Mexico Cell phone

[Sailor Deb]

Heading south to Mexico from SD for extended cruising. Can't take my AT&T smart phone to Mexico for a year. Need info on Mexican cell phone, prepaid for emergency only perhaps? Planning on using Skype to stay in touch but need to have a number available to reach me in an emergency.

[Dennis.G]

Check the AT&T $60 monthly GoPhone plan. Talk and text in Mexico included. Works great - used all last season. Easier to use than Skype, and can be used in more places too.


https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/go...lans.html#tab2

[ranger58sb]

[QUOTE=Sailor Deb;1976279]
Can't take my AT&T smart phone to Mexico for a year. /QUOTE]



???

Why's that?

-Chris

[Sailor Deb]

[QUOTE=ranger42c;1976690]

Originally Posted by Sailor Deb

Can't take my AT&T smart phone to Mexico for a year. /QUOTE]



???

Why's that?

-Chris

I don't want to pay for an international roaming plan in Mexico.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by Sailor Deb

Heading south to Mexico from SD for extended cruising. Can't take my AT&T smart phone to Mexico for a year. Need info on Mexican cell phone, prepaid for emergency only perhaps? Planning on using Skype to stay in touch but need to have a number available to reach me in an emergency.

Hi Deb,

I have heard good things from others that have done business with Mexico SIM Cards but haven't done business with them personally.

Am I correct in assuming that you cannot unlock your current phone [yet] because it is on contract? [i.e., you cannot use a different SIM card in your existing phone...]

If so, the above vendor also has some cheap phones and a variety of SIM options to go with.

In case this is helpful.

Cheers!

Bill

[ranger58sb]

[QUOTE=Sailor Deb;1977530]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

I don't want to pay for an international roaming plan in Mexico.

Ah. Got it. Thought you meant maybe some kind of technical obstruction.

-Chris

[Sailor Deb]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

Hi Deb,

I have heard good things from others that have done business with Mexico SIM Cards but haven't done business with them personally.

Am I correct in assuming that you cannot unlock your current phone [yet] because it is on contract? [i.e., you cannot use a different SIM card in your existing phone...]

If so, the above vendor also has some cheap phones and a variety of SIM options to go with.

In case this is helpful.

Cheers!

Bill

Thanks Bill. That looks like a great site. I do have a 5S that is unlocked. My AT&T account can be kept open for $10/month allowing me, I think, to have my number forwarded to the new SIM #. I will write to them and ask. They seem to be very helpful.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by Sailor Deb

Thanks Bill. That looks like a great site. I do have a 5S that is unlocked. My AT&T account can be kept open for $10/month allowing me, I think, to have my number forwarded to the new SIM #. I will write to them and ask. They seem to be very helpful.

Hi Deb,

I'm glad that it might be useful for you.

It sounds like you are figuring out the best options for your needs.

We use my unlocked iPhone in Canada when we travel there. [Our current cruising grounds are within 100 miles of the Canadian border...]

What we do as we enter Canadian waters on the boat is:

• Leave a voice mail announcement letting folks know what's up...
• Shut down phone
• Remove the US AT&T SIM
• Insert my Bell Canada SIM
• Reboot phone

Sometimes we just leave a message that the US number will be unavailable until... [and we update a controlled access document that is shared with family and friends. That doc contains all of our current communication options and instructions...]

If we need to have calls to the US SIM routed to my Canadian SIM, we provide our Google Voice Number in the voice mail announcement left [above] and/or forward the US SIM to our Google Voice Number [GV#].... The GV# will accept calls from one or more numbers, forward to the number we program, and doesn't charge high fees [if any] for Int'l forwarding... [i.e., That way we avoid any Int'l long distance charges on the US SIM from forwarded calls to a Canadian number...]

However, every time we do this we need to investigate what changed since the last time, so take this as a strategy statement that may not be technically accurate today... [It's been a year since the last time...]

I hope this all makes sense and might be helpful.

Cheers, and good luck with your adventure!

Bill

[gordwedman]

Yea, well good luck finding cell phone coverage if you are in the Sea of Cortes. My experience is that the only place you can get a cell phone connection is in one of the cities such as La Paz, Loreto or Mulege. In that case you might as well go to a coffer shop and use Skype on their internet. No more cell phone for me this season (but I do have a sat phone in case of emergency).

[billkaras]

AT&T now has free talk,text and 1gb data while in Mexico. All you have to do is add it to your mobile share plan


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[billkaras]

https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/in...ing-bonus.html


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[TitoSoto]

Originally Posted by billkaras

https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/in...ing-bonus.html


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Yup, AT&T just bought one of the largest providers in Mexico so now you can use all of the existing towers in Mexico with your AT&T phone.

My father was about to switch to T-Mobile as they are amazing (in my area at least...), but since he travels to Mexico twice a month this AT&T purchase was a godsend for him.

[Sailor Deb]

Originally Posted by billkaras

AT&T now has free talk,text and 1gb data while in Mexico. All you have to do is add it to your mobile share plan


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

done! totally free!!

thanks for the hook up

that's really all i needed. I'm going to use wireless for the internet needs and back down my plan with AT&T. perfect.