BajaNomad - Reasonable way for cell data plan

what do you mean 2 weeks that I cant use my US number.

Steve

If you have an unlocked phone and get telcel plan for your 2 weeks, you will have new tele number.
You want to keep your existing number during baja trip, then get international on your existing plan — or do without, you can check texts and email when you are on local wifi at restaurant or hotel.

JZ - 6-6-2021 at 08:55 PM

what do you mean 2 weeks that I cant use my US number.

Steve

I misread your post. If you get a MX based Hotspot and tether your phone you'll be good to go. If your phone supports Wi-Fi calling you can send and receive calls and texts to your phone. Generally, unlocked phones don't support Wi-Fi Calling. But if you got it from the service provider (i.e. locked to that service provider) it should.

If you have a tablet that supports Hotspot functionality you can put the Telcel SIM in it. To do that you want the tablet to be unlocked. My Samsung Tab supports this.

[Edited on 6-7-2021 by JZ]

surabi - 6-6-2021 at 10:34 PM

Some phones have space for 2 sim cards, in which case you could toggle between the 2 numbers if you wanted to.

A sim card and a 150 peso Sin Limites paquete, both of which you can get at any Oxo, would give you unlimited texting and calling to anywhere in Mexico, the US and Canada plus 2 GB of data and will last for about 17 days as I recall (might even be 21 days). 200 pesos will last for 28 days, with the calling and texting, and give you 3 GBs.

You can start with that, then if you run out of data, you can go back and buy Telcel Internet only time, for more GBs. For instance, 300 pesos gets you 5 GBs.The original 150 or 200 paquete you bought will continue work for the unlimited texting and calling, even though you've used up the data on it.

They send you a message to that effect when the data in the Sin Limites runs out.

JZ - 6-7-2021 at 11:57 AM

Quote: Originally posted by surabi

Some phones have space for 2 sim cards, in which case you could toggle between the 2 numbers if you wanted to.

A sim card and a 150 peso Sin Limites paquete, both of which you can get at any Oxo, would give you unlimited texting and calling to anywhere in Mexico, the US and Canada plus 2 GB of data and will last for about 17 days as I recall (might even be 21 days). 200 pesos will last for 28 days, with the calling and texting, and give you 3 GBs.

You can start with that, then if you run out of data, you can go back and buy Telcel Internet only time, for more GBs. For instance, 300 pesos gets you 5 GBs.The original 150 or 200 paquete you bought will continue work for the unlimited texting and calling, even though you've used up the data on it.

They send you a message to that effect when the data in the Sin Limites runs out.

This puts his US number out of commission. Or he'll need to switch back and forth and only be able to call/text from his US number when connected to Wi-Fi at some business.

I think he wants to tether off of another device so he can continue to use his US based number.

Here is a hot spot Tecel offers:
https://www.telcel.com/personas/equipos/wifi-movil-telcel/al...

You could also buy it or something similar on Amazon and just put a Telcel sim card in it:
https://www.amazon.com/Alcatel-MW41NF-2AOFUS1-Hotspot-Unlock...

Get the sim card from Oxxo as Surabi mentions. If you have a tablet that has hot spot functionality that would be your best bet.

[Edited on 6-7-2021 by JZ]

surabi - 6-7-2021 at 12:17 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ

That's exactly what I said. If he had 2 sims in the phone, he'd need to toggle to the one he wanted to use.

I don't see why he would need to connect to Wifi through his US number. As soon as he gets his Telcel sim, he can use the tethering function to connect to any of his devices.

This is the system I've been using for years, as there are no phone lines where I live, therefore I can't get a hard wired modem, so all my internet is cell-based.

[Edited on 6-7-2021 by surabi]

JZ - 6-7-2021 at 12:40 PM

How is he going to use his US number for calls and texts? To use his US number for calls and texts he'll need to use Wi-Fi calling. He'd need two phones unless I'm missing something.

Are you using a US number for calls/texts w/o using a US carrier for the cell service?

His problem seems to be either Consumer Cellular doesn't support international roaming, or it is very expensive.

