Emergency Calls Only - New Activation

[Arist]

Hi all, I've been with PM before on a separate line and have had no issues, but when trying to setup my mother with a SIM it hasn't been working. The SIM is detected but says Emergency Calls Only. At first we thought it might be the phone so we tried the first SIM in multiple phones all unlocked, all of which had the same message of "Emergency Calls Only", each time restarting the phone and such. After trying that we went back to Walmart to try a new SIM, the same issue cropped up across all phones.

Could a moderator please look into this?

Thank you.

[Katdog]

Had this issue recently with new activation. SIMon says to re-seat your SIM card...remember to power off your phone first and also, as a reminder, you must push the card in first for the release mechanism to work. Aslo, while your in there, re-seat the battery. Sometimes replacement batteries are loose and require a shim of electrical tape or thick paper at the base of the battery to assure good connection at the contacts. If your problem is intermitant, issue likely with your device. Also, ask SIMon for APN settings and set exactly as stated. My old Samsung S3 is working fine now. 

[88]

I went online and discovered this about emergency calls only:

Why Does My Phone Say “Emergency Calls Only”?

By Mitch Bartlett 17 Comments

Does the screen on your phone display the message “Emergency Calls Only” and you’re wondering why? In this post, we will cover the common things that cause this message to display on your phone and not enable you to make normal calls.

1. Did you pay your bill?

Has it been a while since you paid your wireless carrier? If so, your carrier may have turned your service off. Ensure your wireless bill is paid and your phone should return to normal rather quickly.

2. Is your SIM Card seated properly?

If your SIM Card is not inserted or is not seated properly, it may cause your phone to only allow calls to 911. Ensure your SIM Card is securely inserted into the slot. It may not hurt to remove it and re-seat it.

The SIM card is very small. It is usually about the size of a fingernail and located somewhere near the battery or in an eject-able slot on the side. If you don’t know where the SIM card is located on your device, look for documentation for your device.

You may also want to try a different SIM card in the case that it is defective. You should be able to get a replacement SIM card from your wireless carrier for no charge.

Note: Not all devices use a SIM Card, but most these days do.

3. Have you restarted your phone?

If you haven’t tried to power down your phone yet, do so. Turn it off and let it sit for a few seconds before turning it back on.

4. Is there a Service interruption?

Sometimes there may be a problem with the carrier’s network that will cause your phone to not work properly. In some cases, the phone will display the “Emergency calls only” message by default.

5. Are you receiving a proper signal?

In some rare cases, your phone may display the “Emergency calls only” message when it can’t connect to a wireless tower on your network. It allows emergency calls because it is connected to a tower that is not a part of your wireless carrier’s network.

You may want to check to see if your phone has a setting that allows you to make calls while “Roaming”. If you do this, your wireless carrier may charge more for calls.

6. Last resort – Factory Reset

If you have tried all of the above items, and the “Emergency Calls Only” message still appears, you may want to try to factory reset your device. A factory reset will wipe all data from the memory of the phone. So be sure all data is backed up before proceeding with this option.

[darlicious]

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@Arist wrote:

Hi all, I've been with PM before on a separate line and have had no issues, but when trying to setup my mother with a SIM it hasn't been working. The SIM is detected but says Emergency Calls Only. At first we thought it might be the phone so we tried the first SIM in multiple phones all unlocked, all of which had the same message of "Emergency Calls Only", each time restarting the phone and such. After trying that we went back to Walmart to try a new SIM, the same issue cropped up across all phones.

Could a moderator please look into this?

Thank you.

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 @Arist  If you look under getting started @88  has the same problem but had some service before getting the message. Send them a pm then whoever gets the fix first can advise the other.. may need a moderator in the end but at least you'll  know....

[darlicious]

@Arist  I'm curious what the phone says with no SIM card. With it in it says "emergency calls only " on all phones. My flip phone has no SIM in it at the moment because I have both Sims in my A5. With no SIM it says "no SIM inserted" when I dial 611 it says emergency calls only. It says that in all the phones unless you exchanged or returned and bought a new SIM I think Its a faulty SIM. Depending unless the phones say something else? With no card? Is it a bad batch? Go to another 

Store and get a new sim.  Save your reciept and return it or get a credit from pm.                              Btw I wanted test 911 to see but I know better than that.

[Korth]

It could also display "Emergency Calls Only" if the device is locked or blacklisted. Not all device makers have the courtesy to report "Invalid SIM" or "Service Unavailable". 

[computergeek541]

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@geopublic wrote:

@Arist  Did you test to see if you can call out? What happens when you dial 611? If selfserve shows your plan as active the submit a ticket for PM to investigate.

When a phone displays the message "Emergency Calls Only",  this means that the phone is connected to a network that will not allow service to be used.  This can either be because of a network outage, being connected to a different network than Telus, or if the service is not provisioned properly.  In no situation can phone calls ever be placed with the Emergency Calls Only messages being displayed except to official emergency phone numbers such as 9--11.

[geopublic]

@Arist  Did you test to see if you can call out? What happens when you dial 611? If selfserve shows your plan as active the submit a ticket for PM to investigate.

To submit a ticket to Public Mobile click here. Login to your community account and select your issue and submit your ticket. The ticket will be received by the moderator team and they will respond to it. You will receive the response in your private message inbox.

Moderators are available: M-F from 8 AM to midnight Eastern time and S-S from 8 AM to 10 PM Eastern time.

Note: Moderator Hours are subject to change, but you can always find the current times here

Please note that account verification may be required when contacting the Moderator Team

[Korth]

@CS_Agent flags their attention to this thread. Although your community logon isn't too meaningful because your Self-Serve account is a different thing.

Click here to send a Private Message to the Moderator Team is a better option.

Or click on that new-fangled Simon gizmo and start chatting about getting yourself a support ticket, it's apparently faster because it leads through all the necessary user authentication which would otherwise require some email exchanges. 

[popping]

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@Arist wrote:

Hi all, I've been with PM before on a separate line and have had no issues, but when trying to setup my mother with a SIM it hasn't been working. The SIM is detected but says Emergency Calls Only. At first we thought it might be the phone so we tried the first SIM in multiple phones all unlocked, all of which had the same message of "Emergency Calls Only", each time restarting the phone and such. After trying that we went back to Walmart to try a new SIM, the same issue cropped up across all phones.

Could a moderator please look into this?

Thank you.

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Login to self-serve account.

Is your account status active?

Did your received a PM welcome email?

[tsparkle21]

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@GinYVR wrote:

@tsparkle21Do note even though your link works, the message from that link will be given a lower priority vs using SIMon to create a support ticket.

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Thanks for the info!

[GinYVR]

@tsparkle21Do note even though your link works, the message from that link will be given a lower priority vs using SIMon to create a support ticket.

[tsparkle21]

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@Arist wrote:

Hi all, I've been with PM before on a separate line and have had no issues, but when trying to setup my mother with a SIM it hasn't been working. The SIM is detected but says Emergency Calls Only. At first we thought it might be the phone so we tried the first SIM in multiple phones all unlocked, all of which had the same message of "Emergency Calls Only", each time restarting the phone and such. After trying that we went back to Walmart to try a new SIM, the same issue cropped up across all phones.

Could a moderator please look into this?

Thank you.

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You can send a request to mods via:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

[GinYVR · Accepted solution]

@AristYou will need to chat with SIMon the bot by clicking on the ? in the lower right hand corner, describe the issue and SIMon will make a support ticket for the moderator for you. Once you think it understands your issue type submit ticket.