phone/text/web in cabo: cheap

[rynker]

We'll be in Cabo for three weeks over Christmas holiday. Our kids text, parents talk on the phone and I want to check our e-mail daily. We need a phone for emergency only calls in, or to talk once a week to our parents....we'd like to text the kids a couple times a week, and I'd like to check our e-mail daily. We have a cheap pay as you go cell phone which won't convert to anything. I've checked into rentals in Cabo but it comes out to 85.00 a week! We're trying not to take the computer. Any suggestions?

 

[EJC]

An AT & T Go Phone (a prepaid cell phone plan) will work in Mexico. Right now on their site, you can buy a refurbished Go Phone for $13.99. You'd want their 10-cents a minute plan. While in Mexico, it will cost you 25-cents a minute to make calls to and receive calls from the USA. Since you would have a USA phone number, people in the USA can call your Go Phone number and only pay whatever they would if you were home--BUT you would pay 25-cents a minute to receive the call. While in Mexico, it will cost you 25-cents to send a text message and 20-cents to receive one. An instant message is 50-cents to send/receive. DATA WOULD BE VERY EXPENSIVE..... $.0195/KB. IT WOULD BE PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE TO USE FOR EMAIL, ETC. So...for calling and texting, the Go Phone is not a bad deal. Perhaps you could use an internet cafe to check your email.

 

[easyrider]

Get a skype phone like this one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NETGEAR-SKY...646?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a6b43e83e

Then find a hotspot like the loby of the resort or the coffee stand in the marina and call for free or for very little. If the person you are calling has skype then its a free call, skype to skype. If you call a landline it cost 2 cents a minute.

Many resorts have a computer for guests to use for a fee and there is a computer coffee shop next to the Catholic church that charges for cpu use.

 

[oldbuyer]

We too use an At&T go phone in Cabo for calling to/from the US for short calls. A $25 airtime card purchase is good for 90 days so you can purchase that refurbished F160 for 13.99 a month before you go. You can recharge it online if you need to. All calls go through AT&T/telcel and run .25/min as previously stated. Calls to AT&T customer service (normally free from the US) are also charged a fee that appears to be .15/min.
We also use either the resort free wifi or a hotspot on the Marina (Starbucks is good) for email as the data plans at Telcel or At&T are very expensive.
Several folks have reported that Majic Jack will work but I can confirm Google voice and G chat do not work in Cabo.
IF you plan on making local calls and your Spanish is pretty good you can take your unlocked sim carded phone into Telcel which is across the street from City Club. For about 150 pesos you can get a telcel sim and 50 pesos of talk time. You can then have them register up to 3 local phone numbers in the Amigo plan which gives you free calls to those 3 amigos as long as they are 3 min or less. This process can take 1 or 2 trips to telcel and requires a copy of your passport.
Caution: the F160 phone from AT&T can not be unlocked (we tried) but the non at&T brand phones from Go can be unlocked after about 60 days of service. If you wish to try the Telcel option it's best to buy a used unlocked phone that takes sim cards on Ebay etc.
If this is a one time visit keep it simple and use the go phone and free or inexpensive wifi options and don't do any online banking!

 

[PamMo]

Skype and using the free WiFi available in the bars/restaurants around Cabo works great, if you don't need 24/7 access. Verizon has a USA/Mexico plan for phone calls that we use, but stick with WiFi for data.

 

[Abomb36]

Best Cabo Cell Phone Option For T-mobile / At&t

This site has given me a ton of advice in the past so I figured i'd give back.

I can assure you this works. The AT&T Pay as you go plan just recently launced the "international roaming" feature for pre paid customers. 10 cents a minute domestically, and .25 cents a minute while roaming in Mexico.

AT&T and T-Mobile both use SIM cards for service. Like I said, If you have a quad band phone (AT&T and T-mobile both use bands 850/900/1800/1900Mhz), then you can place an AT&T sim card in your TMOBILE phone. But only if the phone is unlocked. Ask your carrier about unlocking your device for world travel. They can guide you through the process. I have a Google Nexus S which comes unlocked right out of the box.

You can buy a sim card through AT&T if you'd like but I got mine on ebay for a little under 4 dollars. The store will sell them to you for 25$.

The following link lists all the details of the service, scroll down to "international roaming" for details.
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-pho...k=1-005ZH4-0-2

I purchased the ".10 cents a minute" plan. (No annual contract, no activation fees)
However roaming in mexico will be .25 cents a minute. ($25 = 100 minutes roaming Mexico)

I will be at Casa Dorada this Friday through the 28th using this sim card.

This is a big benefit for T-mobile customers as service in mexico is something like a 1.79 per minute for tmobile customers as opposed to At&t @ .25 cents a minute. I have kids and family I need to be in contact with for the 8 days we’ll be gone.