[Edited on 6-7-2021 by JZ]

surabi - 6-7-2021 at 01:45 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ

How is he going to use his US number for calls and texts? To use his US number for calls and texts he'll need to use Wi-Fi calling. He'd need two phones unless I'm missing something.

Are you using a US number for calls/texts w/o using a US carrier for the cell service?

[Edited on 6-7-2021 by JZ]

Unless I'm also missing something, I don't understand why he would have to use his US number for calls and texts. Why not use the unlimited calling and texting that he'd get on his Sin Limites? If it's a matter of people up north not being able to contact him, he could give them the Telcel number.

Or he could not buy a Sin Limites paquete and only buy Internet time on the Telcel sim. Then when he needs to use data, switch the sims out.

No, I don't have a US number. I live in Mexico. I use Telcel for everything.

JZ - 6-7-2021 at 01:55 PM

It's different if you live in MX as opposed to being there for a week or two.

One probably wouldn't want to tell everyone in their contact list to call them on a MX number for a short stay. But it all depends what type and how much volume you have on your US number whether you could go without it.

I couldn't. A retired person probably can.

[Edited on 6-7-2021 by JZ]

steve5555 - 6-7-2021 at 06:58 PM

Thanks for all of the great responses. Yes it would be awkward for me to give a Mexican number to all of my work contacts. How about this? I buy the SIM card as surabi suggests and put it in my OLD iPhone. With that Mexican service I set up a hotspot and use it with my US cell number? I would probably never use the Mexican number to call or text. Just use the data.

Steve

JZ - 6-7-2021 at 07:03 PM

Thanks for all of the great responses. Yes it would be awkward for me to give a Mexican number to all of my work contacts. How about this? I buy the SIM card as surabi suggests and put it in my OLD iPhone. With that Mexican service I set up a hotspot and use it with my US cell number? I would probably never use the Mexican number to call or text. Just use the data.

Steve

That will work perfectly. Just make sure your US phone supports "Wi-Fi Calling." It should unless it is unlocked. But I doubt it is with your service.

The opposite is true for your old iPhone. It needs to be unlocked to accept a Sim card from a different service provider. If it's not unlocked I'm sure you can find a YT video to show you how to do it. Or buy a cheap unlocked phone if not.

[Edited on 6-8-2021 by JZ]

surabi - 6-7-2021 at 07:26 PM

No, Steven. You can certainly put a Telcel card in your old iphone and use that to go online on that phone or tether to your devices, but your hotspot will be linked to your Telcel sim card number, not your US number.

mtgoat666 - 6-7-2021 at 08:10 PM

Switch to AT&T unlimited plan. Easy to travel in Mexico.

karenintx - 6-8-2021 at 10:18 AM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666

Switch to AT&T unlimited plan. Easy to travel in Mexico.

X2

Get the prepaid plan with auto-charge to your credit card...no annual contract. You get a discount plus you do not pay for all the FCC taxes just your local tax. The hubby and I each have a prepaid plan, auto-charge to C/C...total monthly cost $35 plus $3.24 local tax. Have the North American plan...unlimited talk, text in/to Canada, USA & Mexico and 15 GB.

Hubby has a phone that has two sim card capability, when he phones rings he selects the line he wants to use/talk to.

Phones needs to be unlocked!

Udo - 6-8-2021 at 06:28 PM

Why not just take the one SIM card and exchange it for the old one? However, there is a Samsung phone that has dual-chip capabilities.

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666

what do you mean 2 weeks that I cant use my US number.

Steve

Hook - 6-8-2021 at 09:46 PM

Quote: Originally posted by karenintx

Have the North American plan...unlimited talk, text in/to Canada, USA & Mexico and 15 GB.

I travel in areas where Verizon coverage is much better than AT&T so would rather not switch over; it appears that Verizon has recently changed their policy to open up Mexico roaming on prepay plans (you need an "international-capable" handset or something like that), anyone have recent experience with Verizon prepay down Baja?

My wife and I prepay for some kind of 55+ plan from Verizon that gives us unlimited text, calling and 0.5 gb of data per day. Believe it is about 40-50 bucks a month.

