Getting a SIM chip in the US

Typically my phone did not work outside Mexico. Some apps could connect with WiFi, but overall the vaunted iphone was reduced to little more than an alarm clock most of my stay in Vegas.

Near the end of the trip, I saw "US SIM chips" for sale at ABC for $40, which purported to include $10 in talk time and unlimited texts. I didn't get one because I had three days left in my vacation. But then I noticed Walgreen's had several types behind the counter.

Any idea how this works?

I wouldn't use it to talk much (if at all), but texts would help keep in touch with several people there. If it does data (internet) as well, it would give me a more functional phone.

Any info would be appreciated.

Quote: Nareed

Any info would be appreciated.

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/telcel-america-gsm-sim-card-45-unlimited-calls-text-internet-60/243769333.html

Telcel and it's USA brand names TracFone Wireless , NET10 Wireless, Straight Talk, SafeLink Wireless, SIMPLE Mobile and Telcel América at 26.006 million subscribers is the clear leader of the so called virtual network operator in USA. Most of those teaser rates that are talking about is from one of these division. Virgin Mobile is a big one. Cricket and Verizon prepaid have actually been bought by the main companies, and don't offer the cheap one month teaser rates.

I don't know if you use the term "tesaer rates" in Mexico, but anybody who is giving you a low rate on anything from mortgages to mobile phones to cable television that expires quickly is called a "teaser". The so called "churn rate" is the customers who constantly are dropping one service for another to try and keep the "teaser rates". Some people change mobile phone companies every month, cable companies every year, and are constantly remortgaging their house (harder to do) to try and keep the teaser rates.


I understand that you can order them online for $5-$10 a month. The people who order a new one every month get around having a new phone number every month, by simply putting Google Voice on the android phones and give that number out to their friends.

EXAMPLES FOR OLD PHONES WITHOUT SIM CARDS
I have an 8 year old Sprint phone which I don't use.I can hook it up with Ting and one month will cost $6 for phone plus $3 for up to 100 messages
https://ting.com/rates

A cheap android phone from 2014 and old Verizon phones from 2004 work on Page Plus Cellular (another America Movil) brand. You can get a plan for $10 + $1.77 tax and fees. There is a $0.50 monthly charge. Cell messages are 5 cents apiece.
https://www.pagepluscellular.com/plans/

The cheapest option is to try and get an Android phone for as little as possible. Walmart was selling them for $20 and Krogers for $10. But it looks like they are backing off this super cheap price as they were a minimum of $40 last time I was at Walmart. Google Voice gives you free testing and phone calls in USA and Canada from wifi. There is free wifi at Plaza casino and Krispy Kreme donuts. You can call Mexico using Google Voice for 1 cent per minute for landlines, and 5 cents a minute for mobile phones.

You can get a Google Voice account on a Windows computer. That way you get a phone number in the USA, and you can call in the USA for free. If you don't have an Android phone it can wait until you go back to the states. PM me if you have trouble. You must have a gmail account and a standard US phone number for reference. I think you can use any number as they don't call it to check.

Thanks for the info.

Quote: Pacomartin

Google Voice gives you free testing and phone calls in USA and Canada from wifi. There is free wifi at Plaza casino and Krispy Kreme donuts.

The whole point of buying a SIM in Vegas is to have the phone available at all times, mostly for data and text, regardless of existing WiFi. It doesn't do to step out of my room when I'm working to see if someone emailed, texted, PMed, etc.

Quote:

You can call Mexico using Google Voice for 1 cent per minute for landlines, and 5 cents a minute for mobile phones.

Last trip I called Mexico exactly once. The one before that twice. It's not a priority.

Regular texting uses the cell network. Apps like Whatsapp and Telegram can use WiFi when available.

Quote: Nareed

The whole point of buying a SIM in Vegas is to have the phone available at all times, mostly for data and text, regardless of existing WiFi. It doesn't do to step out of my room when I'm working to see if someone emailed, texted, PMed, etc.

Scratch Wireless gives you texting for free on cellular, and voice and data free on Wi-Fi!
Data Passes
24hr / 50 MBs: $1.99
30day / 500 MBs: $14.99
30day / 1 GB: $24.99
Voice Passes
24hr / unlimited: $1.99
30day / 100 mins: $6.99
30day / unlimited: $14.99

Right now you have to buy a phone for $100 from them, but they keep telling the press their service will be an app by this fall. So check the website before your next trip.

I have bought a PIN on this service. If you buy a $10 pin then you can text domestically for 5 cents, text internationally for 20 cents per message, and use data for 10 cents per megabyte. If that is not enough for one week, then you may need the $25 plan
https://www.pagepluscellular.com/plans/10-standard-pin/

I know that people swap out the SIM card to take advantage of the teaser rates. The $40 you mentioned earlier is not really a teaser rate, but it does provide convenience. I don't think it is difficult to do, but my phone does not have a SIM card so I haven't done it myself. I don't know enough about networks in Mexico and SIM cards to know if there is a problem. Walmart is selling android phones for $20, and they can be activated as I said earlier got 2 monyh got $10 or $25 by supplying the ESN or IMEI number over the internet. These numbers are behind battery inside computer.

Quote: Pacomartin

I don't think it is difficult to do, but my phone does not have a SIM card so I haven't done it myself. I don't know enough about networks in Mexico and SIM cards to know if there is a problem.

There shouldn't be.

Last year we were issued android smart phones with a new carrier (the previous carrier did work in the US). I think I posted on it. They had problems because they were on the low-end of the mid-end. I swapped my SIM to another company-issued phone, then to an iphone 4 I got for free. It worked painlessly every time.

