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TLBaja79
Nomad
Posts: 267
Registered: 10-17-2013
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AT&T Go Phone in Baja
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
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
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Mine works fine....dunno or care about rates...
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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| 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
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
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BS...Its a prepaid phone, when the minutes run out, I add more..I dont know or care what the per minute rates are....
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RnR
Senior Nomad
Posts: 836
Registered: 5-1-2010
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| 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.
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
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There ya go...
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7084
Registered: 8-5-2011
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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.
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RnR
Senior Nomad
Posts: 836
Registered: 5-1-2010
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| 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.)
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Cliffy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 986
Registered: 12-19-2013
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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.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
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Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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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.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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fudscrud
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Registered: 6-8-2010
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If you have a GSM phone, can you buy a chip for it at the telcel store then load minutes on it?
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bajabuddha
Banned
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Location: Baja New Mexico
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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 !!! 
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 18368
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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| 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
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tjsue
Senior Nomad
Posts: 520
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: San Diego
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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.
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mcnut
Nomad
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Registered: 12-9-2013
Location: Dammeron Valley, UT
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| 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
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tjsue
Senior Nomad
Posts: 520
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: San Diego
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| 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.
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John M
Super Nomad
Posts: 1919
Registered: 9-3-2003
Location: California High Desert
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AT&T Go Phone
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
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TLBaja79
Nomad
Posts: 267
Registered: 10-17-2013
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Hey thanks a lot, .25 cents is not much at all for the convenience of staying in touch and peace of mind!
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BooJumMan
Senior Nomad
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Registered: 8-11-2007
Location: San Diego
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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.
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TLBaja79
Nomad
Posts: 267
Registered: 10-17-2013
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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
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