Database Users

US prepaid sim card

I'm in the US (from UK) at the moment and I need a prepaid sim card on a US carrier as I'm here for 5 months (to go in my hermes). I bought a cheap virgin mobile one just to use the sim but it turns out it doesn't have one. What carrier can I get an actual sim card from and what's the cheapest?
Not overly bothered by data charges or anything.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Stoo

stoo said:
I'm in the US (from UK) at the moment and I need a prepaid sim card on a US carrier as I'm here for 5 months (to go in my hermes). I bought a cheap virgin mobile one just to use the sim but it turns out it doesn't have one. What carrier can I get an actual sim card from and what's the cheapest?
Not overly bothered by data charges or anything.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Stoo
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go to a Wal-Mart or a K-Mart, last time I was in the US, they had a phone section there with these cheap-ass sim cards for a few bucks... it's $2 to the £1 anyway now, so use a british card to pay for it if need be

Most telcos will try to charge you $50.00 for a prepaid sim card. Check out your local 7-11 store and look for a sim/phone combo by Speakout (service by Cingular). They are the cheapest I have found...

I have not seen sim-only kits in retail stores, but you could always pick up a cheapy phone and use the sim in that.
That said; no US carrier offers data on their prepaid sims.
You are right about the Virgin phones; they use a non GSM network...
T-mobile is probably the cheapest at the moment. What you can do is pop into a T-mobile store and ask them for a prepaid sim, they can turn any of their own sims into prepaid, and if you add some call credit they'll usually give you the sim for free.

Thanks guys,
I'll have to check out some of these suggestions on saturday

stoo - buy T-Mobile, put $100 to account and you will have 1 year validity for outgoing and incoming phone-calls.
It is not true what ScottC says - T-Mobile will offer you free data - use wap.voicestream.com APN. With no proxy you will have good internet access - speed limited to their EDGE network (around 200 kbps).
If you have any other questions - PM me.

Cingular offers Pay as You Go, and has data at $.01 KB, Texts at $.05
There are SIMs available at Cingular stores, or eBay
and, yes, I use one in a higher end phone (8525)

update
$120 dollars in new york for t-mobile sim, 600 free usa minutes, free internet and $5 credit (7c/text, not sure of international call charges yet)
i'd be lost without internet on my phone so money well spent. (better than £5/megabyte, 40p/text, 50p/min call/receive international on uk roaming)
(in N.Y. at the moment)

Can you get Tmobile's contract type internet packages on Flexpay?

AT&T's go phones are a good idea.

stufried said:
Can you get Tmobile's contract type internet packages on Flexpay?
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i'd contacted t-mobile usa customer services beforehand and they said there was no way I could get data on prepaid.
it appeared the guy in the shop put it through as a contract with fake id and no billing data.

1 month trip to USA - prepaid internet?

Hello,
I live in Germany and I'm going on holidays to the USA (California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona) for one month (august to september).
As I can't live without internet I thought of getting some kind of prepaid SIM-card over there with a data plan.
Now I don't have any clue which provider I should chose, where and how to get a prepaid SIM, which offer etc.
What would you recommend me?
I heard that the coverage isn't that good in the US and as I'm planning to go to some outlying places too, I'm aware that I won't have reception all the time. But that's okay.
I just need a SIM to do some calls and to write a few mails or check Facebook from time to time – I guess it'll be around 200mbyte and 1 hour calls for this month.
As I have a European phone (NexusOne) I need a GSM network of course.
Best regards and thanks for your help in advance,
lauslein

If u go to Indonesia, a lot of prepaid GSM & CDMA cards could be chosen here

Interested too, will be going to Arizona next summer.
Basically, I only need data and maybe a bit of texting.

seeing that u have a nexus one,,,which bands does it support? the tmobile or just europe? i suggest tmobile if u want 3g but they dont have data plans
at&t does but no 3g i'm sure
its 20$ on at&t for 100mb of data and 20$ for unlimited texting(sms) even to germany i think

Thanks for your reply!
Diamond_dawg said:
seeing that u have a nexus one,,,which bands does it support? the tmobile or just europe?
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Good question, I'll have to look this up. But I got it directly from Google (Device Seeding), so I guess it's some kind of an international version
20$ for 100MB sounds fair (even though I pay less for 1GB HSDPA at home) . The trip's going to be expensive anyway, so I'm willing to spend some money on that part, too

[Q] AT&T $50 Prepaid Unlimited - Smartphone Data Working Included??

