One of the most common issues for new SIM card subscribers on Public Mobile is Public Mobile not receiving calls.
Public Mobile is a great network but many users have complained of failing to receive calls. Public mobile does not own the mistake for such issues.
However, there are fundamental issues that could be addressed. Thankfully, we have just the right solution to this problem.
The top reason why your Public Mobile SIM may fail to receive calls is incomplete porting.
If you have transferred your old number to Public Mobile, you may experience errors until the process is complete.
The other common reason is improper APN settings, which need to be updated. A critical analysis of this matter shows that part of the fault falls on Public Mobile network configuration.
Below are the reasons behind failed incoming calls and how to solve them.
Reasons Why Your Public Mobile Not Receiving Calls
✅ Incomplete Porting – If you recently transferred your phone number from an old service provider to Public Mobile, the process could be incomplete
✅ SIM Needs to be Refreshed – Some users have needed their Public Mobile line to be refreshed when such errors occur.
✅ You have activated call forwarding – Check to see if you have an active call forwarding feature.
✅ Incompatible device – Some devices are not just compatible with Public Mobile networks.
Solutions to Public Mobile Not Receiving Calls
If you are not receiving calls on Public Mobile, check to see if other functions are working.
This article will mainly focus on the situation where you are not receiving calls but can access other services.
This means that you should be able to receive and send messages, make calls and have access to data.
If this is your situation, below are the main solutions to your problem.
Solution #1: Check SIM Activation Status
The first step should be to confirm if your SIM is active. If you have not completed SIM activation, some features will fail.
To confirm if your SIM is active:
- Visit activate.publicmobile.ca
- Type in the digits on the back of your SIM card
- If the SIM card is already activated, you will receive an “Invalid ” response
- If your SIM is not activated, submit the details to complete activation.
Note: Some SIM cards could suffer from this error even when active.
If your SIM was activated within the past few hours, give it 24 hours before you take further action.
Solution #2 Complete Porting Your SIM
The second reason that could result in failed Public Mobile calls is incomplete porting.
If you have transferred your number from a previous service provider, check to see that porting is complete.
There are a few ways to find out if porting is complete.
- You should receive an authorization message from your old service provider. Following the instructions in the message will complete the porting process.
- You must receive a confirmation message from Public Mobile
Note: If you do not receive a message from Public Mobile confirming that porting is complete, you have to take action.
Porting for mobile numbers should be completed within 2 hours of initiating the process.
How to Complete Porting Your Number
- Call your old service provider and ask them to complete porting your number.
- Call Public Mobile and ask them to complete porting your number
Note: You must first call your old network provider.
If they tell you to call Public Mobile, proceed.
Solution #3 Change the Preferred Network Mode to 3G
The next step should be trying to change your preferred network mode. The problem most Public Mobile users experience comes from how the network is set up.
Public Mobile supports LTE for data only. This means that for calls, the network has to go back to 3G to receive calls.
If your device does not have the capacity to switch between LTE and 3G promptly, you may miss some calls.
As a result, most of your calls could appear as missed calls or voicemails.
To resolve this problem on iPhone
- Go to Settings
- Select Cellular
- Select Cellular Data Options
- Tap on Voice and Data
- Select 3G instead of Automatic
Resolve the problem on Android
- Go to Settings
- Select Connections
- Select Choose Mobile Networks
- Choose Network Mode
- Choose 3G instead of (LTE/3G/2G auto connect)
Note: This path is for Samsung but applies to most devices.
If your device has a different path, simply change from automatic mode to 3G only.
Solution #4 Update APN Settings for Your Device
The next solution you should try out is updating APN settings. Your phone’s APN settings can get updated automatically.
If they do not get updated automatically, you have the option to update them manually.
For Public Mobile, you have to access APN settings on your device and input the provided APN details.
How to update APN settings on Android
- G to Settings from your home screen
- Select Mobile Networks
- Tap Access Point Names
- Tap on Add New APN
- Tap on the Name of the Field
- Enter the right APN Settings as listed below.
The Appropriate APN settings for Android are as follows:
- Name: Public Mobile
- APN: sp.mb.com
- Username: ( Leave blank)
- Password: (Leave blank)
- Port: (Leave blank)
- Proxy: (leave blank)
- Server: (leave blank )
- MMS Proxy: 74.49.0.18
- MMSC: http://aliasredirect.net/proxy/mb/mmsc
- MCC: 302
- MMS Port: 80
- MNC:220
- Authentication type: (none)
Note: For any field that has been indicated "leave blank" delete the content already available at the time of editing.
If there is no content in the field just leave it blank.
iPhone APN Settings
For Apple devices including iPhones, you can also update your APN settings manually. Use the Settings below for APN
- Tap on Settings
- Select Cellular
- Select Cellular Data Network
- Tap on Access Point Names
Enter the information below in the appropriate fields
- APN: sp.mb.com
- Username: (Leave blank)
- Password: (Leave blank)
Note: Only go for updating your APN settings only if you have recently changed devices or carriers.
If you are new to Public Mobile, you should also consider this option.
Solution #4 Disable Call Forwarding
The other reason your phone could be causing all the trouble is voicemail settings.
If you have set your device to send calls to voicemail, chances are that you will have trouble with incoming calls.
You can disable or set voicemail on Public Mobile in the following ways.
- For unconditional redirects dial *21* plus your ten digits phone number then # and send. To disable unconditional forward ‘#21#’
- For forwarding when busy, dial ‘*67*’ plus your ten-digit phone number + ‘#’. To cancel the same dial ‘#67#’
- To set up voicemail when not reachable dial ‘*62*’ plus phone number then #. To cancel the same service dial ‘#62#’
- To set up voicemail for no reply calls dial ‘*61*’ plus a ten-digit phone number then ‘#’. To cancel the same service dial ‘#61#.
You can also set voicemail on Public Mobile if the call has not been answered for a specific time. This is what they call variable voicemail.
To setup up, a variable voicemail dial ‘*004*’ plus a ten-digit phone number then ‘#’ and send. To cancel the same dial ‘#004#’
Note: Canceling any of these services will mean that you will no longer receive their voicemail.
Summary
There are many issues that could result in Public Mobile not receiving calls. This is a big problem that many Public Mobile Users have complained about.
The top cause is incomplete swapping. If you did not complete swapping your SIM card, you should expect some issues.
Besides SIM swapping, it is common to have issues with your SIM receiving calls if your device lacks capacity.
Your SIM should be able to switch between LTE and 3G easily to avoid these issues.
Read Next: How to Fix Public Mobile Data Not Working?
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.