Wireless home phone on PM?

[Korth]

A friend of mine is currently with Rogers, she has an iPhone 4s and a "Wireless Home Phone" device - a ZTE WF720.  This device is essentially a cellular terminal designed for non-mobile use, it uses wall receptacle power instead of a battery (although it has a small battery for making emergency calls when power is out), it's intended for fixed use (in a home not wired with phone landlines) but can actually be used pretty much anywhere (we've loaned it to friends who need a phone, lol).  Pretty nifty way to get home phone service for just $10/month.

The ZTE WF720 has a SIM card and can apparently be unlocked.  Is it compatible with Public Mobile?  Could it keep the same phone number?  And would such a "home phone" service still cost the same as a mobile cellphone service?

[Lew34]

You can use whatever SIM card from any company you want.It takes a micro SIM, but the SIM cards now allow you to use 3 different sizes. You can get the cheapest cell plan if you want,depending on how much you want to talk,and yes, you can port your current number over to use with this. I use Koodo $15/mth plan which gives me 100 Canada wide minutes to call out, and unlimited incoming calls! Also, toll free numbers don't count towards your minute tally.

[bridonca]

Public Mobile already provides a SIM card adapter.  The biggest one works on my home phone device.  Not sure if the newer devices use smaller SIM cards.

[Montrealpost]

May I ask what kind of SIM card adapter and how to use it?

Thanks in advance!

[Nlguy]

Nope,

I use a sim card adapter. 

It's a bit of a hassle switching Sims but it beats paying two different phone bills

[Horemansuk]

Lucky your sims are the same size¿????

Seems a nuisance to swap when leaving the house. Call forwarding could be easier.

[smp99]

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@Nlguy wrote:

I am using the home phone base.

I currently have unlimited canada wide calling.

Unlimited texting and 1gig of data.

When I go out I take the sim from the home phone base and pop it in my cell phone.

I will be able to used the data and also text

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Yes, if your plan has the features it will be fine in your phone.

[Nlguy]

I am using the home phone base.

I currently have unlimited canada wide calling.

Unlimited texting and 1gig of data.

When I go out I take the sim from the home phone base and pop it in my cell phone.

I will be able to used the data and also text

[amidchaos]

Nevermind, I see that a basic 50 minute plan would be only $10 and more than enough for my usage 🙂

[amidchaos]

What's cheapest way to reuse the home phone base - get data-only PM plan?  Or is that over complicating it? haha

[Montrealpost]

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@smp99 wrote:

The Koodo device will work fine with a PM SIM. I have used a PM SIM in a locked Telus Hub and both data and talk worked fine. So I am 99% confident Koodo would be the same.

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Thank you very much!!

"Data . . . worked fine. . . . "  data worked on Koodo home phone unit?  PM mobile phone data?  Which province? Which model of hardware?

It will be amazing and convenient to have a home phone box for both phone and data.

[Montrealpost]

I've unlocked 1 Rogers and 2 Fido home phone units, by calling the respective provider and asked for unlock code, free.  The unlock code for 1 Fido unit did not work and I was told by Fido to contact manufacturer.  For now, I don't have time to follow up.

For those of you who have Rogers/Fido home phone units, 7-11 Speakout SIM may work without unlock.  Reboot unit, re-insert 7-11 SIM few times and check.

Friend who uses Koodo unit doesn't have time and it's not convenient for me to visit.

Thanks again for sharing and nice day!!

[smp99]

The Koodo device will work fine with a PM SIM. I have used a PM SIM in a locked Telus Hub and both data and talk worked fine. So I am 99% confident Koodo would be the same.

[btkli]

Oh I didn't know free unlocks work for home phone modules too... I thought it was only for cell phones..

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@Nlguy wrote:

Call koodo,

Give them the imei number of your device and they will unlock it for free.

Then you can pop in your pm sim and it will work flawlessly 

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[Nlguy]

Call koodo,

Give them the imei number of your device and they will unlock it for free.

Then you can pop in your pm sim and it will work flawlessly 

[Montrealpost]

Thanks!

What if Koodo device is locked?  Koodo and PM both on Telus network.

