Text regarding $5/mo 3G usage price increase

[Sham_Madani]

Hello, I just received a message that I’m going to charge 5$ more because of my device that uses 3G, I’m not sure why because I’m using 5G data on my phone & I don’t really understand the extra charge!

[TaylorE]

It is an LG 4G LET with Volte . It always worked on 4G LTE Volte service for my calls since that outage they had a few weeks back. It's just this company trying to rip us customers off for an issue they cannot fix. And why would they if they are charging all their 5G and 4G customers an extra $5 per month for being forced to use 3G for voice. I'm so fed up with this company and its parent Telus. 

[slusagm]

@TaylorE what phone do you have and which province you are at? 

Did you check if your phone is fully compatible here

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

[TaylorE]

Public mobile had a network outage about 3 to 3.5 weeks ago. They said they have it fixed , but since them my phone will only connect to 3G for calls despite me setting to 4G LTE Volte and NOW THEY ARE CHARGING ME FOR THEIR ISSUE THEY CANNOT SEEM TO FIX. WHAT ROGUES!! 

[TaylorE]

I have the same issue here. I have even set my phone to prefer 4G LTE calls . They had a network outage a little while back and said they had a workaround Since that , my phone only connects to 3G for voice and now they are charging me more for this network issue they say they have fixed , This is their problem and they are making me pay for it. What a rogue company this is. 

[cigarsmoker]

i'm not into social media so samsung or apple phone is just overkill for me,just a regular flip for me is fine,so i see you are moving on to another carrier . i was thinking of doing the same thing ,again thanks for the reply have a great weekend.

[Dunkman]

@cigarsmoker 

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@cigarsmoker wrote:

thank you for your quick reply.. i have been looking at the SONIM XP3 PLUS is this a good choice for PM,i can;t just buy a phone bring it home to check the IMEI number and then send it back .again thanks for your quick reply

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Previous to the IME checker, Public mobile had a list of VoLTE compatible phones. The Sonic XP10 Rugged Phone was on that list. So hopefully that means your listed phone should be VoLTE compatible.  However, you will need to check IME to make sure. 

Safer to buy the more popular brands like Google Pixel, Samsung and Apple. 

[Dunkman]

@Phone78change 

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@Phone78change wrote:

Hi:

Rec'd the same message. Confirmed on my account today, that my next bill on Jun 23 increase by $5. I have a 4G phone, not using a 3G network. Moving on to another mobile carrier. 

Best decision I made so far.

Move on, moving on  . . .  Goodbye Public Mobile.

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Having a 4G phone is not enough.  It needs to be VoLTE compatible phone.  Did you check the IME checker to see if your phone is compatible with PM network?

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

If it is VoLTE compatible, then you can contact customer service agent to determine whether there was an error in the text message. Some customers received the text in error. 

[Phone78change]

Hi:

Rec'd the same message. Confirmed on my account today, that my next bill on Jun 23 increase by $5. I have a 4G phone, not using a 3G network. Moving on to another mobile carrier. 

Best decision I made so far.

Move on, moving on  . . .  Goodbye Public Mobile.

[nhykwan]

I see "access denied" ?

huh?

[cigarsmoker]

thank you for your quick reply.. i have been looking at the SONIM XP3 PLUS is this a good choice for PM,i can;t just buy a phone bring it home to check the IMEI number and then send it back .again thanks for your quick reply

[softech]

@ICE_ICE_Baby @waytay 

S23 will work and you will not need to pay the $5 surcharge.  You might see the IMEI checker showing not VoLTE compatible but it is a false negative.  It can use VoLTE on PM network and no surcharge 

[ICE_ICE_Baby]

Yeah irritating.. I have an S10 too... had been thinking about getting an S23 Ultra for the camera - and as a bonus to dodge the $5 penalty charge - but I guess that doesn't work then?

[waytay]

Got the same message on my S23 phone and the $5 surcharge will be automatic.  Even though it is whitelisted as being fully compatible.  I also now notice when I go into my PM account there are no more subscriber-specific plan offerings.  Instead PM is now flagrantly pushing me to sign up for Koodo.  These tactics are insulting.  I think I may just switch to Loblaws No-name plan -- they are offering very competitive deals (they even sent us 2 free SIM cards!).  Their plans ride on the Bell system, which says my phone (and my wife's S10) is fully compatible.  Maybe when Telus (who owns PM and Koodo) gets their crap together, I may switch back  ...but I doubt it once we're gone.

[ERICSJ]

My sister got this message as well. We checked her IMEI with the compatibility tool and it was good enough for 5G and VoLTE. It's an S21FE so that wasn't a suprise.