Ok, so I found a bit of information about this data plan working with the Samsung Galaxy S II reaching HSPA+ speeds, however I would like to know if it is possible to get the data from this plan working on any other SMART PHONES.
A few things I am interested in is...
1. Has anyone got the data working on any other smartphone? What kind?
2. Does changing the APN settings work?
3. Do you have to initially register a basic phone?
4. Is it possible to modify the IMEI of a smart phone to represent a basic phone so that the data may work.
5. Does anyone have any good ideas to get this working?
If so we can all have Unlimited Talk, Text, and Web on a smart phone for $50.00 plus normal sales tax.
If anyone has or is capable of getting this working on any (or all) smart phones, then it would be mutually beneficial to everyone

I have the plan running on my Galaxy S II, it was kind of tough to get going, and until I turned on airplan mode and then turned it off again, was I able to connect to 3g and H+ instead of just edge. The AT&T store employees also had a hell of a time, getting it to work at first. I did pop the SIM into an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S, and it worked after I went too settings, wireless networks, and then selected GSM only. The only APN available is Cingular 410, which is the wap.cingular. I am getting full 4g service on both devices, so I'm happy.
Note the AT&T stores dont always have the $50 pre-paid sim card in the store because I believe you can only do this on "International phones" according to the guy who helped me (whatever that means, I'm sure they are wrong.) I did explain how the Galaxy S II was unlocked and that I had bought it in Europe, but they still didn't have the actual $50 dollar sim card, so instead they gave me a regular 4g sim card ($25 charge) and then used two $25 pre-paid data plan cards (actual cards like iTune gift cards.) As I said above, they had some issues getting the $50 dollar plan to work, but it eventually did using this method. If anyone is in NJ the store I used was in the Paramus Mall.
Hope this was decent first post.

$50 prepaid simcards lol I would never pay that much for a prepaid sim card ever. I bought both my phones: previous Rokr E6 and the current X1i and simcards from myworldphone.com. For the E6 my $15 T-mobile simcard cost me about $15 with credit and my [email protected] prepaid one cost me $8.50 non active. Now for the non active simcard I had active it and then put money on it(depending on the plan I wanted) but it beats paying $50 for simcard when you can buy one for $8.50 and then switch to the $50 unlimited plan. Now looking at the rate plan options it says: " 1Monthly Unlimited Talk, Text & Web plan requires an eligible device. Smartphone users must purchase a data package to use Data on this plan. Pay per use data is not available on Smartphones." I'm not sure what exactly eligible device really means but when I first bought my phone I had the option to switch to the unlimited plan, something funny I noticed was it says smartphone cannot use pay per use data, well it's available to me . I only use wifi for my internet because I use my laptop for browsing the internet and really only use the internet on my phone for updating Touch Weather but if I need to I can use the pay per use data which I rarely only do for MMS. I don't know if it's the type of prepaid simcard(National prepaid simcard) I'm using that allows me to get through this loop hole or not but if it is I'm not complaining . Just my .2cents

