Mobility phone and plans

kevinhits · #1 05-23-2019, 04:30 PM

Hey guys,

I have been with Telus mobility for over 20 years and I have been grandfathered in with a great plan but seems the plans have gone up huge in the last couple of years. Other than Bell, who would you recommend to try? Don't want cheap carriers that coverage is only within cities....

PS. Went into a Telus store a couple hours ago and gave me the loyalty line number which I am on hold with right now.

CaberTosser · #2 05-23-2019, 04:35 PM

I'd been on Telus for my cell since I first got one in 1997 or 8. They weren't giving me any kind of a deal and when we called to get better rates we were essentially told to pound sand. I've been with Fido now for about 8 months I think? Its been fine and I've been around rural Alberta and out to Fairmont BC with it and I've been fine for coverage, never had the phone not work when I dialed. Now my wife's phone bill and mine combined cost what mine alone used to.......

HalfBreed · #3 05-23-2019, 05:16 PM

Any Telus subsidiary is pretty good. I do have shares in the company, so I may be biased. My dividends cover my cell use. I have an old corporate plan as my primary phone only. I recently, well maybe a year ago wanted data for a dongle to run my laptop so settled on Public mobile. It's only 3G, but I use it for reading such as this site. Since I have a dual SIM phone, I ended up putting the Public Sim in the second slot and just tether my laptop when needed.

The Public plan I have is 8 Gb with unlimited North America phone and text fo $50 a month. Not sure what you're looking for but this works for me as I'm at my new to me cabin often and no internet. Public, like Koodo is on the Telus network, so Western Canada has good coverage.

ssyd · #4 05-23-2019, 05:20 PM

I switched to Koodo at Christmas. $55/month for 4GB and unlimited nationwide talk/text. Came with a 12 month promo for $10 off and waived the activation fee.

Only downside is Koodo encourages you to do everything self-help. If you want to talk to a human it'll cost $10 and take 2-3 hours for a call-back because they have no direct number for a call centre.

Koodo = Telus
Fido = Rogers
Virgin = Bell
Freedom = Garbage

Bell and Telus share towers and have by far the best coverage out west.

The main difference with the budget carriers is that they don't offer family or share plans. Since switching I haven't noticed any difference in service quality from my old Bell plan.

DO NOT CANCEL YOUR PLAN BEFORE YOU SWITCH LET THE NEW CARRIER DO IT OR YOU WILL LOSE YOUR PHONE NUMBER

R3illy · #5 05-23-2019, 06:27 PM

I agree about fido. Fido will provide loyalty plans after 90 days of being with them. I was $170 or so a month with bell before for my plan and now about $100 for 17gb and unlimited calling/text.

Anywhere my fido phone hasn't worked telus or bell hasnt either so I havent missed out on anything.

TimeOff · #6 05-23-2019, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevinhits

Hey guys,

I have been with Telus mobility for over 20 years and I have been grandfathered in with a great plan but seems the plans have gone up huge in the last couple of years. Other than Bell, who would you recommend to try? Don't want cheap carriers that coverage is only within cities....

PS. Went into a Telus store a couple hours ago and gave me the loyalty line number which I am on hold with right now.

You have been with them that long, they should step up. They have been trying to retain long time customers who pay their bills, like money in the bank for them.

ssyd · #7 05-23-2019, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimeOff

You have been with them that long, they should step up. They have been trying to retain long time customers who pay their bills, like money in the bank for them.

Loyalty will offer you something like $10/month less. After you switch you'll get a call from their retention department. I almost switched back with what they offered me but wasn't interested in the phones they were trying to throw in.

TimeOff · #8 05-23-2019, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssyd

Loyalty will offer you something like $10/month less. After you switch you'll get a call from their retention department. I almost switched back with what they offered me but wasn't interested in the phones they were trying to throw in.

Probably so, my home services were cut by 55% when I told them I was quitting.
Didn't even have to barter for it.

masalma · #9 05-23-2019, 07:51 PM

I have 4 lines with koodo. 3 are $60 with unlimited Canada wide talk and 10 Gb of data. My line is $75 with 15 Gb. Since it is a Telus company I get really good coverage.