.25 as opposed to 1.79 is a no brainer.

We'll be in Cabo for three weeks over Christmas holiday. Our kids text, parents talk on the phone and I want to check our e-mail daily. We need a phone for emergency only calls in, or to talk once a week to our parents....we'd like to text the kids a couple times a week, and I'd like to check our e-mail daily. We have a cheap pay as you go cell phone which won't convert to anything. I've checked into rentals in Cabo but it comes out to 85.00 a week! We're trying not to take the computer. Any suggestions?

 

[rynker]

If this works for t-mobile pay as you go....this would be great! I'm checking it out tomorrow. Thanks!!!!!

 

[EJC]

rynker--I'm guessing you didn't fully understand what Abomb36 said. If you currectly have a T-Mobile prepaid phone, and take the phone to Mexico and use it, it is going to cost you $1.79 a minute!!!! YOUR T-MOBILE PREPAID PHONE HAS TO BE UNLOCKED FIRST (kind of a big deal to do), PLUS HAVE AN AT&T SIM CARD INSTALLED AND BE ACTIVATED ON AT&T IN ORDER TO DO THE 25-CENTS A MINUTE CALLS FROM MEXICO TO THE USA. Honestly, I don't see why you'd even bother messing with your prepaid T-Mobile phone. Just buy the refurbished AT&T Go Phone on AT&T's site for $13.99 delivered (it will come with the needed SIM card) and perhaps buy an AT&T Go Phone airtime card ($25, $50, $100) at the same time and activate the phone via AT&T's site--and be all set before you leave for your Mexico trip.

 

[Abomb36]

For the heavy traveler, its always good to have a quad band phone. The four bands are 850, 900, 1800, 1900. Europe carriers use mostly 900 and 1800, and North American carriers using 850 and 1900.

See here for a list of already unlocked quad band phones.
http://www.nextag.com/unlocked-quad-band-cell-phone/products-html

It doesnt need to be a cheap pay as you go type phone, it can be whatever multi band phone you want, or already have. It just needs to be unlocked.

It aslo does not matter what carrier it is, whether a pre paid or a standad plan phone. As long as its unlocked, is quad band, and takes a sim card (at&t/tmobile), you can activate a AT&T sim card with "pay as you go" minutes and throw it in your unlocked quad band phone.

rynker--I'm guessing you didn't fully understand what Abomb36 said. If you currectly have a T-Mobile prepaid phone, and take the phone to Mexico and use it, it is going to cost you $1.79 a minute!!!! YOUR T-MOBILE PREPAID PHONE HAS TO BE UNLOCKED FIRST (kind of a big deal to do), PLUS HAVE AN AT&T SIM CARD INSTALLED AND BE ACTIVATED ON AT&T IN ORDER TO DO THE 25-CENTS A MINUTE CALLS FROM MEXICO TO THE USA. Honestly, I don't see why you'd even bother messing with your prepaid T-Mobile phone. Just buy the refurbished AT&T Go Phone on AT&T's site for $13.99 delivered (it will come with the needed SIM card) and perhaps buy an AT&T Go Phone airtime card ($25, $50, $100) at the same time and activate the phone via AT&T's site--and be all set before you leave for your Mexico trip.

 

[pittle]

We use a netbook with Skype. We pay about $9 for 3 months of unlimited calls that we make from Mexico. We can call any US phone number with that plan. The computer to computer Skype is free, but the person you are calling has to be available at their computer.

The netbook is small enough to carry in a small tote bag and weighs just a couple of pounds. We go somewhere where there is free WIFI and make our calls while having coffee or cerveza. We have a headphone set with a microphone on it so that we do not have the speakers on where everyone can hear the call.

We loaned our netbook to friends who went to Mexico recently for some medical issues and they were able to keep in contact with family in the US. They said it was a lifesaver.

With the netbook, you can also use email. No texting though. That is OK by me as I am not much of a texter - just email and phone. My AT&T plan does charge for texts when in Mexico or Europe, but it is cheaper to do that than to actually talk.

On our upcoming vacation, we will use our netbook in our units since the Buganvilias and Mondavi both have free WIFI for owners . I sure wish all the resorts would start providing free WIFI, but they know that guests will pay, so they charge.

 

[rynker]

I feel so ignorant by the comments. Broadband, unlocked, etc......you've all made such good recommendations and I'm still confused. That's my problem, not yours and I appreciate all your attempts to help. I won't give up and will continue to try and understand! Thanks.

