chuckmccullough
Junior Nomad
Posts: 55
Registered: 9-1-2004
Location: Hemt, CA
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T-Mobile In Mexico (baja)
I'm looking into changing from Verizon to T-Mobile. The cost of a 4 phone family plan is one reason. I also like their add about making and receiving
call while in Mexico. Are any of you T-Mobile users and what has your use been like in the USA and Mexico?
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El Comadante Loco
Nomad
Posts: 274
Registered: 6-12-2004
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T-Mobile
I have it and it works great in Mexico for calls, data and texting
Verizon has better coverage in the US than TM but in there is no difference in Mexico except the cost.
We recently were fishing in Loreto and San Quintin a friend had Verizon and I had my TM the only difference was that he had to pay for services I did
not... You will need of course to have your phone unlocked and it must take a sim card.
You can also buy a TM phone on e-bay
Enjoy
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BajaNomad
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Thread Moved
8-10-2015 at 07:47 AM |
tjsue
Senior Nomad
Posts: 518
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: San Diego
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I used to live in Tijuana, and used my T-Mobile phone on the Simple Choice Plan there without a problem, and also without any extra charges, excluding
the amount of my bill every month.
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pauldavidmena
Super Nomad
Posts: 1682
Registered: 5-23-2013
Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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I have T-Mobile and have used my cell phone in BCS with few issues. The one caveat is that they use Movistar's network in Mexico, so in Mexico your
coverage will only be as good as that of Movistar.
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wiltonh
Nomad
Posts: 300
Registered: 2-2-2007
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There has been more than one T-Mobile Mexico plan. The last year or two they had a plan that ran on Movistar but not Telcel. If you were in a Telcel
only area, the T-Mobile plan did not work.
When they announced the new plans, I called and asked if Telcel was one of their partners. I was told they would not give me that information. Later
I asked the question differently. If I am in a Telcel only area will this plan work? The answer was yes.
In the US the T-Mobile coverage is not as good as Verizon in the country. We live less than a mile from an antenna so it works well here. Their city
coverage is excellent. I have measured 15Mbps down on my phone sitting in a parking lot in Portland Oregon. That is the same speed that we get with
cable in many areas.
We just moved to the Simple Choice family plan and expect it to work well in Mexico.
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pauldavidmena
Super Nomad
Posts: 1682
Registered: 5-23-2013
Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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I would be very happy to hear that T-Mobile would work in a Telcel-only area. I was lost in Pescadero back in March of this year, and couldn't get a
signal with my T-Mobile phone roaming on Movistar's network. My wife's AT&T phone, using Telcel as a roaming partner, got a signal as clear as
day.
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wiltonh
Nomad
Posts: 300
Registered: 2-2-2007
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I have been told that if you have a iPhone, it tries to find the Movistar network first. If Movistar is weak it can cause switching problems.
The guy I talked to said you go settings/cellular and choose Telcel. It then gets locked onto Telcel and does not switch back and forth.
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CortezBlue
Super Nomad
Posts: 2213
Registered: 11-14-2006
Location: Fenix/San Phelipe
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Ok, so I have had Verizon, ATT and TMobile and the reason I went to TMobile PS- We are mainly in San Felipe but have traveled through out Mexico
1. Pro: Tmobile gives me FREE Data while in Mexico or anywhere on the glove that supports GSM. Con: It is only Edge or 2g speed. But it is fast
enough to check email and look at maps etc.
2. Pro: Telephone Service is available from Telcel and Movistar and with a TMobile phone it can be setup to dial and accept calls from WiFi with
VOIP capabilites. Free Texting also
Con: .20 a minute
Note: Prior to about a month ago, we could only get Movistar service and it was terrible. We are near Pete's Camp on the beach and on ATT Telcel
worked great, but not Movistar.
Last visit we now get Telcel to light up the phone and it works great
Here in the USA, TMobile is probably the worst I have had for service. We just traveled 4500 miles in the west from Fenix to Seattle and back down
through Oregon, California and down to San Felipe and it was a hit and miss for service.
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
- Albert Einstein
Follow Cortez Blue
www.cortezblue.com
We put the FUNK in disFUNKtion |
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nobodylikesyouanyway
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: 11-3-2014
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ATnT vs T-mobil
We live in El Pescadero, south of Todos Santos and have had great luck with the new plan for a penny a minute. How much does T-Mobil US/Canada/Mex
plan cost per minute???
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jureal
Nomad
Posts: 111
Registered: 9-8-2006
Location: Torrance, CA
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Nothing. It is free.
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skipowell
Nomad
Posts: 156
Registered: 11-9-2009
Location: San Diego
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I have had T-Mobile for about 6 months. I too switched because we cross the border frequently. The service has greatly improved in Rosarito area. I
also notice that I am on the Telnor service more than Moviestar now.
The downside is certainly the coverage on the northside of the border. I have my phone set up to also use wifi when making calls and that has helped
greatly as I had weak reception at our house in San Diego and Mammoth. I feel like I went back about 5 years when dropped calls were fairly normal.
Overall I think it is worth the spotty coverage on the northside to have the coverage I am getting in Mexico at such an amazing price.
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wiltonh
Nomad
Posts: 300
Registered: 2-2-2007
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The new Simple Choice plan lets you use 4G LTE in Mexico just as you would do in the states. The old plan was limited to 2G in Mexico.
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Whale-ista
Super Nomad
Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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I've used TMobile in Baja/BCS for many years. It's worked well for me in the places you would expect (northern cities, larger towns in other areas).
Spotty on hwy between towers.
Has anyone shifted to new US/MXO/CANADA plan? How's that working?
Agree TelCel is better than MovieStar, and as noted, you can adjust that in the mobile carrier network selection settings.
Last year in Cabo Pulmo I had great reception off the tower on hill near town. The bigger challenge was charging battery since town is offgrid.
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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boagey
Newbie
Posts: 9
Registered: 2-6-2015
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T-Mobile
I change to T-Mobile 4 phone plan, one was cost, the second no roaming charges, from being a long AT&T customer in the US. It works well on
Telcel, you just have to change from automatic in celluar to choose network, it wanted Movistar at first.
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bajacalifornian
Super Nomad
Posts: 1117
Registered: 9-4-2010
Location: Loreto/Lopez Mateos/Rosarito
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Message on my phone yesterday read, "Welcome to Mexico! Call, text, and browse like you're used to etc. . . .
First southbound ride since moving to a T-Mobile family plan (Mx, US & Can. the day before) . . . saving the family of four of us $150 plus/mo.
plus a trick one for me (I rarely used one)
Using mine as my away from home PC with unlimited data . . . I'm really liking it.
The son who spearheaded the shift, just recently returned from Loreto. He had similar flawless service in Loreto as here in Rosarito & of
course, points north.
Granted, limited study . . . believe it to be Telcel now & I like the price. North American plan for more than 15 years prior.
American by birth, Mexican by choice.
Signature addendum: Danish physicist — Niels Bohr — who said, “The opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.
Jeff Petersen
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pauldavidmena
Super Nomad
Posts: 1682
Registered: 5-23-2013
Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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It's good to know that T-Mobile customers are enjoying expanded service in Mexico. Do Mexican cell phone users (i.e. those with Telcel or Movistar)
have to pay international rates when calling a T-Mobile phone with a U.S. number roaming on a Mexican network?
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wiltonh
Nomad
Posts: 300
Registered: 2-2-2007
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My limited research found that Telcel was charging something like 50 Pesos to add the USA plan. That research is now several months old so things may
have changed by now.
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