Refunding an activation?

[glenncraig]

Hi there,

I just signed up with Public Mobile at a Walmart location for my daughter.  I signed up using preauthorized payment from my debit card and it took the payment right away.

The phone I am using is a Blackberry Curve 9300 that was locked to Koodo and I unlocked with the associate in store and it said unlock succesful.  When searching for the network, it will say unable to search for network.  The associate also tried his Koodo sim in it after, and even that didn't work, even though we verified with Koodo the phone was locked to them...

I'm frustrated and because Walmart didn't take the payment in store, it was taken from my debit and to Public directly, they said they can't refund it themselves.  How can I get my money back?

[srlawren]

---

@kpawluk wrote:

Did you confirm that your phone is compatible with the PM network? To do this find you IME number and check on this page: https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc/get-started

some older den phones aren’t compatible. Also, make sure it’s unlocked. Major carriers unlock for free now 

---

@kpawluk the phone was originally from Koodo, meaning:

1) yes it's compatible with Public Mobile*, and 

2) it should not need to be unlocked to be used with Public Mobile

* because it's a pre-BlackBerry 10 device, it won't be able to use mobile data, since PM does not offer a BIS server; however, it does contain the 850MHz and 1900MHz UMTS frequencies required for talk and text on PM.

[kpawluk]

Did you confirm that your phone is compatible with the PM network? To do this find you IME number and check on this page: https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc/get-started

some older den phones aren’t compatible. Also, make sure it’s unlocked. Major carriers unlock for free now 

[LEGO]

@glenncraig 

You will need to send a private message to a Moderator_Team, see if they would be willing to refund your payment!
Here is the link: click here
In your message, please provide your name, Public Mobile account number or phone number and PIN.
Good luck! 

Contact Support hours of operation:
Monday - Friday 9AM (EDT) - 9PM (EDT) Saturday - Sunday 9AM (EDT) - 7:30PM (EDT)

Please, include link to this tread in your message.

[glenncraig]

The issue is that it prompted for an unlock code when the Public SIM card was inserted, so the rep called Koodo with me and got the device unlocked and even inserted the unlock code.

I received the phone from my mom and she said it worked with her Koodo sim card and it still worked.  But when I received it, she had taken the SIM card out.  It definitely seems it is registering that a SIM is in there, by the fact that it's asking for an unlock code. 

But even Koodo, it is not recognizing.  The rep had a Telus and Koodo sim that were both active that he tried in the phone, and no dice.  I know it was for sure a Koodo phone because 1. They unlocked it from their customer service.  and 2. When it restarts, it always shows a "Koodo" screen.  The Public sim did work in the associates unlocked iPhone.

Really I just wanna be able to get things refunded and put a stop to my pre-authorized payment....as I feel everything was done to ensure it would work for what I wanted, which was just a talk and text plan, but somehow it now doesn't and a new phone is out of the budget for my daughter right now.

[computergeek541]

A Curve 9300 from Koodo is compatible with Public Mobile, but only for voice and text messaging services.  Data service and MMS services will not work.  On a side note, there is no need to unlock one of these phones to even use it at Public. If your phone isn't working with the Public Mobile sim card or even a Koodo sim card as you were saying, sorry, but then there's something wrong with either your phone or your phone's settings.  I would check to make sure that the network selection type is not set to 2g. 

[LEGO]

@glenncraig

Assuming SIM card slot contacts were not damaged in process, I would suggest to try this SIM card in another phone to see where the problem lays to: in phone or SIM card. 

If SIM card does not work in another Public Mobile compatible phone, then it is defective and you would need a replacement.

Is your old Koodo SIM card still works in this phone?

[Anonymous]

MacMe: Yes that's for data services. The puzzler here is the phone so much as recognizing that it sees the SIM card at all...even a Koodo card where it used to be.

[MacMe]

---

@glenncraig wrote:

I activated it today, just about 3 hours ago.  The Public SIM did work in the associates phone, but not in mine.  I have restarted the phone many times and still won't let me search for network. 

---

According to some old threads on this forum, old Blackberries may not be compatible with Public Mobile:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Getting-Started/BlackBerry-Curve-is-not-finding-Publi...

edit: or maybe it will work:

[glenncraig]

I activated it today, just about 3 hours ago.  The Public SIM did work in the associates phone, but not in mine.  I have restarted the phone many times and still won't let me search for network. 

[Luddite]

Only one model of that phone is compatible with PM/Koodo/Telus. It's the model supporting 3G Bands 1,2,5. When you unlocked the phone it must have reverted somehow as even a phone locked to Koodo will operate om Publc Mobile. You should try rebooting the phone with the PM SIM installed; or perhaps a factory reset even.

As PM is prepaid there is no guarantee you will receive a refund just because your phone is incompatible. However, you can give it a try by contacting the moderators.

Click this: message to moderators to send a private message to the moderator team with your phone number, account PIN, and an explanation. Moderator hours are: Monday - Friday 9AM (ET) - 9PM (ET); Saturday - Sunday 9AM (ET) - 7:30PM (ET). Response is generally within few hours, but may take 24.

[meocon]

Did you try to reboot the phone? Also, when did you activate the sim card at Walmart? As I know yesterday June 2nd they have the system maintenance so no activation will go through. I recommend you send a private message to the moderator team and ask them to investigate.  include your account# or phone#, as well as your account PIN (if know) to help speed up the identification process.

Click here to send the moderator team a private message.

You can find information regarding the moderator team by following this link.

How long until a moderator replies?:

• Office Hours: Mon-Friday 9am to 9pm, and Saturday & Sunday from 9am to 7:30pm [Toronto Time].
• Messages are replied to during office hours, in the order in which they are received
• Typical response time is between 1-3 hours, depending on message queue, but can be up to 48 hours.
• There is no need to send multiple messages.

How can I view my private messages between myself and a Community Moderator?

• How to view and reply to your private messages