BajaNomad

AT&T Go Phone in Baja

TLBaja79 - 2-24-2014 at 05:54 AM

Does anybody have any information on using a AT&T Go Phone in Baja?
We go to baja a few times a year and want to have a phone to keep in touch wtih friends and fam by talking and texting.

A relatively cheap GoPhone sounds like it would be great down there.

What are the rates you get? Voice per min? Texting?

Thanks

chuckie - 2-24-2014 at 05:57 AM

Mine works fine....dunno or care about rates...

Bob and Susan - 2-24-2014 at 06:04 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chuckie
Mine works fine....dunno or care about rates...



re: ATT go phone...
if you have it and it works...then you would know the rates

no one pays their their bill with out knowing the cost

it's a legit question

chuckie - 2-24-2014 at 07:17 AM

BS...Its a prepaid phone, when the minutes run out, I add more..I dont know or care what the per minute rates are....

RnR - 2-24-2014 at 07:41 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by TLBaja79
Does anybody have any information on using a AT&T Go Phone in Baja?
We go to baja a few times a year and want to have a phone to keep in touch wtih friends and fam by talking and texting.

A relatively cheap GoPhone sounds like it would be great down there.

What are the rates you get? Voice per min? Texting?

Thanks


I have used an AT&T prepaid Go-Phone for a few years.

The current voice rate is 25 cents/min, to or from Mexico. The text rate is 25 cents/message.

AT&T uses the TelCel network. Coverage is as good as the TelCel network coverage.

chuckie - 2-24-2014 at 07:44 AM

There ya go...

SFandH - 2-24-2014 at 07:48 AM

Is this the cheapest way to go if there will be minimal use of the phone? I've never owned a cell phone and know very little about them. We spend about 1/2 the year in and around Mulege.

RnR - 2-24-2014 at 08:04 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SFandH
Is this the cheapest way to go if there will be minimal use of the phone? I've never owned a cell phone and know very little about them. We spend about 1/2 the year in and around Mulege.


The cost always depends on your use pattern.

We spend 8-9 months in Baja per year.

I buy $100 USD prepaid minutes. The minutes are good for a year. We never seem to use them all.

So, the annual cost for our phone is $100 US/yr. (The actual phone cost about $30 about 4 years ago and is a sunk cost.)

Cliffy - 2-24-2014 at 08:55 AM

I looked into this recently with a lot of help from those on this forum Thanks to all of you who chimed in!
For me the Go Phone will be the way to go for my 2 trips this year of a few weeks each. The phone is about $15 from a corporate ATT store (the franchise stores seem to be low information voters when it comes to Mexico operation) and as was mentioned, it's a pay as you go with 25cts in/out of Mexico. This is all we will need. We don't live on the phone or text our lives away. Be aware of the phone coverage areas even with ATT. There are charts available to show cell coverage for ATT down there. Muleje has coverage but south around the Bay of C is not too good.
You will have to have even the corporate stores dig to find the program for you for pay as you go 25 cents. They all want to sell you a "MEXICO PLAN" that is not what you need. You want pay as you go 25 cts per minute in and out of Mexico. It's there they have to look for it.

Pompano - 2-24-2014 at 09:03 AM

Another heads up for AT&T Go Phone. Works very well for Baja. $100 prepaid will last a long time for normal users at $.25 minute. I can make and receive calls from Mulege but unfortunately fades out down in Conception Bay. Seems pretty useful throughout Baja Sur.

fudscrud - 2-24-2014 at 09:19 AM

If you have a GSM phone, can you buy a chip for it at the telcel store then load minutes on it?

bajabuddha - 2-24-2014 at 09:34 AM

Far's Bahia Concepcion, there's no signal por nada there, telcel included. All signals are microwave, line-of-site, so when you're in mountainous country you'll not get out on anything.

I've been told by several year-rounders AT&T is definitely the way to go if you're needing to 'keep in touch' in Baja. I can't go for it, because AT&T sux here in New Mexico, so i just use Telcel and Banda Ancha internet when in Baja, good enough for who it's for. AT&T and Telcel are pretty well merged, so both have for the most part the same signal capabilities. Telcel will not work in the U.S. though.

