***Update*** Adding Canadian service to Verizon plan

[loggenrock]

So here's an update on how this is going! Two words - very well!
Global service started when supposed to - keeping data off roaming for now, as access to WiFi is good. Placing calls without issue. Plan allows for 250 min. So far so good! ST

Anyone have any experience with adding Verizon's global roaming for a month or two to your existing service? Which carrier does Verizon team up with? Will be in the Maritimes - looks like Virgin Mobile, Bell Mobility, or Telux have the best coverage there. Thanks for your input! ST

[ktmrfs]

CA Traveler wrote:

sdianel wrote:
I also added data to my Verizon Mi-Fi for my laptop. You buy it in packages. I think it was $25 for each 100MB. When you go over 100MB, they bill you another $25 for another 100MB.

Big bucks considering I pay $80 for 10GB for US data.

yup!!! Data in canada is expensive if you have a U.S. based carrier.

I just did the verizon voice/text plan for $10/month while we were in canada. prorated based on the actual time we had the plan. started it the day before we left, cancelled the day after we got back, prorated for the actual days used.

[CA_Traveler]

sdianel wrote:
I also added data to my Verizon Mi-Fi for my laptop. You buy it in packages. I think it was $25 for each 100MB. When you go over 100MB, they bill you another $25 for another 100MB.

Big bucks considering I pay $80 for 10GB for US data.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

I added Global Roaming on my cell phone which included Canada with no problems. We used it in Banff and Lake Louise area with no problems. When I returned to the US, Verion cancelled Global Roaming and prorated the last month.
I also added data to my Verizon Mi-Fi for my laptop. You buy it in packages. I think it was $25 for each 100MB. When you go over 100MB, they bill you another $25 for another 100MB.

[CA_Traveler]

Call Verizon before you enter Canada and add the phone for $15/month, otherwise the same plan. Turn off data on the phone. The only data we found was very expensive so we used free WiFi when available. Standard disclaimer: Do not use WiFi for financial accounts, etc.

[obgraham]

Verizon's Globality thing is very difficult for short trips. Just back from South America for a week, where I wanted to add Global. But my billing rollover date fell in that week. So I had to add all of the month before and all the month after the trip. Over $150 by the time they got through, despite most of an hour hassling the phone service guy..

I said no thanks and relied on local wi-fi instead, and left my phone in Airplane mode to avoid it trying to hose me.

As it turned out I was able to use Skype to call, though it was sometimes iffy.

[ktmrfs]

wxtoad wrote:
We were able to add Canada to our VZW MORE EVERY UNL TLK&TXT plan for the month we spent on Cape Breton. Had no hassles either adding it or stopping it when back in the US.

WxToad

same here when we went to alaska. However it is voice and text ONLY. Data plans or data useage is outrageously expensive. we just turned off mobile data while in canada. IIRC it was $10/month for the talk and text in canada.

[MrWizard]

Swapping SIMS is an AT&T, T-Mobile thing, not so easy on VZW

[n7bsn]

My old job required us to work on both sides. Several of my (former) co-workers bought "Canadian" SIM cards and would just swap SIMs

No I don't recall phone models or which company

[wxtoad]

We were able to add Canada to our VZW MORE EVERY UNL TLK&TXT plan for the month we spent on Cape Breton. Had no hassles either adding it or stopping it when back in the US.

WxToad

[accsys]

Maxi Signal wrote:
I have had North Americas choice plan for years. Great for voice . Data is a no go. I live on the border and go to Canada quite a bit.

I also used the North American plan on two previous visits to Canada but I don't believe it is available anymore. You may be grandfathered in on this plan since you have had it several years. We are getting ready to enter Canada for five weeks the end of June and the current options don't appear to be very good. You can check the Mexico and Canada Global Plan but it is nowhere near the old North American plan.

[Maxi_Signal]

loggenrock wrote:
Anyone have any experience with adding Verizon's global roaming for a month or two to your existing service? Which carrier does Verizon team up with? Will be in the Maritimes - looks like Virgin Mobile, Bell Mobility, or Telux have the best coverage there. Thanks for your input! ST

I have had North Americas choice plan for years. Great for voice . Data is a no go. I live on the border and go to Canada quite a bit.

[jrs1871]

I am not sure you can. We tried to add Canada to our Verizon plan for a trip a couple of years ago. When I had asked about it a month or so before we left, the staff at the Verizon store said no problem. When I tried to add it, just before we headed to Canada, they said no can do. So I don't know if I just got bad answers from the Verizon folks or if it is not available. We ended up buying a cheap prepaid phone so we could keep in contact with kids. And the per minute rate that the Canada plan charged was not cheap. Probably would have been just at cheap to use our Verizon phone and pay the roaming charges.