BajaNomad

Telcel

Janzie - 10-17-2016 at 07:16 PM

Is there a TelCel plan that includes North America long distance? (USA and Canada)

LarryK - 10-17-2016 at 07:22 PM

If you have AT&T international on your phone, add Mexico to that. All calls are free in Mexico and to the states and from the ststes

imlost - 10-17-2016 at 08:08 PM

The same applies to T-mobile. All calls to/from Mexico are free, without having to sign up for anything special. I just dumped my long time relationship with Verizon, and it's working great for me.

PaulW - 10-17-2016 at 08:19 PM

Telcel is good for roaming in the states with no special plan Works fine in both countries. Never tried it for Canada.

imlost - 10-17-2016 at 09:13 PM

It looks like the days of big charges for international roaming are just about over. It's just getting better and better.

Fernweh - 10-18-2016 at 06:55 AM

I have a Telcel plan, approx. $199 pesos per month, unlimited call to the US and Canada, unlimited text, and unlimited call to Mexico when in the US (not sure about Canada)

mojo_norte - 10-18-2016 at 07:58 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Fernweh  
I have a Telcel plan, approx. $199 pesos per month, unlimited call to the US and Canada, unlimited text, and unlimited call to Mexico when in the US (not sure about Canada)


Any data (internet) with this plan ?

bajalinda - 10-18-2016 at 08:00 AM

Telcel has a plan called Sin Limites. It gives you unlimited calls in Mexico, the US, and Canada. The plan I'm on is 100 pesos for 23 days. It has worked well for me - I make calls to US numbers while in Mexico and I made calls to US numbers when I was in the States with no problem.

A bit of background - this plan started out as 100 pesos for 30 days, then it went to 100 pesos for 25 days, and now it's 100 pesos for 23 days. I believe the 25-day and the 30-day plans are now at 200 pesos and 200+ pesos - someone else posted about this a while ago (you could do a search for that info). If you can live with the possibility of Telcel changing your plan at the drop of a hat, it's an OK plan. The one hassle is that you have to remember to add money to your account every period (although Telcel will text you with a reminder) - you can't deposit for, say, 2 or 3 months at one time.

Telcel

meme - 10-18-2016 at 09:46 AM

The Telcel plan for 50 days is 500 pesos. Its a little more pesos than 25 day plan but you do not need to go there so often.It is my understanding you cannot get this on first sign up but after that it is available to you every 50 days.

Janzie - 10-19-2016 at 08:26 AM

Thanks for all the info. One more question. We'll be in Baja for about 5 months. Will we be able to hibernate the phone for 6 - 7 months, then come back and re-activate with the same number?

PaulW - 10-19-2016 at 09:13 AM

Just added more pesos for my Telcel phone. 100 pesos gives me 60 days of service. With the good exchange that is pretty low cost for phone service. And yes it works roaming in the states.

Last time I checked
Phone service is stopped after 6 months. Buy more service before the 6 month deadline and all your existing credits are restored.
After 10 months of non use you loose your number and have to start over with no credits.
Be aware you can add pesos to your phone on teh web so there is no reason to run out of service or loose your number.

[Edited on 10-19-2016 by PaulW]

wiltonh - 10-19-2016 at 10:49 AM

The government stepped in and made Telcel hold your number for one year. After that you will loose it.