Geez, remember the daze of the clerk at the store dialing your U.S. # and then 50 cents a minute in an old-style phone booth? And NO INTERNET???? Boy Howdy, how did we ever survive !!! :lol:

mtgoat666 - 2-24-2014 at 10:46 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SFandH
Is this the cheapest way to go if there will be minimal use of the phone? I've never owned a cell phone and know very little about them. We spend about 1/2 the year in and around Mulege.


if you spend half year in mex, get a phone in mexico to use in mexico. then get another phone is USA to use in USA. if little use, and just voice, get the prepaid minutes type packages

tjsue - 2-24-2014 at 11:01 AM

I bought a AT&T Go Phone right before I moved to Mexico, since I couldn't use my T-Mobile SmartPhone there. It worked fine for the two months that I needed to use it, but any unused minutes aren't rolled over into the next month, so I lost money on it by not using them up.

I bought mine at Walmart, and reloaded it online. But now I'm now able to use my SmartPhone in Mexico, along with having a Magic Jack plus on my computer. It's much easier without having to use a prepaid phone now, but it served the purpose.

mcnut - 2-24-2014 at 01:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by tjsue
It worked fine for the two months that I needed to use it, but any unused minutes aren't rolled over into the next month, so I lost money on it by not using them up.


Somewhat true but unused minutes will roll over if you buy more before the old expire, and the rollover minutes adopt the expiration date of the new minutes.

Bruce

tjsue - 2-24-2014 at 02:38 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by mcnut
Quote:
Originally posted by tjsue
It worked fine for the two months that I needed to use it, but any unused minutes aren't rolled over into the next month, so I lost money on it by not using them up.


Somewhat true but unused minutes will roll over if you buy more before the old expire, and the rollover minutes adopt the expiration date of the new minutes.

Bruce


I did that, and also called customer service, which is in India, and they told me that unused minutes don't rollover. I bought more minutes before the old minutes expired, and they didn't rollover.

AT&T Go Phone

John M - 2-24-2014 at 03:35 PM

Being one of the least techie people on Nomad - is this what we want for a month long trip? Buy it here at Radio Shack (U.S.)and where would we "buy the minutes"? Radio Shack has several Go Phones on their website, all more expensive than this.



John

TLBaja79 - 2-24-2014 at 05:07 PM

Hey thanks a lot, .25 cents is not much at all for the convenience of staying in touch and peace of mind!

BooJumMan - 2-25-2014 at 08:16 AM

Something worth mentioning...

You need to ensure that the AT&T store or representative ENABLES international calling. Say you are going to be in Mexico and need the phone to be able to dial from there.

I bought my GoPhone about 5 years ago for $20 from AT&T and it works really well down in Baja! Obviously you wont be getting coverage in remote areas though.

TLBaja79 - 3-4-2014 at 06:36 AM

So I went to a ATT company store yesterday and they told me the GoPhone will not work in Mexico. That it will only work from the US to call Mexico.

Cliffy/BooJumMan
How do I tell them they do have the plan and to make it happen? Is there a certain name for the plan? cause describing what I wanted got me nowhere.

It sounds like if I get a 'normal' GoPhone it will not work, it has to be 'enabled' for International?

Any advice? Going to try a different store today, but the guys yesterday sure were confident that it would not work.

thx

RnR - 3-4-2014 at 07:23 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by TLBaja79
So I went to a ATT company store yesterday and they told me the GoPhone will not work in Mexico. That it will only work from the US to call Mexico.

It sounds like if I get a 'normal' GoPhone it will not work, it has to be 'enabled' for International?

Any advice? Going to try a different store today, but the guys yesterday sure were confident that it would not work.

thx


Mine works. Maybe I should call them......

I bought a cheap Samsung "flip-phone type" Go-Phone from the ATT store about five years ago. Looks pretty much identical to the Z222 model shown on their website: Go Phones

Here's the pre-paid plan info: PrePaid Plans

Look down to the 10 cents/min plan, no monthly contract.

Then click the "International and Roaming" tab. It says:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roaming in Mexico & Canada

You can use your GoPhone service when you travel to Mexico and Canada!

No additional services are required to roam in these countries. Roaming charges are as follows:

Roaming Call or Data Type

Local & Long Distance calls (Inbound and Outbound) 25� per minute (Mexico)

Text Messaging 25� per message sent
20� per message received
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't remember having to do anything before traveling to Mexico. The phone just worked.

