Wireless signal strength/coverage

[per_ou]

Hi, I am planning to switch to Public Mobile from Rogers. I am trying to determine if I will have a strong enough signal with Public Mobile at my home and workplace.

I've asked someone that uses Koodo, and he said his signal strength at my house is not very good. So if Public Mobile is using the same network as Koodo, maybe the signal strength will not be strong enough?

I'm probably going to switch to Public Mobile anyway, even if the signal is not the greatest, because staying with Rogers is a waste of money, I was just wondering if there is some way to test the signal strength before switching.

Also, should I wait until I have the Public Mobile SIM card before unlocking my phone?

Thanks,

Chris

[fujiyama]

Just want to add that the "signal bars" shown on your phone is not an accurate indication of signal strength anymore, because of LTE. 3 bars on LTE can be a stronger signal and faster than full bars on 3G.

So like someone else said: it either works or it doesn't. I think my phone worked with no bars once lol. Of course if you constantly get 0-1 bars then that would a concern.

[gblackma]

If you are using the phone on a Rogers plan. Then, wait until you have the PM SIM before unlocking your phone. Also, if you are going to port your number over. Get a temporary PM number and then do it. Makes it easier if you get stuck.

My dad is with Freedom mobile. And I find that my PM signal strength is better than his own.  However both phones still do the job asked.  91_MR2 is right don't forget your referral code to get you $10.

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@per_ou wrote:

Hi, I am planning to switch to Public Mobile from Rogers. I am trying to determine if I will have a strong enough signal with Public Mobile at my home and workplace.

I've asked someone that uses Koodo, and he said his signal strength at my house is not very good. So if Public Mobile is using the same network as Koodo, maybe the signal strength will not be strong enough?

I'm probably going to switch to Public Mobile anyway, even if the signal is not the greatest, because staying with Rogers is a waste of money, I was just wondering if there is some way to test the signal strength before switching.

Also, should I wait until I have the Public Mobile SIM card before unlocking my phone?

Thanks,

Chris

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[DDM69]

I had Rogers and after switching, my signal both at home and at work was better. Maybe if you share your neighborhood location someone could give you some feedback regarding signal strength. 

Also, I'd recommend you unlock your phone regardless. It helps with resale value too. 
Make sure you use a referral code to save $10 offf your first bill. 

[CannonFodder]

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@cellphoneuser1 wrote:

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Signal doesn't have to be very good. It only needs to be good enough to work. Does your friend's Koodo ever not work at your place?

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Yeah, that's why, even though I knew the signal strength on PM would be about the same as my previous provider(Lucky), I still switched to PM, because although the signal is poor, it works well enough, most of the time, to make phone calls and send/receive texts.

The trouble is, in our place, it's good enough in some of the rooms, but disappears in others. The EVEN  bigger downside, which has reared it's ugly head in just the past couple of days, is that I'm losing a connection to the PM network even in the rooms that usually have usable connectivity. Just tonight, I walked around our place, watching the signal strength reading on my wife's phone, which is on Chatr(Rogers network), and the signal was anywhere from decent, to quite good, and oddly enough, it was better in the rooms where PM's signal gets worse for me! 🤔  Think I'm gonna have to stick her Chatr SIM in my phone and try my PM SIM in her phone and see what sort of results I get......

[cellphoneuser1]

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@per_ou wrote:

Hi, I am planning to switch to Public Mobile from Rogers. I am trying to determine if I will have a strong enough signal with Public Mobile at my home and workplace.

I've asked someone that uses Koodo, and he said his signal strength at my house is not very good. So if Public Mobile is using the same network as Koodo, maybe the signal strength will not be strong enough?

I'm probably going to switch to Public Mobile anyway, even if the signal is not the greatest, because staying with Rogers is a waste of money, I was just wondering if there is some way to test the signal strength before switching.

Also, should I wait until I have the Public Mobile SIM card before unlocking my phone?

Thanks,

Chris

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Signal doesn't have to be very good. It only needs to be good enough to work. Does your friend's Koodo ever not work at your place?

