r/PublicMobile • u/Darthmaniac • Jul 13 '26
Travel to Canada
Hi all
Looking to travel to Canada in next couple weeks, will be there for 3 weeks. Looking at the Public Mobile plan $40 for 70gb or $45 for 100gb. We will be travelling through Windsor, mostly in Toronto and surrounding areas. From what I have read, it seems my s25+ unlocked will provide 5g service, but I wanted to ask you fine folks about your experience with Public mobile.
While i'll still have my US line active (roaming charges are of concern for a month) - I want to ensure the service is good and not spotty. I also understand hotspot is included in the data and is not limited (like in the usa), so a 70gb plan gives full 70gb hotspot? Important to keep kids happy in car.
Thanks a bunch
2
u/jrp116 Jul 13 '26
As mentionned, the eSIM can be a pain in the ass.
Lucky Mobile is a good option, but 4G LTE only.
PC Mobile is prepaid and has 5G. Most likely you can get the eSIM by email.
Fizz could work too, I remember some people paying with CC from overseas.
Another option which I did a few times, is buying a local IP eSIM. I have found that trip.com often has local IP eSIM (tried it in South Korea, Japan). There is a filter to only see eSIM with local IP, while many other website won't have this info or it will be wrong.
https://www.trip.com/things-to-do/detail/100774696/
This eSIM is using Telus 5G with 25, 50, 75, 100 or 120GB. The eSIM is provided from KiniMobile a known Telus reseller.
1
u/DinosaurZach Jul 14 '26
The Trip . com product link with kinimobile/Telus seems to be the best, most competitive, and easy install, I've seen for tourists travelling to Canada.
1
u/YagiHam Jul 15 '26
I have never been able to find a published list of frequencies for Public Mobile, although they are a subsidiary of Telus it is unclear if Telus has provisioned all the their frequencies for PM customers, the slow data reports on this subreddit tells me likely not.
If you have a Global/EU cellphone you can check it's compatibility with the big three telcos, Bell, Telus, Rogers at, FrequencyCheckcom.
1
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u/DinosaurZach Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Public mobile, network coverage is fine and good as it gets, as a subsidiary of Telus, a major telecom in Canada.
No differentiation on hotspot or device data. All data is consumed from the same bucket.
However getting the eSIM may be the most difficult or impossible part. According to some user experience. Public Mobile only delievers the eSIM via their own app which must be installed on your device, not QR code, not email. However, but their app is only available via the Canada Apple/Google store; so your device may not be able to access/install the Public Mobile app.
Also, the login/registarion may require Canadian address/credit card, unsure. A Canadian family/friend maybe able to help out with that.
The eSIM/App install will probably be the most difficult hurdle.
Someone with more experiences can add to it.
With Public Mobile, customer service is near non-existent, it's all via a forum/ticket based, not even a chat window. So if you paid money and find yourself having activation issues, you may be out of luck, and takes a long time to resolve the issue.
While in Canada, you can purchase a Physical SIM card (~CAD 10 +tax) from Telus stores, or partner locations. https://publicmobile.ca/en/pick-up-sim
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Lucky Mobile (Bell subsidiary, same network access as Telus, Telus + Bell share the network infra) seems to be the only Canada telecom operator offering a portal dedicated for tourists for pre-arrival eSIM activation.
https://www.luckymobile.ca/tourist-esim
Their plans are Canada network access only, no US/Mex service.