Did not deduct any minutes after placing a phone call. Normal?

[zfx]

I'm currently on the $15 plan with 100 mins. I notice that when I place a phone call to certain banks, government, or other companies, it did NOT deduct any mins from my plan (which is great cuz I just had an hour phone call with my bank 😝). Is this normal?

Is there a list of specific phone numbers (or companies) we can call without using any of the mins?

PM is awesome! Saved me so much $$$ every month and just suit my needs perfectly 💟

[yanzhiqiang]

This is good if it is not toll free number.

[brettster99]

@BearFBI 

I followed the steps. And I was able to verify my phone number on android phone. (hangouts dialer). 

No there is no hangouts dialer on app store. Downleded regular hangouts and tried that. did not work

[BearFBI]

@brettster99 Weird. Hangouts is different on iphone. Im sure there are other apps that can do the same thing.

[gblackma]

@zfx  you can also use TextNow or Google hangouts and Google dialer combined to make calls or texts on your tablet. I do  ovet wifi on my Samsung one. Stay safe.

Zblackma is my mom. 

[zfx]

@ArmandoUrso @Nezgar @brettster99 

Yes, not only Google Hangouts, sometimes I use my Google Home speaker to make phone calls at home. It shows my caller ID too 🙂

[brettster99]

@BearFBI @Nezgar 

And there is no google hangouts dialer on the app store. And tried using regular hangouts and that just showed a private numbers.

Guess I am out of luck

[brettster99]

@BearFBI @Nezgar 

And I am a idiot. Hangouts and Hangouts dialer are  two sperate apps. NO WONDER I COULDNT" FIND IT lolololollol 

[kselmak]

@zfx @gblackma @RossN @zblackma 

1800 numbers should count but don't.

They are "free" as in not long distance but local for everybody, it's landline lingo. Your local minutes count against 100 allowance so should 1800.

There are lots of things not working properly, some (like autopay fail with downgrade) we complain about and some (like this one) we love and enjoy

While it's working enjoy it

[brettster99]

@BearFBI 

Okay I grabbed my moms androrid phone. Samsung s6 and I cannot find the phone number on here or account settings to enable outbound caller ID. But it did ask for a verified number which I put in my PM number and it showed though

[BearFBI]

@brettster99 I copied this from this post in the fourm.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/SUCCESS/td-p/96333/page/2

"You have to make the changes from an android phone. When you enable the outbound caller ID on any iPhone it will not let you do that.

So for this reason you have to use a android phone to enable the outbound caller ID. 

Once you enable it Google will ask you your pm phone number to verify. Do the verification process and all set.

Now you can use your iPhone to make hangouts call and it will show your pm number as an outbound caller ID"

[brettster99]

@BearFBI @Nezgar 

Only problem is I do not think it works on iphones because I am trying to look for said setting and I can't find it 

[BearFBI]

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@gpixel wrote:

@BearFBI how do you get hangouts to use your number? when I call someone it shows as private.

---

Sorry I was gone. @Nezgar Explained how to do it. Its a game changer when you figure it out. I use it mostly for long convos. Long convos rarely happen but i could end up being on hold for a hour and PM has a 2 hour call limit. So I dial through hangouts to avoid that. Even meetings that happen over the phone. In fact if you dial voicemail through it with your PM number as display it goes right to voicemail. No PIN. Just like your dialing through the cell network.

[gpixel]

@Nezgar thank you very much! that's a great addition. 

[Nezgar]

@brettster99  The verification texts work perfectly fine with Public Mobile numbers.

 

 

 

 

[brettster99]

@Nezgar 

Dang, it. I would have been so happy for all the android users if it did work. Well at least we know that now.

Also thanks for sharing 

[Nezgar]

@gpixel  In the hangouts dialler you can enable outgoing caller ID in Settings, then choose your account, and enable Outbound caller ID. It will ask you to enter a number an verify it by sending it a text.

So technically, it doesn't have to be the number on YOUR phone, just one that you can get the text message from - like a work phone. 🙂 But it doesnt work with a textnow number, I tried. 😉

 

[zfx]

@gblackma @brettster99 Cool, never thought about calling my own phone to check for VM! Now I can save even more minutes!! 😋

@hairbag1 I still have 400 mins add-on and 2GB data PM gave to me last Christmas, haven't even used them yet 😁

@BearFBI Ya, I've been using Google Hangout for a long time, great if I just wanna place an anonymous call 😂

Thanks everyone for your prompt answers!

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@zblackma  @gblackma ... are you guys related ?? 🤣

[Anonymous]

Officially, calls count. What kind of call is not distinguished.

So this could change at any time without notice.

Best not to talk too much about things that break our way.

[totalUser]

Known glitch, temporary perk, enjoy while you can

[hairbag1]

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@zfx wrote:

I'm currently on the $15 plan with 100 mins. I notice that when I place a phone call to certain banks, government, or other companies, it did NOT deduct any mins from my plan (which is great cuz I just had an hour phone call with my bank 😝). Is this normal?

Is there a list of specific phone numbers (or companies) we can call without using any of the mins?

PM is awesome! Saved me so much $$$ every month and just suit my needs perfectly 💟

---

You're not dinged when calling 1-800 numbers with PM.

Also, consider taking advantage of the $5 / 500minutes of Canada wide calling add-on. Those add-on minutes will only get used if your regular plan minutes are run out. They'll stay on your account until you use them up...even if that takes several months or longer.

[gpixel]

@BearFBI how do you get hangouts to use your number? when I call someone it shows as private.

[brettster99]

@zfx 

I highly recommend doing what @gblackma has said. That way if you need to call a company that is not covered by Public Mobile then you can Use the Textnow app to call them on Wifi and not haft to use any mins. Basically my use is I basically do 0 calls out (only on rare occasion for doctors appoints etc). So this would be a good benefit for anyone on the $15 plan 

[BearFBI]

@zfx I am glad your happy with Public. All i hear from people on the forum is complaining or problems. They must be 1800 numbers witch don't count towards usage. They pay for it on their end. Just make sure it is a 1800 number. Some local companies will provide a local number that will count towards your minutes. You can also get an app called google hangouts that calls over your wifi or data and uses your number. It dosent count towards your minutes.

[gblackma]

@zfx I'm on the same $15 plan. To save more, add the TextNow voip app and use it via Wifi to make / receive / send calls and texts in Canada and to the United States for free. You can also use it as I do to check my voicemail from my own phone without using the minutes from the PM plan. Simply dial your PM phone number - reject the call when it rings (this sends the call to voicemail) - press the * key to allow you to enter your password. - enter it followed by #  - and you are in your voicemail account - Hang up when you are finished. No minutes used.

You can use it to call those non toll free numbers. Stay safe. 

[zblackma]

@zfxtoll free numbers and government numbers are free.

[RossN · Accepted solution]

@zfx  hi yes toll free type numbers should be free PM is awesome !!