Travelling to USA- Cell Phone SIM questions. | GTAMotorcycle.com

Travelling to USA- Cell Phone SIM questions.

DJM

DJM

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I have a Motorola Milestone through Telus. I'm trying to understand my options for 2 weeks in the US. Telus has a roaming plan for voice and data but it's $$$. Someone mentioned getting a SIM card in the US but I have no knowledge of doing this.

Do I need to unlock my phone first?
Who puts the SIM card in and what has to be done to the phone to start using it.
Do I get a new number while I'm there?
What do I do when I get back to Canada, just put the old one back in?
 
1) Depends on whether Telus locks their phones down or not. I know they are a very restrictive company, so you might wanna get an answer for this one from someone else.
2) You put in the SIM card after you buy it even though in most stores they'll just do it for you
3) Yes
4) Yes

P.S. Telus roaming fees are like an ***-rape from a guy with a 16" penis without Vaseline
 
I called Telus, phone is locked. They will unlock it for $50 and allows me to maintain warranty. I see unlock codes on Ebay for $5. If I walk into some cellular store in Orlando can they do it there? I take it I can get some sort of prepaid plan based on minutes and data?
 
$50 to unlock the phone?! Drugs are bad (and I'm pro-legalization). You can unlock the phone yourself and then walk into a store south of the border, get a SIM, get a prepaid plan, put in the SIM and you're good to go. You just have to see which network is compatible with Telus. I'm with Wind so for me, it would be T-Mobile. Depends on the frequencies that they're using.
 
OK, much more clearer about it now. Thanks mate.
 
DJM said:
OK, much more clearer about it now. Thanks mate.
Click to expand...

No worries.. I've done that both in Europe and South America. Over there, you pay $5-20 for a SIM and get that much credit, which goes a long way, especially since it's free incoming. I'm not sure about free incoming the U.S. as I've only had an extended stay there once and didn't really have the time to yap on the phone (12-14hr shifts, 7 days a week), and I was with Telus before their phones came with SIM cards. I just used my computer to stay in touch.
 
Get an unlock code from ebay
Buy a prepaid sim card from Att or T-mobile and put it in your phone
apply credit to the phone and pay as you go

thats it
 
Or go to Walmart in the USA and buy a throw way phone for $25 and buy air time cards as you need them.
 
T-mobile has a promo running, prepaid phones are coming with a $30 card. This includes the phones that are nearly free.
 
revrandy said:
T-mobile has a promo running, prepaid phones are coming with a $30 card. This includes the phones that are nearly free.
Click to expand...

I'd go with that option.. Having a spare phone is not a bad idea. All for the price of 5-10min of Telus roaming :cool:
 
I have used those phones too. The cheap ones are really crappy and sound quality is poor. If you don't travel much that might be a good option, if you like to go on vacation often to different places, just unlock your phone. Technically you can buy the cheapo walmart phone packages (I got one for $15) and put the sim card in your phone and still get the bonus credit if your phone is unlocked. That way all the phone book is still available to you.

I have a few different sim cards, one for Jamaica, USA and Canada. I swap them out depending on where I am. If I go to buffalo for the day the USA sim comes in handy because the roaming rates are so high.
 
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