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SFandH
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7084
Registered: 8-5-2011
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Good to hear I'm not the only one. Had a company supplied cell phone when I worked, but that ended 10 years ago. Now I'm clueless.
If I get a cell phone I would want the cheapest one, to use infrequently, that I could use within Baja, within San Diego, with occasional cross border
calls in both directions.
Good thread, I have it bookmarked.
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motoged
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6481
Registered: 7-31-2006
Location: Kamloops, BC
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Mood: Gettin' Better
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So.....is Telcel the best option for making occasional calls from Baja to Canada....and receiving calls from Canada in Baja??? Or what?
Don't believe everything you think....
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SlyOnce
Nomad
Posts: 262
Registered: 12-26-2013
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99.9% of my calls from MX to the US are in Whatsapp or Viber. Look into these apps on your smart phone. My house has a Telcel wi fi and we make free
voice over IP (VOIP) calls and texts on those services. Works great, of course your friends and family need to be on Whatsapp or Viber. I guess you
could use Skype too.
For everything else I have my iPhone, data roaming is turned off in MX, I pay voice/text roaming. On the US side I have voice/text/data. Voice and
text work fine and it has Bluetooth which syncs with my truck when driving for hands free. You don't have to do anything, the phone does it all
automatically.
You can not receive a Whatsapp or Viber text or call in Baja with my system, only when you are on wi fi.
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sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
Registered: 10-6-2004
Location: OC So Cal
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Quote: Originally posted by Cancamo  | Register on the Amigo Sin Fronteras plan. .98 centavos per minute, (about 5 cents) calls to US & Canada, & long distance within Mexico
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That sounds good, I've never owned a cell phone either. Probably not too smart driving in Baja with no way to
contact the Ins Co. Heck. I still have a vcr recorder and
ride an unsuspended Mtn Bicycle
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Udo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6346
Registered: 4-26-2008
Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
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Mood: TEQUILA!
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I too use the Sin Fronteras phone plan.
Currently is about $12.00 USD per month, and billed via your e-mail.
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Cancamo
Nomad
Posts: 360
Registered: 4-5-2011
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I've just been paying the balance when needed, (to check the saldo dial *133# responds back in text form) . 200 pesos lasts me up to two months. A
very good deal for my needs.
Dial, (or punch in), *264 from any TelCel phone to get the Sin Fronteras rates with an operator.
Also can recharge balance from phone (*321, then take option 4, then option 1)
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1495
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
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I finally did it. I tried ATT but you have to have an existing or sign up for a contract (i was quoted $60 a month) and then add the Canada/Mexico
option for free. I don't want to spend $60 a month so I called T-Mobile and with them I got a prepaid plan for $3 a month and .10 cents per minute
charge. The $3 a month includes 30 minutes talk time. Also works in Mexico seamlessly they claim. We'll see what really happens. The sim card should
be here in a few days.
Larry
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6027
Registered: 9-20-2014
Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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Mood: Retireded
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Larry, does that ten cents/min apply to calls made while in Mexico? If so, that sounds better than my Go-phone. I have to add twentyfive dollars
every ninety days to keep the number active.
By the way, I did not buy my phone from ATT, but at Walmart. Walmart wants to sell phones, ATT wants to sell plans!
You said you are waiting for a sim card, did you have a phone to put it in, or have to buy one of theirs?
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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JZ
Select Nomad
Posts: 10560
Registered: 10-3-2003
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AT&T coverage has always been great in MX.
Since their two acquisitions last year data coverage has been chit in Sonora. I'm assuming it from them not roaming over Telcel's network. Has
anyone else experienced this?
[Edited on 2-18-2016 by JZ]
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JZ
Select Nomad
Posts: 10560
Registered: 10-3-2003
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| Quote: Originally posted by motoged | | So.....is Telcel the best option for making occasional calls from Baja to Canada....and receiving calls from Canada in Baja??? Or what?
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Skpe or Whatsapp
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6027
Registered: 9-20-2014
Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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Mood: Retireded
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Correction to my previous reply
The ATT storefront near my home in Anchorage, did not sell or provide any support for Go-phones. They like contract sales! I was directed to an ATM
like kiosk in the corner to add dollars/minutes, or check my account. Any questions about my service were directed toward calling the national
customer service number (sigh...)
I lost the phone I have been using, so today I went to an ATT store front here in Grass Valley CA, and they not only sell the phones, they will make
the calls to get through customer service for me, and transfer the number to a new phone along with my remaining balance.
Now I need to decide whether to do the deal (likely) or wait to learn more about the t-Mobile deal that LarryC got.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1495
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo | Larry, does that ten cents/min apply to calls made while in Mexico? If so, that sounds better than my Go-phone. I have to add twentyfive dollars
every ninety days to keep the number active.
By the way, I did not buy my phone from ATT, but at Walmart. Walmart wants to sell phones, ATT wants to sell plans!
You said you are waiting for a sim card, did you have a phone to put it in, or have to buy one of theirs? |
AKGringo
I'm not sure if the 10 cents a minute includes Mexico, I was given sooo much info that I'm not really sure and after calling back 2 times I got
different answers both times. I have a flip phone, not a smart phone that was given to me by a friend so when the sim card arrives I'll activate the
phone and add the Mexico plan and that person should be able to tell me what the per minute charge is. I'll let you know. The plan I signed up on is
their "prepaid" plan. Maybe you can find more info on it online.
Larry
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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Riom
Nomad
Posts: 492
Registered: 12-17-2004
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If you're on the T-Mobile pay-as-you-go $3/mo prepaid plan, it unfortunately does NOT include Mexico at a reasonable cost (and there's no option to
add it).
The "free roaming" in Mexico on T-mobile is only on their (much) more expensive Simple Choice Prepaid / Simple Prepaid plans (and for contracts as
well of course).
Source: see Pay as you go and click on "compare prepaid plans". Free roaming in Mexico NOT included for pay-as-you-go.
The actual rates are very well hidden in this pdf file: International Calling Rates. $1.79 per minute to receive or make calls from Mexico. It's been that rate for at least the past
five years. Useful for emergencies, but not much else. Most of the T-Mobile sales people probably don't realise that the Pay-as-you-go is not
included in the free roaming deals they have on most other plans.
Like some others here, I now use Telcel Amigo with the "Sin Fronteras" option in Mexico, the US (and Canada, later this year), outgoing cost is the
same where-ever you call in all three countries, and whichever country you call from. Incoming calls and texts are free in all three countries.
By-the-MB data is same cost in each country. Works well, costs from 100 pesos every two months to keep it active.
I also have a $1/mo US incoming number at Localphone that is forwarded to the Telcel number for 4c/min (when I'm not on wifi), so that people in the
US and elsewhere can call me cheaply.
Rob
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1495
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
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Riom
Where were you a couple of days ago when I needed you? Thanks for the link, now I can keep looking and not bother activating the phone when I get the
sim card.
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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