Phone with Contract: Moving to PM

[Cheetah24]

Hi everyone, 

This doesn't apply to me but to a friend of mine. He would like to transfer to PM (keeping the same number) but he's on a mobile plan with a two year contract. What is the best process to initiate the transfer? Is it first paying off the remaining value of the phone to own it and then migrating to PM? 

Thank you.

[Dunkman]

@whatsgonewell

Should be fine.  Need to pay the balance left on the phone.  Your friend can call Telus to find out the balance.  If business plan contract, might be other issues though.

[whatsgonewell]

A friend is on Telus.... with one year left on contract.

Any problem switching to Public Mobile.?

[ShawnC13]

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@sheytoon wrote:

If your friend is certain of the cost for the remaining contract, there's no need to involve the previous provider.

Just port the number to PM. This will automatically close the account with the previous provider and generate a final bill.

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This is exactly what I did with my wife's phone. I called to find out balance owing on the phone .a few days later I ported to PM .I then got a final bill that was pro rated for usage and the balance of the phone.  

[sheytoon]

If your friend is certain of the cost for the remaining contract, there's no need to involve the previous provider.

Just port the number to PM. This will automatically close the account with the previous provider and generate a final bill.

[Korth]

@Cheetah24

If your friend wants to keep his existing phone number then he'll need a Mobile Number Port.  It's best to do a MNP through the new operator (PM), not through the old one (they don't even need to be informed).  And it's best to do it while the number is still active on the old service, meaning that your friend should arrange a few days of overlap between his old and his new (PM) cell service.  The MNP process only takes minutes to complete, but once the request is initiated it has a time limit (10 days, I think) before it expires and the phone number is deallocated, so if keeping the number is important then it's prudent to allow for any technical/billing issues (along with PM's sometimes slow support model) which might impose delays.

His phone also needs to be unlocked through his old carrier, of course.  And have hardware compatible with the PM (Telus) network.

Also, he should have a PM SIM card ready beforehand ... normal (Canada Post) delivery time for PM SIM cards purchased online is about 2-5 business days, and they can also be purchased offline through some retailers (like Walmart, WOW Mobile, and K-Mobile) ... but sometimes people wait weeks for their SIMs to arrive in the mail and sometimes local vendors claim they have none available, etc.

[Cheetah24]

Thanks for the suggession. 🙂

[NDesai · Accepted solution]

@Cheetah24 It's better to contact the carrier your friend is in contract with. Usually, they will just ask to pay off the remaining balance. Then, your friend can transfer his number to PM.