Why no option for TEXT add-on

[ElleBee83]

New to PM... through all my browsing and searching of posts I don’t see an option for adding additional texts onto the $10/30 day plan. 

Only 48 hours and not sure how this will work out as an emergency cellular plan for my mom, but I thought I’d ask before/if she reaches the 50 text limit before the months up, and in that scenario what happens?

[Mkh]

Firstly  - very happy with PM and have two daughters using 2 different levels of service - one using the 50/50 plan for safety.  I want to stay with PM for the safetly plan but have a risk with the safety phone if we bump up against the 50 text limit

Everyone on this thread has made good points and suggested options when text runs out

1) switch to talk - currently the option my daughter will use

2) move up to alternate plan - next level is $25 - not reasonable given objectives and alternatives at other carriers (I just want a reasonable option if I go over my 50 texts)

3) add data for Whats app/imessage - viable but requires alot of config to make sure it is not

accidentaly consummed by other apps - will investigate - not certain how to force text vs a imessage default

4) early renewel via moderator - viable but a hassle and not immediate/controlable

5) move to another carrier for ~15$ plans(PC Mobile 50/unlimited, Speakout/Petro have similar) - may do but would rather not - ie new SIM cost/hassle

The net of this is I think I will investigate the data option for now.

It appears to me however that PM has a gap in their offerings and 1) needs a ~15$ unlimited text option or some form of addon or 2) a user controlled earlier renewel option via account management

Appreciate PM feedback or thoughts from others

[allendick]

Well, I took your advice and PMed the Mods and got no response, so I changed to a 30 day plan as you advised. I guess this is a learning experience, trying to figure out what persists through changes and what does not. All in all, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with the experience so far, but thanks for the tips.

[smp99]

if you have forgot your PIN provide as much info as possible

Name

Phone #

PM Account Number

email associated with the account.

And then ask for the PIN for future use

[allendick]

Thanks!  That helps a lot.

Do I have a four-digit PIN?  Can't recall.  I have only had PM for a short while and don't recall setting one.

[smp99]

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@allendick wrote:

I'm having a bad day with Public Mobile.  First I discovered after changing to a $60/90day plan that I no longer have the texting I had paid for in the previous unexpired plan.

Then, after searching, I find there is no option to add texting other than an option to add ten days of US roaming that says it includes unlimited texting. That seems crazy since it adds up to 72 dollars for the ninety days and costs more than the phone plan.  That is more than the and I assume has to be added every ten days -- and I'm not going to be in the US.

Not having text is not an option because everyone assume that I have text and will send them and not know I did not get it. For me not having text is a deal breaker.

Looking at the build your own plan section, I see that text is an option when starting a plan but somehow it was not offered when I signed up yesterday.  Is there any way to correct that oversight or is the only solution to buy an new plan and lose the old one?

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I doubt the texting option was not there yesterday, I suspect you did not notice it. Regardless you need to change plans. I am guessing the plan you signed up for was unlimited ProvWide talking with no data and no text.

Until this gets sorted out, any changes I suggest, stick with 30 day plans.

You have a few options. Upgrade now to a talk/text plan, cheapest is $25. If you do this now you will loose your $60. But if you contact the Mods they may refund you. You may have better luck asking for an account credit of $60 vs a $60 refund on your credit card which is just fine if you plan to stay which I think is true giving the 90 initial signup. 

Or you can contact the Mods and as to be upgraded to a $25 plan, but this will take approx 3 days giving the delay.

I would go with the first suggestion, if what you said is true and you just signed up yesterday I think you will be in good standing to get an account credit. 

To resolve this issue you will need to send a private message to the moderator team. They are available 7 day/weeks but not 24/7. Click this: message to moderators to send a private message to the moderators.

Include your name, PM phone number, account number, 4-digit PIN and a brief description of the problem. 

[allendick]

Is there any way to correct the omission of text in the 90 day plan I just bought other than buying a new plan?

