Forum Discussion

RV2019's avatar
RV2019
Explorer
Mar 18, 2020

Prepaid Mobile Phone and Service in Canada

Hello,

I will be staying in Wheatley, ON this year.

Does anybody know of a prepaid/temporary mobile phone & plan which will work there without major hassle around it?

I would prefer to get the phone while still in the US so that it can be set up (online is probably required).

I might not have internet access when entering Canada, and by the time I find a place with Wifi, I could just drive to my destination, and then I would not need a phone.

I don't need a mobile phone there at all, I have folks coming in from overseas, they inquired about it so they can call us. For them it is a 1 hour drive from the airport, so they do not need one. It is just their preference.

As said, if there is a little hassle option I would go for it, otherwise I will be fine.

Thank you.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator
    Mar 23, 2020
    RV2019, so you don't have a US cell phone?
    Why else would you want a Canadian prepaid cellphone?
    If you're not going to use your current cell in Canada (you're one of the 16 people left in first world countries that don't use cell phones apparently) why get a prepaid one? Just suck up the roaming charges for that one "important" call.
    Or if you might actually use the phone, get international service added for a few bucks a month.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator
    Mar 23, 2020
    RV2019 wrote:
    Hello,

    I have folks coming in from overseas,


    Yeah definitely not.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator
    Mar 23, 2020
    RV2019 wrote:
    Hello,

    I will be staying in Wheatley, ON this year.



    Yeah, probably not.
  • travisc's avatar
    travisc
    Explorer
    Mar 19, 2020
    Att prepaid has Mexico and Canada coverage we did a plan through Walmart with z25 gigs of data and hot spot for cheap
  • almcc's avatar
    almcc
    Explorer
    Mar 18, 2020
    We have an AT&T sim card in our cell phone, we use it in the US and in Canada it pairs with Rogers. We use it back in Canada. It's a monthly pay as you go system, you can move the data up or down as your needs change. I use the phone as a wifi hotspot as well. You can get the SIM card at WalMart then sign on to the AT&T website.
  • SideHillSoup's avatar
    SideHillSoup
    Explorer
    Mar 18, 2020
    There is free wifi all over Canada, it is not hard to find. Most libraries, museums, visitor Centers have free hot spots, and a lot of other places as well.
    For example, there is a small town of 2000 people in the mountains that we do a lot of camping near and the little sidewalk coffee shops, the local grocery store, their museum and library to name a few all have free wifi.
    Let’s hope the border is opened up again for visitors by this summer.
  • swphotobug's avatar
    swphotobug
    Explorer
    Mar 18, 2020
    Cricket includes Canada and Mexico as standard coverage. It is an ATT MVNO that has contracts with the big Canadian telcos.
  • RV2019's avatar
    RV2019
    Explorer
    Mar 18, 2020
    This summer? You are way ahead. :-)

    Thank you, I will check it out. Hopefully I can find the phone models which work and then maybe get a used one.

    I told the folks coming over to check for possible international coverage on their phone (most do as phone service is very advanced over there). It would be cheaper and better to pay additional for that, rather than buying something here and then wasting it.

    Again, thank you.
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Mar 18, 2020
    “I have folks coming in from overseas,..”

    Are you sure?
  • swphotobug's avatar
    swphotobug
    Explorer
    Mar 18, 2020
    Cricket, We used it this summer for 3-4 months both as our phone and hot spot. No problem whatsoever. They calin you need to use 50% of your usage in US but we sure didn't and others haven't and there have ben no repercussions.

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