Using mobiles in the USA

[kprm77]

We're off to New York soon. I've heard it can cost a fortune to use your own mobiles over there (assuming they all work). I'm thinking of buying some cheap PAYG mobiles when we are over to use for emergencies. Would Radio Shack be a good place to look for cheap PAYG mobiles?

I've no idea on the cost of PAYG over in the States, so please let me know if buying mobiles is a non starter.

[durbster]

Do you means for calls, internet or both?

Assuming your phone is unlocked you can buy sim cards that'll work out there before you go, and prepay the credit on them (hopefully somebody can post the link because I can't find it). That seemed to be the easiest and cheapest option when I was looking last year.

If you just want the internet then you shouldn't struggle to find places with free wifi so there's no real need.

[kprm77]

durbster said:

Do you means for calls, internet or both?

Assuming your phone is unlocked you can buy sim cards that'll work out there before you go, and prepay the credit on them (hopefully somebody can post the link because I can't find it). That seemed to be the easiest and cheapest option when I was looking last year.

If you just want the internet then you shouldn't struggle to find places with free wifi so there's no real need.

Thanks for that - it's just calls we need the phones for.

[surveyor]

I bought a SIM from truphone.com before we went, which seems to have worked ok.

[LooneyTunes]

kprm77 said:

I'm thinking of buying some cheap PAYG mobiles when we are over to use for emergencies.

I never really understand this myself - my parents just did similar, spending £100+ on phones they don't expect to use... my suggestion, to just use your current phone if it's for emergencies, didn't seem to register. £100 buys a lot of "in country" roaming and/or international minutes...

If you're worried about the costs racking up if calling back home then you can always get a Skype or other VOIP account and head to WiFi in order to use over the internet (I run a "softphone" on my laptop, so most of the calls I make when overseas originate from a UK number, at regular UK rates). Cheap USB headset is a worthwhile, but not essential, investment though.

[Truckosaurus]

You can also buy a pre-paid bundle of calls/text/data from your UK provider. If you have a smartphone then Orange have an app that constantly updates on your usage so you don't go over, I suspect other networks have something similar.

[jmorgan]

We considered it for a trip last year but coverage was going to be very low so did not bother in the end. No help here really but we found out that whilst many UK phones should work if on the right bands, Verizon needs a Verizon supplied phone? So buying one of thier sims and popping it in a UK mobile might not be a good idea? Not sure we had that right but something to check.

[WhereamI]

If you are with O2 and have an iPhone download the tuGO app, it allows you to make calls and receive incoming calls by VOIP so if you are on WiFi the calls are free (or the same as they would cost in the UK).

[durbster]

LooneyTunes said:

I never really understand this myself - my parents just did similar, spending £100+ on phones they don't expect to use...

£100+! Surely you'd just get the cheapest phone you could find for that.

[kprm77]

durbster said:

£100+! Surely you'd just get the cheapest phone you could find for that.

The phones I was looking at were $14.99 from Radio Shack.

[Shay HTFC]

Just switch the sim card with a US one, no? Its what I always do abroad and its never been a hassle.

[durbster]

Shay HTFC said:

Just switch the sim card with a US one, no? Its what I always do abroad and its never been a hassle.

Aye, but you can only do it if your phone is unlocked

[LooneyTunes]

durbster said:

£100+! Surely you'd just get the cheapest phone you could find for that.

By the time you get phone, prepay for calls you'll probably not use, it does all start to add up - especially if you want to know the number before you go - but I accept they could probably have done it a little cheaper.

[surveyor]

surveyor said:

I bought a SIM from truphone.com before we went, which seems to have worked ok.

With these I'm paying about $20c a minute to call UK and about the same for calls to me from UK. I get a UK number, but can for extra bang have a US number too linked to the same SIM card.

[BertieWooster]

Last time I was in the US I bought a T-Mobile PAYG sim and used it in my UK (android) phone with no issues. I opted for a daily rate of around $3 for unlimited minutes, texts and high speed data. The unlimited data was ideal for me as I was able to use Google's satnav app.

I would look on some of the major providers websites (at&t, Verizon, T-Mobile) and see what PAYG offers they have. If you have an unlocked UK phone that is compatible with the US mobile network then you should be able to use a US sim card with no issues at all.

Bertie W

[F1SERB]

If you have a smart phone turn your roaming OFF
You will be charged for data the whole time you are there if you don't Smart phones automatically connect to the closest radio tower and a charge is levied each time it connects
Cost me over 1k for a week and thats after a 50% goodwill reduction from vodaphone

[steveo3002]

so if i take a unlocked phone whats the cheapest dregs sim i can buy that will make calls for 2 weeks ?

doesnt have to have data , just incase we break down or get bum raped etc

[Super Slo Mo]

Presumably you only want the phone in case of emergency?

Personally I wouldn't bother trying to find a sim/PAYG phone while you're there in that case. Compared to the cost of the trip, £50 or £100 in phone calls (as someone else said, that buys you quite a bit of call time) isn't a great deal. Chances are you're not going to use it anyway.

[BertieWooster]

steveo3002 said:

so if i take a unlocked phone whats the cheapest dregs sim i can buy that will make calls for 2 weeks ?

doesnt have to have data , just incase we break down or get bum raped etc

You should able to buy a sim card for about $1 but would need to spend around $10 on a top-up card. It would be worth having a quick look on the major carriers websites for current prices though.

Bertie W

[jmorgan]

Just to remind, we were looking at this option and I found out that Verizon network needs a Verizon phone. So slotting in a verizon sim into a UK phone would not have worked for us. Don't know if this is valid, might be duff info. Only Verizon though? Or am I talking cobblers?