[allendick]

I'm having a bad day with Public Mobile.  First I discovered after changing to a $60/90day plan that I no longer have the texting I had paid for in the previous unexpired plan.

Then, after searching, I find there is no option to add texting other than an option to add ten days of US roaming that says it includes unlimited texting. That seems crazy since it adds up to 72 dollars for the ninety days and costs more than the phone plan.  That is more than the and I assume has to be added every ten days -- and I'm not going to be in the US.

Not having text is not an option because everyone assume that I have text and will send them and not know I did not get it. For me not having text is a deal breaker.

Looking at the build your own plan section, I see that text is an option when starting a plan but somehow it was not offered when I signed up yesterday.  Is there any way to correct that oversight or is the only solution to buy an new plan and lose the old one?

The other bummer?  It took me forever to register for this forum since the process complained that my name is a bad word and I finally had to lie to get in.  Strangely, my name is my name and I had no problem using my name to sign up for Public Mobility.

[Korth]

... Another good thing with a Data Add-On (or with WiFi data) ... you can use FaceTime.  It can consume almost 3MB/min (and quickly suck your battery dry, lol) at highest quality settings.  If the iPhone user has home internet and WiFi then FaceTime is a great way to communicate (which alleviates much need for constant texting, lol).

[Korth]

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@Acekiller wrote:

$30/1gb is very clever. 1gb goes a very long way for texting on whatsapp.

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I agree, the $30/1GB Data Add-On can be very cost-effective for this purpose.  Even the smaller $10/200MB Data Add-On would suffice.  Data Add-Ons do not expire and continue to roll forward across billing cycles until fully used, indeed they can augment any Plan (if the Plan happens to change) as long as the account remains active.

Whatsapp can be used to send/receive SMS-like messages between people who have Whatsapp installed.  And the $10 Plan already includes Unlimited Incoming Texts, so no SMS communications will be "missed" if the sender doesn't use Whatsapp.

Whatsapp uses Data instead of Text.  A puny amount of Data per message - only the actual number of bytes needed for the length of each message, with minimal overheads - while standard SMS messages each use a fixed 256 bytes regardless of how many characters they contain (according to SMPP/SMTP protocols, assuming these were measured in "Data" terms, which doesn't actually apply to end-users, lol).

Any Android or iOS smartphone can also be set to automatically prefer WiFi over Cellular Data (WiFi Assist, etc), so Whatsapp communications will not use up any (Add-On) Data whenever in range of WiFi (at home, friend's home, work, hotspots, etc) - assuming that the user/phone is logged into the WiFi network, of course.  In fact, you don't need a Data Add-On at all to use Whatsapp, although then your Whatsapp texting would be restricted only to places where you can use a WiFi network.

I think that - with or without WiFi - a 1GB Data Add-On (used for little else) should provide many months of moderately heavy "Texting" through Whatsapp.  Maximum Whatsapp message size (without any added software plug-ins/extensions/etc) is 65535 bytes ... and 1GB works out to over 16 thousand texts at this maximum length (or over 4 million texts at maximum SMS length).  And the overwhelming majority of texts aren't going to be anywhere near 65535 characters long, lol.  But if a Data Add-On is too constraining for the intended message volume then upgrading to the $25 Unlimited Talk/Text plan would be more economical, though I honestly don't expect this should be necessary.

There are a couple caveats:

Whatsapp likes to use background Data, slowly sipping away at the internet to keep itself updated and in touch with the world, this apparently measures ~0.01MB per minute (which would be ~14.4MB per day or ~432MB per 30 days).  Fortunately, you can configure Whatsapp for "Low Data Usage", and you can disable automatic/background data usage entirely (only use it on demand or during set schedules/conditions) through the phone's operating system.

