Do you have a Samsung phone? Sometimes a brand new Samsung phone will lock to the first provider Sim card inserted in the phone. It's extremely unlikely that this will happen again however if for some reason it does you can contact Samsung Canada online or by telephone to get the unlocking codes for your phone.
Here are your options for your public mobile account while you travel.....
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. 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 number before you leave Canada.. Now any incoming calling to your pm number will ring thru to your voip number ( like textnow or fongo) while on wifi or mobile data (w/a local or global sim card) You can access your voip #'s voicemail for all voicemail messages.
Most important mark on your calendar day 85 of your suspension and day 89/90. 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!
Here's some info on your Sim card/ plan options in the UK.....
There are also extremely cheap plans available thru retailers such as Tesco etc....
You can also contact @Luddite via private message as I believe he can send you a free giffgaff Sim card before you leave so that you can be all set up once you arrive at your destination airport.
If you want to triple check, borrow someone's SIM card from another provider and try it in your phone to see if you can call and text. I'm certain you will be able to.
@bucknfoss did you get your phone from PM CPO site? All phone there are unlocked
if you got the phone from another provider, if the provider where you got it from can help to unlock
However, check if your phone is unlocked first, get another sim card from another provider other than Telus/Koodo/PM and see if it works. if it works on another provider sim, then you are good, the phone is unlocked
