Community

G6 · ‎04-04-2021

I am looking at upgrading becasue Google took away Hangouts calling so my 100 minutes a month on the $15 plan is insufficient. I have been unable to use Google Voice (not available in your country) so i'm considering upgrading to the $25 plan if they don't come up with a workaround soon but i do want Canada wide calling.

So i am curious if the discount is ending soon so if i do go for it when do i have to do it by to keep Canada wide calling?

Quigley · ‎04-07-2021

@Nezgar I agree with you totally. I've had both Fongo mobile and Fongo home phone for a long time now and their both flawless.

Nezgar · ‎04-07-2021

If you spend a lot of time calling out of province but within Canada, you may want to consider Fongo home phone for $5/mo. I personally prefer talking on a real landline phone and not on my cel for long calls. Fongo home phone lets you use a good ol POTS phone with an internet adapter for unlimited Canada-wide calling (except territories I think) and sounds every bit as good as a conventional land line.

darlicious · ‎04-07-2021

@G6

You would have to add the add on as needed. One member likes to keep 2×$5/500min on the account and just adds another one once he notices he uses one up so he never worries about running out of minutes. If you are going to try this out for your next cycle ( and rescheduling your plan change after renewal) you would be monitoring your usage so adding another add on while you are already in your account only takes a couple of minutes and they stay on your account until you completely use them.

I think its worth testing it out if saving $$ is important. Sure it takes a little extra work but its all the little amounts that really add up ( ask anyone I know how to save money!) and in no time you'll have enough for a new cell phone too ( there are some great ones $100-$200 that would suit your needs just fine) Just your time spent in the community will likely earn you a $1 or $2 community reward.

G6 · ‎04-07-2021

@darlicious wrote:
@G6
This where using fongo for calling voicemail or when call quality isn't a concern helps save minutes. Can I assume you used google hangouts to call a lot this month? If you are only running out of minutes now with two days left in your cycle....paying an extra $10 for "unlimited calls" may be excessive. 2×$5/500 min add ons + 100 plan minutes is over 18 hours of outgoing talk time.....that is if you don't really need to use the extra data that comes with the $25 plan.

I used Google Hangouts a great deal, it was eliminated on the 1st and i have been rationing minutes as much as possible but its not sustainable.

I actually would like 1GB of data but have managed without it by being extremely careful. In the end its all about cost. Unlimited calling with more data is more convenient, one phone app, no having to reenable caller ID once a month like Hangouts requires and so forth but an extra $10/month hits the budget very hard. I'm still on a 3 or 4 generations old very laggy cell phone because i can't afford an upgrade.

I would definitely need the extra 500 minutes a month and would seriously eat into the 1000. Can the system be set to auto add $5 every time it runs out or will it just stop working till i log into the website and add it myself?

Nezgar · ‎04-06-2021

@darlicious wrote:
This where using fongo for calling voicemail or when call quality isn't a concern helps save minutes.

This is where setting up YouMail.com helps save minutes since you don't have to call in to listen to voicemail in the first place - it just comes to your email or MMS inbox!

darlicious · ‎04-06-2021

@G6

This where using fongo for calling voicemail or when call quality isn't a concern helps save minutes. Can I assume you used google hangouts to call a lot this month? If you are only running out of minutes now with two days left in your cycle....paying an extra $10 for "unlimited calls" may be excessive. 2×$5/500 min add ons + 100 plan minutes is over 18 hours of outgoing talk time.....that is if you don't really need to use the extra data that comes with the $25 plan.

HALIMACS · ‎04-06-2021

@G6 wrote:
So i did the upgrade and set it for the 9th. I liked the low cost of the $15 but such is life.

Anyways i got a text message saying 10 minutes left this month, when they expire will it automatically start eating pout of my 500 minutes from the:
"$0 Free Holiday Giveaway: 500min INTL Long Distance incl CA & US "?
For local calls?

Yes, it will, @G6

G6 · ‎04-06-2021

So i did the upgrade and set it for the 9th. I liked the low cost of the $15 but such is life.

Anyways i got a text message saying 10 minutes left this month, when they expire will it automatically start eating pout of my 500 minutes from the:

"$0 Free Holiday Giveaway: 500min INTL Long Distance incl CA & US "?

For local calls?

Nezgar · ‎04-06-2021

@G6 wrote:
I'm going to guess there is no WiFi calling for PM that doesn't use minutes?

