US roaming options

[helenhelen]

I will be heading to the US for a bit over a month, but only need phone access for about 4 days at the start of the trip, and 2 days at the end of the trip. I will not be able to use my phone at all for about a month in between. I don't want to have to buy 10 days of access both times and mostly not use it. Do I have any other options? I would like to have phone and data access but at minimum, I need data as I can also use that to make calls via the internet if needed (mostly for emergencies).

I used to be with other mobile providers that would just have you be roaming automatically and you would only get charged for roaming if you used it.. but I would at least have phone  access if needed. Will my phone reception just stop working once I cross the border (including for calls or texting)?

[computergeek541]

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@helenhelen wrote:

Mimmo, this is a good idea. How many months is it again before we lose our ph#?

"To "save "some money once you no longer need your phone enable the lost stolen feature or disable auto-pay.  This is helpful if your plan renewal happens close to the beginning of when you no longer need your phone. Then once you need your phone again pay for the service and start a new cycle."

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Your account will be clsoed and the phone number lost if when your account reaches 90 days of suspension.

[helenhelen]

Thank you darlicious, I will look at those links!

[helenhelen]

I do have TextNow and that is what I planned to use.. however, I am doing a solo road trip to get to my destination so I want to be able to call or access data if needed in an urgent situation like roadside assistance if my car breaks down in the middle of nowhere or I need to look for some info online, etc.

[helenhelen]

Mimmo, this is a good idea. How many months is it again before we lose our ph#?

"To "save "some money once you no longer need your phone enable the lost stolen feature or disable auto-pay.  This is helpful if your plan renewal happens close to the beginning of when you no longer need your phone. Then once you need your phone again pay for the service and start a new cycle."

[darlicious]

@helenhelen 

Here is some additional info travelling and suspending your account...

Spoiler

Options for your account and service....

1. You can turn off autopay and allow the account to suspend at the of your current 30 day cycle but this is your least advantageous option. Pay and reactivate by day 85 or so.
2. If you have an account balance that exceeds your plan amount then you need to suspend via the lost/stolen feature in your account before midnight eastern on the evening of your renewal. Then on day 85 or so resume your service to pay and reactivate.
3. Suspending via lost/stolen before midnight eastern will keep your voicemail active allowing you retrieve voicemail and any verification sent by phone calls. However your rewards will not be applied to your account. Moderator contact after paying and reactivating is necessary to have the rewards applied manually.
4. Voicemail can be accessed by calling your pm number from a different phone by calling your phone # and pressing * once connected and entering your 4 digit voicemail pin #.
5. If you don't have an account balance or enough balance to cover your plan amount you can suspend via lost/stolen after midnight but before 2 am eastern on the day of your renewal. Once your rewards have been applied (usually by 12:15 am et) then suspend your account. Voicemail access will be lost.
6. Switching to the $15 plan with rewards helping to cover a partial or full amount of your plan allows you to call forward your pm number to your fongo number. Be sure to perform all call forwarding while in Canada. Now any incoming calling to your pm number will ring thru to your fongo number while on wifi or mobile data (w/a local or global sim card) You can access your fongo voicemail for all voicemail messages.

Most important mark on your calendar day 85 of your suspension and day 90. Do not forget when you must unsuspend your account via lost/stolen and/or pay and reactivate your service so you don't lose your phone number and account. Happy travels!

.....and your US roaming options with pm:

Spoiler

Here is some info about US roaming add ons that should help you.....