[Nlguy]

It will definitely work as long as your device is unlocked. 

Im using the same device myself

[Montrealpost]

Thanks for sharing info!!

I've planned to suggest friend to switch to PM for $20 unlimited local talk, -$2 auto pay, hence $18/month.  It would be cheaper then the Koodo 2nd year pricing of $20.  Thanks for reminder of loyalty discount of $1/year.

Does the Koodo ZTE WF721 require unlocking for using with PM?

[Anonymous]

I'm happy enough with the Telus Wireless Home Phone that I have for $10 for 2 years. That's $240. The Koodo one even with the $5 short term deal totals out to $300.

Then after that we'll see if we would just use cells after all.

[smp99]

If you read the fine print, the Koodo plan is unlimited CdaWide, whereas PM is only 50min (send or receive). And you are 'paying' for texts which is kind of pointless on a home phone plan.

[btkli]

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@will13am wrote:

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The Koodo brand currently offers a wireless home phone option for $5/month.  I would consider that option rather than getting a cell plan and trying to reduce monthly costs using rewards. 

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If you read the fine prints, it's only for the first 12 months, then it goes back to the original price of $20/mth.  But for arguement sakees, let's assume you can keep that $5/mth price after the 12 months.....

With PM, I get the $10/month plan.  I do autopay, so that automatically gives me $2/mth off.  Then because I referred myself in, I get another $1/mth off.  So starting off, I am already at $7/mth.  Every year, I get an additional $1/mth off.  So in 2 years time, I am already at even.  beyond the 2 years, I am profitting.  at 7 year mark, it's free.

Furthermore, if I have out of town guests that needs a temp cell, I can always just use this sim for them, maybe add on a small data package, and we good to go.  I can also reserve this plan later on for my kid/kids, when they get older.  They can take the plan, with already the loyalty savings.

So no I don't believe I am better off with the Koodo's plan.  In fact I would argue anyone thinking of keeping this long term, PM would make the better deal.

[will13am]

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@btkli wrote:

LAN lines are not really that cheap.  Home phone using GSM/cell tech is somewhat cheaper (like what we can get here). VOIP is cheapest, but there is certain delays in the voice that some do not find acceptable.  It really comes down to what you need, as there are pros and cons to everything.  

Public Mobile may not have the cheapest voice only plan for home phone initially.  However, if you take in the referral bonus (if you are existing PM client), and you have the pre-approved payment and considering the loyalty program, you can theoretically have a cheaper home phone line in the longer run, and eventually a free line.  

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The Koodo brand currently offers a wireless home phone option for $5/month.  I would consider that option rather than getting a cell plan and trying to reduce monthly costs using rewards. 

[btkli]

LAN lines are not really that cheap.  Home phone using GSM/cell tech is somewhat cheaper (like what we can get here). VOIP is cheapest, but there is certain delays in the voice that some do not find acceptable.  It really comes down to what you need, as there are pros and cons to everything.  

Public Mobile may not have the cheapest voice only plan for home phone initially.  However, if you take in the referral bonus (if you are existing PM client), and you have the pre-approved payment and considering the loyalty program, you can theoretically have a cheaper home phone line in the longer run, and eventually a free line.  

[Luddite]

@domptg Just FYI: You posted to an old thread. In future you will have more assurance of timely help by creating your own topic on the forum, or, if appropriate, sending a private message directly to the moderators. 

Great someone is actually using your model adapter! 

[btkli]

The seller I used is call Cell Unlocker Pro

[btkli]

I found the seller on eBay.  I don't know if I can post any links here?  I have always had success unlocking from eBay sellers.  Just search for "ZTE WF720 Fido unlock"

[domptg]

May I ask you where did you unlock it. Was it mobifree.ca?

[btkli]

I unlocked it first, and then I threw my cell's sim card in to confirm it worked before I ordered a new sim to get a basic voice plan.  You can do the same if you are uncertain.  The unlocking fee is very minimal

[btkli]

Here is mine.. working perfectly

[domptg]

They do not listed ZTE WF720 

I think they don"t consider this as a phone. I already tried to check.