If the store guys say that they have to "enable" the phone, then have them enable it ......

Good Luck.

chuckie - 3-4-2014 at 07:31 AM

My gophone, cheapest one, enabled itself when I crossed the border???

SFandH - 3-4-2014 at 07:33 AM

From:
at&t website
--------------------------------------------------------------------
You will be able to use your GoPhone service while roaming in Mexico. No additional feature is required to roam in Mexico - all GoPhone customers are automatically enrolled and eligible.

If you have a Messaging package or a rate plan that includes messaging, the text, picture or video messages you receive while roaming will qualify within your package or plan.

Roaming charges in Mexico are as follows:
Standard airtime rate - $0.25 per minute
Roaming offshore in the Gulf of Mexico - $0.99 per minute
Text Messaging - $0.25 per message sent / $0.20 per message received
Picture Messaging - $1.30 per message sent / $0.25 per message received

International data services are currently not available while roaming in Mexico.
To reach customer service when roaming in Mexico, dial 611 or +1- 408-962-1025.
-------------------------------------------
Being a cell phone newbie, I'm not sure what the "international data services" are, mentioned in the last paragraph.

RnR - 3-4-2014 at 07:38 AM

There's two different versions of the AT&T website saying the same thing.

Don't you love it when a company's salespeople do not know their own product ???????

TLBaja79 - 3-4-2014 at 07:54 AM

Thank you for this, you guys know better than the company itself!!

jbcoug - 3-4-2014 at 10:13 AM

Just hooked up with AT&T this week with a go phone. They didn't have a cheap go phone in stock so they sent me to Walgreens. Picked up a $15 phone for $12 on sale. Went back to AT&T and set it up with a $25 pre pay. Will check it out in BCS in a couple weeks.

TLBaja79 - 3-23-2014 at 08:52 PM

The ATT GoPhone off the Target Shelf for $14.99 worked perfect. Just activated it, bought a couple fill cards and didn't do anything else.

Cost about $.25 per minute for calls and $.25 for texts.

Didn't use it to call Mex, just calling US #'s it worked perfect throughout Baja

churro - 3-24-2014 at 08:51 PM

Great Info you all! I am going to Target to get one tomorrow

floydo - 3-28-2014 at 12:36 PM

I have had one for several years. Usually I buy $25 which gets 3 months, then $10 for an additional month. Best Buy (hate the place generally) is the easiest. They do it all for you. This method allows the number to expire (and the unused minutes), so each year they give me a new sim card, no charge, and I have a new number. I generally don't even get close to using the minutes. No one has been able to figure out how to reuse an old number. If going annually the easiest would be the min 12 month credit for $100. If you use the phone in the US it is $2 for the day unlimited...

Dialing from Mexico

bajadreamer - 3-30-2014 at 07:24 AM

When using the GoPhone from Mexico calling Mexico phones, do you need to use 01 or 11 prefixes or do you use it as you would a Mexican cell phone? What if you are calling the US from Mexico?

carlosg - 6-28-2014 at 12:33 PM

if you have an ATT cell plan, make sure to get the VIVA MEXICO Calling Plan: your calls will be billed as local minutes (just as if you were calling in the US) whether it's an outgoing or incoming call... to call a cell number JUST dial it: Mexican area code+cell number (615-xxx-xxxx)...DONE...get a DATA GLOBAL Add-On PACKAGE (it's monthly and you get billed for the time used: prorated) and stay in touch with email and surf the web: it comes in bundles of about 130MB for around $30.00 dlls...find the COVERAGE of your ATT Phone in this link:

http://maps.mobileworldlive.com/network.php?cid=201&cnam...

just click on "Coverage Map" and zoom in the area of interest... while in Mexico you'll connect wit Pegaso, Telcel, Iusacell or Nextel antenas.. Buen Viaje Compa!!!;D

...the previous info is for dialing a cell number while in Mexico, to call the US just dial area code plus the number... I have the AT&T Viva Mexico FamilyTalk 1400 with Rollover Plan,,, when I call a LAN line in Mexico from the US it's also billed like local minutes to my plan...