Using my phone in Vancouver

[hellokey]

Hi all,

I will be visiting Vancouver soon. I currently have unlimited provincial talk in Ontario, unlimited intl text, and the 9+3 gb data option. Will the data work in Vancouver? And what add-on should I add for while I'm there? I might not do much calling, but data is a priority, so I can use Whatsapp to call and text and Google Maps. Will it be just as fast? I will be visiting mostly the touristy places, Stanley Park, etc etc.

[MoreYummy]

When you are traveling, you will forget about calling, unless you are always making calls at home..

[Korth]

@hellokey

Your Data will work anywhere in Canada.  Indeed, Vancouver (by which I mean most of the GVRD, not just Vancouver "city" proper) actually has better and faster wireless service than Toronto, if that's a meaningful comparison for you.  Telus HQ happens to be based in Vancouver, it's always surrounded by their top-tier hardware (it's even their primary 5G pilot site).

Your International Texting will also work anywhere in Canada.

Not exactly sure how your Ontario-based Provincial-wide Calling will work.  And I wouldn't rely on exploiting system bugs, they could vary from region to region.  But anything in the 604 area code and anything in the 778/250 area codes as far as Abbotsford is "local" calling from Vancouver.

[hellokey]

Thank you all for the quick responses! I doubt I will be calling too much outside of province, so as long as my data works I am happy!

[will13am]

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@stonechuckerwrote:

Thanks for the comment @will13am.  It was only 2 minutes, so I'm not concerned as I don't use them a lot.  I'm still at 189/200 since October 2016.

But should it happen again, I will follow up with the Moderators.

EDIT : Also note, I now use Hangouts for any long distance 😛

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Yeah, don't waste time on 2 minutes.  The particular situation I was referring to, the counter showed 334 minutes consumed out of 400 when calling stopped working.  With the usage log being so difficult to navigate, it is impossible to figure out how much was actually used.  Of course there is the problem of keeping track which add-on was in effect for each of the calls.  Bottom line is we are subject to the vargaries of the usage meter. 

[stonechucker]

Thanks for the comment @will13am.  It was only 2 minutes, so I'm not concerned as I don't use them a lot.  I'm still at 189/200 since October 2016.

But should it happen again, I will follow up with the Moderators.

EDIT : Also note, I now use Hangouts for any long distance 😛

[will13am]

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@stonechuckerwrote:

I too have addon minutes, with the Province Wide calling package.

Funny thing happened to me 1-1.5 months ago.  While still in Ontario (my home province) I was charged LD on the addon minutes, during a system wide calling problem in an area of South Western Ontaio.  Reports from other PM users without addon minutes, they said they couldn't make calls, because they had long distance.

In my case, I didn't get that error message, but the few calls I made that day, were deducted from the LD addon.

These addons are flakey in use, and what Public Mobile tells us offically is great, but your mileage may vary.

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@stonechucker, you should ask for a credit for the lost minutes.  The usage meter on the long distance add-on does seem to have some bugs.  I have a friend on this service who uses a lot of minutes, particularly for overseas calls.  One time the usage meter showed that there were minutes left but calls would not go through.  Upon purchasing a new add-on, calling worked again and the remaining minutes from the previous add-on purchase disappeared.  The minutes from the two add-ons should have stacked. 

[will13am]

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@torontokriswrote:

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@mimmowrote:

to expand on the above.  officialy with provincial calling you should not be able to receive calls while outside your home province, but it does.

makig calls you can use fongo (free canadian number) or hangouts dialer.  but i would just buy the 200 or 400 long distance addons they dont expire.  i bought my 400 minutes 1.5 years ago and still have 350 minutes left.

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@mimmo Question thought since the bug allows incoming calls if im outside my province and have a long distance add-on.. does it charge my long distance add on fo rincoming calls outside my province (even though if I didnt have the add-on I could still get incoming calls)?

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I can confirm that the long distance add-on minutes are not consumed for incoming calls when taking calls outside the home province.  When I was in BC last summer, I purchased some long distance minutes just in case someone calls me while I am away.  I checked the usage after returning home, not a minute was consumed. 

[stonechucker]

I too have addon minutes, with the Province Wide calling package.

Funny thing happened to me 1-1.5 months ago.  While still in Ontario (my home province) I was charged LD on the addon minutes, during a system wide calling problem in an area of South Western Ontaio.  Reports from other PM users without addon minutes, they said they couldn't make calls, because they had long distance.

In my case, I didn't get that error message, but the few calls I made that day, were deducted from the LD addon.

These addons are flakey in use, and what Public Mobile tells us offically is great, but your mileage may vary.

[torontokris]

Thanks @ShawnC13 for the quick reply. I wouldnt want to be at a disadvantage/being charged simply because I paid for a long distance add-on vs someone who didnt pay for it.

[ShawnC13]

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@torontokriswrote:

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@mimmowrote:

to expand on the above.  officialy with provincial calling you should not be able to receive calls while outside your home province, but it does.

makig calls you can use fongo (free canadian number) or hangouts dialer.  but i would just buy the 200 or 400 long distance addons they dont expire.  i bought my 400 minutes 1.5 years ago and still have 350 minutes left.

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@mimmo Question thought since the bug allows incoming calls if im outside my province and have a long distance add-on.. does it charge my long distance add on fo rincoming calls outside my province (even though if I didnt have the add-on I could still get incoming calls)?

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From what people have experienced it does not deduct minutes from your Long Distance add on

[torontokris]

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@mimmowrote:

to expand on the above.  officialy with provincial calling you should not be able to receive calls while outside your home province, but it does.

makig calls you can use fongo (free canadian number) or hangouts dialer.  but i would just buy the 200 or 400 long distance addons they dont expire.  i bought my 400 minutes 1.5 years ago and still have 350 minutes left.

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@mimmo Question thought since the bug allows incoming calls if im outside my province and have a long distance add-on.. does it charge my long distance add on fo rincoming calls outside my province (even though if I didnt have the add-on I could still get incoming calls)?

[mimmo]

to expand on the above.  officialy with provincial calling you should not be able to receive calls while outside your home province, but it does.

makig calls you can use fongo (free canadian number) or hangouts dialer.  but i would just buy the 200 or 400 long distance addons they dont expire.  i bought my 400 minutes 1.5 years ago and still have 350 minutes left.

[ShawnC13 · Accepted solution]

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@hellokeywrote:

Hi all,

I will be visiting Vancouver soon. I currently have unlimited provincial talk in Ontario, unlimited intl text, and the 9+3 gb data option. Will the data work in Vancouver? And what add-on should I add for while I'm there? I might not do much calling, but data is a priority, so I can use Whatsapp to call and text and Google Maps. Will it be just as fast? I will be visiting mostly the touristy places, Stanley Park, etc etc.

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Yes your data and texting will work.  You will be able to call any BC phone number and receive any call.  If you need to call outside of BC while you are here you will need to have a long distance add on