# Using cell phones in Mexico



## ride2slide (Nov 1, 2013)

We have AT&T. Last time we went to the Riviera Maya, we had the MX talk, text and data plan added to our 3 cell phones. We weren't able to use it much and it was $150 per phone! What does everyone else do? I was told to get a Go Phone and buy the International minutes plan. So, I went to AT&T to get one and they said they had never heard of doing that! Help! We need to be able to text each other while there, plus get daily calls from the ranch.

Mindy


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## am1 (Nov 1, 2013)

I switch my plan to a mexican ATT plan and it works great.  Sometimes I cannot call 1-800 numbers but have skype for that.  I also do the same for Canada.  I am hoping it gets offered elsewhere.  In Panama it is 10 cents a minute to call the US on a prepaid local phone or $2 a minute on ATT.


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## siesta (Nov 1, 2013)

You have a few options. First, is to buy a calling card once there. Second, if you have a smartphone, connect to wifi and make and receive free wifi calls, just remember to turn off your data connection so you dont incur any fees, i.e. roaming. And third, is if you have tmobile, there is no more roaming charges when you travel, so you can freely use your phone abroad.


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## gnorth16 (Nov 2, 2013)

If the phone is not locked to a carrier, buy a SIM card when you get down there and pop it in.  If it is still locked to a carrier like AT&T or Bell, call them and pay to get it unlocked or get it done by a third party via eBay, craigslist or local phone shop.  This way you have all your contacts in your current phone and the MX SIM card caries a local MX phone number, so no roaming charges. 

*BTW, you can purchase a SIM card prepaid with minutes, texts and a specified amount of GB's for data.*


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## LisaRex (Nov 2, 2013)

Have each family member download the Viber or Skype app.  Turn your phones to airplane mode, and text each other using Wifi that's routinely available in tourist areas.


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## Bucky (Nov 2, 2013)

gnorth16 said:


> If the phone is not locked to a carrier, buy a SIM card when you get down there and pop it in.  If it is still locked to a carrier like AT&T or Bell, call them and pay to get it unlocked or get it done by a third party via eBay, craigslist or local phone shop.  This way you have all your contacts in your current phone and the MX SIM card caries a local MX phone number, so no roaming charges.
> 
> *BTW, you can purchase a SIM card prepaid with minutes, texts and a specified amount of GB's for data.*



If you've completed your contract period with ATT they will unlock it for free. They have a form on their website that you fill out and submit electronically and it usually only takes 24-48hrs to have it unlocked. Not every phone on your account has to be out of contract, only the ones you want unlocked.

As LisaRex stated, Viber is a great choice if you're not out of contract and it's a free app. Just install it on each phone you want to call or text to and you're in business.


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## ride2slide (Nov 2, 2013)

I have 2 iphones that are out of contract and have transitioned to ipods in the trucks. We also have a back up go phone and a old Razor or two. Someone suggested to me to get Verizon pay as you go and that way we would have a better chance of having good service having a phone from each carrier with us. We are staying at the RMMP. Last time we were there, their wifi signal was pretty non existant unless you were in the main lobby or near the internet cafe.


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## Passepartout (Nov 2, 2013)

Check with your friendly T-Mobile retailer. They have Pay-as-you-go phones and plans and 70+ country International calling/text/data included as I read their website.

Or, as stated earlier, carry your unlocked GSM phones and get a Mexican SIM (available at any phone kiosk) once you are there and you're good to go.

Or sign up for AT&T's international plan and pay their price.

Jim


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## Catira (Nov 2, 2013)

You have been given some great advice. Call your phone carrier and verify if they will unlock phone for you. We have Sprint, we traveled to the riviera maya this past August. NOT all of our phones were out of contract but we were still able to have them unlocked. All we did was call Sprint and it was done over the phone. Then as soon as we arrived in Mexico, we bought a SIM card with Movistar. Paid approximately $25 for text, web, and unlimited calls to each other since we had 3 movistars phone numbers.


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## aliikai2 (Nov 2, 2013)

*almost*

On their $50 a month plan You can use unlimited texts, up to .5 gigs of data and calls cost 20 cents per minute.
fwiw,
Greg




siesta said:


> if you have tmobile, there is no more roaming charges when you travel, so you can freely use your phone abroad.


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## siesta (Nov 2, 2013)

aliikai2 said:


> On their $50 a month plan You can use unlimited texts, up to .5 gigs of data and calls cost 20 cents per minute.
> fwiw,
> Greg


greg, i just read the site, it says unlimited international data and texting, where are u gettign .5 gigs from?


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## bobpark56 (Nov 2, 2013)

*Another Option*



siesta said:


> You have a few options. First, is to buy a calling card once there. Second, if you have a smartphone, connect to wifi and make and receive free wifi calls, just remember to turn off your data connection so you dont incur any fees, i.e. roaming. And third, is if you have tmobile, there is no more roaming charges when you travel, so you can freely use your phone abroad.



For another option, you might want to take a look at magicjack.

  --bp


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## siesta (Nov 2, 2013)

bobpark56 said:


> For another option, you might want to take a look at magicjack.
> 
> --bp


isnt magicjack just from landlines? And dont you have to have ur computer running? Whats nice about wifi calling is using ur wifi connected cell phone on the go for free calls to US and receiving calls for free. Thanks in advance.


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## Rent_Share (Nov 2, 2013)

Assuming your an ATT Customer

Do you still have your old Phone(s) ?