JKDEM85 said:
I have the plan running on my Galaxy S II, it was kind of tough to get going, and until I turned on airplan mode and then turned it off again, was I able to connect to 3g and H+ instead of just edge. The AT&T store employees also had a hell of a time, getting it to work at first. I did pop the SIM into an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S, and it worked after I went too settings, wireless networks, and then selected GSM only. The only APN available is Cingular 410, which is the wap.cingular. I am getting full 4g service on both devices, so I'm happy.
Note the AT&T stores dont always have the $50 pre-paid sim card in the store because I believe you can only do this on "International phones" according to the guy who helped me (whatever that means, I'm sure they are wrong.) I did explain how the Galaxy S II was unlocked and that I had bought it in Europe, but they still didn't have the actual $50 dollar sim card, so instead they gave me a regular 4g sim card ($25 charge) and then used two $25 pre-paid data plan cards (actual cards like iTune gift cards.) As I said above, they had some issues getting the $50 dollar plan to work, but it eventually did using this method. If anyone is in NJ the store I used was in the Paramus Mall.
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ok a few things. First to answer OP's question is yes, it is possible with any unlocked phone. problem is that AT&T has certain IMEI numbers that are recognized as smart phone IMEI's. Like my friend had an HD2 that he brought to AT&T and they recognized it and immediately changed his data plan to a smartphone data plan. Although there are other people with smartphones who have the AT&T system tricked because the system doesnt know what their IMEI number is for.
So yes, it is possible. And yes, as for the NON-Smartphone $50 unlimited talk, txt, and data plan, yes it does exist. AT&T just started it recently and no its not for just international. Its directed towards NON-Smartphones. But again, if they cant recognize your smartphone IMEI, then they wont know.
As for the $50 sim card, no there's no such thing as a $50 sim card and no, its not "just for international phones" haha. Sim cards are $5.95 and if a store tells you anything higher, then call AT&T sales. Because they are ALWAYS $5.95 over the phone.
BOOM! glad to help haha

caffeinated chris said:
ok a few things. First to answer OP's question is yes, it is possible with any unlocked phone. problem is that AT&T has certain IMEI numbers that are recognized as smart phone IMEI's. Like my friend had an HD2 that he brought to AT&T and they recognized it and immediately changed his data plan to a smartphone data plan. Although there are other people with smartphones who have the AT&T system tricked because the system doesnt know what their IMEI number is for.
So yes, it is possible. And yes, as for the NON-Smartphone $50 unlimited talk, txt, and data plan, yes it does exist. AT&T just started it recently and no its not for just international. Its directed towards NON-Smartphones. But again, if they cant recognize your smartphone IMEI, then they wont know.
As for the $50 sim card, no there's no such thing as a $50 sim card and no, its not "just for international phones" haha. Sim cards are $5.95 and if a store tells you anything higher, then call AT&T sales. Because they are ALWAYS $5.95 over the phone.
BOOM! glad to help haha
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Thanks for clearing some things up, so it's the IMEI number that determines if they can tell if it's a smartphone or not. I probably got lucky with buying the international version of the X1 .

Viper89 said:
Thanks for clearing some things up, so it's the IMEI number that determines if they can tell if it's a smartphone or not. I probably got lucky with buying the international version of the X1 .
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exactly. As far as I know, that is how they determine which phone you have is thru your IMEI.
So to answer OP's question, yes, you probably want to initially set it up with a NON smartphone IMEI and then switch the sim card to your SGSII.
OR get lucky and give them the IMEI and they dont recognize it and just assume it is a non smartphone. (So if you are setting this up over the phone and they ask you what type of phone it is, its some basic flip phone. DO NOT tell them its a smartphone. Or you will have ruined that idea haha)
PS. there is a possibility that later on they will recognize your IMEI and will notify you (usually by a text msg) telling you that they are switching your plan to a smartphone plan. If they have done this, then they probably finally found out that the IMEI you're using is actually a smartphone. And that sucks haha.
Its also possible they wont ever know. chances are they will once they get the list of IMEI's and what phones they actually are for. I dont know how often they update their list of IMEI's so no telling how long you'll get away with it. some people have successfully done so for months or years. so we will see
good luck!!