Was looking to upgrade phones on two lines that had a tab balance of about $230 each. Called customer service and asked for their loyalty/retention department. After 10 minutes they waived both tab balances and ordered two Google pixle 3a for zero upfront and 360 on tab each.

Been with them for about a 8 years and very happy with the service and prices. Currently using a Huawei p20 pro that I got on a medium tab ($360) and zero up front.

HalfBreed · #10 05-23-2019, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssyd

Bell and Telus share towers and have by far the best coverage out west.

I'm now curious about the sharing bit. My data works at the cabin but the evil half with Bell can't access data. I have nothing against Bell as I also have shares in BCE. I'll do another check this weekend when she comes out. I'd guess I'd have the same issue in Ontario.

jcrayford · #11 05-23-2019, 07:54 PM

I switched to Freedom last September and got in a 10 GB plan with a bonus 3 GB. Then in January, I switched the wife over to Freedom as well, 5 GB + 2 GB bonus. Together, we have 20 GB available per month, unlimited Canada wide calling, unlimited texting worldwide. Have never lost signal standing beside friends with Telus/Bell/Virgin/Rogers.

All of the above for a grand total of $127.97 per month. This amount will never increase unless I need to buy a US 5-day plan like I just had to for the wife.

What bugged me about Telus was paying through the nose for a low GB plan, and everything above that plan was extra charge this and extra charge that. Could never get a budget figured out because it was always fluctuating.

The last added bonus is that Freedom is running at least 4G signal for 90% of where I am.

J.

blgoodbrand1 · #12 05-24-2019, 07:26 AM

Thinking about moving from TELUS as their pricing just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Has anyone signed up through Costco?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

pikeslayer22 · #13 05-24-2019, 08:33 AM

Also moving from Telus just nervous about other companies coverage

ssyd · #14 05-24-2019, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pikeslayer22

Also moving from Telus just nervous about other companies coverage

Shouldn't be an issue with the big 3. Rogers is slowly getting better out of town but they tend to focus more on the highways. They also have agreements to roam for free on most other carriers' networks in Canada to make up for their lack of investment out west.

Freedom is only "freedom" within city limits and IIRC it does cost more to roam outside your home city.

FishOutOfWater · #15 05-24-2019, 01:19 PM

Public Mobile...

They're a Telus subsidiary (use Telus towers).

I've been with them for ~2 years, only complaint is lack of a direct Customer Service phone #.
I pay $135 for a 3 month "plan" (you can auto-renew). "Build Your Own Plan"
Gives me 6gb of 4G wireless Data, Canada-wide calling & unlimited texts (SMS messages use Data).
But I just upgraded to (the same plan) 9gb of 4G Data for an extra $30...

* They have a kiosk now, in Malborough Mall. They used to be strictly online. https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/ab/plans

coreya3212 · #16 05-24-2019, 08:58 PM

This thread has me prepping to leave Telus. So how does one unlock a phone? I see online give us your credi card etc but that makes a guy nervous. Can it be done safely and painlessly? If not, what is the best phone to go with these days? I currently have a iPhone 6s I believe.

jcrayford · #17 05-24-2019, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssyd

Shouldn't be an issue with the big 3. Rogers is slowly getting better out of town but they tend to focus more on the highways. They also have agreements to roam for free on most other carriers' networks in Canada to make up for their lack of investment out west.

Freedom is only "freedom" within city limits and IIRC it does cost more to roam outside your home city.

Nope. Only thing that happens is that I only get 1 GB at 4G speed. After the 1 GB limit, the data speed gets throttled back to 3G speed. No additional costs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coreya3212

This thread has me prepping to leave Telus. So how does one unlock a phone? I see online give us your credi card etc but that makes a guy nervous. Can it be done safely and painlessly? If not, what is the best phone to go with these days? I currently have a iPhone 6s I believe.