 

[EJC]

rynker--I can easily see how all of the above can become overwhelming. However, to give you an example how simple this can be, here is what I did. Two or three days ago I ordered an AT&T F160 Go phone (that's the model of the phone) refurbished on www.att.com for $13.99 delivered. Today on www.ATT.com it looks like they raised the price a couple of dollars. It arrived today with the SIM card already installed and a local (to where I live) phone number assigned. All I had to do was install the battery and charge up the phone. To activate the phone, all I had to do was turn it on!!!! Before the phone arrived, I purchased AT&T Go Phone airtime on www.callingmart.com at a slight discount. Callingmart instantly emailed a PIN (numbers that add airtime to the phone). After I turned on the phone for the first time, I dialed 611 and told the phone I had a PIN number refill. The phone then had me type in the PIN number. I'm all set for my upcoming Mexico trip. It doesn't get any easier.

 

[rynker]

Thanks so much! I'm doing this today!

 

[EJC]

Rynker--If and when you order the AT&T Go Phone, make sure to choose the 10-cents a minute plan. Below that, it will want you to pick an airtime card, for example--$25, $50, etc. Go ahead and choose the $25. airtime card. On the next screen, you can delete the airtime card and just order the phone. After all of that is good to go and you've placed your order, THEN go to www.callingmart.com and order airtime. Once on www.callingmart.com , click on "wireless." On the next page, you want "AT&T Go Phone Prepaid Wireless Airtime minutes refill" --NOT the other two kinds or AT&T Go Phone refills. Before you choose the amount, click on "view details." On the next screen you'll see the discount rate. To make the airtime deal a little sweeter, here is a promo code that should give you an additional 3% discount: ca3p-1207 I found that code by Googling Callingmart promo code. On the order page there will be a spot for a promo code. Go ahead and use the one I just mentioned. Callingmart will instantly send you an email, which you should print and save. Once the phone arrives, follow the directions in the Callingmart email and input your airtime PIN number. One nice thing about Callingmart is there is no sales tax. Good luck.

 

[EJC]

Runker--Just a reminder. Once your AT&T F160 Go Phone arrives, remember NOT to use it for DATA. DATA (internet related stuff) is SUPER expensive on the Go Phone plan I mentioned earlier. As I mentioned, I just ordered and received the refurbished AT&T F160 Go Phone. It is much nicer than I thought it would be. It comes with a complete, printed manual--a nice feature nowadays. Anyway, there is a large, black OK key (sort of functions like an enter key of a computer). That black OK key is surrounded by a chrome-like frame. Pushing on each side of that frame DOES something. For example, pushing on the bottom side of the frame brings up your contacts. If you accidentally push on one of the other sides of the frame and it makes the phone start to do something data related (like mobile web), IMMEDIATELY hit the red phone icon button to end whatever you just started. One nice thing about this Go Phone is that as soon as you've completed a function (let's say you just ended a phone call or you just ended an unintentional data session), the phone will ding and send you a typed message saying how much you were just charged and what your balance is. I'm impressed so far!

 

[easyrider]

Thanks EJC and Abomb, we are adding this to our next Mexico adventure.

 

[rynker]

Thanks for all the great advice.....it's greatly appreciated!

 

[EJC]

Rynker-- I would suggest printing off the AT&T page that discusses GoPhone roaming in Mexico and Canada. The most important thing to note is that to call the USA from Mexico via your GoPhone, you dial "a plus sign, then a 1, then the area code and number." To get a plus sign, hold down the 0 key. The 1 is the country code for the USA. Here is the link to the above mentioned page: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/gophone-international-roaming.jsp If that link doesn't work, just Google "GoPhone Roaming in Mexico & Canada."

 

[jules54]

Verizon

If Verizon is your cell phone company you just call them and switch to the North American plan which includes Mexico. You get 250 min. for 59.99 a month plus 1000 minutes for nites and weekends. When you call to change your plan you just change it for the month you will be traveling. Tell the agent when your bill closes you want to switch your plan back to whatever you had.
Texting is 5 cents per incoming text but 50 cents for outgoing.

I have done this for both Cabo and Playa Del Carmen and it works very well.

I have also bought the ATT go phone and used it before Verizon had this option and it also works great.

 

[easyrider]

Skype works on 3g i phones. So Im buying a 3g iphone off ebay and loading skype on an ATT go plan.

 

[easyrider]

So, I found an Iphone 3GS on Creigslist for $80.00. Went to ATT and bought a $25.00 prepaid 90 day plan that cost .10 in USA and .25 in Mexico to use. It was only $25.00. No tax or charge for the sim card.

Loaded Skype and might be able to use it free when the phone is on Roam in Mexico. In the coverage area Skype is using the ATT 3g network so I have to pay for data by the kb to use Skype at home on the I phone.