Pre paid SIM card in US

[crow]

Although I haven't tried it yet another option is to use this no roam service at Online Store so that you can divert your Australian mobile to that and all your messages are converted into e-mail that you can read therefore when combined with a US simcard you can just about eliminate the need for global roaming.

 

[Soundguy]

Soundguy, you may have also been caught out because calls you receive are taken off your prepaid credit too.....

You are right that they charge you to recieve calls but that wasn't my problem. I am still using my T-Mobile SIM card but only for calls within the US (I am in NYC currently) and I have just let me Oz calls go to messagebank. I am now using Skype for all calls to Oz (including to retrieve messages), really simple and cheap except the quality suffers at times.

Hey, a little OT but on the subject of phones I am buying a couple of these nifty little devices they have here that connect to your phone & are used to kill telemarketers calls. You simply push a button and the machine takes over the call playing a recorded message that says such calls will not be accepted and requests the number be removed then hangs up. Simple and cheap. It is EZ hang-up, found at Amazon etc.

 

[Maca44]

Watch out for the hidden costs. A couple of weeks ago whilst in and around Seattle where Cingular has good coverage I purchased a pre-paid $25 sim card. Sounds good if it was not for the $25 activation fee with cingular, but bought the sim and worked great with a great plan that has of no charge for cingular to cingular. On the $25 plan I had they charge you a $1.00 a day ONLY for the days you use the sim card and 10c a min anytime.

Be warned, cingular doesn't work in Canada as it is a different network (Rogers) so after being in Vancouver for two weeks I had plenty of funds left on the card when I returned to the USA.

 

[larion88]

The CallinEurope rates look very good to me and what I also liked is the postpaid billing for calls made during the previous month. For a casual user, the final cost may not be much better than with other providers, but for a heavy user, CallinEurope looks like a winner.

 

[mitty]

Got back from my US trip last week. Thought I'd detail the steps we went through to activate our AT&T Sims and use them with my unlocked iphone. It's a bit fiddly, but the Iphone is a godsend especially in New York. You look much less like a tourist if you don't have huge maps in your hands (the maps alone are worth the expense and bother).


a) go to ebay, there are a multitude of AT&T Prepaid Sim cards you can buy, they mostly come with zero credit. Get em sent to you here. We got two for about $14 or so.
b) go to pinzoo.com or mrsimcard.com and purchase yourself some credit. you want at least $25.
c) go to https://www.wireless.att.com/activations/?wtSlotClick=1-0014FG-0-1&WT.svl=calltoaction and activate your phone. You MUST use the credit PIN you got in step (B) at this point, to load your phone up with credit. Buying $25 gives you 90 days to use your credit. I think it's at step 5 that you need to do this.
d) fly to the US
e) on arrival, ring 611 from the phone, go through the IVR menus and purchase the 100MB Medianet pack. Joila, now you have 100Mb of credit to use.
f) now, you need to find a wifi access point, and connect to Unlockit - APN Changer for your iPhone which allows you to change your APN settings to AT&T, otherwise your phone won't work.
g) you should now be on the internet on your unlocked iphone enjoy your trip!

 

[Pez]

Just a few quick question guys. Currently whats the best pre-paid SIM to go with in the US? I'll be heading over in a month and wanted to make sure beforehand that I pick the best option. If it matters, I'll be using it to mainly text friends/family back here in Australia.

I've heard that incoming calls would get charged to me aswell - it's not the case with SMS's too is it?

Finally, silly question I know, but would it be the standard 0.25c per text?

Thanks.

 

[ozscot]

A new product from Truephone called Local Anywhere has launched just this week which may be of interest. Truphone Local Anywhere - Find out more

It's a SIM card which can hold multiple local numbers all linked to the one PAYG account. Presently you can get a US and UK mobile number. They're saying Australia will be added this year.

Looks pretty good. UK caller can call or text local number at local rates and it'll ring your phone. US caller can call or text local number in the same way. If you call out or text to a UK number they'll see your UK mobile number elsewhere they'll see your US one.

Call rates look pretty good though as usual mobile data is horrendous. I've ordered one to try on my trip to the US next month so will see how it goes.

Cheers,
Steve.

 

[serfty]

I've given up on Pre-paid SIMS in the USA - Basic Skype costs under 3¢ / minute to any Oz landline.

 

[drewbles]

A new product from Truephone called Local Anywhere has launched just this week which may be of interest. Truphone Local Anywhere - Find out more

It's a SIM card which can hold multiple local numbers all linked to the one PAYG account. Presently you can get a US and UK mobile number. They're saying Australia will be added this year.

Looks pretty good. UK caller can call or text local number at local rates and it'll ring your phone. US caller can call or text local number in the same way. If you call out or text to a UK number they'll see your UK mobile number elsewhere they'll see your US one.

