Taking my Mobile to Canada

rozeepozee

I am planning a holiday in Canada and have unlocked my phone in anticipation of buying a payg sim over there. I probably favour texts to calling. Is this the cheapest way to stay in contact with home? Can anyone recommend a provider? Cheers :beer:

matrix999

Hello Rozeepozee,

Yes, that generally is the cheapest way to make calls back to the UK. It may also be an idea to contact your network customer services to see if they can offer any discounts or offers whilst using your phone abroad.

They will also be able to advise on the networks abroad, which network are you with in the UK?

pin

Staying in contact with home, cheapest way would be to get a calling card over there and using a payphone. Where are you going in Canada? You should be aware that GSM coverage will be limited to the main urban areas.

In terms of networks have a look here:
http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_ca.shtml

Also one other thing is to check if you phone is tri-band.

Last question, what network are you on?

andy88_2

2 networks = Rogers and Fido ... do a forum search here for previous posts on them

santana-mx3

I usually take my Nokia 6310i with me (tri-band on Orange). In Toronto, it automatically found Microcell and Rogers depending on where I was. Approaching Niagara Falls, it switched to a US network and I got a message welcoming me to the USA!

For communicating with the UK, I only used my mobile for texting (in and out). I diverted all calls to answerphone first having left an outgoing message that I am not available (and I think it was possible to set this up not to take messages). Incoming calls using a UK SIM are ridiculously expensive so it's best to stick to texting. You still have the option to dial out in an emergency. For normal phoning to the UK, I used locally-sourced calling cards which cost $10 and gave an incredible amount of talk time. If someone with you is a senior, you may get a discount on the card (my father in law does).

I did on one occasion buy a local PAYG mobile there but it was expensive to buy and of course you have the North American system of being charged to receive calls or receive texts so you can very easily run out of credit without even making a call or sending a text. Also, if you don't use it for a few months, you get cancelled from the network (and my phone had to be dismantled to get at the SIM). That's why I went back to the UK phone for texts only and calling cards from landlines for dialling out.

rozeepozee

Thanks all! I am on BT Mobile. I don't know if my phone is tri-band. It's an old-ish one, Nokia 3210e

pin

rozeepozee wrote:

Thanks all! I am on BT Mobile. I don't know if my phone is tri-band. It's an old-ish one, Nokia 3210e

I think the 3210e (suggesting its an old Orange phone?) is dual band to the 900 and 1800 range. That would mean you wouldn't be able to use it in Canada.

santana-mx3

pin wrote:

I think the 3210e (suggesting its an old Orange phone?) is dual band to the 900 and 1800 range. That would mean you wouldn't be able to use it in Canada.

That's right. As pin says it's dual band 900/1800 Mhz and you need 1900 Mhz for North America. Sorry.