SIM only Phone Contract
 

Hey folks,

I just arrived on an IEC WP at the weekend, and working through my list of IDs to apply for etc. I popped into Fido today to pick up a sim only month to month thing and was flat out refused. I was expecting them to ask for a silly amount of money for a deposit in the worst case, but the computer flat out refused me. I have a job to start etc so I can provide that info if they ask but they didn’t even give me the opportunity. They told me to come back in 6 months. Luckily my UK SIM will keep roaming for a bit so I have the time to sort something out.

Anyone had any luck getting a month to month SIM just after landing? Or another operator that might be a bit more lenient (e.g. let me provide proof that I can afford to pay) I’m loathed to go prepaid as the offerings are pretty bad and it doesn’t help me in any way for building credit etc.

Shaun

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

Koodo Prepay. No contract $15/month, which includes 250MB of data and unlimted texting. You buy booster packs for extra data and minutes, which don't expire. They don't ask for any proof of anything. Just go to the kiosk at almost any mall and buy a SIM then set up an account online to activate it.

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

7-11 https://www.speakout7eleven.ca/deal?...SAAEgIDkvD_BwE
Freedom - https://www.freedommobile.ca/en-CA/prepaid-plans

Make sure you ask for PREPAY - also known as Pay As You Go. :)
You might find the wiki of use too :) https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Cell_Phones-Canada

(Oh - and Welcome to Canada eh! Enjoy!)

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

Exactly what we have both done and used for 2 years now. Works well, you just have to remember to buy top up's every couple of months(although Koodo sends text reminders).

It must be a good deal, as they have tried several times to get us to 'upgrade' to a normal contracts - for guess what? More money. Yeah, i'll be doing that!!!

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

I use Public Mobile and they're pretty decent, I think my 5gig plan with unlimited calls and text is around $38/month

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

Thanks folks, the Koodo ($65 7 GB) deal looks almost identical to the plan I was going to pick for Fido - so that looks like what I’ll go with! :)

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

+1 for Public Mobile. They operate on the Telus network (same as Koodo). You can pick up a sim card from various places, including Walmart or online.

Another option to look into is Lucky Mobile. They operate on the Bell network. You can grab their sim cards from Dollarama.

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

another vote for Public Mobile.

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

I’m with Chatr direct deposit each month $40 I get 5 GB unlimited mins and text including texts to uk never had a problem with them.

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

Get public mobile. Same network. Cheaper prices. And includes international texts which Koodo normally doesn't.

Once you get some credit there are better deals you can get. But get used to negotiating.
Standard rates in Canada are criminally high and low service. You have to fight to get deals, but with some work you can get a good (for canada) deal. But don't expect anything close to anywhere else in the world.

In my 13 years here I bet I average 1 change of network for every year. Loyalty gets you nowhere. You have to switch and play them against each other to get deals.

Plus get used to them flat out lying to you. My mum tried to get the plan I'm on and they lied to her face it doesn't exist even though I was stood with her on the phone and they could see my account. It often takes multiple escalations to managers before they cave in and give you something.

Cell phones are one of the worst things in Canada and I take great pleasure in paying them as little as possible. There is no competition here. Just lots of price fixing that the government turns a blind eye to.

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

Was about to ask the same question so thanks for all the replies.

One additional question. Do you/can you keep the same number when you swap networks or do you have to have a new one each time

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

You can keep your number. I switched from Virgin to Koodo and kept my number. I recently helped a relative switch from Fido to Koodo and she was able to keep her number.

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

Just tell them you want to port your number to your new provider... don't cancel your service until you have done so - follow the suggested course of action here: https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/phone/mobile/num.htm

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

The OP asked for non-prepaid so i'll pitch in re postpaid services.

Try all the 'little' providers' (owned by the big three.) Fido you've already been refused, so try Koodo and failing that try Virgin. They all have the same offers but different policies / YMMV around being approved.

