U.S sim card in Canadian phone

[lkldutka]

me and my husband will be travelling whenever it is allowed and currently rogers charges $10 a day for roam like home. we would like to know if anyone has ever bough a U.S sim card with a pre paid plan to use while at disney? i know itlll be a new number but its more to keep in touch with parents at home and each other while in the parks... is there anywhere to buy them at the airport?

My phone is unlocked

 

[ellbell]

me and my husband will be travelling whenever it is allowed and currently rogers charges $10 a day for roam like home. we would like to know if anyone has ever bough a U.S sim card with a pre paid plan to use while at disney? i know itlll be a new number but its more to keep in touch with parents at home and each other while in the parks... is there anywhere to buy them at the airport?

Not sure about the sim card but make sure you go to your carrier and get you phone unlocked. It's free to do but Canadian carriers lock their phones by default.

 

[TommyJK]

Yes, I did this on my last trip in 2020 (just before the pandemic). I bought a roaming SIM on Amazon (Mostsim was the "brand") and it worked perfectly. A 7 day card is $24

Note: The day you activate it for it usually comes online by 3:00pm. So if you need it for an early morning arrival, set it to activate the day prior so it works upon arrival.

 

[TommyJK]

Not sure about the sim card but make sure you go to your carrier and get you phone unlocked. It's free to do but Canadian carriers lock their phones by default.

This isn't true anymore. As of Dec. 1st 2017 Canadian phone companies were no longer allowed to lock phones. So if you got your phone after that date it's already unlocked. If your phone is older than that, the carrier has to unlock it for free.

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

I'd recommend getting the sim card before you leave. Lots of options including amazon and ebay.

 

[ellbell]

This isn't true anymore. As of Dec. 1st 2017 Canadian phone companies were no longer allowed to lock phones. So if you got your phone after that date it's already unlocked. If your phone is older than that, the carrier has to unlock it for free.

They aren't allowed to charge to unlock them as of that date. Theu can still lock them.

 

[TommyJK]

They aren't allowed to charge to unlock them as of that date. Theu can still lock them.

Not according to the Canadian Government:

https://www.canada.ca/en/radio-tele...an_endtolockedcellphonesandunlockingfees.html

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today announced that as of December 1, 2017, all individual and small business wireless service customers will have the right to have their cellphones and other mobile devices unlocked free of charge upon request. In addition, all newly purchased devices must be provided unlocked from that day forward.

 

[ellbell]

Not according to the Canadian Government:

https://www.canada.ca/en/radio-tele...an_endtolockedcellphonesandunlockingfees.html

Ok. Just trying to help. Don't check with the carrier and buy a sim and when it doesn't work you can say the government said that isn't suppose to happen.

 

[bankr63]

So this steps back quite a few years. I used to get a PAYG plan on a cheap disposable phone (picked them up at Publix). Then when Roam Mobility (RIP) started up, we went that way. Then when Rogers started with RLH, we were happy to stop all the shenanigans.

The one thing to be careful about is that (back in the day) many carrier's PAYG plans did not include international (Canada) dialing, and it was a bear to get it turned on. Last time I did this, it took until the last day of our trip to finally get a call to back home. Also note that no one back home will have your phone number until you are activated.

IMO, even at $10/day (a bit high now) RLH is worth the lack of headaches. Vacation time is expensive, and wasting time getting cell phone issues figured out when you should be full force in the parks is not worth it.

 

[Sue M]

RLH is getting ridiculous esp on a 2 week trip. When it first started it was $5/day with no charges after 10 days so the most you’d be charged was $50, now it’s doubled.
And going to the parks getting FPs, ordering online, etc you’re tied to the phone. And on minute you’re on wifi the next you’re not.
I think you may have to go to a Walmart or someplace near your hotel. I don’t think there is a cell phone place at the airport.

 

[bankr63]

RLH is getting ridiculous esp on a 2 week trip. When it first started it was $5/day with no charges after 10 days so the most you’d be charged was $50, now it’s doubled.
And going to the parks getting FPs, ordering online, etc you’re tied to the phone. And on minute you’re on wifi the next you’re not.
I think you may have to go to a Walmart or someplace near your hotel. I don’t think there is a cell phone place at the airport.

I agree that the charge is getting high - possibly because Roam isn't competing anymore. I think the original $5 was aimed squarely at weaning us off of Roam. It does add up for more than one phone.

One tip for this. We travel with a LOT of devices, cell phones, tablets, laptops, so we do the following.

