Crunching the numbers

[Joel79]

I'm currently with Telus and looking at other options. The plan I would be considering with PM would be about $40 and taxes. Currently my plan with Telus is $65 with 3gb shared data with my wife, Unlimited talk/text etc. - eligible for a free upgrade (iPhone 6 plus), which I am in need of. After doing the math, I don't see much of a savings switching over after a phone upgrade - even a used refurbished phone in the same category. So I'm wondering what everyone does to make it work while being able to make phone upgrades every couple years ? 

[ScrapIron]

I always buy my phones outright and I've only had pretty mid-ranged devices last few years. I spend under $300 a phone and they last me 2-4 years each time before they break. I don't buy new phones unless it really has issues (e.g. my last one kept rebooting for no reason and battery issues).

For the longest time I was on Wind, so it was a no brainer to buy the phone outright as the difference in cost covered the phone ($25 for unlimited text/call/data). I came over to PM because I was tired of the service not being consistent and I now pay around $37 a month. I still consider this to be a better comparision to the other wireless companies in terms of rate for features. I feel like either way, you'll end up paying for your phone one way or another - through direct or through your monthly fees but that's just my opinion. 

As others have mentioned, it probably depends on how frequent you switch your phone and what kind of phone you want. My $300 Moto X Play is about 2.5 years old and still running fairly smoothly ($10/month over the 2.5yrs and decreasing by the day). 

[srlawren]

@Joel79 unfortunately, the plans have gone down hill here this year.  Here's full details of how I helped my friend save a bunch of money and get a brand new S7, which retailed for $900 at the time (but was reduced down to $600 through a couple of different offers EDIT: just noticed the math was based on the full $900):  https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Practical-example-of-how-PM-saves-you-big... All the plans are outdated now, but I'm guessing you did a similar analysis when crunching the numbers.  I haven't tried this exercise recently, so you may well be correct that there isn't much--if any--saving by switching today if you're into higher-end hardware.

[pakmode]

Full service carriers are good for those who don't want to do the work, or cannot understand the work entailed in setting everything up.

Public Mobile operates on the same network as Telus, so it is completely apples to apples there.  Where it differentiates however, is you have to do the setup work yourself.

1. You need to get a simcard, either in-store or order online.

2. You need to purchase a phone (Telus/Koodo or unlocked).

3. You need to set it up and activate online.

4.  For any customer service issues, you contact the Moderator team online.

Telus is a full service carrier, so you get these steps done in-store. 

Pricewise there is no comparison, if you and your wife get th opportunity to sign up on one of the $120 LTE plans that are offered every so often, then you will get 12GB Data over the course of 3 months Each.

Currently are you paying $65 each??

If so over 3 months that means you are paying $130/month * 3 months = $390 total?

With PM, you would be paying $240 total for 2 plans, that is before any other discounts.

[Rustynayl]

Might be best to wait for another promo. You mention you're paying $65 monthly for 3GB of data that you share with your wife. My next payment will be $120 for 90 days. Which means i'm basically paying $40 per month which gives me 4GB of data, that I do not need to share. So not only am I paying $25 less than you, but I'm getting way more data. As I said, it might be best to wait for another promo, and it also depends on how much data you use. Perhaps 3GB shared is good enough for you, I know for me it wouldn't be. 

[Mr-Bump]

It's all about the hardware and data. When they give you a phone for $0, you will end up paying them back, you just pay it over the 2year contract. Even worse if you break the phone and need to upgrade early. 

On their website the iPhone 6s (couldn't see the plus) is over $600 for a 2 year old product. If you need to upgrade early, that is what your paying for it. There so many amazing Android phones that you can have for the same or less, save monthly, and not be on contract. 

[R47]

I'm guessing most people here have mid range phones and use them out over 2 or more years. A $300 phone, over 2 years, comes out to about $12 a month, giving the total of $52 a month, with a good enough phone and tons of data. If you want a $1200 phone, Public mobile won't be a good deal for you. But if you like something more mid-range like a Moto X, and don't need to upgrade every 2 years exactly, it's a great deal.

[mimmo]

I would contact Telus first and find out what plan they will make you have when you upgrade phones. I remember with bell everytime I did a hardware change they would make me change plans.  So your 65 might not actually 65 anymore.

[sbreakin]

I think the best value at Public Mobile (PM) is when you either have your own unlocked phone, have a Telus family phone (locked phones work on PM), don't mind a gently used phone or enjoy shopping/ buying which ever phone you like/ when you want.  

It might be closer to break-even if one gets a subsidized phone especially if you have access to some sort of corporate plan or discounted plan.  But...

Also a factor is how long you keep your phones.  If you buy a new phone every 2 years or more frequently then yes - trying to get a good plan with Telus/ Koodo or major player with a subsidy might be close. One just has to remember that if you don't you are still paying a higher plan (because you paying extra phone subsidy portion) & have to call at 2 years to get it changed/ lowered. 

If you can keep a phone for more than 2 years then PM is for you.

For example, I am still using a Nexus 6 I bought from Amazon on Black Friday 2 years ago for US$250. I have saved so much even though I was paying about $45-50 on a 4 year old share everything plan with 500mb data. My credits were expiring and I hadn't had a phone for years as I got the Nexus 5 on sale from Google & when I tried to get one, my plan wasn't high enough, my plan was about to go up, so I bought Nexus 6 & left.

Other reasons for PM:

Have you factored in the rewards:

Easiest are the $2/mo for auto pay & $1/mo for each full year you stay (up to $5/mo) & referral credits (if other family members/ friends join & stay).

So I am rapidly approaching my first full year & look forward to saving $1/mo on top of my $2/mo pre-pay making my $40 plan $37.  (Would have been $36 but lost a referral) 

Slightly harder to achieve rewards including spending a bit on time on the forums -which looks like you might - can earn you from $1 to $4/mo ($1 & $2 are not too hard to hit).

[will13am]

The way I make the numbers work is by shopping for hardware and avoiding carrier devices.  The most expensive of the last 6 phone purchases was $400.  I need to buy $1000 phones for each member of the family like I need another hole in the head.  While we lack expensive phones, we are never short on data.  

I would agree the current offerings are nothing to write home about.  They need to restore 2016 pricing including promo.

[ShawnC13]

@Joel79, I already owned my phone when I switched.  We paid out my wifes contract and saved somewhere around $500 this year.( I did a calculation somewhere on here).  We did get her a new Android phone for $250.  If you plan to stay with iPhone and keep getting a new phone every couple of years PM may not be for you.  The phone you are eligible to upgrade to is  a couple years old now.  Looking at used ones in my area I can get them for around $400 so it would still be saving me money if I wanted to go that way (yes it is used and not new).  The other thing to look at you were sharing 3GB of data what do you for yourself with the PM plan?

So it just depends on what you feel you would spend on phones every couple of years.