Will Basic Flip Phone Work in the US?

[ronjnk]

Hello,

I have an LGC441 flip phone with basic canada wide voice plan. Works fine.

I fly into US from a vacation shortly. With all the airport drama, I'd like to have a working phone in case of travel misery.

If I bump up subscription to Canada and United States basic plan, will my phone work?

Any feedback appreciated. Thank you so much!

[ronjnk]

New update. I used the public mobile chatbot. Explained situation. You already new this but I had no idea I could punch out the nano from my existing card. So disregard the previous message. Maybe I'll be OK. Giving it a try now. Thanks again!

[ronjnk]

Hi again samsunga31. I wanted to give you a quick update and this might be useful for others as well. Purolator rushed a new phone to me. The TCL phone you suggested is in my hands.

Big problem. The SIM card out of my old flip phone is much too big to fit. I didn't know there were different sized SIM cards. Highly likely had I known a smaller SIM card was needed, even if I ordered from Public Mobile, it probably would not have arrived in 3 days. So sadly we will leave without a functioning phone.

I need to find out proper SIM card and get it ordered so at least when we return, we will have a phone. Nice phone you suggested. I like it. Bummer SIM card won't fit.

[hTideGnow]

hi @ronjnk yes, I recommended and I confirmed the VoLTE on this one will work:

[ronjnk]

Hello, sorry, just saw your comment.

TCL Flip - Unlocked (4058E-2AVHCA1)

Model

4058E-2AVHCA1

Which was recommended in another comment by samsunga31. The specs do look like it should work fine in the US. Do you agree? Thank you!

[slusagm]

@ronjnk 

what phone you are trying to get?  you need one that will be on PM's VoLTE whitelist.  Let us  know the model and we can help

[samsunga31]

Hello.

Yes. All you have to do is take the sim card out of your old phone, place it in the new phone. And then start it up. It's as easy as that. Depending how long you're going for, you should purchase the US talk and text addon the day before you leave so it's loaded and ready to go for your trip. 

[ronjnk]

I leave in 5 days. Will try to get that phone here pronto. Can you please confirm all I need to do is swap my existing SIM card to this new phone? Then the new phone should work in Canada? My existing SIM card is direct compatible?  Then I'll figure out how to get US coverage. Thanks a million.

[LitlLdy]

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@hairbag1 wrote:

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@ronjnk wrote:

Thank you so very much for the reply. That was a big concern is downgrading once I got home. It sounds from other responders that my phone won't work. I guess I'll go without the phone and hope for the best. May consider upgrading to a newer phone one of these days. Thanks again. Stay well!

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Other option is to get the Roaming add-on for the data and you can talk/text using WhatsApp...works on wifi as well. Others at home must have the WhatsApp as well.

Secondly; download free TextNow which also uses wifi or your Roaming data add-on. 

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@hairbag1 ,  suggesting the TextNow app is a great idea however it can’t be downloaded onto a basic flip phone like the LGC441 flip phone. Or at least I couldn’t find a way to download apps onto it.

[ronjnk]

The only use for the phone would be for a travel disaster where I needed to call insurance company, airline reservation or some other travel entity in order to get my carcass back to Canada. I  am not familiar with whatsapp or textnow but I sense neither would be a god fit to wrestle with airlines, motels, insurance etc. But your suggestions might be of value to anybody else perusing this thread. Thanks again.

[hairbag1]

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@ronjnk wrote:

Thank you so very much for the reply. That was a big concern is downgrading once I got home. It sounds from other responders that my phone won't work. I guess I'll go without the phone and hope for the best. May consider upgrading to a newer phone one of these days. Thanks again. Stay well!

---

Other option is to get the Roaming add-on for the data and you can talk/text using WhatsApp...works on wifi as well. Others at home must have the WhatsApp as well.

Secondly; download free TextNow which also uses wifi or your Roaming data add-on. 

[samsunga31]

Once again @ronjnk the phone I suggested is only $100 and is pretty cheap and will work in the US when you purchase a US addon. Just don't purchase the one with data. Also, you should check how many points you have accumulated. You may have enough to purchase a 15 day talk and text plan.

[ronjnk]

Thank you so very much for the reply. That was a big concern is downgrading once I got home. It sounds from other responders that my phone won't work. I guess I'll go without the phone and hope for the best. May consider upgrading to a newer phone one of these days. Thanks again. Stay well!

[hairbag1]

@ronjnk 

you don't need to upgrade to a Canada / US plan as Public Mobile offers a 15 & 30 Day US Roaming add-on for $30  & $40, with talk / text and 5GB data for use in USA.

If you do upgrade to Canada / US plan it's often difficult to downgrade plans when you get home.

[samsunga31]

Hello.

The TCL Flip Phone is the only flip phone known (to me as I've tested the imei number to the volte tester here) to work in the US at the moment. So if you're looking to go down with a burner, this is perfect for it.

[Dunkman]

@ronjnk 

Your phone likely will not work in the USA.  3G network was decommissioned already and you will need VoLTE compatible phone and your phone is not VoLTE compatible with PM network. 

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/get-help/articles/us-roaming-troubleshooting

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/get-help/articles/volte

Eventually, this phone will not work with the PM network as the 3G network is also been decommissioned in Canada.  

[slusagm]

If you have an older flip phone, then likely it won't work in US,  because US has no 3G for voice anymore