Public Mobile currently does not offer Wi-Fi calling, or Voice over LTE ("VoLTE")

Even then, Wi-Fi calling only helps if you are in a poor coverage area for cellular service - it does nothing if you are on a limited minutes plan since calls would usually still be limited to the same pool of minutes/plan limitations.

computergeek541 · ‎04-06-2021

@darlicious wrote:
@G6
Yes. Your plan will show expired at 9pm et. It will show suspended at 12am et and you will see your plan data counter and minute counter reset. Between midnight and 2 am your rewards will be applied and at 2 am et your payment will be taken from your balance or autopay will kick in but autopay can be delayed sometimes up to 6 hours or not at all like the system failure on Friday.

Even with enough balance already in the account, I would say that the plan payment usually doesn't get taken at 2am ET. I can't remember how long it's been since it has occurred for me anywhere near that time. The times that it happens are all over the place.

HALIMACS · ‎04-06-2021

@G6

See my edit to my post from above - I believe you're correct in that PM does not offer Wi-Fi calling.

G6 · ‎04-06-2021

@HALIMACS wrote:
@G6

Unless I'm missing the intent of the question, Wi-Fi calling does not use plan minutes.

Some providers you can enable it somewhere in the settings but i don't know if PM has it enabled.

HALIMACS · ‎04-06-2021

@G6

~~Unless I'm missing the intent of the question, Wi-Fi calling does not use plan minutes.~~

EDIT:

The above information may be inaccurate - I don't believe Public Mobile has this availability.

See scripting provided by TELUS about this option which they provide for their plan holders:

"Calls and messages are billed the same as over cellular, and there is no additional cost to enable Wi-Fi Calling. All incoming calls and messages received over Wi-Fi Calling while in Canada, and all outgoing calls and messages sent over Wi-Fi Calling while in Canada to a Canadian number, will be deducted from your monthly voice allowance and any overage will be rated according to your wireless plan. All outgoing calls and messages sent over Wi-Fi Calling while in Canada to a non-Canadian number will be charged according to your monthly allowance including applicable overage pay-per-use rate, and long distance service will be charged according to your wireless plan. Wi-Fi Calling will not use up data from your wireless plan."

G6 · ‎04-06-2021

I'm going to guess there is no WiFi calling for PM that doesn't use minutes?

cellphoneuser1 · ‎04-06-2021

@Spudster Immediate change could cause a reward issue on top of forfeited plans days and moderator would need to make an adjustment.

Spudster · ‎04-06-2021

@G6 wrote:
@HALIMACS wrote:
@G6

I like the point made by @darlicious with respect to purchasing the added minutes that's your primary reason for upgrading.

Something else you may do: You can schedule a plan change to the $25 plan to occur on your next renewal, and in the interim if you determine you no longer need the $25 plan, just simply go into your plan change tab and remove the scheduled plan change.
I think i will schedule it, i assume that when i click on new plan in my profile it will give the option to pick the effective date?

@G6

Yes, just schedule it for "Next Renewal Date" NOT an immediate change.

However, given you're so close to your next renewal date (3 days i think you noted), you wouldn't lose out much by just doing an immediate plan change, so you're choice.

darlicious · ‎04-06-2021

@G6

Yes. Your plan will show expired at 9pm et. It will show suspended at 12am et and you will see your plan data counter and minute counter reset. Between midnight and 2 am your rewards will be applied and at 2 am et your payment will be taken from your balance or autopay will kick in but autopay can be delayed sometimes up to 6 hours or not at all like the system failure on Friday. So if you wanted to schedule and cancel "last minute" ( I wouldn't cancel past 11:45 pm et.) manually topping up would be best....then once you see the payment for your plan debited from your balance in your payment history you could reschedule the plan change on next renewal to save the plan/price while you test out your usage.

G6 · ‎04-06-2021

@darlicious wrote:
@G6
Wow that is a lot of canada wide talk....I take it for business so you are probably averaging 60 minutes a day. You could use the work arounds for personal calls but yes you would probably be better off with the $25 plan. I would give it a month test of monitoring outgoing call usage but would immediately schedule a plan change on next renewal. Then about an hour before renewal if you want to keep the $15 plan cancel it and then schedule it again 3 or 4 hours later once renewed. To speed up that process.....manually topping up so you are not waiting for autopay to charge your card would shorten that wait time. This way you are pretty much ensured you can get the canada wide calling plan at $25 (except for that 3 or 4 hours during renewal but its unlikely or very unlucky if pm put the $5 increase in force at midnight eastern.)