And message size (which equals data usage) can increase dramatically when pictures, video, or other attachments are included.  A typical (compressed) 12MP photo can be up to ~4MB in size (although phone settings can be used to limit photo quality and filesize).

https://www.howtogeek.com/164395/how-to-eliminate-sms-fees-and-text-for-free/

[srlawren]

Yeah, with the never-expiring data add-ons, someone that does mostly iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Line, WeChat, Skype, Signal, Slack, Allo, Hangouts, or any number of other data-based messaging platforms, and texts infrequently, this can still be a great value. 

You do still need to be careful to restrict "unexpected" usage of data if you want to go this route, by making sure WiFi Assist is disabled, checking sync options in all your apps to make sure they're set to Wi-Fi only, etc.  I'm not sure about on iPhones, but at least on some models of Android phones, you can control per-app whether it has access to WiFi, access to mobile data, both, or neither.  

[ElleBee83]

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@Yiatiohi wrote:

Yup - I agree that one has to do their research and not assume and complain afterwards. That is why I kept my Bell plan  -- and did not port my number. I still feel that the $10 plan is a very good deal as long as one has an iPhone and can use the free iMessage when possible.

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Just to clarify: I didn’t assume anything and I’m not complaining. 😉

Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought the PM Community is for helping assist fellow PM clients and working together and coming up with solutions that PM can use to make it better...? 

my mom does have an iPhone and that was part of the deciding factors to choose PM and this plan. 

[ElleBee83]

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@smp99 wrote:

I don't why poeple are surprised or complain about the 50 text limit. It states that fact before you even sign up. This plan works (well) for a select few. If you do a lot of texting, look for another plan. Koodo prepaid has unlimited texting for $15/month

Now I do agree with some of the complaints about phantom texts being sent that you have little control over. There needs to be some education or clarificaton around this. 

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I looked at Koodo. Thought PM was better especially with the current promotion for activation at Walmart and the rewards program. Saying that I think PM can still get better and isn’t that part of their mandate? As for the phantom texts yes I agree with you completely. I’ve learned a lot from these boards in the last few days it feels great to keep myself informed. I’ve definitely promoted PM quite a bit by word of mouth as well. 

[ElleBee83]

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@Yiatiohi wrote:

Yikes - like the saying goes "all that glitters is not gold". At first glance the $10 plan appears to be almost too good to be true with only $8 add on for 200 extra talk minutes etc. HOWEVER most rely on texting. For those of us Mac persons iMessage does help but when texting away from a WIFI router or to an android user then the 50 texts go very quickly.  

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I totally agree with that most people rely on texting... however I hope PM continues to have offers and new plans, add ons etc for those people who need modest plans. Like I mentioned earlier I’ll be monitoring her usage and add things as necessary to keep her connected. Thanks for you input. 🙂

[ElleBee83]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@ElleBee83 wrote:

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@bryclops wrote:

I read on the RFD forum that the US text add on can be used for texting within Canada but it has limitations such as a 10 day expiry.

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I looked at that too. Too expensive for 10 days, in my opinion for local (within the Lower Mainland-Vancouver Area) usage. 

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@ElleBee83 yes not only would it be a hassle re-adding it every 10 days, but if you multiply 3 x $8 to cover 30 days an add it to the $10 base plan, you're at $34, which is $4 more expensive than unmetered Canada-wide calling, unmetered international texting, and 500MB of 3g-speed data ($30); OR, $1 cheaper than the same thing but with 1GB of 3g-speed data ($35).  So, it really makes little sense.

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@ElleBee83 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello

You Need To Changed Your Plans 

To get UNLIMITED Text

Good Luck

---

Don’t really wanna do that. I signed her up for PM specifically for the $10 plan. I was hoping for a low cost add-on say for 250, 500, 750 etc texts. 

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@ElleBee83 okay this is going to sound judgey again and I apologize in advance but maybe you should have checked into this ahead of time before signing up.  The plans page has a list of available add-ons, and nowhere does it mention anything about a texting add on for use in Canada:

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Oh I looked ahead of time it’s all good. It didn’t seem to be a question anyone has asked this as far as I’ve searched and browsed within the community boards.  I really think the plan will work but then again it’s kind of a suggestion/idea for PM to consider. 