Personally as someone who uses their phone heavily the prepaid offerings aren't enough for me. My phone bill is 115+tax to finance an iPhone, unlimited everything and 20GB data. Would be 75/month for the same plan if i bought my phone outright. TBH it is a lot better then it was 5-6 years ago.

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

Tip - try to go to the bank and get a credit card before signing up, then that way you will have an open line of credit on your report as opposed to nothing. There are banking packages out there designed for newcomers - will give you a $500-1000 credit limit to start. Something to start building credit with.

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

Thanks! I actually had been approved for two credit cards already (one with Amex global transfer and Scotiabank gave me one with a 5k limit) - sort of hilarious to be refused a $65 mobile phone contract.

i ended up going with koodo prepaid because they had the exact same offer as Fido and with auto top up I can’t forget to pay it.

I think I’ll try and switch to a post-paid ahead of any international travel but it should do me for a few months

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

You should be paying about half of that for that much data without a phone included.

For instance on koodo I'm paying a net price of $43 and change for 8gb. Unlimited calls and that includes a pixel 4 phone with no upfront cost. Even at full price my plan would have only been $60 including the phone.

If you're going sim only you might as well be on public mobile or similar and save a lot.

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

CHATR $25 or is it $20 a month 50 texts province wide

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

Piblic mobile is $13 with unlimited worldwide texts and 100 mins of Canada wide calls and some data.

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

sorry my gramma,

$25 province wide
50 texts worldwide

that's all I need

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

So why not pay half that and even if you don't use it you still have more?

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

I looked up their prepaid plans and the prices are cheaper than postpaid. The one thing I can't wrap my head around is the 8GB at '3G speeds'. Since most of the time (in Toronto especially) 4G is an option, would I go through the 4G quickly or would it equate to less than 8GB if using 4G?

Does Koodos offer 4G in their prepaid plan? So when they advertise 10GB, is that 10GB of 4G?

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

The way public mobile works is you are on the 4g LTE network, but it throttled your speed a little to similar to 3g speeds.

For normal use you will notice zero difference. YouTube etc load just as quick. I have public on a phone as our "home" phone for the kids/babysitter etc. I can tell zero difference between that and my other phone on Koodo or my business phone on Telus.

All the others, unless specifically stated like public, will be full 4g speed. But as data limits are low in Canada in general I see the slight speed reduction as a bonus.
No point having the ability to download 4k movies in 2 seconds if that means you burn up your month's worth of data in 5 seconds.

Unless you have one of the 20gb unlimited plans you might as well not worry about the theoretical speed restriction.
The only time I guess it could be an issue is if you use your phone as a wifi hotspot for a laptop. But then in that case you'll need a bigger data plan anyway so it's an irrelevant issue.

Public mobile is great. And I've used them as my main phone plenty of times when I'm between good deals on my main phone. I only left them recently as I got a free phone and even cheaper plan from Koodo.

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

no reason, I got this plan maybe 5 years ago ? IDK
at the time it was the best one that worked for me, no outtages, no billing issues no nothing, or QOS
think there part of Rogers

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

"No point having the ability to download 4k movies in 2 seconds if that means you burn up your month's worth of data in 5 seconds."

Very very true! Thanks for that. I may go with Public Mobile in that case. At $100 for my wife and me, getting 8GB each and free international texting, you can't go wrong with that!

Re: SIM only Phone Contract
 

I believe that Koodo is 4G/LTE, I think they'd have to say otherwise. Not sure if it has been mentioned but they are part of Telus. You have the primary tier, which is Telus, and as to be expected, has the more expensive plans, with all the bells and whistles, and are 4G/LTE speeds. The next tier down is Kodoo, which is more affordable, again offering 4G/LTE speeds, then the final tier is Public Mobile, with the very affordable plans, with the exception that all but the data only one, are running on a 4G/LTE network, but are speed throttled to 3G speed.

I've been with Public Mobile since 2016 and they're great. I've had a couple of issues, and getting hold of support via their forum was simple and quick. I signed up when they had a very good promo of $120 90-day Province-Wide Talk + Text + 12GB 4G/LTE Data.