Call rates look pretty good though as usual mobile data is horrendous. I've ordered one to try on my trip to the US next month so will see how it goes.

Cheers,
Steve.

Truphone are our direct competition, and dare I say it, much more expensive

try ekit, phonecards, prepaid sim cards and international cell phones for international travelers for similar products.

Not spamming, just offering alternatives (with the disclosure I work for ekit, but make no cash out of this, i'm one of the network engineers there).

 

[straitman]

I've given up on Pre-paid SIMS in the USA - Basic Skype costs under 3¢ / minute to any Oz landline.

If you have internet which is not always the case. Pre-paid is also useful for contact within the USA.

 

[Nessa1977]

I've just purchased a AT&T simcard off eBay for $19.00 with the remaining credit of $15USD.

Have I been sucked in or should it be legit?

Is it easy to top up with credits or will have problems because the card may be registered to someone else?

 

[albatross710]

f) now, you need to find a wifi access point, and connect to Unlockit - APN Changer for your iPhone which allows you to change your APN settings to AT&T, otherwise your phone won't work.

Just doing some research on this for an upcoming visit to LA.

The link mentioned in the original instructions no longer resolves to the required APN Changer. The link on the iPhone is now Unlockit - APN Changer for your iPhone which will look different when accessed on the iPhone verses a desktop.

 

[jsd]

Cell Phones - Prepaid Cell Phones and Pay As You Go Phones | Virgin Mobile


forget the sim only, I usually just get something like this when overseas, simple, effective and I just chuck it out when I leave (or give it to family/friends if they are going to US soon)

no hassle for minimal cash, most of them usually come with call credits already on them too




Josh

 

[drewbles]

Just doing some research on this for an upcoming visit to LA.

The link mentioned in the original instructions no longer resolves to the required APN Changer. The link on the iPhone is now Unlockit - APN Changer for your iPhone which will look different when accessed on the iPhone verses a desktop.

If you have a legitimately unlocked iPhone, you don't need these as a general rule.

When you insert a non-home SIM into the phone, you'll notice the 'Cellular Data Network' option appear in Settings -> General -> Network on your iPhone. You can then change your APN settings in here for data and MMS. All the APN changers do is make it a little easier to do. Just make sure the one you use is a trustworthy one, or the settings it applies may not work/may cost you more to use (nothing dodgy, but many providers have a lot of APN's depending on the intended use).

And as been previously mentioned, in the US, you'll have a next to impossible time finding a legitimate data plan for a pre-paid SIM (although some people have listed ways that may work, I have not tried them myself - I have alternative access whilst in the US).

 

[Nessa1977]

forget the sim only, I usually just get something like this when overseas, simple, effective and I just chuck it out when I leave (or give it to family/friends if they are going to US soon)

no hassle for minimal cash, most of them usually come with call credits already on them too

Josh

Sorry had to remove your link as it wouldn't let me post.

Anywho, wish you had posted this before I bought the sim! I'll prob end up getting the phone you listed anyway.

 

[kiwi2768]

I was thinking it would be better to get a SIM card in the US rather than do the roaming thing. We'll mainly be using it for SMS to Aussie/NZ, or for finding out where one of us has disappeared to! Hubby's got a habit of being right beside me one minute, and then the next minute he's gone. My phone is a dinosaur, I've had it for 7 years. Its a Nokia 6100. Will it work in the USA? Hubby's is a Motorola Razr V3.

 

[Nessa1977]

I think phones for the US have to be tri-band, so you'll probably have to check online at the Nokia site. Should have it listed there.

I've done roaming in the past for Europe and racked up a bill of $200 in 3 weeks before it got stolen, which ended up getting stolen, which was good in a way.

 

[jsd]

Anywho, wish you had posted this before I bought the sim! I'll prob end up getting the phone you listed anyway.

Sorry!

 

[Nessa1977]

lol it's cool!

 

[albatross710]

If you have a legitimately unlocked iPhone, you don't need these as a general rule.

When you insert a non-home SIM into the phone, you'll notice the 'Cellular Data Network' option appear in Settings -> General -> Network on your iPhone. You can then change your APN settings in here for data and MMS. All the APN changers do is make it a little easier to do. Just make sure the one you use is a trustworthy one, or the settings it applies may not work/may cost you more to use (nothing dodgy, but many providers have a lot of APN's depending on the intended use).

And as been previously mentioned, in the US, you'll have a next to impossible time finding a legitimate data plan for a pre-paid SIM (although some people have listed ways that may work, I have not tried them myself - I have alternative access whilst in the US).

Thanks for this. I have an (legitimately unlocked iPhone so I should be sweet.

The only think I really need is the data plan. If it doesn't work out I guess I will frequent McDonalds and Starbucks.