e-sim activation on arrival or purchase?

[An-Aussie]

G'day folks,

I'm travelling to Canada next week and am looking for a local service. I'd like to pre purchase an e-sim but can't seem to find any information regarding the activation. Is it from the date of purchase, or connection to the network upon arrival? The service appears to be based on a subscription model so if I'm only staying for just shy of 2 months, how easy is the cancellation process? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanking you in advance.

Adam

p.s Is it just easier to drop into a Walmart after arriving?

[An-Aussie]

Fantastic. That was exactly the kind of detail I was looking for. Thank you very much for the assist and have a great day!

[hairbag1 · Accepted solution]

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@An-Aussie wrote:

Ahh... So, it's really not suitable for non-residents. Okay, many thanks, I'll keep looking.

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You can easily set up a new Public Mobile account. You can get to Canada Post office or even Walmart and get a prepaid debit card..they're acceptable for activation. When you get to Canada and you have a prepaid Cdn payment card, just download the Public Mobile app to your cellphone to create your account and buy an esim.  Just use the address of the place you're staying...Public Mobile doesn't confirm or check addresses. For renewals, you can reload that debit card or you can buy payment vouchers from Canada Tire, No Frills foodstores and Shoppers Drug Mart.

Just before you leave Canada for good, log in to your Public Mobile account and disable Subscribed (Autopay). Then when renewal fails, your account is suspended and eventually is deactivated with no further payments taken.

[An-Aussie]

Ahh... So, it's really not suitable for non-residents. Okay, many thanks, I'll keep looking.

[SKSuh]

You’ll need to download the Public Mobile app from the Canadian App Store (iOS or Android) plus have a Canadian credit (or prepaid) card to set up an account