I can't imagine needing 3 lines on vacation 

There is a concept called MVNO They resell wireless on the major carriers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators

Pick one that allows you to BYOD - Bring your own Device and Uses ATT Hardware

Open a Prepaid Account with an ATT Compatible operator , using one of you "retired" cell phones - Forward the three lines to your 1 "Prepaid Cell Phone" 

Use a laptop or resort business center for email (YOU ARE ON VACATION) - You can do data on some of the plans if you have a retired smartphone

I will just pick the last one, [there are cheaper plans] (The one I am using you could sign up for full "3G" service for as little as a month 

http://www.zero11wireless.com/English/index.php

Monthly Fee $0 per month (No monthly fees)Calling Rates15¢ per minute for domestic calls or for international calls to selected free destinations.Text Messaging Rates 10¢ per incoming and outgoing domestic and international text messages.Initial Call Balance $15Recharges and ValidityRecharges of $5, $10, $20, $30, $50, and $100 available. 

Recharges valid for 60 days. Unused call balance will carryover with a subsequent recharge.


Charge it with $ 30 if you talk over 200 minutes recharge it from the internet


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## ride2slide (Nov 4, 2013)

Thanks for all the replys. I have contacted AT&T to have the 3 old iphones unlocked so I can load local sim card into them after we land in Cancun. I had 50  International text messages @ $10 per phone added to exsisting lines.

I plan to use the resort wifi with the ipad to check emails, use Facebook and surf internet.

Mindy


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## LisaH (Nov 4, 2013)

brushycreekranch said:


> I plan to use the resort wifi with the ipad to check emails, use Facebook and surf internet.
> 
> Mindy



JFYI, if you are staying at Mayan Palace/Grand Mayan, the resort wifi is NOT free and slow from what I hear...


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## VacationForever (Nov 4, 2013)

I feel a little stupid... I am on Verizon and the last time I was in Mexico, I had international roaming (or whatever it is called) turned on.  I could receive phone calls from US but had a hard time calling back to the US or to those in our party who had the same feature turned on.  So... what is the prefix number to dial back to the US or to one another?  Thank you very much!!!!


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## LisaRex (Nov 4, 2013)

sptung said:


> I feel a little stupid... I am on Verizon and the last time I was in Mexico, I had international roaming (or whatever it is called) turned on.  I could receive phone calls from US but had a hard time calling back to the US or to those in our party who had the same feature turned on.  So... what is the prefix number to dial back to the US or to one another?  Thank you very much!!!!



When you call international, the US' prefix is 1.  Thank Alexander Graham Bell, I guess.


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## Nickfromct (Nov 4, 2013)

siesta said:


> isnt magicjack just from landlines? And dont you have to have ur computer running? Whats nice about wifi calling is using ur wifi connected cell phone on the go for free calls to US and receiving calls for free. Thanks in advance.



There's a magic jack app for smart phones, which enables free calls to the US via wifi.


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## VacationForever (Nov 4, 2013)

LisaRex said:


> When you call international, the US' prefix is 1.  Thank Alexander Graham Bell, I guess.



I know that... but when we call out from US, we call 011 or something first.  From Mexico, what is the prefix to call before calling US (country code+area code+number)?


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## LisaRex (Nov 4, 2013)

sptung said:


> I know that... but when we call out from US, we call 011 or something first.  From Mexico, what is the prefix to call before calling US (country code+area code+number)?



Dial 00 to indicate an international call, then dial 1 (US country code), then the area code and phone number.


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## SMHarman (Nov 4, 2013)

sptung said:


> I know that... but when we call out from US, we call 011 or something first.  From Mexico, what is the prefix to call before calling US (country code+area code+number)?



Program your phone with a +1 then the 10 digits eg +1-555-867-5309
Your phone will know how to Dial that from anywhere in the world. 

If you have a smartphone you can make the changes on your pc and watch them sync back to the phone. 

Probably even find a tool that fixes this for you. 

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk


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## VacationForever (Nov 4, 2013)

Thank you to both of you.


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## easyrider (Nov 4, 2013)

I use an ATT go phone plan with an older I phone. When you do this the data is disabled unless your in a hot spot. To call any one anywhere from Mexico it cost 25 cents a minute. 

Then I use free wifi on the iphone to use Skype. Skype to Skype is free. I think Skype to landlines cost about 3 cents a minute. Apples facetime is free.

We purchase the $100 pre-paid plan and use this phone in Mexico and Canada. Purchasing the larger plan allows you to keep the same number year to year.


Bill


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## Passepartout (Nov 4, 2013)

easyrider said:


> I use an ATT go phone plan with an older I phone. When you do this the data is disabled unless your in a hot spot. To call any one anywhere from Mexico it cost 25 cents a minute.



Bill is that a Mexican AT&T go-phone plan (SIM) or purchased here?- Jim


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## aliikai2 (Nov 7, 2013)

siesta said:


> greg, i just read the site, it says unlimited international data and texting, where are u gettign .5 gigs from?



That unlimited is not quite true, you get .5 gig of high speed then you drop to 2g.
as per their site




    Unlimited talk, text and web

    Up to 500MB of high-speed data on our network.
    Speeds slowed after 500MB.

    International roaming


No overages. You will never have overage charges on our network. If you exceed your allotment of up to *500MB of high-speed data*, your data speed will simply be slowed until your next billing cycle.
20

View 20 web pages a day. Perfect for regularly browsing your favorite sites.

100 emails a day. Great if you're a regular emailer and don't need to attach large videos, large photos or documents.


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## siesta (Nov 8, 2013)

aliikai2 said:


> That unlimited is not quite true, you get .5 gig of high speed then you drop to 2g.
> as per their site
> 
> 
> ...


Greg, thanks for clarification. I checked, and am grandfathered in at 5GB high speed data before my speed is capped. I doubt I come anywhere near that amount


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