Roaming charges when you go to US

[FTT]

Hi, right now i have an account for my child.  I am thinking of switching my own Kudo account to PM.  With Kudo, they charge me $14 per day the minute I enter the US.  Will PM also charge me this?

[Phil_Adelphus]

@FTT   Iphone SE 2nd generation should work as long as it's on at least ios16 or newer.  All iphones from 8 onwards that can run at least ios16 are approved to get VoLTE on Public Mobile.

[FTT]

I have an Apple iPhone SE Second Generation

[Phil_Adelphus]

@dwh1  t PM will - as a postpaid provide

I'm sure you meant to say prepaid there.

[dwh1]

Lots of good comments here, but it's worth making it clear that PM will - as a postpaid provider - never give you surprise charges.  The only way to have service in the US is to pay in advance, either by buying a US/Can/Mex plan, or by buying the US service add-on.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@FTT  thanks but what is VoLTE, WiFi calling and Call Screening?

The USA shut down their 3G networks in 2022.  This means that to make phone calls there you need a phone that makes them over LTE hence VoLTE, Voice over LTE).  Public Mobile may have a shorter list of "certified" VoLTE phones than your current provider so best to check this list here:

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

You can also test your phone by turning off wifi, turning on cellular data, and making a phone call.  The phone should not drop to 3G.  If it doesn't drop to 3G it most likely will work fine for voice calls in the USA.  Even with a non-VoLTE phone data and texting would still work, it's just voice calls that are affected.

Wifi Calling enables calls to be made over wifi, it's not something PM has and if you don't know what it is you likely won't miss having it!  Call screening is a way of weeding out unwanted phone calls.  

[slusagm]

what phone do you have ? we can tell you if your phone is VoLTE compatible with PM

Wifi calling is to use Wif to make voice calls if you are in an area with poor network.  If your son does not encounter that, your should be find without

Call screen, I don't like that feature.  When people calls you, they hear a message asking them to say their name and you can decide to receive the call or not.  It is good to block automated calls, but it is very trouble for legitimate calls 

[FTT]

thanks but what is VoLTE, WiFi calling and Call Screening?

[slusagm]

yes, the Canada-US-Mexico roaming plan is actually a very good one.  Not sure why people still pay that much for roaming in US

but remember, PM only has roaming in US and Mexico, for people who wants to roam in other countries, you cannot do that

and compare with Koodo, PM only have VoLTE for selected phones and no Wifi Calling and no Call Screening.  So, PM has it pros and cons compare with Koodo

[hairbag1]

@FTT 

adding to the info provided...if you don't want a Canada/US plan, you can just get the cheaper Canada wide calling plan, then when you want to go to USA, PM has 15 Day US Roaming add-ons available for low price. You have talk/text and data options for 15 days with those add-ons and there's NEVER any unexpected overages to worry about, later on.

[eddieO]

@FTT if you have a Canada-US or Canada-US-Mexico plan with Public Mobile you will not pay any additional charges to use in the US or in Mexico, it will work exactly the same as if you were in Canada. Many of reported (my wife and daughter included) that it worked well and no surprise charges.

[hTideGnow]

hi @FTT 

get the Canada/US/Mexcio plan and the US roaming is all included, no extra to pay

and remember that you need to use another email address to create a new account for your new line (no family combined account).  But get the friend code from your son's account for your activation to save $10