It looks like Mobi PCS is having some issues lately. If you have a line with mobi it would be worth reading through the most recent posts on Reddit
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There’s enough in Mobi’s subreddit to conclude the company is in financial trouble.
As of now, my legacy - Verizon network based - Mobi service is not impacted. Mobi legacy service numbers are on Verizon’s network, so I’m not overly concerned about losing my legacy Mobi service number - the one I ported from the old RW - but it does look as if I may be shopping for a new home for it.
If nothing else, I would expect Mobi to file for bankruptcy protection and - if it comes to it - wind down in an orderly fashion.
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Looks like a majority of the posts from the past few days on mobi’s subreddit have been deleted. Not a good look.
I don’t know. Most of the deleted posts were irresponsible.
Posting the company is in financial trouble –fairly obvious - is one thing. Posting court documents from yet to be decided litigation, suggesting the company isn’t paying any of its bills, will imminently shut down and advocating for customers to port their numbers out before losing them while filing what amounts to preemptive FCC complaints are other matters entirely.
I can appreciate why a struggling company would take steps to protect itself from a handful of posters on Reddit whose motives are unknown. Just because they represent themselves as being altruistic doesn’t necessarily make it so.
Unfortunately, some posts from folks with legitimate concerns were also deleted. As best I could tell, there were 3 or 4 subscribers who needed customer service attention to restore service. In two of those cases, the lapse in service was due to customer payment failures to Mobi. The response that this was definitive evidence the company was finished was well over the top.
Now, it may turn out, Mobi indeed won’t survive its financial woes but that remains to be determined. As of now, my Mobi legacy service - for which I pay - remains unaffected. Beta service - for which I don’t pay - remains broken.
That Mobi’s troubles are impacting those who need customer service is troubling. Anyone so impacted is being eminently reasonable in porting out. Anyone not wanting to risk needing customer service attention and not being able to get it would be eminently reasonable in porting out. But, suggesting the company will imminently shut down while absconding with subscribers’ phone numbers is not - in my opinion - at all reasonable.
At this point, given the instability of its financial situation, I no longer suggest Mobi for potential new subscribers. For those of us who are already customers, I do not see a need to fear for the safely of one’s number though that is something we each must determine for oursleves.
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I ported out my legacy mobi number about a month ago. I had a feeling they were having financial issues when there was no technical explanation when the beta service stopped working. I agree that there’s no reason at this time to be concerned about losing a number but there’s not a compelling reason to stay either.
I don’t fault anyone for deciding it’s time to leave nor have I ruled out porting sooner than later. One can always leave and come back should circumstances warrant it.
I am not, however, inclined to be pushed by a few panicked and, perhaps, insincere posters on Reddit (or other social media). I wouldn’t want to find myself in a foxhole with them. 
Well, heck … Mobi has been such a good cell company and I’ve enjoyed their service. I’ll hang on until we know more.
Hi @AuntTC,
For now, I’m sitting tight. Mobi’s circumstances are concerning but given telecom is highly regulated, I expect Mobi - if it comes to that - will wind down operations in an orderly fashion.
Meanwhile, I’m hedging by making a note of my Mobi account number and security PIN - which doubles as one’s port out PIN. Apparently, the last six digits of one’s Mobi SIM ICCID also works as a port out PIN. If you need help finding any of that, let us know.
It’ll be a shame if Mobi doesn’t make it. In terms of customer service, Mobi is the closest thing to the old RW - and Ting Mobile - I’ve been able to find.
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Thank you, Roland. Yes, I need a little help. I found our Mobi account number, but I haven’t found our Mobi SIM ICCIDs. I’ve looked all through our “About Phone” sections - I see SIM numbers, but not ICCID. Mobi has been great and I really, really hope they will make it!
Hi @AuntTC,
You can find the ICCID under About phone by tapping on SIM status. Or; dial *#06# from the Phone app.
The above presumes you’re on Android.
Found it! Thank you!
Hi @rolandh,
My household has had our two lines lines with Mobi since we left Republic about 3 years ago. The lines were under separate accounts. My line’s renewall date is the 5th of the month. My wife’s was is the 22nd. Our credit card was not charged for her renewal on the due date (the day before yesterday) and yesterday her Mobi servce stopped. She cannot call or text. My line is working. I cannot contact Mobi customer service at (802) 723-1111. I’m affraid that, as Mobi customers’ renewal date comes up, they won’t be charged and their service stopped.
I’ve DMed Omari and Justen on Reddit but have not heard back yet.
Any advice? Thanks!
Yeah, it appears a bad situation is getting worse. Much as it pains me to say so, I think you need to consider porting out.
I have a question for you. To the best of your knowledge, there were no issues on your card issuer’s end that would have caused payment to fail? I’m asking because my monthly renewal is due December 1st. At this point, reports from others of failed payments and an inability to reach customer service to restore service are causing me to consider bailing.
I very much want Mobi to come through but service impact would be the red line for me.
Rolandh,
No, there should not have been any issues on our credit card issuer’s end. As a matter of fact two different charges went through today. I believe Mobi did not run the charge on the same card they have had on file for three years. The charge should have been made on the 22nd. The next day (yesterday) is when we noticed we had no service on the line.
Our other line had a renewal date on December 5th and was working fine. Earlier today I got really nervous about the situation and I signed up with Consumer Cellular. The porting went through in 5 minutes (!).
The question now is, how can one port a number if the number is inactive. No answer when I call Mobi customer support.
Try as if the number were still functioning. Give it 48 hours and if the port out fails, file an FCC complaint:
https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us
Generally, if necessary, the FCC complaint will get Mobi’s attention.
And, thanks for the details about your credit issuer. I think I’ll be porting out before the 1st.
Porting seems to be very streamlined these days. It took all of 5 minutes to migrate a friend off of Consumer Cellular over to Mint. CC rates were eating him alive. Based on the mail they keep sending me, CC rates are only compare favorably to full-on premium rates from the big carriers. You might want to check around for better deals.
For @AuntTC, @henry51 and others following this topic, I ported my legacy Mobi number to Tello this morning. The port took minutes. Because, I stupidly managed to misplace the Mobi account number I noted previously I tried - successfully - using the 10-digit phone number as the account number. As of this morning, even Mobi’s legacy online account portal is no longer working, so I wasn’t able to retrieve my account number there.
What you describe is how it’s supposed to work. Sadly, too often it doesn’t. In my experience, T-Mobile is much better at porting than either AT&T or Verizon with AT&T being the worst.
Credit where credit is due, CC has a reputation for providing excellent customer service, particularly, to its target demographic. If one values customer care provided by U.S. based agents, it might be worth paying a premium but, yes, otherwise there’s more attractive pricing available from others.
With AARP discount it’s $55.00 for two unlimited data lines.
Roland - does Tello support wi-fi calling and does it use Verizon? We have no coverage at home, so we need wi-fi calling.
@rolandh, I just want to let you know that Consumer Cellular was able to port out my Mobi number this morning (in 5 minutes!) even with my Mobi line inactive the last 3 days.
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