Her plan was only 3G so she will select a new plan which should hopefully solve this. I think the Public Mobile text message was unclear since it talks about the device, and not the plan itself.

 

[ammarcoux]

I got a response from support that the message of the $5 surcharge may not apply to everyone if your phone is compatible. My OnePlus 8 shows it's VoLTE provisioned and indicates 4G when I make calls so should be good.

Guess I'll wait and see.

[Tamarra]

Thank you! Mine did too. PC Mobile has a great plan and offers $20 in bonus points on your PC points if you collect. I didn't know PC Mobile was on the Bell Network until I saw it somewhere in this thread.

[OrionSteel]

Yes! It passes the bell IMEI 😅

[OrionSteel]

Thanks re Bell. Now the great news. No name mobile plan (somehow part of PC mobile, not sure of details, is $19/month for same features as PM hero plan, and double the data at 2gb data not 1gb).

If my phone works on Bell I just saved a new phone and $6 a month rather than getting dinged an Extra $5 for a total of $30 with PM.

I guess my problem may be solved.

[OrionSteel]

Thanks. I was trying to remember which carrier passed it 😅.

Personally I think more than  5-6 years is not unreasonable expectations for a $700+ phone, but such is life.

PM Support just told me their whitelist will be updated by June 15, so maybe it will be ok after all. If not I guess I'll go with Bell until they kick me too. Still cheaper than a new phone that barely is better by the specs and worse battery.

[OrionSteel]

Update: support told me PM white list should be updated by June 15.

I guess I'll wait and see, and if my phone is still not supported according to PM, switch to a carrier that doi support a Canadian moto g8 power that was bought in 2020.

[slusagm]

@OrionSteel 

G power 8 is a bit old.  I checked for you, only Bell will take it, not even Rogers

[OrionSteel]

Motorola G8 power, bought in 2020, and yes it was bought in Canada (apparently that matters if what I'm seeing on forum is correct)

But I did try a online check with another carrier (I forget which but higher tier)  and checked white lists with Robbers and He'll, er Rogers and Bell. From what I can see this is a PM issue (maybe Telus too).

I think you are right and I need to avoid tier 3 providers who could not be bothered updating their lists for anything but newest phones.

[slusagm]

@OrionSteel 

what phone do you have? if your phone is not whitelisted here, likely it is not whitelisted with other Tier 3 providers as well, so you will have to check with Tier 2 or Tier 1

[OrionSteel]

Yes. I meant 4G. Thanks.

Well it will be cheaper to find a new carrier I guess, since the phone does do 4G, volte, etc. so this is just some whitelist snafu disguising a cash grap, IMO

[hTideGnow]

HI @OrionSteel 

I think you meant 3G and 4G.

if you have the choice 'Automatic" on the network mode, change to Automatic.  With Automatic, it will use data with 4G and when you need calls, the phone will scale back to 3G itself

but you will still need a new phone before March 2027, when PM really ends 3G network 

[OrionSteel]

Yep. Good advice.

Already tried that, x3.

LTE and G4 on phone does not work anymore (last confirmed working last week).

G3 mode on phone still works.

[slusagm]

@OrionSteel 

Ontario still has 3G and your phone should still work

Please Reboot phone and reset network settings and try making calls again

[OrionSteel]

Thanks for replying.

I'm in Ontario not Manitoba. It literally worked last week when I tested it LTE, says G4 when I call).

After I contact PM about the G3 $5 fee, suddenly my phone stops working and it is not on some list? I find it rather suspicious and to convenient. If PM does not want me as a customer just say so and stop giving me the runaround.

Guess I'm switching providers.

[slusagm]

it is not whether your phone has VoLTE or not, it is the fact that your phone is not on PM's VoLTE whitelist.  

If your phone is not on the whitelist, which yours not, you will have to pay the $5

if you are in Manitoba, the 3G networks already decommissioned, that's why you are not receiving calls and unable to make one.  You need another supported device

[OrionSteel]

Like many people I received a warning that I would get charged five dollars for using G3.

My phone supports LTE and G4. I tried talking to support, I posted here, it's just a big run-around with support giving me canned responses asking same questions.

Now here is the really interesting part, my phone is G4 compatible it has LTE, and last week when I was trying to troubleshoot and test this I could see the phone saying LTE on the status bar and when I make a call I can see it sayG4. .

Now today after I've tried talking to tech support about this issue, my phone refused to make or receive phone calls until I explicitly turned off the phone LTE and switched to only G3. Then  suddenly it could make and receive calls. Frankly I have no clue what public role model is doing at this point in time. A suspicious person may think they are deliberately breaking my G4 so they have an excuse to charge me an extra $5 a month claiming my phone is not compatible, despite it working last week.