1. While you have to have an active plan to purchase and use US roaming add ons the type of plan you have does not affect the roaming add ons features.
2. US roaming add ons start the moment you confirm and submit your purchase in your self serve account and expire 240 hours later (10 days×24 hours).
3. You can pre-load the funds needed to purchase the add ons in your self serve account so you only have to log in, select the US roaming add on and then confirm and submit your purchase.
4. Wait til late as possible to purchase since they are immediately valid so on free wifi at the destination airport or stopping shortly before the border at mcd's or timmy's to buy the add on while on free wifi.
5. If you are staying longer than 10 days you must wait a minimum of 24 hours to purchase the same US roaming add on or contact the moderators to add it before the waiting period ends.
6. If you have two US roaming add ons with a talk feature that overlap the talk feature basically gets disabled. Avoid this....but you will have to get one removed by a moderator to get your calling feature back if this happens.
7. After purchase reboot your phone and manually select either at&t or T-mobile to get better reception. Some areas have better coverage by either provider so when travelling around the US you will be better served by choosing the provider with better signal strength by locale.
8. You will recieve incoming texts without any US roaming add ons. Adding the fongo app and textnow app for use on wifi are good to use for a back up plan or you could call forward your pm phone # to your fongo # before you leave Canada and purchase just the US data roaming add on. Fongo also works on mobile data (1 min=0.5mb/100 min=50mb) so you could still recieve incoming pm texts, recieve incoming pm calls to your fongo #/app, outgoing calls from your fongo number and outgoing  texts from textnow for free or small fee from fongo.
9. All US roaming add ons have either unlimted text, talk or both. Only data has limits depending on your purchase 250mb/500mb/1gb. Once the data is consumed it will just stop you could then purchase different roaming add on, wait 24 hr to buy or contact the moderator to buy the same US roaming add on again. (* except talk as previously mentioned.)

Happy travels and Stay--Safe!

Canadian Cell Supplies (CCS) has prepaid T-Mobile and At&t sim card+plans that work in Canada/US/Mexico good for 10/15/30/60/90 days but don't suit your needs at the moment...nor do mint mobile's 90 day plans. If you have further short or longer trips planned outside of Canada in the next year perhaps looking into a global sim good for a year might be a better fit for your needs.

Edit:

Here is one of many global e-sim or sim card providers. The sim card price averages $9.95 but can be free or up to $99+ depending on plans and length of use but pay for use options are available for very low usage/emergency to $12+/1gb/30days. Look thru the options and see what works for you as you can have the global sim card and not activate it til you need it extending the use of a 30 day plan or using pay per use intermittedly until a 30 day plan becomes necesssary.

https://www.onesimcard.com/rates-and-coverage/?sourcecountry=US&simtype=compare

https://www.thebrokebackpacker.com/best-international-sim-cards/

[hairbag1]

@helenhelen....consider downloading the free voip app TextNow. Using wifi, you'll be able to call text most US/CDN numbers...for gratis. You'll select a free Canadian number so others can call you. Most resorts, motels, cafes and diners have free wifi...you might just have to ask for their wifi password.

[Anonymous]

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@mimmo wrote:

@helenhelen  you have no other option but to buy the two 10 add-ons,

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 @helenhelen : ....using Public Mobile services. You have some options though. There are some ramifications with Lost/stolen as well.

[Triguy]

You may want to consider mintmobile.com who offer monthly plans.

[mimmo]

@helenhelen  you have no other option but to buy the two 10 add-ons, thankfully they are reasonably priced compared to other Canadian providers who charge $9+ / day (koodo) not sure others.

To "save "some money once you no longer need your phone enable the lost stolen feature or disable auto-pay.  This is helpful if your plan renewal happens close to the beginning of when you no longer need your phone. Then once you need your phone again pay for the service and start a new cycle.

[darlicious]

@helenhelen 

You have a few limited options if you choose to not purchase a roaming add on. You will be able to recieve incoming texts on your phone. If you have access to wifi then downloading an app like textnow will allow you to text and call while on wifi and may fulfill the limited services you need on either end of your trip.

You can also call forward your pm number to your text now or fongo number before you leave Canada so you can recieve incoming calling to your pm number on your preferred app for calls while on wifi (fongo can be used on both wifi and mobile data.)

[cellphoneuser1 · Accepted solution]

@helenhelen Alll roaming add-ons last a maximum of 10 days. It might be cheaper to buy a prepaid plan there. The Public Mobile plan won't work without a roaming add-on except incoming text messaging.