PS. there is a possibility that later on they will recognize your IMEI and will notify you (usually by a text msg) telling you that they are switching your plan to a smartphone plan. If they have done this, then they probably finally found out that the IMEI you're using is actually a smartphone. And that sucks haha.
Its also possible they wont ever know. chances are they will once they get the list of IMEI's and what phones they actually are for. I dont know how often they update their list of IMEI's so no telling how long you'll get away with it. some people have successfully done so for months or years. so we will see
good luck!! [/QUOTE]
I've had my phone for 1 year and 9 months now if they were going to do something they would have already, and Sony also stopped making the X1i awhile ago so as for as my IMEI being recognized I'm not worried at all about it .

I've had my phone for 1 year and 9 months now if they were going to do something they would have already, and Sony also stopped making the X1i awhile ago so as for as my IMEI being recognized I'm not worried at all about it .
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NICE. haha yea like I said, some phones they might eventually find out, and some they wont. You happen to be one of the ones they probably wont find. Enjoy that haha

Almost 100% sure that plan does not include Smartphone data.
As well it shouldn't; I do not understand why carriers cater more to their prepaid customers by offering such low rate plans while proceeding to charge customers who sign contracts by charging them a steeper price for the same plan.

illatwill said:
Almost 100% sure that plan does not include Smartphone data.
As well it shouldn't; I do not understand why carriers cater more to their prepaid customers by offering such low rate plans while proceeding to charge customers who sign contracts by charging them a steeper price for the same plan.
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Yes, you are right, this plan is not a smartphone data plan. Thats why we are talking about ways on how to get it on your smartphone haha.
And secondly, no contract phone plans are cheaper because you have to lay down money flat out to buy a phone. Contracts are made to give you that $700 phone for $100-$199. By you being in that contract it guarantee's they are going to get their money for that phone.

caffeinated chris said:
ok a few things. First to answer OP's question is yes, it is possible with any unlocked phone. problem is that AT&T has certain IMEI numbers that are recognized as smart phone IMEI's. Like my friend had an HD2 that he brought to AT&T and they recognized it and immediately changed his data plan to a smartphone data plan. Although there are other people with smartphones who have the AT&T system tricked because the system doesnt know what their IMEI number is for.
So yes, it is possible. And yes, as for the NON-Smartphone $50 unlimited talk, txt, and data plan, yes it does exist. AT&T just started it recently and no its not for just international. Its directed towards NON-Smartphones. But again, if they cant recognize your smartphone IMEI, then they wont know.
As for the $50 sim card, no there's no such thing as a $50 sim card and no, its not "just for international phones" haha. Sim cards are $5.95 and if a store tells you anything higher, then call AT&T sales. Because they are ALWAYS $5.95 over the phone.
BOOM! glad to help haha
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Don't mean to grave-dig the post but when I went to an AT&T store for new SIM cards (activated one through a go-phone and didn't know that it locked the SIM to the phone), I wasn't charged anything for them, the store rep gave them to me for free.
That aside, I've been toying with this concept myself. I've been looking everywhere for good candidates for a smartphone that ATT doesn't sell and that is compatible with their HSPA network.
I have a couple unlocked T-Mobile phones that the data works on, but only at EDGE speeds because they don't have the proper frequencies to support ATT 3/3.5/4G.
Does anyone have any new suggestions?
EDIT: So far I've found that the HTC Wildfire S A510a, and the HTC Sensation Z710a are both compatible with ATT's HSDPA 850 and GSM 850 bands and may be good candidates. I already have a T-Mobile HTC Sensation Z710e and really don't want to buy another phone that's practically the same .

I'm digging this up because I need answers before jumping ship.
Does AT&T still make smartphone users pay extra for data? I'm thinking of moving from Boost mobile to AT&T with an LG Fathom...
Either AT&T or metroPCS, if AT&T does still charge smartphone users for data then most likely it'll be over to metroPCS I go then.

n1nj4Lo said:
I'm digging this up because I need answers before jumping ship.
Does AT&T still make smartphone users pay extra for data? I'm thinking of moving from Boost mobile to AT&T with an LG Fathom...
Either AT&T or metroPCS, if AT&T does still charge smartphone users for data then most likely it'll be over to metroPCS I go then.
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Like with a plan? Yes.

