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"No Service" on iPhone 8 Plus, tried two different SIM cards

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

I haven't bothered to try porting my number over yet - doesn't make sense until I can get this working first.

 

The iPhone should be unlocked - I've used an international SIM card in it so I think that proves the point...  right?

 

My account has been created, phone number assigned, auto-pay set up (and I added extra funds after seeing that mentioned in another thread).

 

I also tried changing the SIM card number (to the same one, again saw that mentioned in another thread).  

 

Also turned off Automatic Network selection and selected Public Mobile.  

 

Still "No Service".  

 

Same in two other iPhones that are unlocked, although on those I got a pop-up message saying that "this iPhone has not been activated".  I don't get that message (or any message) on my iPhone 8 Plus.

 

Mods have suggested a number of things, tried a few things on their end, and asked me to buy another SIM card.  Did that, used self-serve to change the SIM, still "No Service".  Mod did some kind of 'activation' thing on their end, still no change.

 

My referrer found this thread that got resolved by having the mods open a support ticket, but is there anything else I should be trying while I await that?  (Request was just sent, so another 2 day wait most likely)

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/No-Service-on-iPhone-7/m-p/285286#M21...

 

Thanks!

39 REPLIES 39

kas
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

I don't understand

kas
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

It's sad that the system offers you numbers that are in use.  The last number I selected also belonged to someone whereas this new one is simply not in service.  Hopefully they work on fixing it... What a frustrating situation.  Bell cost a lot more but I never experienced anything like this before

CMOADMIN
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

The number available to you but no longer available / already assigned would be due chron update if I am correct. Perhaps adjusting the system to actually update on get and also update on confirmation selection as well as recheck during confirmation/final account creation/submition on the users end to both check primary db as well as update whatever root number archive 

 

 

kas
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Yeah the number was changed as soon as I realized that it was now someone else's but still displayed as mine on the public mobile portal.  Sadly the new number is inactive still.  I don't know how long it will take for it to be mine although it's shown as it is. 

kas
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

I don't understand why that would be the case.  I had auto pay on and the money was being taken from my account.  Let's say that was the case, once I changed the number, why would the system not generate a proper new working number for me?  I even added an extra $15 in there to make sure it wasn't a payment issue but I don't think so 

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@kas wrote:

Wow this is very similar to the issues I've been facing.  I purchased the plan for my little sister months ago thinking it might go away but a few days ago was her birthday and I gave her the phone with the sim card to find out it doesn't work.  I'm very disappointed.  I planned in advance and I still ended up in this situation.  I tried changing the number, but it is still saying not in service.  It's been a few days since I changed it.  The moderator gave me steps to take, same situation.  Members of the community gave me steps to take and same issue.  I can't confirm that the service hasn't worked for over 3 months because the sim card was just sitting here not being used.  I was paying for it so I can't imagine they just sold the number to someone else.... The first number when I tried calling from my own phone  was to someone else who set a voicemail.  I also put the sim in my phone which is an Android and it did not work either.  The phone I bought her was the iPhone SE.  I looked it up, nothing wrong with it, not blacklisted or anything.   I have the receipt for it.  I just want someone to solve this so I can give her the gift properly with no issues. 


 

About all I can suggest is to keep going with the moderators until it gets solved - either one will confirm that the account was closed due to inactivity (although if you can still change your number then it implies an active account) or there's some other problem afoot.  

Unfortunately it takes a lot of patience with the slow turnaround from the moderators...  

Good luck!

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@Karnbot13 wrote:
The data is on the LTE network, it's throttled to 3G speeds. Only calling is actual 3G network

I should have been more precise - I'll see if I notice the difference at 3G speed (PM) vs. LTE speed (Zoomer).  Thanks for the clarification.


@Karnbot13 wrote:
The data is on the LTE network, it's throttled to 3G speeds. Only calling is actual 3G network

Data is available on both networks. That's why when people ask about device compatibility, some members will say that LTE is not required.

GinYVR
Mayor / Maire

@kasIf you haven't touched the SIM card for 3 months, the account is closed and there is nothing you can do.

kas
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Wow this is very similar to the issues I've been facing.  I purchased the plan for my little sister months ago thinking it might go away but a few days ago was her birthday and I gave her the phone with the sim card to find out it doesn't work.  I'm very disappointed.  I planned in advance and I still ended up in this situation.  I tried changing the number, but it is still saying not in service.  It's been a few days since I changed it.  The moderator gave me steps to take, same situation.  Members of the community gave me steps to take and same issue.  I can't confirm that the service hasn't worked for over 3 months because the sim card was just sitting here not being used.  I was paying for it so I can't imagine they just sold the number to someone else.... The first number when I tried calling from my own phone  was to someone else who set a voicemail.  I also put the sim in my phone which is an Android and it did not work either.  The phone I bought her was the iPhone SE.  I looked it up, nothing wrong with it, not blacklisted or anything.   I have the receipt for it.  I just want someone to solve this so I can give her the gift properly with no issues. 

