Snowbird cell phone plans?
I'm sure many of you have come across "what to do with regard to using a cell phone" while on the trip from Canada to the U.S., and I'd like to get some information from those of you 'in the know' on ...
Forum Discussion
Best option will depend on how long you'll be in the US and what kind of service you use.
We probably make about half a dozen short trips to the US a year including maybe 4 of 1 or 2 weeks.
We've had Tradfone since around 07 and it works very well as just a phone. We put about $100 on it every year and don't worry about the minutes. For the past year, we've wanted to have data as well so also used an unlocked phone with a RoamMobility or T-Mobile SIM. Both on a 'pay per day' basis. RoamMobility costs a bit more (about $4/day) but includes calls / texts back to Canada and unlimited voice / text and nearly unlimited data. T-Mobile is cheaper $2/day or $3/day (depends on data speed) and has unlimited voice / text / data but does not include calls to Canada which I believe are charged at $0.49/minute. RoamMobility is convenient for Canadians since you can get the SIM card in Canada (although it won't work until you get to the US) and you add airtime in CND$. You can only get the T-Mobile SIM in the US. Neither offers roaming in Canada so once you cross the border, you lose cell service. One thing to keep in mind with RoamMobility is that for data, it uses it's own APN (needs to be setup on your phone), by default, because they use the T-Mobile network, most phones will automatically detect it as a T-Mobile SIM but data will not work and you have to set it up manually (I think it's just changing the APN name to 'roam' - not hard but you have to do it. Another big advantage for RoamMobility vs T-Mobile (this might vary by location) is that with RoamMobility, you can tether to the phone for internet access from a laptop - at least around Orlando, FL and Fort Myers, FL, T-Mobile disables tethering. (Tethering is basically sharing the internet connection of the phone as a wifi network that you can access from other devices (iPad, notebook, etc).
If you are in the US for more than a few weeks, the 'Pay-by-day' probably isn't worth it so you'll probably want to look at monthly plans.
We probably make about half a dozen short trips to the US a year including maybe 4 of 1 or 2 weeks.
We've had Tradfone since around 07 and it works very well as just a phone. We put about $100 on it every year and don't worry about the minutes. For the past year, we've wanted to have data as well so also used an unlocked phone with a RoamMobility or T-Mobile SIM. Both on a 'pay per day' basis. RoamMobility costs a bit more (about $4/day) but includes calls / texts back to Canada and unlimited voice / text and nearly unlimited data. T-Mobile is cheaper $2/day or $3/day (depends on data speed) and has unlimited voice / text / data but does not include calls to Canada which I believe are charged at $0.49/minute. RoamMobility is convenient for Canadians since you can get the SIM card in Canada (although it won't work until you get to the US) and you add airtime in CND$. You can only get the T-Mobile SIM in the US. Neither offers roaming in Canada so once you cross the border, you lose cell service. One thing to keep in mind with RoamMobility is that for data, it uses it's own APN (needs to be setup on your phone), by default, because they use the T-Mobile network, most phones will automatically detect it as a T-Mobile SIM but data will not work and you have to set it up manually (I think it's just changing the APN name to 'roam' - not hard but you have to do it. Another big advantage for RoamMobility vs T-Mobile (this might vary by location) is that with RoamMobility, you can tether to the phone for internet access from a laptop - at least around Orlando, FL and Fort Myers, FL, T-Mobile disables tethering. (Tethering is basically sharing the internet connection of the phone as a wifi network that you can access from other devices (iPad, notebook, etc).
If you are in the US for more than a few weeks, the 'Pay-by-day' probably isn't worth it so you'll probably want to look at monthly plans.
