Cell phone use at WDW

[CanadianGuy]

Originally Posted by DiRTyBuNNy

Nope you would still be roaming. Think about it this way...no matter where you are your phone is still a canadian phone and you'll play applicable charges. I would suggest just buying a cheap wireless phone on a pre-paid plan. You can get them at any WalMart in the US.

--Mr. DB

I hate to argue but that's simply not true. Rogers is the only carrier that fully supports SIM cards in Canada I believe. Regardless.. Bell/Aliant/Whatever does not support them period.

The SIM or BRAIN of the phone is removed with the SIM card. There is nothing to identify the phone to the network as Canadian - or anything else - if the SIM card is removed. This is only true with Rogers.

I haven't seen pre-paid SIM's in the states but they probably exist. If you can find 'em.. there would be no roaming fees.

-

Further.. last time I went to Florida (8 weeks ago), I paid Rogers some amount.. I think it was 75$ for 240 minutes over one month or something like that. They have a U-S Travelling add-on. The minutes are prorated for however long you have the option on your bill.

One little catch. Last year I cancelled the plan the day I got home. And then some calls I had made when the plan was active, were actually reported to Rogers by the US Carriers on my bill AFTER I shut the plan off. I called Rogers and these were credited.

On my most recent trip.. I left it on my bill for 7 days after I got home and then cancelled. And everything was reported correctly.

And I reiterate, if you use one of these plans, there are NO roaming fees.

Good luck!

Knox

[CanadianGuy]

Originally Posted by disneyred

hmmmmmmmmm ok. ... I hear y'all

I thought:
my sim card carried all my personal data...so in this case, my canadian info..
so I would take it out.... BUT buy a new sim card in disney and just plug
it into my current phone to use...as if I was a disney residence..

am I losing it now ???

You are correct. If your phone is unlocked and you can locate a carrier with prepaid SIM cards... you're good to go.

There's nothing left in the phone to identify it to the network without the SIM card.

Put another SIM card in .. and the phone is only identified with the network of that SIM card.. not the previous one.

Your idea will work - IF you can locate the prepaid SIM card.

Google "PREPAID SIM CARD" and you'll get lots to read.

EDIT: T-Mobile offers these. Rates start at about 20c a minute and go as low as 10c a minute depending on the initial buy-in amount.

HOWEVER: Long Distance to Canada is pricey on their plan tho. 40c a minute... and that's on top of their other rate and this is all in US $.

The Rogers plan includes long distance to anywhere in the US or Canada.

Info on the Rogers plans is available here. I've used these plans and the 75$ plan for 240 minutes worked like a charm for me. That works out to 31c a minute.. TOTAL. In Canadian dollars.

http://www.shoprogers.com/business/w...on&cat=1&typ=2

I got the bill for this all my calls both within the US, and to Canada were 0.00$ -- no charge. I did not exceed the 240 minutes of course. I was charged 10c to call an 800 number each time I called it. I knew about this charge, so the 80c wasn't a shocker.

There's no shortage of people who have nightmare stories about using a Canadian cell phone in the states. Usually this is because they either were horribly mis-informed.. or simply assumed it wouldn't be that expensive.

If you are a Rogers customer, the U-S Add-On for Roaming GSM customers is a very good deal and it works.

Knox

[Northstar]

I think that's the point of getting your phone unlocked... then your phone isn't a Rogers phone unless you use a Rogers SIM card, is it?

Check with the folks who performed the unlocking service (that sounds weird...the phone-unlocking guys) to make sure. They will know because that's their bread-and-butter. But a pay-as-you-go SIM card on North American standard should work fine.

[F4disneyfan]

Originally Posted by disneyred

ok...guess I was not clear enough,,,if you read my beginning post..
my phone is already UNLOCKED....

I know your phone is unlocked I posted some links to info for using an unlocked phone the cellphone hacks site will give you all the info you need just look up the section that is your phone type and your model should be listed and you will find all you need to know. As I said the info is saved to the Sim card so an unlocked phone is an easy way to use your phone in the US with a SIM card from a US carrier and a pay as you go card.

