Using mobile in USA

Frozen_up_north

Heng_Leng wrote: »

Why not just use wi-fi for calls and messages?
There is free wi-fi practically everywhere in Orlando.

Except Plusnet will rip them off big style for receiving or making calls.
Costs are sky high at £8/MB for data, 70p/min to receive calls and £1.30/min to make both UK and USA calls.

I would take the safe option of using Three PAYG SIMs, no charge to receive calls, 3p per min to call UK or USA numbers.

mrcamp

As already mentioned, 3 payg sims are certainly a good option. OTOH, due to the availability of free WiFi all over the place, calling and texting via an app such as whatsapp is also another option.

System

Frozen_up_north wrote: »

Except Plusnet will rip them off big style for receiving or making calls.
Costs are sky high at £8/MB for data, 70p/min to receive calls and £1.30/min to make both UK and USA calls.

I would take the safe option of using Three PAYG SIMs, no charge to receive calls, 3p per min to call UK or USA numbers.

I'm not suggesting they use Plusnet for anything, so unsure why their rates are relevant. Leave the phone on airplane mode with the wifi on during the holiday.

boatman

With 3, don't you have to buy a bundle to use payg abroad, or has it now changed? The other option is to buy a 3 data sim and stick some credit on it.
I guess the 321 rates will work in EU without a bundle, but not the rest of the world, is this right?

ahxcjb

SuperAllyB wrote: »

Our family have just booked a fortnight's holiday in Orlando.

We are with PlusNet mobile and there rates for US don't seem very competitive.
One daughter is a typical modern teenager who gets anxiety issues if without 3g signal, or phone charge drops below 50%.

All our phones are SIM free - 2xMotoG5, iPhone 5S and iPhone7.

Thinking of getting PAYG Feel at Home sims from 3, but wondered if we would be better getting a SIM out there - just looking for advice on where to start looking.

Overlooking your decision to holiday in Florida (of all the beautiful places to visit in the US, you chose Orlando...yuk!) I can probably help you out with prepaid options here in the US.

Firstly, junk Plusnet. They are garbage. Certainly don't use them abroad. 3 UK offer the most competitive international roaming options, but personally, I would just purchase a local SIM when here.

I've listed some options below.

You can only use ATT or T-Mobile as the other providers (Sprint [useless] or Verizon require you to have a device registered against their database)

1. ATT GoPhone (soon to be ATT Prepaid) - https://www.att.com/gophone/plans.html

$35 gets you 1GB of data;
$45 gets you 6GB of data;
$65 gets you 'unlimited' data but with a 3Mbps cap.

Personally, I think the $45 plan offers the best value, especially as you can purchase another 3 GB for $20.

2. T-Mobile Prepaid - https://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans

$45 gets you 4GB of data;
$55 get you 6GB of data;
$75 gets you unlimited data.

Please NB, the $45 & $55 T-Mobile plans don't count any music streaming usage against your data bucket.

You can walk into any ATT or T-Mobile store and take out these 30 day plans.

You could also consider Cricket Wireless (owned by ATT), but you would need to make sure you're near a Cricket Wireless store (or Gamestop, which stocks the SIMs) to make this worth your while. Speeds are capped at 8Mbps, which makes it a bit of a non starter as far as I'm concerned.

Also note, T-Mobile uses LTE Bands 2, 4 (mid band) and 12 (low band). Your iPhone 7 supports these, but the 5S only supports 2 & 4 meaning your indoor coverage may suffer somewhat. ATT uses LTE bands 2,4,5 and 17. The 5S supports all of those. I couldn't find specs for the G5 European model, but I doubt it will support band 12 or 17. Just something to bear in mind.

Enjoy the humidity and 35c temperatures in Florida.

System

ahxcjb wrote: »

Overlooking your decision to holiday in Florida (of all the beautiful places to visit in the US, you chose Orlando...yuk!) I can probably help you out with prepaid options here in the US.

Enjoy the humidity and 35c temperatures in Florida.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Orlando.
However, I wouldn't go just now personally

ahxcjb

There is everything wrong with Orlando. Ever been outside the Disney resort?

Only the British are keen to visit the complete !!!! hole that is Orlando. They think Disneyworld is representative of the US. As a dual citizen of both countries, it pains me to see my fellow countrymen acting so naively.

rhysadams

I use Three in the States, its brilliant. Get the bolt on and you can use the data in your iPad or iPhone.

SuperAllyB

ahxcjb wrote: »

There is everything wrong with Orlando. Ever been outside the Disney resort?

Only the British are keen to visit the complete !!!! hole that is Orlando. They think Disneyworld is representative of the US. As a dual citizen of both countries, it pains me to see my fellow countrymen acting so naively.

You may well be right and I would love to be in a position to see more of it in the future. My wife and I feel that our family are at the right age to enjoy (quite possibly once in a lifetime) the Disney experience.

System

ahxcjb wrote: »

There is everything wrong with Orlando. Ever been outside the Disney resort?

Only the British are keen to visit the complete !!!! hole that is Orlando. They think Disneyworld is representative of the US. As a dual citizen of both countries, it pains me to see my fellow countrymen acting so naively.

I haven't been to Disney since I was 13!
The US is full of poverty, guns and no universal healthcare.

That said, when I go to Florida, I switch off my brain and enjoy relaxing, eating and swimming.

Smokey bones, Golden Corral and Panera bread are all good.
If you need to food shop, Publix or Target are ok.