TomTheGeek3 said:
Like with a plan? Yes.
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Well what I meant was are Smartphones still supposedly uneligilble for the prepaid 50 a month unlimited plan, do they still have to pay extra for data?
If yes, how much extra?

n1nj4Lo said:
Well what I meant was are Smartphones still supposedly uneligilble for the prepaid 50 a month unlimited plan, do they still have to pay extra for data?
If yes, how much extra?
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Yes, they have to pay extra. Not all smartphones will be in their database, so if you have a European phone with the appropriate HSPA bands it could potentially trick the system into believing you have a featurephone.
As for how much extra, it's something ridiculous like 30 bucks or so.

synaesthetic said:
Yes, they have to pay extra. Not all smartphones will be in their database, so if you have a European phone with the appropriate HSPA bands it could potentially trick the system into believing you have a featurephone.
As for how much extra, it's something ridiculous like 30 bucks or so.
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Mines a Verizon LG Fathom...
Is T-Mobile just as ridiculous too? I saw they have a prepaid 50 a month unlimited plan... What jerked me back away from that was 100Mb unthrottled then every bit over that is "managed" unless ya pay for the highspeed unlimited 4g data.

How do you expect a non-gsm phone to work on a gsm network?

Stonent said:
How do you expect a non-gsm phone to work on a gsm network?
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Just because it came from a cdma carrier doesn't mean it's a non-gsm phone... It's a world phone, meaning both cdma and gsm.

Called up t-mobile and it sounds like they'd be my (our) best bet, they don't charge ya anything additional if it's a smartphone for data... So it really is flat-out 50 bucks unlimited everything, no limitations, no specification handsets required or anything.

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but has anyone tried this recently?
Will probably give this a go in a couple of months using the HTC Sensation z710a.
Pretty harsh not getting any "smartphone data" included on a $50 plan. Would be heading straight to T-mobile if my z710a was AWS compatible.

[Q] Traveling to Germany and Greece, need advice on SIM/Pay as you go or plan

Hi,
I will be traveling to Greece (Paros, Naxos, Santorini) and Berlin next month.
I already have a SIM unlocked Motorola Milestone. I want to purchase a European SIM.
1) Can I expect to use the same SIM card and plan when both in Germany and Greece? Or am I better off just getting 2 different ones?
2) What are good companies and plans? I don't really need voice... but I expect to use a lot of data for Internet access and hoepfully tethering. I found out about
WIND Paygo in a different thread, but no details on what to expect price-wise.
Anybody (either local to these countries or a fellow traveler) have any experience with this?
Thanks

Caz666 said:
1) Can I expect to use the same SIM card and plan when both in Germany and Greece? Or am I better off just getting 2 different ones?
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Click to collapse
You should get a separate SIM card for each of the countries... they are two different countries after all, and carriers will charge you higher roaming fees if you want to use their SIM card in a different country. The EU did regulate a maximum for roaming fees just recently, but you'll still be better off getting a new SIM card there.
2) What are good companies and plans? I don't really need voice... but I expect to use a lot of data for Internet access and hoepfully tethering. I found out about
WIND Paygo in a different thread, but no details on what to expect price-wise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For Germany, I'd go with a prepaid data flatrate plan, e.g. http://www.simyo.de/tarif/flat-internet.html (€15/mo up to 3GB @HSDPA/7.2 Mbit, after that GPRS), or e.g. http://www.klarmobil.de/tarife/datentarife/Internet_Flat_5000/index.html (€20/mo for up to 5GB HSDPA speed, after that GPRS). These are just two examples for pure data flats (since you said you didn't need voice).
I think you can get these types of discount carriers at gas stations and supermarkets. There are a lot to choose from; just make sure it's a prepaid data flat. The major carriers like T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 (that have their own POS stores) are usually more expensive for prepaid as they focus more on 2y contracts.
No idea about Greece... maybe someone else can help you out there.
Hope this helps.