[F4disneyfan]

Originally Posted by CanadianGuy

I hate to argue but that's simply not true. Rogers is the only carrier that fully supports SIM cards in Canada I believe. Regardless.. Bell/Aliant/Whatever does not support them period.

The SIM or BRAIN of the phone is removed with the SIM card. There is nothing to identify the phone to the network as Canadian - or anything else - if the SIM card is removed. This is only true with Rogers.

I haven't seen pre-paid SIM's in the states but they probably exist. If you can find 'em.. there would be no roaming fees.

-

Further.. last time I went to Florida (8 weeks ago), I paid Rogers some amount.. I think it was 75$ for 240 minutes over one month or something like that. They have a U-S Travelling add-on. The minutes are prorated for however long you have the option on your bill.

One little catch. Last year I cancelled the plan the day I got home. And then some calls I had made when the plan was active, were actually reported to Rogers by the US Carriers on my bill AFTER I shut the plan off. I called Rogers and these were credited.

On my most recent trip.. I left it on my bill for 7 days after I got home and then cancelled. And everything was reported correctly.

And I reiterate, if you use one of these plans, there are NO roaming fees.

Good luck!

Knox

Actually it is not a pre paid sim card it is an open sim card or a sim card for whatever carrier that uses GSM in teh US. You then buy a card for said company and they set you up with a phone number and activate the pre paid account. You then take out your US sim card at home and put your Rogers or Fido sim card back into the phone and your rogers or fido service is back up and running.

[CanadianGuy]

T-Mobile refers to them as "prepaid SIM's" .. so I used the same language.

Either way I think we fundamentally agree. Most phones I have ever seen you can only put in one SIM at a time. So you take out the Rogers SIM and put in whatever you got the US carrier. Comes with the phone number and everything. No 'activation' required.

From at least one website..

T-Mobile
Prepaid SIM card: 60 Minutes: $12.99
Ready sim card for any GSM phone.
60 National minute anywhere in the USA, Roaming included. Comes with 10 digit phone number pre activated. This sim card will work on any phone offered on our website or any unlocked gsm phone.

[DiRTyBuNNy]

Originally Posted by CanadianGuy

I hate to argue but that's simply not true. Rogers is the only carrier that fully supports SIM cards in Canada I believe. Regardless.. Bell/Aliant/Whatever does not support them period.

The SIM or BRAIN of the phone is removed with the SIM card. There is nothing to identify the phone to the network as Canadian - or anything else - if the SIM card is removed. This is only true with Rogers.

I haven't seen pre-paid SIM's in the states but they probably exist. If you can find 'em.. there would be no roaming fees.

-

Further.. last time I went to Florida (8 weeks ago), I paid Rogers some amount.. I think it was 75$ for 240 minutes over one month or something like that. They have a U-S Travelling add-on. The minutes are prorated for however long you have the option on your bill.

One little catch. Last year I cancelled the plan the day I got home. And then some calls I had made when the plan was active, were actually reported to Rogers by the US Carriers on my bill AFTER I shut the plan off. I called Rogers and these were credited.

On my most recent trip.. I left it on my bill for 7 days after I got home and then cancelled. And everything was reported correctly.

And I reiterate, if you use one of these plans, there are NO roaming fees.

Good luck!

Knox

Um..I have no idea how I'm wrong because I never mentioned anything about Rogers not using SIM Cards. I know they do. I was more commenting on the fact that it's a lot easier to just buy a prepaid phone (or a prepaid SIM) in the US and slap it in the unlocked phone that currently has a Canadian SIM. If you use a Canadian SIM you will pay roaming rates on the American network along with applicable charges from Rogers. What part of that is wrong?

--Mr. DB

[CanadianGuy]

DB:

I misunderstood your posting. And to compound matters my explanation of what I was trying to say was poorly organized. My fault.

It sounded to me as if you were saying that even if he put in a US SIM card, he'd still be charged roaming rates because his phone was originally Canadian. Since that's not what you were saying, then of course.. I apologize.

I do think the Rogers roaming package is the easiest of all. But of course, that's just my opinion...

Knox

[DiRTyBuNNy]

Originally Posted by CanadianGuy

DB:

I misunderstood your posting. And to compound matters my explanation of what I was trying to say was poorly organized. My fault.

