International Roaming (NOT USA)

[victorhora]

I understand Public Mobile is a low cost operator and I love it! I'm ok on buying local SIM cards when I go overseas and that's what I did recently.

But would be great to have international roaming option, no matter the cost! Even if they said one SMS would cost $50, having the option would save me from a problem now.

I'm stuck having to do a login using a Two Factor Authentication (2FA) method to a service while overseas and I simply can't receive SMS no matter what. Now I have to wait  That's a deal breaker 😞

[skifan]

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@Danwrote:

 Or you can register your Fongo number for 2FA, that way you get the SMS on Fongo (not all services support Fongo for texting unfortunatelly).

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I was travelling in South Africa recently and, despite paying the SMS premium on Fongo, it would not work with SMS while using WiFi ( at multiple locations.).   Voice did work although quality was only fair.  I found Google Hangouts to be much better plus I could register my cell number so it was presented as the caller id.

[victorhora]

My "solution" was switching over to Koodo.

The normal plan prices for Koodo is pricey when compared with PM ($50 for 1GB of data and unlimited calls/SMS), but as I needed a new phone (my Nexus 6P started bootlooping :() I think I got a great deal in the end.

Signing up to the "24 month plan" I got a free 3GB extra for 24 months for $50 a month.

So ends being $50 a month for 4GB of 4G data + unlimited national calls and SMS. Even though I was on a promotion from PM I was still paying $47 a month for the same amount of data (part of it was at 3G speeds) and for province calls only. And now I can roam globally for free to receive SMS and pay $10 a day if I need/choose to use my plan overseas

I got the Samsung S8 on Tab Medium for $200 down + 24 payments of $15. And the tab thing is awesome because I can cancel anytime and only pay the remaining of the tab (~$300) which is still far less then the full price I would pay in stores (~$900).

All that said, for US roaming PM is still better. The $20 US roam with 1GB of data/calls/sms is much better then $7 a day to use my plan while in the US with Koodo. But oh well 🙂

[victorhora]

I guess the problem is the 2FA system in the backend. For some weird reason its doesn't accept phone numbers outside Canada/US. 😞

[makkahn28]

I have always advocated that Public REALLY needs to have TRUE, NOT Generic, BUT TRUE, 110% Global Roaming, as this is a Fav, and treating it as Add-On isn't Bad, Personally, I think Roaming should have been like this, so Accidental Roam and fees can't be Triggered with Postpaid

[Luddite]

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While looking at roaming issues I've stumbled upon KnowRoaming. It seems really cool! Strongly considering signing up to it as soon as I get back so I don't run into these kind of issues in the future. GiffGaff is just as good as KnowRoaming? What's the difference?

giffgaff is a local UK carrier (fees in £) with world wide roaming; knowroaming is just international roaming (fees in US$). I keep giffgaff active because I visit the UK periodically and so it is very cheap for local use. As far as the roaming costs go, knowroaming has slightly cheaper rates but is slightly more expensive to maintain the account. Both offer free incoming SMS, so that should cover your 2FA. giffgaff is my emergency backup in case both PM and fongo on my home wifi die! 

I still do not understand why the local SIM could not be used for 2FA?

[Dan]

What I would suggest in the future is that you get Fongo or a similar app on your phone and forward your Public Mobile number to the Fongo number. That way you can do 2FA authentication by selecting them to call you (rather than to text you). Or you can register your Fongo number for 2FA, that way you get the SMS on Fongo (not all services support Fongo for texting unfortunatelly).

Unfortunately for right now, this solution would not work, as you can't set the forwarding on Public Mobile while you are abroad.

[victorhora]

Thanks @Luddite.

Not 2FA for texting, but for anything else even more important like Internet Banking or corporate VPN access. 😞

While looking at roaming issues I've stumbled upon KnowRoaming. It seems really cool! Strongly considering signing up to it as soon as I get back so I don't run into these kind of issues in the future. GiffGaff is just as good as KnowRoaming? What's the difference?

Thanks 🙂

[victorhora]

Thanks for the quick feedback @KMG, but not always this is a solution. Some banks and systems does not allow disabling and makes 2FA mandatory. To make matters worse, some 2FA systems doesn't allow numbers outside Canada, meaning that even tought I could try talking with someone to change the number my local pre-paid SIM card, doesn't work. 😞

If I knew that PM wouldn't work even for receiving SMS while abroad I would get a pre-paid SIM from another Canadian carrier before leaving the country.

Any other ideas are appreciated 🙂

[Luddite]

@victorhora Did you mean your favorite texting app requires 2FA? Otherwise seems odd.

If you are interested in a generic "roaming" SIM have a look  at giffgaff.com, or www.knowroaming.com/. I can send you a giffgaff card if you wish.

[KMG]

You could always just disable the 2-factor authentication while you are away, and reactivate it once you get back.  Not ideal, but a possible option.