Resume a Deactivated Account

[zerothefool]

Hi, I traveled out of the country for a little under 3 months. I was using kolbi prepaid for my phone while I was out there using a new SIM card. I came back home, switched the SIM card back to my original public mobile SIM card and resumed my account through the website.

According to the website, everything should work fine. According to kolbi, my phone is unlocked and shouldn't have any issues. My phone shows that I'm roaming (I'm not) and the data isn't working. I'm also not able to send or receive calls or texts. I'm also still receiving the occasional text from TELCEL. I requested unlocking from TELCEL via their website, and it said my phone was not eligible for this. I'm at a loss for what to do. Help?

[esjliv]

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@zerothefool wrote:

Public Mobile isn't showing as an option for network BUT I did take a closer look and it seems to be the wrong SIM card somehow. I don't know how that happened, but my Public Mobile one might actually be lost for good 😕

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NVMD - not valid any longer...

[zerothefool]

Thanks everyone. I like that Public Mobile is such a responsive community 😊 It's nice to know you're all there to help!

[14ALL41]

Thannk you for feedback. Great all is good.

[Yummy]

Eh, if most issues could be solved so easily...

Good for you that service is working with no interruption.

[softech]

@zerothefool   Happy to help and glad it's all up and running now    Enjoy!

[zerothefool · Accepted solution]

UPDATE : After a lot of confusion, I finally realized that somehow I had picked up someone else's SIM card and thought it was mine. I found my Public Mobile SIM card and everything seems to be working now! Thank you all for your help!

[amazing that tiny SIM was found 🤣  ............... Luddite]

[dust2dust]

You can always buy another sim and change it in the account.

[softech]

@zerothefool   if you cannot find the SIM back, you have to go to a store(Walmart Mobile, London Drug Mobile, The Moble Shop @Loblaws, Koodo store, etc) and get it there for around $10 (do not buy from PM online, it will take long for them to deliver)

Once you got the new SIM, login to My Account and click Change SIM card and then pick email to receive the 2FA code.

https://selfserve.publicmobile.ca/Overview/plan-and-Add-ons/change-sim-card/

[zerothefool]

Public Mobile isn't showing as an option for network BUT I did take a closer look and it seems to be the wrong SIM card somehow. I don't know how that happened, but my Public Mobile one might actually be lost for good 😕

[dust2dust]

No. The customer knew someone on T-Mobile and so that someone added them into their family plan for the duration of their visit. Which locked their phone that arrived unlocked. The friend got T-Mobile to quickly unlock it but still.

It's outrageous. We haven't heard back (that I recall) whether that Boost victim got around it. I would be wary of them all and would ask the question. If one can do it then they all can.

[hTideGnow]

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@dust2dust wrote:

Boost Mobile and a "family" addition under T-Mobile.

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"Family addition"?  like Telus-PM relationship?

thanks , I will avoid Boost when i go to US.  It is scary that phone got locked just because of prepaid service

[dust2dust]

Boost Mobile and a "family" addition under T-Mobile.

[hTideGnow]

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@dust2dust wrote:

My suspicion is that kolbi and telcel are red herrings in the story. But we have seen recently where even a BYOD prepaid provider will lock your phone to them.

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Hi @dust2dust   I think I saw a post like that.  Do you remember which US Prepaid was that?

[dust2dust]

My suspicion is that kolbi and telcel are red herrings in the story. But we have seen recently where even a BYOD prepaid provider will lock your phone to them.

[JL9]

When was your last payment on PM, you said a little under 3 months which would be close to 90 days but if you hadn't paid until a while before leaving you would have lost your account. So if you can access your self serve and it shows as active you beat the the 90 day deadline at least.

[Yummy]

Based on your post my understanding is:

- you have PM account.

- your account was suspended since you did not pay and were out of country.

- you are back and you were ABLE to resume PM service after paying your bill

Now putting back your PM SIM you are getting some messages and you have no service? Is that correct?

Since your phone worked with PM before and you did use different SIM, your phone should be unlocked.

I assume you rebooted your phone and reset network. If your PM account is Active there should be no issue removing kolbi SIM ind putting back PM SIM.

[benfatto]

@zerothefool  Roaming doesn't matter, though can cause problems near the US border. 

Reboot your phone with the SIM installed and report any messages that show up. 

[hTideGnow]

HI @zerothefool   Do you have another phone to test the Public Mobile SIM?

The roaming you see means you are either using the wrong SIM or the phone is connecting to a wrong network.  Check your network settings:

iPhone:

Go to Settings > Mobile Data > Mobile Network.
By default, Automatic is selected. Turn off the Automatic option.
You will see a list of available carriers below the screen. Select one carrier from the list and test the network speed.

Android:

Choose Settings.
Choose Mobile Networks (if your device is running Android Lollipop, you will need to choose More Networks, then Mobile Networks)
Choose Network Operators.
Choose the Network you would like to connect to

[dust2dust]

Check to see that you're not manually trying to connect to the previous network. Find Public and connect to it and then set automatic on.

[softech]

@zerothefool   So, you reactivated your PM account and it shows clearly that your Account status is Active?

Try to manually select Public Mobile (instead of Automatic)  on your phone's Network provider setting.  

Also, do you have a dual SIM phone?  If so, check your Dual SIM settings or change the PM SIM from one slot to another

it might not be a carrier lock issue.  If it is, it will ask you some kind of PUK when you boot up your phone.  Did it ask that?