It sounded to me as if you were saying that even if he put in a US SIM card, he'd still be charged roaming rates because his phone was originally Canadian. Since that's not what you were saying, then of course.. I apologize.

I do think the Rogers roaming package is the easiest of all. But of course, that's just my opinion...

Knox

No problem..no hard feeligns..I was just as confused as to what I said that you took issue with so I tried to explain better...as the kids say "it's all good"...

yeah..I would say to anyone that if you're not tech savvy and know how to open your phone and change sim cards and deal with that..just call Rogers and get the roaming plan...

--Mr. DB

[disneyred]

thanks to all.... I love you people on these boards, it just opens up
all sorts of possibilities which is what I wanted to hear...

and yes.. i will be calling Rogers to get more info about the plan you guys mentioned here !

many thanks again.

[nosnobunny2006]

Originally Posted by CanadianGuy

And I reiterate, if you use one of these plans, there are NO roaming fees.

Good luck!

Knox

Thanks for the back up. I don't pretend to be a techie, nor do I understand all the ins and outs of cell phone technology. But I do know how often I use my Rogers cellphone in Florida and I do know that I've never paid more than $25 in extra charges in all the years I've used it. People quoting hundreds of dollars in charges leaves me completely bewildered.

I have one question for the Rogers add-on plan. We rarely travel on a calendar month. More often than not, it's mid-month to mid-month. Are the Rogers' plans based on a calendar month? If they are, they wouldn't likely work for us.

Beth

[CanadianGuy]

Beth:

I turn mine on for the full month but you don't have to.

Let's assume your billing date is the 1st. You can start the plan on the 14th .. and you'll get 1/2 of the minutes for that month and be billed 1/2 of the monthly rate

And you can discontinue it on the 15th of the following month.. and you'll get 1/2 of the minutes for that month.. and be billed 1/2 of the monthly rate.

Me? I'm a nervous sort.. so I turn it on the 1st of the month I'm travelling so I can have the full amount of US minutes for those few days at the end of the month when I'll be there. And I leave it on the account till about 10 days after I get home.. (to allow for 'late reporting' from US carriers to Rogers).

This works out for me perfectly. I usually buy the plan I indicated so it's a bump up that month.. but this covers me perfectly. I took a few 15 or 20 minute calls from work on my last trip and so the 240 minutes was just about perfect. I had a few left over... but not much.

I'm not fortunate enough to stay down there for a month.. but good on ya!

Knox

[calgarygary]

I'm just going to through an idea out there for your consideration. You are obviously not concerned about using your existing phone number if you are trying to get a replacement sim card so why not just get a phone from Virgin.com. Their phones start at $19.99 with a $20. credit for time so they are free. I emailed them asking if they can be sent to a Canadian address but activated for Florida use and was told yes. It's pay as you go so there will be no surprises after the fact.

[Cixelsyd]

I'm heading to DL for five days during the Christmas holidays, and am pondering what I should do for making phone calls. I'm with Rogers Wireless and have been charged ridiculous international roaming rates several times in the past. I try my best not to use my cell whenever I head south, but situations always arise when I just have to make a call with it every now and then.


I'm thinking of getting a prepaid sim card, and am wondering if anybody knows any good deals for it, or if there are better solutions that have worked for you in the past. Thanks very much!

[CanadianGuy]

My past three trips I've called Rogers and added the USA Roaming Add-On. You keep the same plan you have now.. and it adds USA minutes for the month of your trip. I call to add this at the start of the billing cycle BEFORE my trip and then cancel it at the end of the billing cycle after my trip.

If I know I didn't use it hardly at all, then I wait 7 days after I get home to cancel it. (so the billing from the states has time to get reported back to Rogers while the plan is still in place)

Those USA ADD ON packages minutes include roaming and long distance.

40$ = 60 minutes
60$ = 120 minutes
75$ = 240 minutes

I've gone with the 60$ option the last few trips and that has completely covered me.

You can just buy a prepaid Trac-Fone in the states for about 25$ that includes about 120 minutes. But I much prefer having my own number from Canada go with me in case anyone needs to reach me in event of an emergency etc.

Knox