We designate only one device to be the roaming device and all other devices have roaming turned off. If someone gets lost in the parks then they have permission to turn on the phone for the day to get in contact. Set the one roaming phone (usually mine as I have tend to get occasional work related calls) to be the hotspot for any other devices in your family. As long as they are close to you they will have reliable wi-fi on their phone too, not relying on Disney's spotty coverage. Now we have 6 devices on our Rogers share everything account, so we have a TON of data (even at a lower tier) so don't really worry about overages. This does tend to drain the battery on the hotspot device fairly quickly, so I also carry a battery bank in my sling bag with about the same capacity as my cell phone's battery, effectively doubling the life span.

 

[Sue M]

I agree that the charge is getting high - possibly because Roam isn't competing anymore. I think the original $5 was aimed squarely at weaning us off of Roam. It does add up for more than one phone.

One tip for this. We travel with a LOT of devices, cell phones, tablets, laptops, so we do the following.

We designate only one device to be the roaming device and all other devices have roaming turned off. If someone gets lost in the parks then they have permission to turn on the phone for the day to get in contact. Set the one roaming phone (usually mine as I have tend to get occasional work related calls) to be the hotspot for any other devices in your family. As long as they are close to you they will have reliable wi-fi on their phone too, not relying on Disney's spotty coverage. Now we have 6 devices on our Rogers share everything account, so we have a TON of data (even at a lower tier) so don't really worry about overages. This does tend to drain the battery on the hotspot device fairly quickly, so I also carry a battery bank in my sling bag with about the same capacity as my cell phone's battery, effectively doubling the life span.

Good idea! We’re on Fido and I have 28G. So no problem with data.

 

[MoreTravels]

me and my husband will be travelling whenever it is allowed and currently rogers charges $10 a day for roam like home. we would like to know if anyone has ever bough a U.S sim card with a pre paid plan to use while at disney? i know itlll be a new number but its more to keep in touch with parents at home and each other while in the parks... is there anywhere to buy them at the airport?

My phone is unlocked

They used to have pre-activated USA SIM card and disposable flip phone for sale around $100 at vending machines in Orlando airports. They have "Best Buy Express" vending machine that sold them. Also, the electronic stores in the airport concourse areas (next to Starbucks and Outback restaurants) used to sell them too. I am not sure if they still do.

If not, buy "Lycamobile" SIM cards.. they are easy to activate. You can get them from Amazon before you leave.

 

[CanucksRock]

If your phone supports eSIM my last few trips to Orlando I just purchased data from Airalo, really cheap…I have Public Mobile, so for calling if needed I just have to pay $8 for 10 days roaming. So I use them in combination. Although honestly, I rarely if ever make phone calls on vacation.

 

[samsteele]

I looked into this 3 yrs ago and decided it was too much of a hassle for my WDW vacation and went old school. Used WDW's free wi-fi and loaded $20 on a Bell calling card. Could always make phone calls from my room phone in the morning and night to check in with work and family. Of course, 3 yrs is a lifetime ago and mobile order plus boarding passes are a concern. A number of DIS'rs have commented that WDW's wi-fi has significantly improved in park over the past few years and they had no difficulty now using mobile order and getting boarding passes. But they did have to move around a bit to pick up a stronger signal. I have no data with my plan and the travel pack is insanely expensive for a tiny amount of data. Unless something great like Roam comes around again, I'm going to take my chances with the wi-fi and adjust my expectations. At some point, I have to remind myself this is a vacation and just enjoy what remains of my treasured WDW attractions.

 

[hdrolfe]

For Disney trips, I just use the wifi. Even with Mobile Ordering, it worked pretty well. There were a few "dead spots" but from one trip to the next it improved so I think it's getting better. The only time I use my cellphone is for when I cruise and need to call a shuttle service, I'll just use the one day of Roam from Home or whatever it's called. But Disney, no need to do that! Well, so far any way. I guess going forward it might since DME will be gone. But, I don't tend to call people much, especially while on vacation. I will be more likely to use email or messenger to keep in touch if it's needed.

 

[dancin Disney style]

My phone is not on a plan. I've had prepaid for years, costs me $10/month. There is so much free Wifi available that I rarely find myself in a situation that I don't have web access. Since I have no plan my phone does not work in the US at all. I leave it in airplane mode to reserve the battery and simply use the free Wifi. We are all IPhone users so we IMessage each other and we also have the TextMe app to make phone calls. As mentioned there is also email and Messenger.

We've done the same in other countries as well. The only place it's been a bit of an issue is in Cuba but even people with plans that are roaming have issues there.

 

[azrivest]

I'm on Public Mobile, and am going to try their 1GB of U.S. Data Add-On for 20$ for my next trip

 

[mort1331]

Does anyone know if Hawaii is included in the roam US..or only main land?