USA sim cards in UK mobile phones?????

[slinky101]

Hi, i have seen USA pay as you go sim cards on ebay, was thinking of this as an alternative to walkie talkies on our may trip (we have two nokia tri band phones) some come with free minutes if you top up with a certain amount of dollars, anyone tried this? is it a mad idea? is there a techno wizzard out there to tell me it cant be done?????

 

[ely3857]

Hello,

Not sure of the in's & out's of this one but...

1) I did have a colleague who has done the same with a portuguese sim card

2) It def' wouldnt work if your phone was 'locked' to your current network



Ely3857

 

[Sue Cook]

Hi not sure about this either but it may help you to know that there is a website that will give you the codes to unlock Nokia phones (free). You can get to it via moneysavingexpert.com - do a search for unlocking Nokias. We have successfully unlocked 4 phones so it does work.

 

[bj-sailaway]

One of the journalists I work for works between New York and London and switches sims all the time. I am not in work until Wednesday, but I'll ask him then, he is our technical editor on Computer Weekly, so he is bound to know! Will come back to you on Wednesday evening.

 

[slinky101]

Fantastic news, BJ-sailaway, a technical expert is just what i need
look forward to his expert advice on wednesday

 

[jns]

I am interested as well

 

[buzz for boys]

Hi we have just returned from holiday and we had a problem with uk charger it needs a currency converter as well as a converter for two pin plug. My Nokia did not charge the whole time we were there as the electrical current was not powerful enough to do it. My DH had a samsung which has a much smaller charger and he did not have the same problem but from my point of view it was a good job that we had the walkie talkies as a back up!!
Hope thta helps and you understand what im on about.

 

[edinburghlass]

One of the journalists I work for works between New York and London and switches sims all the time. I am not in work until Wednesday, but I'll ask him then, he is our technical editor on Computer Weekly, so he is bound to know! Will come back to you on Wednesday evening.

I'll be interested to hear about this too bj. Nice to see you found your way here

 

[jockey]

I have taken Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones to the US and have had no problem charging them - don't know about the sim cards working though!! Last time we were in Walmart we saw American pay as you go phones for approx $60!!

 

[bj-sailaway]

OK, spoke to the technical guy on Computer Weekly. He has an unlocked tri-band phone, which he puts a US sim card in. The calls internally are apparently very cheap, he can't recall exactly, but of course that may vary on tariff. Useful to phone each other, book cabs, restaurants etc. Suppose over time it would be worth storing favourite telephone numbers. His only reservation for other people is the cost of the sim card. If that is expensive then it may not be worth it for a one off holiday, but should be worth it if you intend visiting more often. Also, he said the cheapest way to phone UK is with a Calling card from AT&T. I shall look up details on this today and post.

So, who can find the cheapest US SIM card for us? Someone said they had seen them on e-bay. Further info please guys!!!

 

[bj-sailaway]

Edinburghlass, was it you that sent me here from MSE? Anyway, someone else has given me a bargain link for buying tri-band phones from Virgin. I will phone them in a minute, check it is still a valid offer and then post.

 

[slinky101]

Great start, bj-sailaway, we will be visiting florida again so US sims would be good for us, we don't want to phone Uk while we are away (apart from maybe a pleading phone call to bank manager! ) as we are travelling as afamily of ten so no one left in the UK to phone.
Look forward to your bargain hunting results............................

 

[jockey]

I found the AT&T calling cards were not value for money I was only getting about 10 mins to the UK for $10. Walgreens and 7/11 have calling cards that are much better value for money!!

 

[MsPennieLane]

I don't know about the US sims working in UK phones but I just thought I'd add that when we go, we always use click4prepaid.com You register, then top up your amount online. You're given a main number to call, you then put your pin in then the UK number. I've used this 3 times now and it's worth it's weight in gold. For our September trip, I topped it up and it lasted me until our December and we've still got credit. Just an alternative for those who don't want to carry phones around.

Anz

 

[slinky101]

hi can you use the click4prepaid thing for calling other mobiles within the US, would it save money for us keeping in touch in the parks?

 

[brian/melanie]

hi we have not used this site but it might be of some use to you
http://www.0044.co.uk/swap.htm
brian mel