Mobile usage in the U.S- Buy SIM card over there?

buel

Hi all,
Im flying to the U.S next weekend and i would like to know is the best option, regarding phones, to buy a SIM card over there? Is it ok to allow my UK phone to receive texts?

Thank you.

benjus

Receiving texts on your UK SIM card won't cost you anything, but any other kind of use will. If you have a smartphone you can make use of wifi where available, including using apps like MobileVoIP to make calls via the wifi connection.

Getting a SIM card is a good option if you're going to be around for a while and your phone is unlocked, although bear in mind that mobile charges in the US tend to be higher. Also check coverage, as GSM networks are not the most popular technology in the US. In order to make and receive calls you will need a triband or quadband phone; to use 3G data you will need to check that the frequencies used by your phone match those of the network.

Neil49

You don't say what kind of phone usage you expect to make over there. If you intend to make a lot of internal (ie US calls) then a local sim makes sense. Just remember that you will need to advise people back in the UK of your new (US) number or do you plan to keep switching sim cards back and forth. Also be aware that any voicemail messages left on your UK sim will incur a charge even if you don't pick them up as the message will have been sent out to the US and picked up when your UK sim is activated.

If you intend to reply to text messages from the UK then they will cost you money regardless of whether you have a US or a UK sim.

If you have a smartphone then you could use free wifi to receive and send emails at no cost. Whatever you do, don't enable data on your UK sim as it will cost you a fortune.

A further alternative is to use Skype (if your phone permits) via free wifi should you need to respond with a phone call to any text messages you receive.

buel

Thank you both.
I will only need to reply to texts and dont plan on making any calls.
I will be switching SIM cards.
I will certainly use the wifi when i can.
I will try to turn off the answerphone mechanism and try to disable data on my UK SIM (does this mean 'turning off' internet usage?)

buel

Hi there,
Please could anyone help me out?

NFH

There's a thread in the Mobiles forum in which the most recent posts include a lot of information about T-Mobile USA SIM cards.

inmypocketnottheirs

I use an unlocked iPhone 4 on a t mobile pre paid sim basis. I pay $2 a day for unlimited US calls, texts and 2g data. 2g is adequate for web browsing and Facebook etc.

You can buy an international calling card from CVS/Walgreens/Wal Mart that you can call from the mobile to make calls back to the UK for a few cents a minute.

tj9652

Has anybody out there used a company called TelAway from whom you can buy a sim for about £50 which will get you unlimited txts, unlimited minutes and unlimited data roaming for a set period (1-10 days for your £50). Apparently the sim will come with two new telephone numbers one for UK and one for the USA. Before you leave you set your mobile phone to redirect any incoming calls to the USA number. Any friends etc will continue to call your UK mobile number and be redirected to the number on the USA sim. The £50 sounds a lot but when you think about how much data roaming can cost if you do this in the USA perhaps it aint so bad. I will be driving quite a bit and will make use of Google maps etc.
Before I buy has anybody used this service or know of any similar cheaper

NiftyDigits

tj9652 wrote: »

Has anybody out there used a company called TelAway from whom you can buy a sim for about £50 which will get you unlimited txts, unlimited minutes and unlimited data roaming for a set period (1-10 days for your £50). Apparently the sim will come with two new telephone numbers one for UK and one for the USA. Before you leave you set your mobile phone to redirect any incoming calls to the USA number. Any friends etc will continue to call your UK mobile number and be redirected to the number on the USA sim. The £50 sounds a lot but when you think about how much data roaming can cost if you do this in the USA perhaps it aint so bad. I will be driving quite a bit and will make use of Google maps etc.
Before I buy has anybody used this service or know of any similar cheaper

Perhaps you can just use the '3' Feel At Home' service. Much better than forking out on a relatively unknown service in advance.

Smells like SPAM though....