[CannonFodder]

@per_ou  As several others have said, you can always try it for a month, or so, and see for yourself.

As for the signal strength, I'm in the same situation, i.e. the signal strength of Telus & Bell, and their lower tier companies, including PM, in our neighbourhood, kinda sucks, whereas the providers on the Rogers network seem to work fine. Quite frankly, the cheaper plan, that suits my use case best, is currently PM, and the rewards that PM provides, are the only reasons I'm here, because if there was an equal plan on the Rogers network, I'd be there, just because of the better signal strength around here.

[Ed404]

If you're making phone calls and texting it will be fine, but if you demand fast data speeds you'll need to stick with a mainstream provider as Public Mobile is throttling speeds to 3G.

[Daps]

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@per_ou wrote:

Hi, I am planning to switch to Public Mobile from Rogers. I am trying to determine if I will have a strong enough signal with Public Mobile at my home and workplace.

I've asked someone that uses Koodo, and he said his signal strength at my house is not very good. So if Public Mobile is using the same network as Koodo, maybe the signal strength will not be strong enough?

I'm probably going to switch to Public Mobile anyway, even if the signal is not the greatest, because staying with Rogers is a waste of money, I was just wondering if there is some way to test the signal strength before switching.

Also, should I wait until I have the Public Mobile SIM card before unlocking my phone?

Thanks,

Chris

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Your signal strength can vary depending on your phone model.

You can ask rogers for your unlock code at any time.

The good thing is if you wait for a promo, you can get extras like a free sim card and 2nd month free.

You are right that rogers is a waste of money. With public mobile, you will save money every 30 days.

Register your credit card to signup for autopay and save $2 off every renewal.

Activate with a referral code and you'll earn a free $10 credit.

[geopublic]

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@per_ou wrote:

Hi, I am planning to switch to Public Mobile from Rogers. I am trying to determine if I will have a strong enough signal with Public Mobile at my home and workplace.

Walmart will give you a free sim if you activate at the store. If you use a referral code you will get another $10 off. Just activate the sim with a temp number and if you are happy with the service port in from Rogers.

I've asked someone that uses Koodo, and he said his signal strength at my house is not very good. So if Public Mobile is using the same network as Koodo, maybe the signal strength will not be strong enough?

@per_ou  Telus, Koodo, Public and  Bell use the same towers so the answer is yes, if Koodo is weak the PM will be weak.

I'm probably going to switch to Public Mobile anyway, even if the signal is not the greatest, because staying with Rogers is a waste of money, I was just wondering if there is some way to test the signal strength before switching.

Also, should I wait until I have the Public Mobile SIM card before unlocking my phone?

Thanks,

Chris

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[ChuckYeah]

Although you should not expect any better service than you're Koodo friend, phone issues do also creep in at times.

@popping 's advice is good. That being said, if you're a higher volume data user, you can easily port your number in for a month and then port it out just as easily to rogers or someone else.

Welcome to PM, for now, @per_ou !

[popping]

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@per_ou wrote:

Hi, I am planning to switch to Public Mobile from Rogers. I am trying to determine if I will have a strong enough signal with Public Mobile at my home and workplace.

I've asked someone that uses Koodo, and he said his signal strength at my house is not very good. So if Public Mobile is using the same network as Koodo, maybe the signal strength will not be strong enough?

I'm probably going to switch to Public Mobile anyway, even if the signal is not the greatest, because staying with Rogers is a waste of money, I was just wondering if there is some way to test the signal strength before switching.

Also, should I wait until I have the Public Mobile SIM card before unlocking my phone?

Thanks,

Chris

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You can activate a $15 plan with autopay enable with a number supplied by PM.  You have 30 days to test the signals before porting your number to PM.  The $15 plan with autopay have 250MB data + 100 Canada wide outgoing minutes + unlimited incoming minutes + unlimited SMS/MMS.

Please note that PM is a prepaid provider.  There is no refund if you change you mind even after one hour.