[Yiatiohi]

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@smp99 wrote:

I don't why poeple are surprised or complain about the 50 text limit. It states that fact before you even sign up. This plan works (well) for a select few. If you do a lot of texting, look for another plan. Koodo prepaid has unlimited texting for $15/month

Now I do agree with some of the complaints about phantom texts being sent that you have little control over. There needs to be some education or clarificaton around this. 

****Also Bell $15 prepaid plan has unlimited picture and video texting and in my case I also have 200 free monthly voice local minutes  - BUT no long distance which cost an ouch  0.50 cents/minute.

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[Yiatiohi]

Yup - I agree that one has to do their research and not assume and complain afterwards. That is why I kept my Bell plan  -- and did not port my number. I still feel that the $10 plan is a very good deal as long as one has an iPhone and can use the free iMessage when possible.

[smp99]

I don't why people are surprised or complain about the 50 text limit. It states that fact before you even sign up. This plan works (well) for a select few. If you do a lot of texting, look for another plan. Koodo prepaid has unlimited texting for $15/month

Now I do agree with some of the complaints about phantom texts being sent that you have little control over. There needs to be some education or clarificaton around this. 

[Yiatiohi]

Yikes - like the saying goes "all that glitters is not gold". At first glance the $10 plan appears to be almost too good to be true with only $8 add on for 200 extra talk minutes etc. HOWEVER most rely on texting. For those of us Mac persons iMessage does help but when texting away from a WIFI router or to an android user then the 50 texts go very quickly.  

[srlawren]

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@ElleBee83 wrote:

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@bryclops wrote:

I read on the RFD forum that the US text add on can be used for texting within Canada but it has limitations such as a 10 day expiry.

---

I looked at that too. Too expensive for 10 days, in my opinion for local (within the Lower Mainland-Vancouver Area) usage. 

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@ElleBee83 yes not only would it be a hassle re-adding it every 10 days, but if you multiply 3 x $8 to cover 30 days an add it to the $10 base plan, you're at $34, which is $4 more expensive than unmetered Canada-wide calling, unmetered international texting, and 500MB of 3g-speed data ($30); OR, $1 cheaper than the same thing but with 1GB of 3g-speed data ($35).  So, it really makes little sense.

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@ElleBee83 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello

You Need To Changed Your Plans 

To get UNLIMITED Text

Good Luck

---

Don’t really wanna do that. I signed her up for PM specifically for the $10 plan. I was hoping for a low cost add-on say for 250, 500, 750 etc texts. 

---

@ElleBee83 okay this is going to sound judgey again and I apologize in advance but maybe you should have checked into this ahead of time before signing up.  The plans page has a list of available add-ons, and nowhere does it mention anything about a texting add on for use in Canada:

[ElleBee83]

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@bryclops wrote:

I read on the RFD forum that the US text add on can be used for texting within Canada but it has limitations such as a 10 day expiry.

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I looked at that too. Too expensive for 10 days, in my opinion for local (within the Lower Mainland-Vancouver Area) usage. 

[ElleBee83]

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@mimmo wrote:

@ElleBee83  as an emergency phone then it should be fine.  I would believe calling is more important then texting in an "emergency" situation.   

if texting is an important emergency need then maybe buy a data addon $30/1gb (expires only when used up), and use a whatsapp etc....   my mom is on the $25 plan (talk and text and on 400 mb of data, 6 months in).  also I would reccomend investing in the longdistance addon.  it also doesn't expire until used and will provide peace of mind of not running ourt of talking minutes.

if your mom does run out of sms she could renew teh plan early or  as mentioned it might be beter to get a different plan

it all comes down to how you plan on using your plan.

