tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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Cell phone redux
Soulpatch,
I too have Verizon but am very happy north of the border with it.
South of the border it is virtually worthless. There was a thread recently and I believe the US carrier with the best reception in Baja was AT and T.
Also, it was recommended to get a cheap Telcel phone for use in Baja. I don't know the details of that, but I'm sure someone will post some info.
Ken
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dtbushpilot
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3288
Registered: 1-11-2007
Location: Buena Vista BCS
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Mood: Tranquilo
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We have a cheap Telcel phone and just add time when we run out. No contract, just buy a card. They have a number of different plans available but you
might have to go to a Telcel customer service center to get the good plan. Your time will expire after 2 months but it will be reinstated when you buy
some more time. Your phone number stays with you as long as you buy a card within 6 months. If you use it out of your calling area it can be expensive
but you can get a chip for that area and get the cheap plan. You will have a separate phone number for that chip.....dt
"Life is tough".....It's even tougher if you're stupid.....
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DanO
Super Nomad
Posts: 1923
Registered: 8-26-2003
Location: Not far from the Pacific
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AT&T with Mexico-connect plan with data works well for me -- Blackberry gets phone, email and browser.
\"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.\" -- Frank Zappa
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MitchMan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1856
Registered: 3-9-2009
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If you use your phone alot in Baja, get a quad band phone, get the phone chip for Mexico, put it in the phone and use telcel's prepaid phone service.
It's one of the cheapest ways to go and it is very convenient.
If you know how to shop efficiently and effectively online, you can find a quad phone for under $60 USD (Motorola). That phone is usable in most all
places in the civilized world.
While in La Paz BCS, My prepaid arrangement with Telcel costs me $4.50 pesos per minute to calla a local cell phone, $1.70 pesos per minute for calls
to local land lines, only $15.00 pesos to call USA from Baja for a 15 minute block of time, and $1.10 pesos per minute to call telcel to get my
remaining balance of pesos. Also, when you buy time, let's say $150.00 pesos worth, they give you $200.00 pesos in phone credit to your account,
which further reduces your per minute actual cost by 25%. Remember that "local" means the city in which you obtained your arrangement with Telcel.
In my experience with AT&T and Sprint, to use my USA cell phone in Baja everything turned out to be $.99 USD per minute for local calls. You must
be very careful and diligent when using your USA cell phone in Baja as the people you talk to at your cell phone company speak in very ambiguous terms
and you will be confused about the exact arrangement. That confusion will cost you a bundle of money because you will think that you are getting a
certain tolerable rate, but in fact you may well be charged something alot more than you think.
For example, I got "international" service on my Sprint phone. They said that I could call any cell phone and any land line in Baja "while I was in
Baja" and that my international rate was only $.49 USD per minute. It turned out that those rates were from USA to Baja, not for calls made "while in
baja". Those calls were $.99 USD per minute.
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BajaWarrior
Super Nomad
Posts: 2307
Registered: 9-27-2006
Location: Mission Bay, San Diego. Playa Hermosa, San Felipe.
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Mood: Anxious to get south
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| Quote: | Originally posted by soulpatch
I did a search but I couldn't find what I was looking for specifically.
Not a true baja question but:
who has the best cell phone service We have Verizon and where we live I can't carry on a conversation. We never had this problem until moving to Bay
Park but Verizon is horrible here.
Also, I've noticed my coverage is not as good as it used to be through the whole San Quintin corridor anymore either.
What say ye, please? |
As you know i'm in Bay Park as well. I have Verizon and AT&T and neither one works very well here. This explains why some of my neighbors are
using their cell phones while standing on the sidewalk!
It's just the way it is here unfortunately
Haven't had a bad trip yet....
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unbob
Nomad
Posts: 407
Registered: 8-7-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MitchMan
If you use your phone alot in Baja, get a quad band phone, get the phone chip for Mexico, put it in the phone and use telcel's prepaid phone service.
It's one of the cheapest ways to go and it is very convenient. |
Excellent and very informative post!
Would you be referring to the 'Amigo Plan'?
Last winter some friends signed-up for the Amigo plan and for some strange reason, there was a 10-14 day delay before it "activated" - any calls
placed before then were charged at a much higher rate. Weird.
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RD55
Newbie
Posts: 19
Registered: 11-26-2007
Location: San Diego
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You now have to register your Mexican prepaid cell phone with your name and date of birth. If you were born in Mexico, they compare the info you give
to a database. If the info matches, your registration goes through and you can use the phone. If the info doesn't match, you can't use the phone.
I bought a Tel Cel prepaid phone in Mexico City in December 2009 and couldn't register it in my own name. (I was born in the United States.) I kept
trying and trying and the registration wouldn't go through. I thought I must have been doing something wrong so I tried and tried some more.
Finally, I got the bright idea of registering it in my wife's name since she was born in Mexico. The registration went through on the first try and
my phone was activated.
Later on, I did some internet searches and found out that if you weren't born in Mexico, you can still buy a prepaid phone there and register it in
you own name, but you have to go somewhere in person and show your passport and get fingerprinted. I can't seem to find the info again about
registering a Tel Cel phone in Mexico if you're a foreigner.
So, it seems that at the very least, it's a hassle to get a Tel Cel phone in Mexico if you're a foreigner.
[Edited on 2-16-2010 by RD55]
[Edited on 2-16-2010 by RD55]
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mulegemichael
Super Nomad
Posts: 2310
Registered: 12-24-2007
Location: sequim,wa. and mulege
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Mood: up on step
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yada, yada, yada....geez, you guys, are you so busy you have to have a cell phone on ya when yer down here...???...i LIVE by my cell phone up north
but for 6 months a year down here, skype is plenty for me...and it's FREE!!!...hard to beat that..
dyslexia is never having to say you\'re yrros.
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oldjack
Nomad
Posts: 350
Registered: 1-26-2006
Location: Los Barriles
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Mood: retired
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I have AT&T... good service here in southern baja.... but at my palapa I am totally pleased with MagicJack... it is even better than Skype... the
AT&T international plan is handy but can cost a small fortune if you need a few U.S. calls...
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comitan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4177
Registered: 3-27-2004
Location: La Paz
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Mood: mellow
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MagicJack...
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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bent-rim
Nomad
Posts: 294
Registered: 7-31-2007
Location: Marin County
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Mood: Living la vida mota
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Technology Sucks. When I first started going to Baja phones were far and few between. My wife was peeed that I never checked in while dirt biking.
I explained that there were no phones down there. She didn't believe me until some co-workers went to Baja and conformed to her that there were no
phones down there. Now with my ATT phone I can easily stay in touch.
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knuckles
Nomad
Posts: 140
Registered: 9-15-2009
Location: I am never sure anymore :)
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I have tried them all, as far down as Loreto. We are mostly between TJ and Ensenada now and ATT is the best. They now have a add on Mexico plan for
$5 that lets you use your minutes at no addtional charge. Only drawback is no free nights and weekends, but if you stay within your plan minutes its
is almost free. I actually have to turn it off so I have my true and peaceful baja experience.
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