We use it constantly at our home in Sonora and never come close to our data limit, but we do have high speed internet at the house. We are there six months. We never download anything weighty as we arent watching movies on our phones. I do stream a lot of Sirius XM audio. Mostly, we communicate with friends with Whats App in the States and in Mexico.

I notice my phone, an older Samsung S7 with use either Telcel or Movistar towers. Never without coverage except well out at sea or in some enclosed canyon.

Verizon has much better coverage in the areas of the Western US that we travel.

[Edited on 6-9-2021 by Hook]

Don Pisto - 6-9-2021 at 09:14 AM

We use it constantly at our home in Sonora and never come close to our data limit,
...

use either Telcel or Movistar towers. Never without coverage except well out at sea or in some enclosed canyon
....

Verizon has much better coverage in the areas of the Western US that we travel.

Very helpful, thanks.

On the U.S. coverage angle, I agree: A few years ago I was on a remote mountain pass in Colorado with my ATT phone showing one bar while a friend was happily chatting away on Verizon, no problem. We got back to town and I switched over, never to return.

Verizon vs AT&T....lets get real, Verizon has Joy AT&T has Lily......GOD I MISS T-MOBILE! :yes:

del mar - 6-9-2021 at 10:21 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Don Pisto

Verizon vs AT&T....lets get real, Verizon has Joy AT&T has Lily......GOD I MISS T-MOBILE! :yes:

...oh yes the pink dresses!

mtgoat666 - 6-9-2021 at 11:42 AM

I have switched between verizon and ATT over the years. Just last month switched back to ATT. the coverages are pretty much the same these days, verizon might have a little bigger area, but it is not significant difference anymore -- and when traveling, the extra coverage is usually unimportant. 99% of the areas i travel have essentially similar/same service.
of more importance is the signal strength at your house and frequently-visited locations where you want/need a phone.
a bit of extra coverage in a few remote locations I rarely visit is unimportant.
ATT is a bit cheaper than verizon.

Hook - 6-9-2021 at 12:02 PM

The thing about the claim that ATT has 90+ percent of the coverage of Verizon is that that extra 10- percent is in remote area where you'd be phuqued without service, in case of a breakdown or emergency.

If you're really just looking to save money, Goat, you should probably check out T-mobile since the merger with Sprint and all their new 5G upgrades. I suspect their coverage is right there with the Big Two.

Verizon is forced on us a bit as Verizon generally has the C.O.W (celltower on wheels) contracts with the Federal government to supply COWs for wildland firefighter command posts. My wife has a seasonal job supporting wildland firefighters. I can generally communicate with her, no matter how remote the command post. Alaska is the exception; they seem to contract with ATT for COWs.

But even before she had this job, in our travels in the mountains of the Western US, ATT couldn't hold a candle to Verizon's coverage in the back country. Maybe that's changed. ATT was always so much more city/town oriented.

I do know that Verizon and T-mobile's coverage in Mexico has improved dramatically in the last five years. Neither was using Telcel towers back then; now they both do. ATT bought a smaller Mexican cell tower company a couple years back, gave up their arrangement with Telcel (at least in our area) and their coverage is not as good as before.

AKgringo - 6-9-2021 at 12:35 PM

For quite a few years, I have used an ATT pre-paid phone for my Baja trips. It roams on the Telcel system on most of the peninsula at 35 cents/min, but in the La Paz area it now connects to ATT/MX AT 25 cents/min.

The ATT tower works great for calls to and from the US, but connections to local numbers was not as good as when it is on Telcel.

JZ - 6-9-2021 at 01:11 PM

AT&T works at my house in LA, Verizon does not.

AT&T coverage has crushed Verizon in MX for many years. Have had free unlimited data in MX for 5 years at least.

AT&T has been much better for international travel for 20 years because they chose the same technology as 90% of the rest of the world, unlike Verizon and Sprint.

AT&T >>>>> Verizon.

[Edited on 6-9-2021 by JZ]

JZ - 6-9-2021 at 01:27 PM