bobblack said:
You should get a separate SIM card for each of the countries... they are two different countries after all, and carriers will charge you higher roaming fees if you want to use their SIM card in a different country. The EU did regulate a maximum for roaming fees just recently, but you'll still be better off getting a new SIM card there.
For Germany, I'd go with a prepaid data flatrate plan, e.g. http://www.simyo.de/tarif/flat-internet.html (€15/mo up to 3GB @HSDPA/7.2 Mbit, after that GPRS), or e.g. http://www.klarmobil.de/tarife/datentarife/Internet_Flat_5000/index.html (€20/mo for up to 5GB HSDPA speed, after that GPRS). These are just two examples for pure data flats (since you said you didn't need voice).
I think you can get these types of discount carriers at gas stations and supermarkets. There are a lot to choose from; just make sure it's a prepaid data flat. The major carriers like T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 (that have their own POS stores) are usually more expensive for prepaid as they focus more on 2y contracts.
No idea about Greece... maybe someone else can help you out there.
Hope this helps.
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This REALLY helps, at least for my week in Berlin. Thank you very much.

For Greece, I would advise you to choose COSMOTE Internet On The Go Prepaid. You may find more information on their website:
http://cosmote.gr/cosmoportal/page/...p/section/Internet_E-mailwithLaptop/loc/en_US
You are better off buying two seperate SIM-cards (one for each country), as cheaper data-roaming options typically are only available with contracts.
In regards to tethering, this shouldn't pose a problem - european providers typically don't police a "one-device-policy", especially not with internet-on-the-go-type products.
An alternative to COSMOTE is Vodafone KartoInternet, but their prepaid plans are a bit more expensive and COSMOTE is said to have better coverage in general: http://www.vodafone.gr/portal/client/cms/viewCmsPage.action?pageId=8638&request_locale=en
Both sell SIM-only starter packs which include their sell-value (EUR 20) as prepaid-balance for internet use.

PartyMango said:
For Greece, I would advise you to choose COSMOTE Internet On The Go Prepaid. You may find more information on their website:
http://cosmote.gr/cosmoportal/page/...p/section/Internet_E-mailwithLaptop/loc/en_US
You are better off buying two seperate SIM-cards (one for each country), as cheaper data-roaming options typically are only available with contracts.
In regards to tethering, this shouldn't pose a problem - european providers typically don't police a "one-device-policy", especially not with internet-on-the-go-type products.
An alternative to COSMOTE is Vodafone KartoInternet, but their prepaid plans are a bit more expensive and COSMOTE is said to have better coverage in general: http://www.vodafone.gr/portal/client/cms/viewCmsPage.action?pageId=8638&request_locale=en
Both sell SIM-only starter packs which include their sell-value (EUR 20) as prepaid-balance for internet use.
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Thanks for the tip. I looked both web sites and they are what I am looking for. The prices seem similar enough for my purposes...MUCH better than roaming
I do have a follow-up question:
Both companies have DAY PACKS for 1Euro per day that includes something like "unlimited data" but is throttled after a specific amount of data is consumed. Does anybody know the specific of the the Thottling? I don't mind a bit of a slowdown...but how crippling are we talking about? Are they booting me down to 2G speeds?
I couldn't find any details on either web site about the specifics.

Just an update after my trip. Germany was a problem as a lot of the prepaid carriers don't have English customer service. I bought 2 different SIM cards and could not get them activated. I didn't have much time to mess around, but I was really disappointed.
Greece was good. As suggested in this thread, I went to a Cosmote store and got great service. I got a data only sim and an additional regular sim. They activated them for me with my passport. My only problem is that the data only sim ran out of cash and it is not possible to refill them from most outlets....I used the cash on the other sim, but the price per GB is not the same.
The moral of the storey for me: go to a carrier store directly and get as much as you need right away. Being in remote locations can make it hard to refill prepaid cards.
Sent from my A500 using xda premium

