To expand a little further on @jrivas24 's suggestion just keep in mind that you must call forward your pm number to your voip provider (textnow or fongo for example) while you are still in Canada. If you have a stopover in the US then you must ensure your phone does not connect with a US tower so keep airplane mode on if this is the case. Or better yet leave your sim card in Canada with a trusted friend or family member in case you need to perform any actions or recieve any verification texts and they can put your sim card in a phone or alternatively if you also want to use a text forwarding app then follow these instructions from @BeachNBeer ....
Before you leave or have your friend with your sim card in Canada put it in the old android phone. Then you or your friend goes to the Play store and download/install the Mightytext app.
Do all of the setup of mightytext on the phone. Then leave the phone on and plugged into a charger in an electric outlet.
Then while you are in away you can go to Mightytext website from your phone, laptop /tablet and you'll be able to receive text, reply to texts can even make calls from your Canadian number.
Additional options for your service while you are away...
You can turn off autopay and allow the account to suspend at the of your current 30 day cycle but this is your least advantageous option. Pay and reactivate by day 85 or so.
If you have an account balance that exceeds your plan amount then you need to suspend via the lost/stolen feature in your account before midnight eastern on the evening of your renewal. Then on day 85 or so resume your service to pay and reactivate.
Suspending via lost/stolen before midnight eastern will keep your voicemail active allowing you retrieve voicemail and any verification sent by phone calls. However your rewards will not be applied to your account. Moderator/CSA contact after paying and reactivating is necessary to have the rewards applied manually.
Voicemail can be accessed by calling your pm number from a different phone by calling your phone # and pressing * once connected and entering your 4 digit voicemail pin #.
If you don't have an account balance or enough balance to cover your plan amount you can suspend via lost/stolen after midnight but before 2 am eastern on the day of your renewal. Once your rewards have been applied (usually by 12:15 am et) then suspend your account. Voicemail access will be lost.
Switching to the $15 plan with rewards helping to cover a partial or full amount of your plan allows you to call forward your pm number to your fongo or textnow number before you leave Canada.. Now any incoming calling to your pm number will ring thru to your fongo number while on wifi or mobile data (w/a local or global sim card) You can access your fongo voicemail for all voicemail messages.
Most important mark on your calendar day 85 of your suspension and day 90. Do not forget when you must unsuspend your account via lost/stolen and/or pay and reactivate your service so you don't lose your phone number and account. Happy travels and Stay--Safe!
You may want to consider getting a virtual back up number with TextNow and use it as your "travel number" for unlimited calling and texting. As long as you have a local or roaming data-only plan or wi-fi, you can call and text with your virtual number. You can also forward your PM number to your virtual TextNow number so you don't miss important calls when abroad. This works for me when I travel. Good luck!
@FranBlake Sorry, you can't use PM service outside of Canada and USA (with roaming add-ons). You will have to rely on local services for texting and calling.
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