weebray - 10-19-2016 at 11:34 AM

Books could be written. Dealing with Telcel is not for the faint of heart. The first thing you should know is that the employees are hired for their looks, not their brains. They most certainly will not recommend the lowest cost service. Here are some interesting details. Firstly, if you pay 100 pesos you will get a plan, good for 23 days, that affords you unlimited calling to and from or within Mexico, the US and Canada. If you pay 150 pesos it is good for 30 days. 300 pesos = 40 days and 500 pesos = 50 days. All plans include unlimited phone and text. There is a small amount of data associated with each plan. All plans also allow 1000mb of WhatsApp, facebook and twitter. There are also cheaper plans, I think. Now it gets interesting. If you pay before the 23rd, 30th etc. day the $ goes into your account - it may or may not get applied to your next period. In our case it did not. Now when you pay you then have to either tell the clerk to advise the computer that you have paid for a new "up" for your plan or you have to text Telcel and advise them that you have indeed paid for your next 23, 30 etc. days. There is a caveat here, you can ask them to set up your account so that when you pay the plan will be automatically reactivated. If you do this be aware that the computer will take the highest amount of $ associated with this type of plan. In other words, the 150 and 200 peso plans are identical but the computer will take 200 pesos because it can. Bear in mind that you need to find a Telcel main office not a sales office. Forget trying to straighten out your phone at a satellite Telcel sales office. Pretty much none of this stuff will be told to you and you. Should you fail to pay on the exact day due, and you have a balance in your account you will fall back on the "pay as you go" plan which will drain your account in a few short calls. I am sure we have burned through literally thousands of pesos learning this system. Oh, it also changes from time to time. Lastly, because my brain hurts, you must go to the Telcel centro de servicio and tell them to activate your roaming if you plan a trip north of the border. If you have a roaming problem up north (you will) you have to call either *500 or 01.800.02626 Don't take anything here as gospel, some of it tho, is probably correct.

Alm - 10-21-2016 at 02:58 PM

I looked the numbers up on Telcel website.

23 days cost 4 MXN per day, 50 days cost 10 MXN per day, both plans are unlimited, - wouldn't make sense paying for more than 23, right?

What I found is - there are limits to data and SMS, lower in 23 plan, higher in 50 plan.

Voice calls appear to be unlimited, though it says "free incoming calls" and nothing about outgoing.

And then there is MXN 0.85 por minuto when "las tarifas bajo demanda" kicks in. They say, this could happen when you reload amount from $10 and then let expire your benefits included in reload from MXN 20. A bit cryptic - or I didn't quite decipher Espanol. See the line below the blue table: http://www.telcel.com/personas/telefonia/amigo/tarifas-y-opc...

[Edited on 10-21-2016 by Alm]

surabi - 10-22-2016 at 08:47 PM

You guys are making it WAY more complex than it is.

Sin Limites: no need to go to a Telcel office, no need for plans.

Go to OXO or anywhere they take Telcel payments.

Put 100 pesos on your phone number for 23 days unlimited calling, Mex, US and Canada. You donīt tell them anything, just put the 100 pesos on your number.

BEFORE you make any calls or texts, send a text message which says "SL100". Send this text to 5050.

Youīll get a message back saying your Sin Limites is activated. Ignore all the other messages they will send you.

When it runs out, go put another 100 on it for another 23 days and send the same text message to 5050.

I advise saving the text they sent saying it was activated, because they have a nasty trick of sending you a message a week before your time runs out saying that it is about to or has expired. If your 23 days isnīt up, ignore it. You will still be able to call until the 23 days expires.

surabi - 10-22-2016 at 08:54 PM

And I used this when was in Canada to call Canadian numbers. Unlimited. No need to go to a Telcel office to activate roaming.

However, when you are in Canada or States, if someone from there calls you, they will be charged as if they are phoning you long distance to Mexico.

ychurly - 10-31-2016 at 02:49 PM

I have a SINLIMITE plan on my TelCel which I use at our vacation home in San Jose del Cabo, but when I put land in Vancouver, it always says I'm Roaming and I get the text message telling me it's .85/Mb etc.
I thought I was good for calls in AND out while in mexico, USA or Canada. I'm confused. Why is it telling me I'm roaming when I have the SINLIMITE plan?

weebray - 10-31-2016 at 05:47 PM

Quote: Originally posted by ychurly  
I have a SINLIMITE plan on my TelCel which I use at our vacation home in San Jose del Cabo, but when I put land in Vancouver, it always says I'm Roaming and I get the text message telling me it's .85/Mb etc.
I thought I was good for calls in AND out while in mexico, USA or Canada. I'm confused. Why is it telling me I'm roaming when I have the SINLIMITE plan?