My renewal is the 9th of April.

Not business but covid plus other obligations and people who don't text add to the minutes.

How does this renewal work, done at midnight EST?

darlicious · ‎04-06-2021

@G6

Wow that is a lot of canada wide talk....I take it for business so you are probably averaging 60 minutes a day. You could use the work arounds for personal calls but yes you would probably be better off with the $25 plan. I would give it a month test of monitoring outgoing call usage but would immediately schedule a plan change on next renewal. Then about an hour before renewal if you want to keep the $15 plan cancel it and then schedule it again 3 or 4 hours later once renewed. To speed up that process.....manually topping up so you are not waiting for autopay to charge your card would shorten that wait time. This way you are pretty much ensured you can get the canada wide calling plan at $25 (except for that 3 or 4 hours during renewal but its unlikely or very unlucky if pm put the $5 increase in force at midnight eastern.)

computergeek541 · ‎04-06-2021

@G6 wrote:
I had a look and it has the option to "Change on next renewal date".
Also are there any promo codes right now?

A renewal date can't be picked unless you perform an immediate change, and even then, it's based on the date that you choose to perform that change. Howvever, you won't want to usually do that because you'll lose whatever you arlready paid and the remaining time left in the billing cycle for that plan.

There are currently no promo codes available for existing customers who are changing plans.

G6 · ‎04-06-2021

I had a look and it has the option to "Change on next renewal date".

Also are there any promo codes right now?

G6 · ‎04-06-2021

@HALIMACS wrote:
@G6

I like the point made by @darlicious with respect to purchasing the added minutes that's your primary reason for upgrading.

Something else you may do: You can schedule a plan change to the $25 plan to occur on your next renewal, and in the interim if you determine you no longer need the $25 plan, just simply go into your plan change tab and remove the scheduled plan change.

I think i will schedule it, i assume that when i click on new plan in my profile it will give the option to pick the effective date?

G6 · ‎04-06-2021

@BearFBI wrote:
@G6 You can use Fongo. It's simmaler to Hangouts calling and it's free. Has canada wide calling as well.

You could also just buy the Canada wide 5$ calling addon and top up as you need it.

For some reason Fongo's call quality is just poor, while Hangouts was fine.

I tried everything i could think of to fix it and played with every setting in Fongo and my modem/router but gave up when it could not be fixed. It works but not great.

Makes no sense but hard to argue with real life experience

G6 · ‎04-06-2021

@Spudster wrote:
@G6

Try using Duo voice/video calling or FaceTime.

Doesn't work to call old school landlines

G6 · ‎04-06-2021

@darlicious wrote:
@G6
Do you need the extra data? The $5/500min canada wide calling add on has over 8 hours of talk time. Will you need more than that? That would make your plan $20 ($15+$5) and if you don't use all 500 minutes it will just keep rolling over every month.....keeping your plan at $15 until you completely consume all 500 minutes. So if you only use an extra 100 minutes a month it will average out to $16 per month. If your $15 plan is already the canada wide one if you change it to the $25 plan you won't get it back....currently you are grandfathered into that plan. They may never raise the price.....but I don't think the $15 canada wide plan is going to come back....keep it if you can.

Just download the fongo app and you can even call using mobile data when you're not on wifi. 1 calling minute uses 0.5mb of data. (250mb=500 min)

Its not a bad workaround but i do need over 500 minutes a month and my current number needs to show up in the call display.

So i might end up paying an extra $10/month which is hte same as the $25 plan but having to do it manually then hitting the cap if i'm not keeping my eye on it.

HALIMACS · ‎04-04-2021

Right on, @esjliv makes sense. 👍

Thought for a sec you might have perceived canada-wide might no longer be available, clearly you meant at the limited-time offer pricing.

I agree it is quite surprising that has gone on for 7 weeks now ... I think it's exceeded most people's perceptions on duration.

esjliv · ‎04-04-2021

@HALIMACS wrote:
Hi @esjliv

What do you mean when you say you "are surprised there are still Canada wide available"?

At the end of this limited-time offer, there will still be Canada wide plans, they'll just be $5 more then the current limited time offer pricing.

Perhaps, as most are thinking, you're pleasantly surprised they're still offering the limited-time offer.

@HALIMACS I mean, surprised they are offering the Canada-Wide calling at the "regular" prices still when we go into our Self Serve account. I kinda of expected these gone by now.