Mobile Phones From Usa

[maria & rossi]

Has anyone bought pay as you go mobile phones for use in the usa. We are a party of 10 visiting in oct and woud like the use of phones to stay in touch. We bought tracfones on our last visit but the reception wasn't great around wdw and we are staying on site. The other option we have is to use walkie talkie's but friends of our used them and said they didn't work either. Any suggestions ?

many thanks, maria

 

[LondonMom]

Hi
My mum and Dad have a house in Orlando and bought a pay as you go with T mobile to use out there, works out MUCH cheaper. They went to the Mall at `millenia where they have a t mobile shop where you buy the pay as u go sim card. They bought a cheap $30 phone in Walmart to keep over there for it but you can use it in your normal english phone too. This option is espcially good if you are buying 2 of them to call each other as if you do that with English sims, they have to back through to the English sattelite i think?
Jo

 

[jns]

we just texted each other with our own phones
was.t to bad

 

[maria & rossi]

thanks jo for your reply, info is really helpful. maria

 

[Pootle]

Maria & Rossi: I'm surprised you had trouble with your Tracfone. We bought 2 last year after reading about them on these boards and used them lots, mostly for texts, but we did speak also, and had no problems - we stay on site too. Are you sure one wasn't faulty?

Our only problem was using up the credits! 40 units cost about $18.00 (I think) and a text message used only 0.3 units even to the UK.

 

[maria & rossi]

Moira,

Thanks for your reply. I've just checked the pre paid card and they were nokia tracfones. We bought 2 and only tried to ring each other on them and most of the time one of them wouldn't charge properly. Maybe they were just faulty.

Thanks, Maria

 

[grannyed]

please tell me more about tracphones......there will be 6 of us and the idea of being able to do things seperately, but keep in touch is very appealing....are they phones or walkie talkies....where can you buy them and are they expensive....also can you use them anywhere or just in US.

thankyou for any info

 

[maria & rossi]

Grannyed,

We bought our tracfones from walmart but I can't remember the price. Our phones didn't always have a good signal but I have read on these boards that they did work for other people. I still want to buy phones while we're over in Oct as I think that they are a good idea. So if any one can recommend a pre pay with good reception that would be great.

Thanks Maria

 

[Scottish-Helen]

Would also like to hear if anyone can recommend any companies as we are hoping to keep in touch with my parents if they are off doing different things.

 

[littlegreydonkey]

We bought a $40 Nokia which had $10 of free minutes which we'll use each time we go. We got it at Walmart and they activate it for you (take this option, it takes forever). They do have $20 phones as well but they are never in stock.

Just interested though, do any UK phones work in the US with roaming (one phone network here in NZ does, the other doesn't) and is it really expensive to call back to the UK if you use your UK phone.

 

[rpbert1]

i am thinking of taking my own phone with me its [Tri band] and buying a PAYG sim card out there, as my phone is unlocked , it will take any network card here so i take it will take any US network cards, was just to recieve calls from family here while we are away, any recomendations , if anyone thinks will work ok

 

[Pootle]

Here (I hope!) is the link to the Tracfones we bought from Wal-Mart last year. TracFone
I saw them recommended on these boards and was far happier with them than with the walkie talkies we bought the previous year. We also had tri-band mobiles with us, but these suited our needs better.

Edited to add the url because I don't think my link works (never have got the hang of that )
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/prod...e=19&dept=3944&path=0:3944:3977:133261:232632

 

[simpix]

When you look at the link for Walmart it asks the Zip Code to make sure the phone will work in that area.
What is the Zip Code for the area of Florida where Disney and Universal are located?
thanks

 

[Miffy2003]

This is a Kissimmee zip code:

34741

 

[patdavies]

They bought a cheap $30 phone in Walmart to keep over there for it but you can use it in your normal english phone too.

Only if it is tri-band

This option is espcially good if you are buying 2 of them to call each other as if you do that with English sims, they have to back through to the English sattelite i think?
Jo

If you us your 'phones with UK sim cards then a call to another UK sim mobile with 'boomerang' via your UK provider. You will charged for the international call leg UK - US and the other 'phone will be charged for the UK - US call leg.

If you both get local sim cards than the call only goes through the local network

 

[scriv1957]

If you us your 'phones with UK sim cards then a call to another UK sim mobile with 'boomerang' via your UK provider. You will charged for the international call leg UK - US and the other 'phone will be charged for the UK - US call leg.

If you both get local sim cards than the call only goes through the local network

.... if you take your own phones you can buy a usa sim pack before you go. You get a local (US) number, which means you pay the local network rate whilst in the states, and not the roaming rate which is astronomical. These rates are comparable with UK mobile rates, plus you can phone back to the uk at a reasonable rate (comparable to cross network rates here in the UK). Also your family can ring your new US mobile number for only 5pence a minute!

Your handset must be tri-band, and unlocked.



full details, including call rates and comparisons can be found at ... (unable to post url. PM me if you would like it)

 

[disneyholic family]

the only thing we always have to remember when using US phones in the US is the incoming phone call charges. You pay when you receive a call as well as when you call out.