Huawei,Nova) . They used to be able to run on PM, and now they can also run normally on Videotron and Chatre networks.

It must be PM's system, which has canceled support for this type of mobile phone. The problem is not with my phone or account.

As a prepaid system, PM itself is used by a large number of people who come to Canada temporarily, and it is unlikely that they will be required to buy a new mobile phone for temporary use in Canada. It is easy to replace a mobile phone, but it is too difficult to migrate data.

Supporting mobile phones around the world is a basic requirement for prepaid operators.

I hope this issue will attract PM’s official attention.

[XZM]

If PM not all phones support it, it will cause confusion for me when buying a phone.

[RavingRaven]

@XZM 

Three times a charm!

 

[RavingRaven]

Stupid spam filter...trying again.

@XZM 

Your phone likely was working while in an area with cell towers transmitting with the few bands compatible with your device. Once you moved from that area out of range of those cell towers you lost connectivity. In particular your phone does not have band 2.

From Public Mobile:

To check whether your phone is compatible with our network you can reference the frequency bands below.

Public Mobile operates on HSPA, 5G, 4G LTE, and LTE Advanced networks.

    5G, 4G LTE and LTE Advanced: 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz downlink and 1700 MHz uplink (AWS).
    HSPA: 850 MHz, 1900 MHz (UMTS).

Your phone has the following:

HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100
     CDMA2000 1x
4G bands    1, 3, 5, 8, 28, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41
5G bands    1, 5, 8, 28, 41, 77, 78 SA/NSA

This is your issue....too few compatible bands for consistent service if at all.

[RavingRaven]

@XZM 

From Public Mobile...

To check whether your phone is compatible with our network you can reference the frequency bands below.

Public Mobile operates on HSPA, 5G, 4G LTE, and LTE Advanced networks.

• 5G, 4G LTE and LTE Advanced: 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz downlink and 1700 MHz uplink (AWS).
• HSPA: 850 MHz, 1900 MHz (UMTS).

Your phone has:

HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100
     CDMA2000 1x
4G bands    1, 3, 5, 8, 28, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41
5G bands    1, 5, 8, 28, 41, 77, 78 SA/NSA

You only have partial compatability. Your phone likely worked temporarily when you were in an area with compatible bands but stopped working once you moved out of range of those particular cell tower(s). In particular you are missing band 2.

[computergeek541]

---

@XZM wrote:

Maybe Public mobile has recently stopped supporting certain frequency bands.

---

Since being purchased by Telus, Public Mobile hasn't stopped supporting any frequency bands.  All freqency bands are still in use but some have been repurposed  in some areas from HSPA to LTE.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@XZM   As mentioned, we need more information.  Was the phone working on Public Mobile before and then the account was suspended and then restored after which the phone no longer works, or was the phone itself factory reset and then didn't work?  Sometimes depending on circumstances a factory reset can cause a carrier lock from what I understand.   We're trying to help but don't have enough information.   Are you getting some kind of error message?

[hTideGnow]

hi @XZM y

because yours is not a Canadian model, your phone has some bands but not all.  It needs to hane at least couple compatible bands for a stable connection as not all network sites have all the bands

[XZM]

Maybe Public mobile has recently stopped supporting certain frequency bands.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@XZM   When you say it was temporarily unavailable but was later restored, what exactly do you mean?  Do you mean your Public Mobile account was suspended and then was restored, or the phone had a problem and was factory reset?   How do you know it can be used with other operators?  I just checked Rogers/Fido/Chatr VoLTE compatibility feature for after their upcoming 3G shutdown in March 2025 and it doesn't show any OPPO phone as compatible.  You can try it yourself with the IMEI number here 

https://www.rogers.com/support/mobility/rogers-3g-hspa-networks-are-being-retired 

[Handy1]

@XZM  That’s interesting  maybe try resetting network settings see if that helps . but I would only use phone bought in Canada to ensure best possible experience with public mobile . What’s also immediately clear is that phone not in the PM volLTE list and for that reason will also have hard time for voice in the U.S. if you ever intend to visit 

VoLTE white list

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help/articles/volte

[hTideGnow]

hi @XZM different operators need phones with different network bands to work in their system 

your phone does not have the proper network bands needed here

I am afraid you need to get another phone to use it with PM network 

(your phone might work with Rogers network, but PM uses Bell/Telus system and has different requirements)