Karnbot13
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle
The data is on the LTE network, it's throttled to 3G speeds. Only calling is actual 3G network

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@Master2000 wrote:

@barto  a écrit :

Mods have suggested a number of things, tried a few things on their end, and asked me to buy another SIM card. Did that, used self-serve to change the SIM, still "No Service".

 

"I've verified your sim card and it wasn't active just to discover that in truth it was a network profile issue from the very beggining when the account was created back on August 14th 2019.

 


It’s their fault, ask for a refund for the second SIM card.


I actually got confirmation that they would do that prior to going out to get the second one, and they have done the refund for it, so no worries there.

 

Turns out the provisioning problem was that the number I selected to use when first signing up was already in use somehow and that's why my SIM wouldn't work.  I gave some suggestion for an alternate number and was given it, with a new tech support ticket generated (response within 72 hours).  

Apparently they tried phoning that number to tell me it was now active and should work with the new SIM, but since I didn't know it was active I didn't have the SIM card in the phone.

 

Just tried it and it works!  Woo hoo!

 

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, advice, and support.   Now to see if I notice a big difference between LTE (Zoomer) and 3G (PM - didn't actually notice it was 3G for data, oops)!

 

Barto

Master2000
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@barto  a écrit :

Mods have suggested a number of things, tried a few things on their end, and asked me to buy another SIM card. Did that, used self-serve to change the SIM, still "No Service".

 

"I've verified your sim card and it wasn't active just to discover that in truth it was a network profile issue from the very beggining when the account was created back on August 14th 2019.

 


It’s their fault, ask for a refund for the second SIM card.

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Finally got a note from the Moderators... the $10 "Phone Repair" charge has been reversed... that was an error on someone's part.

 

As for the activation part, here's what they said:

----------

"I've verified your sim card and it wasn't active just to discover that in truth it was a network profile issue from the very beggining when the account was created back on August 14th 2019.

 

More than that I've escalated the matter to our technical support teamm and the ticket number is xxxx and the issue will be fixed in maximum 72 business hours!

 

However, there's a chance the problem might get resolved much more faster! I will keep you updated on the matter and I will also refund you back all the days the service didn't Work!"

----------

So hopefully this does get fixed soon.  Still wondering a little bit why things didn't work as they should from the start, of course, but fingers crossed.

 

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@Dylan3 wrote:

It looks like your account was not properly set up when it was created thats why you have no service

 

I think you should listen to the moderators advice and buy a new sim card so it could properly be set up this time


 

I agree - which is why I did buy a new SIM card and it still doesn't work, even after moderator intervention.  I think that was mentioned somewhere in the second page.  

I had a good back and forth with one of the moderators on Sunday who responded several times fairly quickly, but nothing worked and no further responses from the moderators since then.  

 

Kind of regretting trying to switch - this start hasn't been much fun, I'll have to admit.

Dylan3
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

It looks like your account was not properly set up when it was created thats why you have no service

 

I think you should listen to the moderators advice and buy a new sim card so it could properly be set up this time

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@popping wrote:

@barto 

Do you have friend using Android phone?

If yes, test your PM SIM card with an Android phone?

If it works, it is not PM account issue.

If it does not work, continue to wait for moderator.


 

No access to an Android phone, at least one that takes the same SIM card size, but wouldn't testing on two other unlocked iPhones be the same as testing on an Android phone in terms of troubleshooting?

 

In the meantime, my last contact from the Moderators was Sunday, so we're well past the 48-72 hour window there.  

 

Sigh...

popping
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@barto 

Do you have friend using Android phone?

If yes, test your PM SIM card with an Android phone?

If it works, it is not PM account issue.

If it does not work, continue to wait for moderator.

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@GinYVR wrote:

@bartoDo note response from moderators can be slow.. so like anything important.. do prepare a backup plan if things go awry. Simple things like no use your Public Mobile phone as a 2FA verification etc will minimize your stress level.


 

Oh, by now I'm well aware of the response time... I haven't given up my Zoomer plan yet, since I wouldn't want to try porting the number over until I actually get "service" on my phone!  Smiley Very Happy

 

So it's more a matter of keeping the PM SIM safe and ready to try again when the mods do get back to me.

 

Thanks!

@bartoDo note response from moderators can be slow.. so like anything important.. do prepare a backup plan if things go awry. Simple things like no use your Public Mobile phone as a 2FA verification etc will minimize your stress level.

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Carrier profile comes up with Public Mobile as before.

