Complain to CRTC or CCTS
https://www.ccts-cprst.ca/for-consumers/how-we-can-help/mobile-home-phone/

They're always experiencing "extremely high call volumes" so I never get through to anyone.

I've tried filling out the form for support but that just goes nowhere.

Any other options? Does speakout no longer have any customer service?

incognito said
Hey there, I stumbled into this thread when I was trying to figure out what to do in this exact situation myself - same details down to parents being out of town and not seeing/understanding the notifications and then running into the ‘Under maintenance’ migration website.

I managed to sort this all out today by porting my parents number out to Koodo without having to go through the migration website at all. The remaining Speakout balance was lost, but we managed to successfully port their existing number.

I went in-person to my local Koodo store and asked the clerk to try to port in a Speakout number despite us having no connectivity (no ability to get calls/texts on Speakout). The clerk set up a SIM card and I chose a $19/mo prepaid placeholder plan (just in case this didn’t work, I didn’t want to drop the full $100 for the annual plan. It should be easy to self-serve change to an annual prepaid plan afterwards). The clerk was able to successfully port the number over to Koodo with only the phone number and the IMEI of the phone.

We were able to make outbound calls immediately, but texts and inbound calls didn’t work until 1-2 hours later.

Hope this anecdote helps someone else navigating this Speakout mess.

Happy holidays!  

Thats great news! I tried doing the same with Freedom but they confirmed they cannot do it. I will have to pray that the migration works.

I managed to sort this all out today by porting my parents number out to Koodo without having to go through the migration website at all. The remaining Speakout balance was lost, but we managed to successfully port their existing number.

I went in-person to my local Koodo store and asked the clerk to try to port in a Speakout number despite us having no connectivity (no ability to get calls/texts on Speakout). The clerk set up a SIM card and I chose a $19/mo prepaid placeholder plan (just in case this didn’t work, I didn’t want to drop the full $100 for the annual plan. It should be easy to self-serve change to an annual prepaid plan afterwards). The clerk was able to successfully port the number over to Koodo with only the phone number and the IMEI of the phone.

We were able to make outbound calls immediately, but texts and inbound calls didn’t work until 1-2 hours later.

Hope this anecdote helps someone else navigating this Speakout mess.

Happy holidays!

cuificu said
... I was planning to migrate them first, set up first month with $19 plan then port them over to Freedom.

I'm burning down my balances on two numbers then plan port out to Koodo

However, this migration site still shows under maintenance, I did managed to get through on the phone last night and they said there is nothing they can do but wait for the website to work.  

That's typical of the service by SpeakOut since September. Their site has had several failures (all accounts showing zero balances or pages unavailable). I hope the migration page comes back up for you soon.

pdops said

cuificu said
The migration website has been showing "Under maintenance".

That's a new development so don't know what to advise you.
Not sure if you're aware but the '365 day expiry' option is gone and you have to select a monthly plan at a minimum of $19 so a minimum of $228 per year.
There are cheaper options out there for annual plans at Koodo, ChatR and Freedom
If your parents don't have a big balance and don't mind losing their present number it might be a lot less aggravation just to abandon SpeakOut  

They are very attached to their phone number, I was planning to migrate them first, set up first month with $19 plan then port them over to Freedom. However, this migration site still shows under maintenance, I did managed to get through on the phone last night and they said there is nothing they can do but wait for the website to work.

cuificu said
The migration website has been showing "Under maintenance".

That's a new development so don't know what to advise you.
Not sure if you're aware but the '365 day expiry' option is gone and you have to select a monthly plan at a minimum of $19 so a minimum of $228 per year.
There are cheaper options out there for annual plans at Koodo, ChatR and Freedom
If your parents don't have a big balance and don't mind losing their present number it might be a lot less aggravation just to abandon SpeakOut

The migration website has been showing "Under maintenance". Does anyone know what to do from here? I tried calling but obviously got hang up due to high call volume and I tried emailing but no replies yet.

deecee said
I have an "older" Nokia which has always worked & is OK for how much I use it for emergencies only. I am fairly sure the SIM I had in there was working into November. But now NADA. There is mention of a "migration" SIM which is free. I don't want to spend more $ on a new SIM or top ups if they won't work on my existing Nokia.

Here's my (a month later) reply, just in case you haven't already found out and "migrated" or ported out yet...

I guess you missed all the drama during the last several months. Speakout originally ran on the Rogers network, first 2G, and then 3G. Rogers (and others) decided to gradually shut down the 3G networks. The end of that "gradually" has apparently hit you.

Ztar, the "in the middle" company that runs Speakout and PetroCanada's Good2Go brand, had an agreement with Rogers. With the end of 3G, that agreement also ends. Rogers doesn't want to give Ztar or other 3rd party suppliers access to their 4G network, so Ztar had to look elsewhere. Telus is the new network.

At the same time (likely due to the cost of the new agreement), the $25 topup for 365 days is also gone. The "cheapest" plan is now $19 per month for unlimited (in Canada) calling and texts. You also need a phone that does VoLTE (Voice over LTE), not just 4G LTE (data). Your "older" Nokia may not have the technology built in.

Some Speakout user are migrating to the new plans just long enough to use up their non-refundable balances, while others are just saying "Screw this, I'm porting out to another company". Freedom, Chatr, and some others have yearly talk&text plans starting around $100, more if you want to add a relatively small amount of data. Speakout at $19/month = $228/year.

deecee said
SIM card activated Oct29 2024.  

The old SpeakOut topups were good for 365 days. When was the last time you topped up?

Also there is the nation wide shutdown of the 3G network. Is your "older" Nokia 4G LTE compatible?
You can check at https://migrate.speakout7eleven.ca/activation/choose-path

Will Speakout continue to work after July 31st?

You'll have to pick up a new SIM and migrate your account

So I was able to get two new numbers with the migration SIMs and have the balances transferred by using the form at
https://www.speakout7eleven.ca/contact-us
and exchanging several eMails with customer service

Losing my original numbers was not the best solution but, for me, better than losing my balances