Simple. Had to unlock the WD phone in January. Phoned up Telus customer service and asked them to unlock the phone, 5 minutes later it was unlocked and transferred to Freedom.

People can say whatever they want about the "big" 3, but after putting up with Telus' and Rogers and Bells aggravation for over 20 years, I'll never ever step into another "big" 3 plan again.

J.

dothepuff · #18 05-25-2019, 06:57 AM

I've been changing all the families phones over to the Cell Phone Man. The service is through Koodo so service is good but he can get better rates on plans. There are lots of others that do the same thing and you can find them cheaper as well. Big thing is when you start the process READ the steps closely. Cost $100 to switch you over and you pay after it's done. Daughter has a plan for 8g and her bill is $56 a month.

coreya3212 · #19 05-25-2019, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcrayford

Simple. Had to unlock the WD phone in January. Phoned up Telus customer service and asked them to unlock the phone, 5 minutes later it was unlocked and transferred to Freedom.

J.

Well that sounds simple enough. No hands on type service, it’s all done out there wirelessly?

Thank you for the info

KGB · #20 05-25-2019, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dothepuff

I've been changing all the families phones over to the Cell Phone Man. The service is through Koodo so service is good but he can get better rates on plans. There are lots of others that do the same thing and you can find them cheaper as well. Big thing is when you start the process READ the steps closely. Cost $100 to switch you over and you pay after it's done. Daughter has a plan for 8g and her bill is $56 a month.

Doesn’t that require to switch to out-of-province area code phone number?

4K3OGH · #21 05-25-2019, 12:35 PM

check out www.cellphoneman.ca

You pay the guy $100 and he sets you up with a phone plan from Quebec. The carrier is Koodo (telus) his rates cant be beat and has really good reviews as well! I found its only worth while if you bring a phone with you. Or buy one outright and dont have to make "tab" payments

JBE · #22 05-25-2019, 02:45 PM

So the coverage is the same as Telus with Koodo?

masalma · #23 05-25-2019, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBE

So the coverage is the same as Telus with Koodo?

Telus owns Koodo so yes

Koschenk · #24 05-25-2019, 04:09 PM

Just switched from Rogers to Koodo a few months ago and won't ever look back.

Loggrlee · #25 05-25-2019, 04:18 PM

was told koodo only had city towers, does anyone have koodo and use it in the country?

spurly · #26 05-25-2019, 04:22 PM

Koodo will work anywhere telus works I have had both, and I am in the country.

KGB · #27 05-25-2019, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4K3OGH

check out www.cellphoneman.ca

You pay the guy $100 and he sets you up with a phone plan from Quebec. The carrier is Koodo (telus) his rates cant be beat and has really good reviews as well! I found its only worth while if you bring a phone with you. Or buy one outright and dont have to make "tab" payments

And you end up with a Quebec area code? That was my understanding.

masalma · #28 05-25-2019, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KGB

And you end up with a Quebec area code? That was my understanding.

You end up with an Alberta number. I had done that a long time ago. You risk losing your plan anytime you call customer service or try to upgrade phones. Honestly not worth the hassle.

You can sign up with any plan they have and call into their retention department and ask for a better plan. That way you would have a legit plan for almost same rate.

skidderman · #29 05-25-2019, 06:56 PM

Signed up wth Virgin today. After going to several places to get prices I feel like I need to wash my hands. Some of the sales people must be ex car sales people. Don't know if I got the best plan or not but finally had to decide. Was with koodo. They had nothing to offer so moved on. I hope it's not a mistake & I hope I don't need to do this again for a very long time.

R3illy · #30 05-25-2019, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skidderman

Signed up wth Virgin today. After going to several places to get prices I feel like I need to wash my hands. Some of the sales people must be ex car sales people. Don't know if I got the best plan or not but finally had to decide. Was with koodo. They had nothing to offer so moved on. I hope it's not a mistake & I hope I don't need to do this again for a very long time.

your talking a cell phone on a tab that can be paid out at anytime. What are you stressing about??? Oh no those pesky sales guys making $25 bucks off your activation will be laughing all the way to the bank.