At the tail end of Black Friday deals last week, I decided to jump to Telus-owned Public Mobile to grab its $35/50GB 5G Canada/U.S./Mexico plan (which, at the time of writing, was still available if anyone still wanted to get it). Much to my surprise, the process was incredibly quick and easy, thanks to eSIM.

This was my first real foray into eSIM with a Canadian provider. I’ve so far avoided eSIM for two main reasons. First, most Canadian providers actually make eSIM a frustrating and annoying experience, though that has improved in recent years.

And the other reason I’ve avoided it is I often switch devices for work since I test new phones. Most providers make it annoying or costly to switch your eSIM to a new device, making physical SIMs the go-to for anyone who switches devices frequently since you can just pop the SIM out of one device and into the other.

Anyway, Public has made the eSIM setup process pretty easy and I was able to buy a new plan and move my number from Koodo in about 15 minutes. Plus, I never had to leave my house. Here’s how it went:

Signing up with eSIM

I started off by heading to Public’s website on my laptop, picking the plan I wanted, selecting ‘Register Now,’ and following the steps to create my account and sign up. After creating the account, Public prompted me to select a SIM option, which includes buying an eSIM (currently free but normally $5) or physical SIM (currently $5 but regularly $10). If you already have a physical SIM, you can pick that option instead. I ended up selecting eSIM because of the ongoing Canada Post strike and I wasn’t sure if or when I’d get my physical SIM from Public.

When selecting eSIM, Public prompts you to check compatibility with your phone by punching in your IMEI number. You need to complete the compatibility check before continuing, but most phones released in the last four or so years should have eSIM.

Following the compatibility check, you review the order and pay, then head to set up. At this point, Public’s website directed me to download the Public Mobile on my phone. It’s available free on the App Store and Play Store. Notably, you could also do everything from the app, including creating your account and subscribing to a plan, without needing to visit the website.

Once I downloaded the app and logged in, it then walked me through the eSIM setup and number port process. The app honestly handles the majority of the process, and there was very little I needed to do. One of the first steps is the app tells you what you’ll need to complete the process, like getting the account number from your old provider and keeping your old SIM card in the phone so as not to mess up the number port process. Interestingly, the app forces you to check off everything on the list before continuing, which should help ensure people don’t end up stuck in a situation without service.

The app handled everything — it downloaded the new eSIM to my Pixel 9 Pro and set it up, and it completed the whole number port process. The only thing I had to do was enter my Koodo account number and confirm the number port via a text message sent to me by Koodo. When the process was complete, I had to wait about five minutes with no service before the Public Mobile service came online. But once the Public connection came online, I was up and running with my new service and old phone number. It was probably the fastest and smoothest carrier switch I’ve ever done.

Smooth transfer, but not everything is perfect

While the overall transfer process was fairly smooth, easy and convenient, thanks to my being able to do it all from the comfort of my house, it wasn’t perfect. For one, that roughly five-minute period without service from Public or my old provider was a bit nerve-wracking. Mostly, I was worried I’d accidentally messed something up and was now stuck without service on my phone.

There was also an instance where the Public app wanted me to log in again, which involved an SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) code I couldn’t receive because my number was being ported. If anyone from Public is reading this, it’d be worth offering other 2FA options that don’t depend on cellular service.

I also had issues with Rich Communication Services (RCS) for a few days after switching providers. RCS, as a reminder, is the Google-backed protocol to replace SMS and MMS for texting. After switching to Public, the Messages app got stuck verifying my number and I could no longer send or receive RCS messages. That lasted a few days and caused several missed messages from friends and family.

I’m not sure if this is a problem specific to Public Mobile or a wider issue with RCS in general. I haven’t noticed any RCS issues like this when switching providers in the past, but maybe this time there was an issue because I was switching from one Telus-owned subsidiary to another. Whatever the case, a Public Mobile community forum thread about a similar issue helped me resolve the RCS issue. In short, the solution turned out to be wiping the Messages app’s data and cache. After doing that, RCS was able to successfully verify my number. I haven’t had any issues since then.

The final problem is actually one I haven’t had to contend with yet. As I mentioned above, most providers make it annoying or costly to transfer eSIMs from one device to another, and that includes Public Mobile. To move my eSIM, Public will force me to buy a new eSIM through its app, which will cost $5. That’s not great, especially for someone like me who switches phones frequently. I have my fingers crossed that by the next time I need to switch phones, there will be a tool to transfer my eSIM available for me to use. If not, I’ll likely just go back to using a physical SIM card.

Beyond those issues, everything else with the switch has been great. I wish every provider made switching this easy — maybe we’ll get there someday.