Incorrect/incomplete provisioning seems to be the prevailing thought here, especially now that I've tried "everything else"... lol

This is my second SIM to show this behavior, though, so that sucks.  Especially the 'waiting for mods' part to really drag it out.  

Thanks - will try whatever else people come up with in the meantime!

 

CalgaryBen
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@barto wrote:

I did find the new one - it was still in a spare iPhone 6.  I tried resetting the network settings on that first, restarted, but same thing.  This one I wasn't positive was ever unlocked (unlike the other two iPhones I had been trying in addition)

If it's locked you should see "SIM Not Valid" or more likely "SIM Not Supported", and then info about the phone not being supported under the activation policy.  But you're just seeing "No Service"?  How about the Carrier profile (Settings --> General --> About --> Carrier)?

 


@barto wrote:

so I tried it in my iPhone 8 Plus.  When I swapped SIMs to the new one, I initially got asked to enter a phone number for MMS messages, but I ignored that (partly since I couldn't remember it and couldn't find it in My Account) and just did the reset of network settings, with the automatic restart of the phone.

The part you mentioned about being prompted for a phone number is intriguing here, since the iPhone should be able to query the active SIM card (after OTA activation of it) and derive this information, and automatically register the number for iMessage.  The fact that it prompted you, compounded by you seeing "No Service", suggests to me that the SIM card may not be properly provisioned for some reason.

 

Generally speaking, if I insert an old inactive SIM card into an iPhone, I'd expect to see "No Service", even if other things properly show up (e.g. Carrier profile Public Mobile 36.0.1, or whatever corresponds to the SIM being tested).

@bartoPhone Repair is definitely unusual.. take a screen shot and ask the Moderators what's up with that when they contact you.

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Thanks for the clarification - will dispose of the old one now.

I did find the new one - it was still in a spare iPhone 6.  I tried resetting the network settings on that first, restarted, but same thing.  This one I wasn't positive was ever unlocked (unlike the other two iPhones I had been trying in addition) so I tried it in my iPhone 8 Plus.  When I swapped SIMs to the new one, I initially got asked to enter a phone number for MMS messages, but I ignored that (partly since I couldn't remember it and couldn't find it in My Account) and just did the reset of network settings, with the automatic restart of the phone.

 

No difference.  Smiley Sad

 

So... back to waiting on the Moderators.  

Something unusual I noticed in My Account is that yesterday or the day before it showed $40 in my account but today only $30...  Looking at Payment History, it shows a $10 charge yesterday for "Phone Repair".  Is that usual?

Master2001
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

As soon as you activated the second SIM on the same account, the first one was unusable for ever (you can throw it in the garbage).

 

All cellphone providers work that way.

@bartoPublic Mobile SIMs are once use item, once they have been registered, it can't be reused.

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

The bad news is I now can't find the second SIM to give that a try. 

 

I thought I would be able to do a "change SIM" to go back to the first SIM, but it won't let me ("that SIM is already registered").

 

The only good news is that I haven't heard from the Moderators yet so I have more time to find the second SIM...  Smiley Happy

CalgaryBen
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@barto wrote:

FWIW, when I check settings-general and scroll to the end, I don’t see “Profiles” there. 

Do I still need to reset network settings?


I've heard of the Reset Network Settings resolving issues even if there are no profiles installed, particularly for users who have used international/foreign SIM cards.  Best case scenario -- things start working.  Worst case, you have to re-enter WiFi credentials...

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

FWIW, when I check settings-general and scroll to the end, I don’t see “Profiles” there. 

Do I still need to reset network settings?

barto
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@popping wrote:

@barto wrote:

@popping wrote:

@barto 

CalgaryBen last on this forum was in June.

Read his post on Cellular Data Blocked by Network Profile(s)

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/FYI-iOS-and-APNs/m-p/323130/highlight...


 

Once I get past the "No Service" thing, I'll definitely be looking at that - thanks!


He was talking about how to clear the network profile.  You used a local SIM card while you travel.  It does not hurt to try it.  The following is from the last paragraph of his post:

"Alternatively, you can delete everything in one fell swoop via Settings --> General --> Reset--> Reset Network Settings --> (passcode if prompted) --> Reset Network Settings (to confirm).  The phone will clear settings and reboot, and you'll be back to defaults.  Sorry, you'll also have to re-enter your WiFi credentials, etc."


 

Oops - I only looked at the title of that thread, which was talking about Cellular Data, but I (perhaps mistakenly) assumed that the info there wouldn't apply to the "No Service" thing that I'm experiencing.  Can't make a call so I wasn't worried about data yet.

But if this Network Settings reset deal is the only other thing to try (while waiting for the moderators to reply) then I guess I have to grin and bear it...  

Smiley Happy

 

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