11-18-2019 03:02 PM - edited 01-05-2022 09:45 AM
I'll be in the US for a couple of weeks in December, and it would be cheaper for me to just get a Telus US-Canada plan for next month. Ideally I would want to keep my phone number through all this, and I was wondering if it would be feasible for me to switch back to public mobile at the end of the month and if I would need to order a new SIM card.
11-19-2019 04:01 PM
@srlawren wrote:
@dabr wrote:@srlawren Looked into a bit more, the SIMs seem to be reusable for upto a year. RM allows a roaming plan to be scheduled upto 6 months in advance. I do like that they offer really good value plans too, but does require an American number.
Sounds quite affordable and practical IMO:)
@dabr cool 🙂
The American number is annoying. You can work around it to some extent with all the standard things we suggest to travellers. (Forward calls to Fongo before leaving Canada; use Hangouts with pre-verified phone number for outbound calls if you don't want people to wonder who's calling them from a US number; leave your SIM in Canada with a friend or family member, in a spare Android phone plugged into a charger, running an app to forward your incoming SMS; move as many conversations as possible away from SMS to data-based services like WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, Discord, Slack, etc.)
There always are a quite a few workarounds, but still annoying that we need to do that. It would be nice (though unlikely!) for PM to upgrade their US roaming packages for a longer timeline at least, but I won't hold my breath for that to happen anytime soon:)
11-19-2019 03:55 PM
@dabr wrote:@srlawren Looked into a bit more, the SIMs seem to be reusable for upto a year. RM allows a roaming plan to be scheduled upto 6 months in advance. I do like that they offer really good value plans too, but does require an American number.
Sounds quite affordable and practical IMO:)
@dabr cool 🙂
The American number is annoying. You can work around it to some extent with all the standard things we suggest to travellers. (Forward calls to Fongo before leaving Canada; use Hangouts with pre-verified phone number for outbound calls if you don't want people to wonder who's calling them from a US number; leave your SIM in Canada with a friend or family member, in a spare Android phone plugged into a charger, running an app to forward your incoming SMS; move as many conversations as possible away from SMS to data-based services like WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, Discord, Slack, etc.)
11-19-2019 02:49 PM
@srlawren wrote:
@dabr wrote:Thanks for the info @srlawren It's good to know that they work well and those rates are definitely good. Are you able to use the same RM SIM or have to purchase a new one for each trip down south?
@dabr I only ever had the one, but it has since expired. I forget the window you get, but if unused for a certain period of time they do expire.
@srlawren Looked into a bit more, the SIMs seem to be reusable for upto a year. RM allows a roaming plan to be scheduled upto 6 months in advance. I do like that they offer really good value plans too, but does require an American number.
Sounds quite affordable and practical IMO:)
11-18-2019 04:46 PM
@dabr wrote:Thanks for the info @srlawren It's good to know that they work well and those rates are definitely good. Are you able to use the same RM SIM or have to purchase a new one for each trip down south?
@dabr I only ever had the one, but it has since expired. I forget the window you get, but if unused for a certain period of time they do expire.
11-18-2019 03:53 PM
@srlawren wrote:
@dabr wrote:
@srlawren wrote:@Gor154 or maybe Roam Mobility?
@srlawren Agree, although I haven't used RM, I've heard they can be quite inexpensive and would be worth considering for OP.
@dabr I used them before PM lauched the US Roaming add-ons, and a few times after. Works well. They have per-day plans that I think are $5 for unlimited talk and text and half a gig or so of data (per day, with rollover within the same trip). They have some longer-term plans as well, but this is a pretty good fit for many. They have just talk and just talk+text plans for a bit less as well. Runs on T-Mobile network, I never had any trouble with it. Downside is you end up with a US phone number while you're using that SIM, so similar to getting a local pre-paid SIM (like Mint as @THEnewfie suggested, and many others).
Thanks for the info @srlawren It's good to know that they work well and those rates are definitely good. Are you able to use the same RM SIM or have to purchase a new one for each trip down south?
11-18-2019 03:45 PM
@dabr wrote:
@srlawren wrote:@Gor154 or maybe Roam Mobility?
@srlawren Agree, although I haven't used RM, I've heard they can be quite inexpensive and would be worth considering for OP.
@dabr I used them before PM lauched the US Roaming add-ons, and a few times after. Works well. They have per-day plans that I think are $5 for unlimited talk and text and half a gig or so of data (per day, with rollover within the same trip). They have some longer-term plans as well, but this is a pretty good fit for many. They have just talk and just talk+text plans for a bit less as well. Runs on T-Mobile network, I never had any trouble with it. Downside is you end up with a US phone number while you're using that SIM, so similar to getting a local pre-paid SIM (like Mint as @THEnewfie suggested, and many others).
11-18-2019 03:43 PM
Best to buy roaming plans in the US instead of closing your account and then deal with more activation charges to restore your service when you get back.
11-18-2019 03:35 PM
If a buttload of data is needed (or more trips will occur in the not too distant future) there's a company called mint mobile that offers a pretty snazzy deal. 45$ ..but it's 3mths of service and 12gb of data each month. I'd gladly take unlimited talk n text + 12 gigs for 15 a month 👌👌👌👌👌 lol
11-18-2019 03:31 PM
11-18-2019 03:31 PM
@srlawren wrote:
@dabr wrote:If you are only going for a couple of weeks, couldn't you make the US roaming add-ons work for you? You could buy one of the US roaming add-ons for 10 days, and then on day 9 purchase a different US add-on to get you to the end of your trip.
@Gor154 or maybe Roam Mobility?
@srlawren Agree, although I haven't used RM, I've heard they can be quite inexpensive and would be worth considering for OP.
11-18-2019 03:23 PM
@dabr wrote:If you are only going for a couple of weeks, couldn't you make the US roaming add-ons work for you? You could buy one of the US roaming add-ons for 10 days, and then on day 9 purchase a different US add-on to get you to the end of your trip.
@Gor154 or maybe Roam Mobility?
11-18-2019 03:21 PM
It would probably be cheapest to simply get a US plan for the month. The cost of starting and stopping a service twice in a month cannot be cost effective by any measure.
11-18-2019 03:14 PM - edited 11-18-2019 03:18 PM
@Gor154 wrote:I'll be in the US for a couple of weeks in December, and it would be cheaper for me to just get a Telus US-Canada plan for next month. Ideally I would want to keep my phone number through all this, and I was wondering if it would be feasible for me to switch back to public mobile at the end of the month and if I would need to order a new SIM card.
As noted by @GR you would need to port out and then get a new sim and different email in order to port back in to PM.
If you are only going for a couple of weeks, couldn't you make the US roaming add-ons work for you? You could buy one of the US roaming add-ons for 10 days, and then on day 9 purchase a different US add-on to get you to the end of your trip.
11-18-2019 03:04 PM
@Gor154 yes if you port out it will close your public mobile account so you'll lose any available funds and rewards. Then you'll need to buy a new Sim and open a new account with a different email address