Mobile phones in the US

[jmorgan]

Not wanting to take my work issue, which I think will work on roaming, just in case it gets lost. Can you buy a cheap pay as you go over there at the airport or something, read the odd comment that it may be a problem for non US? Not worried about chucking it if its below a certain price on the return. Or better to get a cheapy that works on their network over here with roaming? Not worried about apps and all that, more just in case good old fashioned make a phone call. More likely to be used over there for emergency or booking stuff than calling home.


Yours etc

Mr Mobile phone abroad dunce.

[pottman]

Just go and get a pay and go contract "GO" phone from Walmart. Done it a couple of times now on US road trips, phones are cheap, but useful for calling ahead to book hotels etc and only cost 40ish dollars I think.

[K50 DEL]

US cellphones work on a different set of frequencies to those in Europe / Rest of the World.

For your UK phone to work it will need to be Tri-Band (to be fair, most decent handsets are nowadays) and you'll need a roaming agreement.
This is the expensive option.

If you're going to spend more than about an hour on the phone whilst you're in the US, get yourself a PAYG handset.
How often you travel to the USA will dictate your best option.

The US is unlike here insofaras PAYG handsets must have credit added every so often in order to remain functional, you cannot simply buy a hanset, add $20 credit and expect it to work in 9 months time when you go back.

The exception to this is the AT&T Go Phone.... providing you top this up with a $100 top up once a year, it will remain live permanently (your $100 rolls over too, so you don't lose anything)
AT&T are the only network to offer this, all other networks (and all other value cards with AT&T) expire after 90 days.

I've had one of these packages since 2008 and I top it up once a year over the net with $100
It works every time I go, I have a US number (617 code as I bought it in Boston) and it saves me a fortune.

I paid $29 for the cheapest Nokia handset from Radio Shack

[jmorgan]

Cheers. Won't have much chance outside airports so get one if there is one on offer and may not be going back to the US for a while (might go next year). I know we can use hotel phones or computers etc but we are in a hire car for the duration. I had clocked a comment that there may be some issue with nationality and PAYG. Don't mind paying for a piece of mind though, need to check what coverage is where I am going as well. Will look up what AT&T do.

[K50 DEL]

No issue with nationality as far as I know, certainly didn't have to prove mine when I bought.
AT&T coverage pretty good, I've been to around 20 states with mine so far and apart from the odd mountainous region I've had no issues with coverage.

Where in the US are you going?

[Bungleaio]

I bought a AT&T go sim before I left the country and activated it here. When I was in the USA i topped it up. I used my uk iPhone 4 mainly for data. The sim cost me £10 from ebay and I added $25 for 500mb of data.

I used 300mb in a week which would have cost me a fortune if I was using my o2 sim.

[jmorgan]

Hell. Just been looking at coverage, should have checked that first before asking this. Didn't think of that. Not used to the size of the place.

Yellowstone then Jackson (landing Jackson then ending back there for a few days after going to YNP) . Bit sparse I know but there is coverage around where we are staying.

I think we will chance it at the airports, now thinking its on the list of things not to think about.

[K50 DEL]

Since I'm heading to that area myself in September, if you should go the AT&T route, would you pop back in and update the thread on your return?

[thehawk]

I've got a T-Mobile prepaid sim, came with a phone for $20-30 and with credit.

But $80 recharge will get you unlimited calls and texts, international included, as well as internet access for a month.

[JulianHJ]

K50 DEL said:

Since I'm heading to that area myself in September, if you should go the AT&T route, would you pop back in and update the thread on your return?

I'm heading over to Nevada/Utah/Colorado/California for 3 weeks in October - I'm mainly after data access, so any feedback from the OP would be appreciated.

[shoebag]

I have an AT&T pay as you go as I did not want to be tied up with a contract. It costs me 10 cents per minute to talk and 10 cents per minute to receive calls.

[jaybirduk]

As said above, Walmart have plenty of PAYG cellphones* available

*I've used the word cellphone because if you mention 'mobile phone' to an American they'll look at you like you're speaking Finnish. In fact any deviation from the British word or pronunciation and they just don't get it

[jmorgan]

Sorry, been busy and busy still. Found out Verizon and AT+T have the only masts in the park. Sprint roam with one of them and Verizon has the bigger coverage (which is in reality not a lot apart from the southern end and a bit in the northen end??). Now, reading that Verizon uses CDMA (?) and not all phones will work with that,it has to be the hand set that is capable, not the sim. Think I am on a hiding to nothing, should have checked this before asking. I thought we just buy one and off we go but my brain keeps forgetting how big it is and used to over here. We will not see much outside airports until we get there so unless I get one at the airport, afraid I cannot report back. I am not too worried, I thought it was going to be easy.


BTW, cheers for the inputs, have been looking at them.