Confused??? With Telcel?? Impossible. Let's just say their system is "fluid". Your results may vary.

surabi - 10-31-2016 at 06:23 PM

ychurly, my Telcel phone on Sin Limites worked fine when I was in Canada and never got a message saying my calls were 85 centavos/min. I didnīt use it much, cause I wasnīt actually sure if Iīd get the Sin Limites rate. I just have an old school cheapo Nokia- not a smart phone, so wasnīt being used for internet, etc., just calls and messaging.

Janzie - 11-2-2016 at 08:27 AM

So, we have a new to us phone. Unlocked. In Canada. Do we have to go to Ensenada or LaPaz to get a sim card from TelCel before we use one of the plans mentioned above?

Alm - 11-3-2016 at 02:08 PM

Quote: Originally posted by ychurly  
I have a SINLIMITE plan on my TelCel which I use at our vacation home in San Jose del Cabo, but when I put land in Vancouver, it always says I'm Roaming and I get the text message telling me it's .85/Mb etc.
I thought I was good for calls in AND out while in mexico, USA or Canada. I'm confused. Why is it telling me I'm roaming when I have the SINLIMITE plan?

Makes sense to me. Especially if the message was in English. This is not a satellite phone. In Canada you need to access Canadian network, so they they are trying to charge you.

Could be an automated warning with no further consequences, i.e. Sin Limites will cover whatever fees Canada want, and you won't be billed extra. Just a guess.
Your incoming calls in Canada will still be long distance for a caller, because your area code is Mexican.

bajalinda - 11-12-2016 at 06:29 PM

Here's a new twist to the Sin Limites plan. Weebray, you will love this since you appear to be the Telcel expert.

Not included in the plan are calls to emergency service numbers such as CFE's 071 number. I learned this today when I tried to activate my plan for another 23 days. I was informed that the cost of my call to CFE the other day was deducted from my account balance and therefore that left less than the required 100 pesos in my account. So add more pesos to keep the plan going......... what will they think of next.

So beware if you need to call a service number such as this. The agent started rattling off other service numbers and by then I was fed up and had kind of stopped listening, but did hear him mention the water company. I guess you can call all over tarnation in the US, Canada, and Mexico to 'regular' numbers, but call an emergency service number and they zing you.

Riom - 11-12-2016 at 07:30 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajalinda  
I guess you can call all over tarnation in the US, Canada, and Mexico to 'regular' numbers, but call an emergency service number and they zing you.


Thanks for mentioning this. I checked the itemised bills and I was charged (3 pesos/min) for calls to an 800 number in the US (from the US), while the packet was in effect, so it's not limited to Mexico special numbers.

But, it looks like the usefulness of this deal is over now: Telcel have added new terms and conditions that limit it's use outside Mexico. It was good while it lasted.

At the bottom of the tariff page there's now a much longer terms and conditions section (also available at the regulator in pdf).

Key point: Telcel can now temporarily suspend use of the service outside Mexico (for up to 30 days) if any of several conditions are met, including:

* use for more than 29 consecutive days without registering on the network in Mexico

* monthly use outside Mexico is greater than the average of the previous three months in Mexico

* more than 100 minutes or texts in a month outside Mexico

This makes it only suitable for short trips north of the border, rather than being borderless. Not a surprise really, the US "free overseas roaming" deals have similar restrictions, but it was very handy while it lasted.

Last month, while on a long road trip in the US, my Telcel roaming data on this packet stopped working. When I eventually chatted to Telcel support to find out why, she couldn't find a reason (and didn't mention these new conditions), but it magically started working the next day. I assumed it was a glitch but I was probably suspended under the new policy.

I'll now have to look for another way to get pay-as-you-go prepaid data in the US and Canada, this was cheaper than any domestic offering in those countries (which is why it couldn't last).

Rob


bajalinda - 11-13-2016 at 08:35 AM

I agree, Riom - as you say, it was good while it lasted, but it looks like the usefulness of this plan is over.

Thanks for all that extra info - until I saw that, I was still wavering about whether to stay on the plan or not. I am dropping it - it doesn't work for me any more.