[Advice Requested] Need Prepaid U.S Sim Card for Trip

Hey there,
I'm going down to the U.S for a trip to Darien Lake for a weekend soon (my family and I are Canadian). I need phone/text/internet access with fast speeds and very reliable service. I have heard 'Straight Talk' tossed around a bit on these forums, though I don't know if I would be allowed to purchase it (as a non-U.S citizen). I have an unlocked N7000 Galaxy Note to use on any service and would prefer to use it if possible. So, it is in this situation that I humbly ask for advice from my fellow XDA'ers.
Kindly,
LiquidNitrogen

Not sure where you are in Canada my friend but take a look at this... Perhaps you can order one or find something similar in your area...
http://www.omegacell.com/collections/us-roaming-sims

LiquidNitrogen said:
Hey there,
I'm going down to the U.S for a trip to Darien Lake for a weekend soon (my family and I are Canadian). I need phone/text/internet access with fast speeds and very reliable service. I have heard 'Straight Talk' tossed around a bit on these forums, though I don't know if I would be allowed to purchase it (as a non-U.S citizen). I have an unlocked N7000 Galaxy Note to use on any service and would prefer to use it if possible. So, it is in this situation that I humbly ask for advice from my fellow XDA'ers.
Kindly,
LiquidNitrogen
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I believe you can just go to straighttalk.com and order yourself a sim card [choose AT&T sim]and a $45 month unlimited card. Should be around $60 shipped.
Edit: I'm not sure they ship internationally. Could you have it shipped to the location you are staying in the states?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

Go with Straight Talk. ST uses ATT's network so very reliable in most places in the US and fast data as well.

I live in Rochester, used to live in Buffalo, so I travel between the cities quite a bit, right through Darien Lake area.
I would look at Red Pocket (goredpocket-dot-com). They use the AT&T Go Phone prepaid coverage (You can google the map, then put in Pembroke, NY as the address. Pembroke is town adjacent to Darien Lake). You will see coverage is fine there, and I've had no problems with calls through there.
I'm sure you can buy a Red Pocket SIM on Amazon and have it delivered to Canada. Red Pocket used to cater to the Asian Market who would be coming to the U.S., So signing up from Canada probably won't be a problem.
I should also float the question the other way, what's the best Prepaid SIM to use when I visit Canada? This will be the first time I'll be taking a GSM phone to Canada (I previously had Sprint).

straighttalk is the way to go. they have a cheaper 30 dollar plan also.

maddog2727 said:
I live in Rochester, used to live in Buffalo, so I travel between the cities quite a bit, right through Darien Lake area.
I would look at Red Pocket (goredpocket-dot-com). They use the AT&T Go Phone prepaid coverage (You can google the map, then put in Pembroke, NY as the address. Pembroke is town adjacent to Darien Lake). You will see coverage is fine there, and I've had no problems with calls through there.
I'm sure you can buy a Red Pocket SIM on Amazon and have it delivered to Canada. Red Pocket used to cater to the Asian Market who would be coming to the U.S., So signing up from Canada probably won't be a problem.
I should also float the question the other way, what's the best Prepaid SIM to use when I visit Canada? This will be the first time I'll be taking a GSM phone to Canada (I previously had Sprint).
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I looked around recently, Petro-Canada looked like a pretty good bet.
The problem is, us getting Petro-Canada SIMs is likely the same problem he'll have trying to get a Straight Talk SIM or Red Pocket SIM - They won't ship internationally, not even across the US/CAN border. I know Straight Talk's BYOD SIMs are mail-order only, you cannot purchase them in brick-and-mortar stores. Dunno if Petro-Canada SIMs are easier to find in their gas stations.
I live near the NY/PA border and have been looking into SIMs for if I ever want to make a trip to Montreal.

Yeah get the ST Sim and get it delivered to someone here in the States to either forward it to you in Canada our have it waiting here for you to pick up in the States. The Sims are sent by Fed Ex ground unless you want it delivered quicker and you can pay for 2 day or next day shipping.
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The only reason I suggest Red Pocket over straight Talk is that there's an unofficial daiy cap with straight talks data (go ahead and read about the problem in the forums) where as with Red Pocket you get to use your block of data however you like. You cam tether, use it all in one day, etc.
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I dont view straight talk as a pre-paid SIM in its classic sense.. as its a monthly contract...
I recommend a visit to http://www.telestial.com/ to view available options.

