pauldavidmena
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Registered: 5-23-2013
Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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Purchasing a Mexican SIM card in the U.S.
I just purchased a new phone, leaving me to either sell my perfectly good unlocked HTC One or - as I'm now thinking - putting a Telcel or Movistar SIM
card into it for use during my next trip to Baja. I've purchased through www.mexicosimcard.com before, but the card comes with a Mexico City area code, which can be confusing to those receiving a call from me. Is it
feasible to purchase a SIM card with a 612 area code (for Todos Santos) here in the States? My next visit is in 23 days (not that I'm counting), so I
suppose I can purchase a SIM card upon my arrival, but it would be even better if I could do so ahead of time. 
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pauldavidmena
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Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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I haven't heard back from anyone on the forum yet, but I did write to Vincent from Mexico SIM card to ask if the cards were available with the 612
area code. Here was his reply:
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We still only have Mexico City +55 area codes but since January 1st, there is no more long distance within Mexico so it doesn't really matter which
area code you have.
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So at least I know that if I call someone in the 612 area code from my 55 area code SIM card they won't have to pay long distance charges.
Different question: if I call someone on their Mexican cell phone from my T-Mobile phone (with a Massachusetts area code) would they have to pay
international charges? If that's the case, I may bring the T-Mobile phone for calling the U.S., but also use my other phone with a Telcel SIM card for
any calls to Mexican numbers. I know it's a lot of fuss for only a week, but it also falls under the heading of "research" (much like drinking
Mezcal). 
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mrfatboy
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I pop in my Telcel sim to my iPhone while in Mexico. That way my phone is a native Mexico phone. If I want to call the US (for free) I just use my
Google voice app (GV Mobile V3). At this point I'm either under WiFi or using Telcel data.
The other benefit of having a GV number is that if people calll it no matter where they are in the world your phone with the Telcel sim will ring via
the GV app.
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pauldavidmena
Super Nomad
Posts: 1715
Registered: 5-23-2013
Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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@mrfatboy - thanks for the reply. Google Voice sounds like a good option - perhaps better in some ways than a Magic Jack, which requires an additional
piece of hardware. I'll definitely look into it.
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Whale-ista
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Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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The recipient never pays for a long distance cell call- that charge will be reflected on your bill.
The T-mobile plans I use for MX offers free text/data, but calls are charged per minute. Yours may be similar. Roaming in Baja uses TelCel or
MovieStar.
Best to call T-Mobile to be sure of your roaming service charges for calling while in Baja: 611 for customer service.
[you asked: "Different question: if I call someone on their Mexican cell phone from my T-Mobile phone (with a Massachusetts area code) would they have
to pay international charges? If that's the case, I may bring the T-Mobile phone for calling the U.S., but also use my other phone with a Telcel SIM
card for any calls to Mexican numbers. I know it's a lot of fuss for only a week, but it also falls under the heading of "research" (much like
drinking Mezcal)."]
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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DonJuane
Banned
Posts: 5
Registered: 4-9-2015
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Text removed at request of author. Thank you.
[Edited on 4-15-2015 by DonJuane]
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pauldavidmena
Super Nomad
Posts: 1715
Registered: 5-23-2013
Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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I can comment on rates for T-Mobile with a U.S. phone in Mexico, using their "Simple" plan that offers roaming on Movistar at $.20 per minute. There
were no surprises and no additional charges. I made 8 phone calls - 7 to local Mexican numbers and 1 to the U.S. - totaling $2.60.
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