I expect by next year I'll trade the iphone for a newer (ie 2013ish) Android phone. It depends on what a certain relation does with her plan. I got the prehistoric (by now) iphone 4 from her, too.

It sounds like the plan you most want is the one offered by Scratch Wireless. You can activate it when you are in the states. Since texting is free (over cellular) and you don't consider Voice very important, you would just get a data pass.

Scratch Wireless
Texting is free on Wi-Fi and cellular, and voice and data are free on Wi-Fi!
Voice Passes
24hr / unlimited: $1.99
30day / 100 mins: $6.99
30day / unlimited: $14.99

Data Passes
24hr / 50 MBs: $1.99
30day / 500 MBs: $14.99
30day / 1 GB: $24.99

Scratch Wireless launched in October 2013 . They are essentially ignoring the businessman who assumes he will always have a budget for communications and data service. The main appeal is that even if you pay nothing, then you have a functional wifi phone, texting ability from cellular, and a phone number that doesn't change. You simply add the cellular ability on an as needed basis.

The big drawback has been that Scratch Wireless only works on the Sprint Network and with only one model phone. They just introduced their second model (a Chinese brand no one has ever heard of called " Coolpad Arise") which costs $99. But the CEO has stated repeatedly that he hopes to have his product as an Android App by the end of the year. It may not be a free app, however.

Nareed, how much data do you use over the course of your USA visit?

Quote: Pacomartin

"Texting is free on Wi-Fi and cellular, and voice and data are free on Wi-Fi!"

What these plans don't say is that everything is free on WiFi, provided you can connect to some kind of free WiFi. It's a bit like an airline offering complimentary air.

Quote:

Nareed, how much data do you use over the course of your USA visit?

Not much, but mainly because it's so inconvenient or expensive.

The WiFi at the Plaza does not require any kind of login. Whenever I went there, the tablet in my purse connected and did whatever it does. One time it downloaded Lollipop 5.1.1

At the hotel I paid for WiFi twice, and only because I had to pay some bills those days. Of course I took advantage of the connection in order to browse the web with the laptop.

With a working cell data connection, though, I might use more. Browsing the web at meals, perhaps looking up Google maps now and then, taking and sharing pics on Facebook. I suppose a 1 GB plan would be enough.

Quote: Nareed

What these plans don't say is that everything is free on WiFi, provided you can connect to some kind of free WiFi. It's a bit like an airline offering complimentary air.

I see all of these companies like Vonage, Magic Jack, Basic Talk selling voice over internet protocol systems for $5, $10, $15 a month, and I don't see why they don't just get Google Voice. Google Voice is free and has been for about 10 years (although Google has only owned the company for 6 years).

But it's like these guys that advertise free TV. I'm thinking antennas have been around for 70 years. But it seems that there is a whole generation of people who grew up with cable TV that seems unaware that TV can be received with an antenna.

Quote: Nareed

With a working cell data connection, though, I might use more. Browsing the web at meals, perhaps looking up Google maps now and then, taking and sharing pics on Facebook. I suppose a 1 GB plan would be enough.

I think what amazed me about Scratch Wireless is that they give you free cellular texting. I didn't get it because I heard that when you receive a text it's just a notification that someone texted you, you have to go to wifi to read the message (or buy the data pass for the day). But just the ability to send texts for free is a big deal.

Then I wondered why you can't just buy the right to send texts? Here is $10, so give me 100 texts. Or for that matter here is $25 give me 1 Gb of data. I am making up the prices, but it would be nice. I would even understand if there was a gradation in prices so that the first 100 texts were $15 , then $10, then $5. Data might be $25, then $20, then $10 thereafter.

But so far nobody is selling such a simplistic plan. I think that is the business model that Scratch talks about, but there must be a lot of fiscal or technical problems, because they are still tied to a single model phone after several years.

Quote: Pacomartin

But it's like these guys that advertise free TV. I'm thinking antennas have been around for 70 years. But it seems that there is a whole generation of people who grew up with cable TV that seems unaware that TV can be received with an antenna.

I'm sure I haven't depended on a TV aerial for decades. But the first few years at my current place I depended on a parabolic antenna for satellite TV. Many people still do. I wonder if hey even know an antenna is involved.

Do you recall A/B switches on cable?

As for sim cards, I'm looking very hard at a company named Ready Sim. Their 21-day plan fits in well wit my usual 18-day vacations.

Quote: Nareed

I wonder if hey even know an antenna is involved.

Possibly not. I tend to think of antenna as a functional definition, while many people get fixated on a particular physical appearance. To me an antenna could be long and slender, or circular, or a parabolic dish, or acoustically underwater a mile long link hydrophones (although the word array is used more often).

Quote: Nareed

Do you recall A/B switches on cable?

In Virginia they had more channels than could be permitted by the standards of the time, so there was an A/B switch for two different cables. I think many people would have an A/B switch to use their Aerial along with cable. But in the mid 1970's in USA the FCC passed a law that said that calbe companies must retransmit the local broadcast stations meaning an A/B switch was unecessary. They changed the law starting in Sep 1993 so that the cable company required permission to retransmit signals from broadcast (if so desired by the broadcast stion). The smaller more esoteric stations were free to demand rebroadcast, but they gave up the right to collect a fee.

As a result the only A/B switches that most people used were for video games. And since the mid 1990's, most TV's have more than one input, so the A/B switch was usually not used in favor of different inputs on the TV.