Mystic38 said:
I dont view straight talk as a pre-paid SIM in its classic sense.. as its a monthly contract...
I recommend a visit to http://www.telestial.com/ to view available options.
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It's "monthly" but you only need to get it a month at a time. It's not a contract, no need to sign up for multiple months.
The more basic "pay as you go" plans are so basic that a Note will exceed the cost of a better plan rapidly.

As for Canadian prepaid, I'm really not sure. I've never had to use prepaid, I've always had a plan. Rogers/Bell/Telus are the 'big 3' companies in Canada, which all have more or less the same service and quality - the difference is in pricing and packages. I've always been a Telus user, as they have very clear and fair pricing, but I know many who are on Rogers (not too many on Bell though). Bell is usually more expensive for what you get. Whatever you do, stay away from Wind Mobile - their coverage sucks, their customer service is terrible, they are a royal pain to deal with and they only use T-Mobile's bands.
Prepaid SIMs are pretty easy to get. I've seen them alot at gas stations, Walmart, convenience stores, 7/11, etc. It's impossible to get unlimited data here in Canada though, even on contract you can't get it. Our providers have been very strict about that. And on top of that, within the past few months, they've upped their efforts to increase pricing and reduce caps on their data offerings.
I believe the major cellular companies to check out are Rogers/Telus/Bell (big 3) and their subsidiaries Koodoo, Virgin Mobile, Fido. This should help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_mobile_phone_companies
Anyways, back to my issue, I'm going to need alot of data as much data as possible (~4 to 6 gb). Red pocket seems pretty good but they only give you 2GB of data. I'm looking at Boost Mobile right now but they use Sprints network, which is supposedly slow, but they don't cap their data (supposedly). The unofficial data cap on Straight Talk makes me want to avoid it, as I've read its 100mb/day which is very small.

LiquidNitrogen said:
As for Canadian prepaid, I'm really not sure. I've never had to use prepaid, I've always had a plan. Rogers/Bell/Telus are the 'big 3' companies in Canada, which all have more or less the same service and quality - the difference is in pricing and packages. I've always been a Telus user, as they have very clear and fair pricing, but I know many who are on Rogers (not too many on Bell though). Bell is usually more expensive for what you get. Whatever you do, stay away from Wind Mobile - their coverage sucks, their customer service is terrible, they are a royal pain to deal with and they only use T-Mobile's bands.
Prepaid SIMs are pretty easy to get. I've seen them alot at gas stations, Walmart, convenience stores, 7/11, etc. It's impossible to get unlimited data here in Canada though, even on contract you can't get it. Our providers have been very strict about that. And on top of that, within the past few months, they've upped their efforts to increase pricing and reduce caps on their data offerings.
I believe the major cellular companies to check out are Rogers/Telus/Bell (big 3) and their subsidiaries Koodoo, Virgin Mobile, Fido. This should help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_mobile_phone_companies
Anyways, back to my issue, I'm going to need alot of data as much data as possible (~4 to 6 gb). Red pocket seems pretty good but they only give you 2GB of data. I'm looking at Boost Mobile right now but they use Sprints network, which is supposedly slow, but they don't cap their data (supposedly). The unofficial data cap on Straight Talk makes me want to avoid it, as I've read its 100mb/day which is very small.
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I would rather have data cap than ever deal with sprints network again.
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The ST $30 "All you need" plan may only be available on their phones and not on an unlocked phone from another GSM carrier. Hope I'm wrong. See http://straighttalksim.com/index.php

lamou1nr said:
I would rather have data cap than ever deal with sprints network again.
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Thanks for the advice on the Canadian Prepaid.
As cor your issue, I believe Boost is CDMA only because it's runs on Sprint's native coverage.
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