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I think it will be fine if used for emergencies (or urgent communication and connecting). It’s just now she likes texting lol. She’s got an iPad and sends messages numerous ways (iMessage, WhatsApp) and uses Fongo when on wifi and out of cellular areas (cottage in the mountains) and in the USA. that be the case the data add on suggestion could work... and the long distance add on seems like a decent idea too. I was wondering about how long it carried over for (answer: indefinitely).  Thanks for your suggestions/information. 

[ElleBee83]

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@LEGO wrote:

There is no Text add-on!

She wont be able to send texts anymore! 

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Sorry should have chosen this as solution but it’s not really a solution to my question but rather the answer. Thanks for the reply 👍

[ElleBee83]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello

You Need To Changed Your Plans 

To get UNLIMITED Text

Good Luck

---

Don’t really wanna do that. I signed her up for PM specifically for the $10 plan. I was hoping for a low cost add-on say for 250, 500, 750 etc texts. 

[ElleBee83]

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@LEGO wrote:

There is no Text add-on!

She wont be able to send texts anymore! 

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That’s irritating. I’ll have to watch her plan closely and see how this month goes... I hope there’s some sort of free incoming text from PM that warns of 5 or 10 texts remaining...

[bryclops]

I read on the RFD forum that the US text add on can be used for texting within Canada but it has limitations such as a 10 day expiry.

[srlawren · Accepted solution]

@ElleBee83 see, this is why I was complaining yesterday.  The entire reason PM brought out this plan was to match one that was being offered at a couple of other providers (I forget which ones off-hand).  However, they didn't think it through.  It's going to be so easy for someone to exceed the 50 outbound messages and really no recourse. 

The issue is that up until this one plan, you could only either get zero texting, or unlimited (unmetered) texting.  This is the first and only plan at PM that offers a metered/limited number of text messages.  There's never been a need for an add-on for texts before becuase you either got all the texting you wanted, or none, with no in-between.  

Technically, there aren't really any airtime add-ons either!  The 200 min and 400 min add-ons, for EVERY plan except this $10 plan, can ONLY be used for long distance calls, and cannot stand in for airtime.  In other words, you can't choose "no talk" and then use the 200/400 min add-ons at all.  Yet with the $10 plan, they made an exception, and the 200/400 can be used to augment your regular 50 min airtime if you run out.  There was no similar add-on to use for texting.

Hence my suggestion that metered texting either should not have been offered, OR should include a LOT more than 50 outbund texts (500? 1000? 2500?  Something like that), OR they should offer an add-on (though this is my least favourite of these 3 options).

[MacMe]

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@ElleBee83 wrote:

New to PM... through all my browsing and searching of posts I don’t see an option for adding additional texts onto the $10/30 day plan. 

Only 48 hours and not sure how this will work out as an emergency cellular plan for my mom, but I thought I’d ask before/if she reaches the 50 text limit before the months up, and in that scenario what happens?

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Just to note that the 50 text limit is for outgoing text messages.  Incoming texts are free. 

[will13am]

The limited talk and text plan is very new.  Unfortunately, the add-ons offerings have not kept up with the plan introductions and so there isn't a complementary text add-on.  This is something I am sure the decision makers are aware of.  If the plan is here to stay, it would make sense that in future there will be a complementary text add-on.  BTW, it is serendipity that the long distance add-ons are there to fill the gap when the minutes are used up.  The original intent of these add-ons are to support long distance calling for unlimited calling plans. 

[Acekiller]

$30/1gb is very clever. 1gb goes a very long way for texting on whatsapp.

[mimmo]

@ElleBee83  as an emergency phone then it should be fine.  I would believe calling is more important then texting in an "emergency" situation.   

if texting is an important emergency need then maybe buy a data addon $30/1gb (expires only when used up), and use a whatsapp etc....   my mom is on the $25 plan (talk and text and on 400 mb of data, 6 months in).  also I would reccomend investing in the longdistance addon.  it also doesn't expire until used and will provide peace of mind of not running ourt of talking minutes.

if your mom does run out of sms she could renew teh plan early or  as mentioned it might be beter to get a different plan

it all comes down to how you plan on using your plan.