Taking phone to US

Squingo

Hi all,

I plan to take my andriod phone to the US soon and use as a sat-nav then in the villa use the wireless for skype etc.
Am I right in assuming that on getting off the plane I turn it on I will be charged to connect to a suitable local network ( I am on 3 here) or do the charges only start if I make or recieve a call.
I have a satnav programme that is totally on the phone and doesn't require network updating so will be keeping it in aeroplane mode.
I plan to , on the first opportunity change to a US paygo sim with some data allowance so if anyone can suggest where I should look
You thoughts would be appreciated.


Ian

grumbler

Squingo wrote: »

Am I right in assuming that on getting off the plane I turn it on I will be charged to connect to a suitable local network ( I am on 3 here)

Yes if the roaming is enabled in your account and if data roaming is not switched off in your handset.

or do the charges only start if I make or recieve a call.

Yes if the data roaming is switched off.

I have a satnav programme that is totally on the phone and doesn't require network updating so will be keeping it in aeroplane mode.
I plan to , on the first opportunity change to a US paygo sim with some data allowance so if anyone can suggest where I should look
You thoughts would be appreciated.

Data roaming is definitely off in the aeroplane mode. Re a local sim, I don't have any experience but, supermarkets were mentioned many times here.

NFH

Squingo wrote: »

I plan to , on the first opportunity change to a US paygo sim with some data allowance so if anyone can suggest where I should look

T-Mobile USA are selling SIM cards for $2 at http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/T-Mobile-Prepaid-SIM-Activation-Kit and they come with $3.34 of credit. You'll need to pay $2 per day to use it, giving you outgoing/incoming calls and 2G data. For $3 you get 4G data but it's unlikely that your phone supports 4G, or even the US flavour of 3G.

toddy89

Squingo wrote: »

....I have a satnav programme that is totally on the phone and doesn't require network updating so will be keeping it in aeroplane mode.
...

Forgive me if I am totally wrong, but would your SatNav program not require connection to the network in order to establish your whereabouts and distance to location etc? Or is more of a "maps" utility and will give you road guidance as you request it?

grumbler

toddy89 wrote: »

Forgive me if I am totally wrong, but would your SatNav program not require connection to the network in order to establish your whereabouts and distance to location etc? Or is more of a "maps" utility and will give you road guidance as you request it?

You are wrong.
All satnavs use satellite (GPS) signal for establishing whereabouts.
So does Google Navigation, but it needs mobile data connection as well to load maps and uses it to establish your whereabouts roughly only if it loses GPS sighal.

toddy89

grumbler wrote: »

You are wrong.
All satnavs use satellite (GPS) signal for establishing whereabouts.
So does Google Navigation, but it needs mobile data connection as well to load maps and uses it to establish your whereabouts roughly only if it loses GPS sighal.

I stand corrected! Completley overlooked the fact most smart phones now have GPS built in.

terrierlady

we brought sims from walmart super market.

grumbler

terrierlady wrote: »

we brought sims from walmart super market.

The word pedants’ top 10

Richard_T_

Before you go research what is available localy, get a cheap UK pay as you go sim and put a small amount of credit on that using a credit card over the phone ( this way you can top up abroad if needed with the card ) take out your contract sim, and put the payg sim in, when you arrive buy a local sim.
if your confident that you can use a local sim, then thats the best option, put your three sim into an old dumb phone and keep it for emergecy contacts if required.
your phone needs to be unlocked for use on any network to do this, you may also want to look into changing or looking at the baseband that your phone opperates on to one compatable with where you are going - if your phone doesnt do this automaticaly.

NFH

Richard_T_ wrote: »

Before you go research what is available localy, get a cheap UK pay as you go sim and put a small amount of credit on that using a credit card over the phone ( this way you can top up abroad if needed with the card ) take out your contract sim, and put the payg sim in

That's the worst possible advice. Switching to a non-US PAYG SIM is the worst of both worlds; it means a different phone number from usual and paying roaming charges. Stupid idea.