This is long overdue, but definitely a game changer for those of us with Verizon. I'd say it's the best option of any US Carrier for Mexico and Canada right now, the other countries not so much. $2/day is nothing to be able to keep your phone on and still get normal data speeds.
"Verizon has a new feature for your qualifying plan. "To Mexico. From Mexico. Nothing Extra". I just got off the phone with Verizon to change my plan from "More Everything Canada/Mexico" to the new feature. What it includes is unlimited calls to Mexico from the US, 500 min, 500 texts and 1 gig of data in Mexico, and it's free for two years.
I don't think it is on their website or advertised. The lady at Verizon had to ask her supervisor about the feature before she could do the change. I recommend calling this number at Verizon 1-877-229-3624 or Visit a Verizon store. I just called *611 from my cell phone and set it up."
Sprint has free calls while in and to Mexico on some plans a lot of people have already they just have to call customer service and have it activated. I know you are talking data and internet too for Verizon (and that is a good deal) if anyone else has Sprint, post if I you find out if this includes internet. When I have time this week I may do so and will post if anyone is interested. I think this is hopefully going to be another incentive for these companies to compete if there are enough customers interested
Two years ago I switched from Verizon to ATT because I couldn't get a signal in Rocky Point, although I could use it on the main Mexican highways. Has it gotten better?
We also tested a TMobile mini iPad with its own hotspot a couple weeks ago out towards the East Beaches and the signal was intermittent and could never power a laptop even in town. The local La Curva wifi and another restaurant powered the laptop perfectly but not the TMobile hotspot.
On Interstate 8 between Gila Bend and the Maricopa turnoff, the TMobile hotspot powered everything including the laptop, at full strength.
Sprint has free calls while in and to Mexico on some plans a lot of people have already they just have to call customer service and have it activated. I know you are talking data and internet too for Verizon (and that is a good deal) if anyone else has Sprint, post if I you find out if this includes internet. When I have time this week I may do so and will post if anyone is interested. I think this is hopefully going to be another incentive for these companies to compete if there are enough customers interested
I have Sprint and I added their new plan for Mexico about a month ago AND finally my Sprint phone now works great in Sonora and Baja. The data also works great and I believe I have 1 gig of data free including free calls to and from Mexico. When in Mexico my Sprint phone uses the Movistar network.
I have Sprint and I added their new plan for Mexico about a month ago AND finally my Sprint phone now works great in Sonora and Baja. The data also works great and I believe I have 1 gig of data free including free calls to and from Mexico. When in Mexico my Sprint phone uses the Movistar network.
Good news that Verizon is finally getting on board with Mexico , T-Mobile started this last year with inexpensive cellular service in Mexico, it's still the cheapest option and works great, fast 4g even.
Glad the major US carriers are offering options that don't rip people off. Remember $2 per minute phone calls.
Good news that Verizon is finally getting on board with Mexico , T-Mobile started this last year with inexpensive cellular service in Mexico, it's still the cheapest option and works great, fast 4g even.
Glad the major US carriers are offering options that don't rip people off. Remember $2 per minute phone calls.
From everything I've read, T-Mobile throttles international data at 128 kbps? If untrue, then yeah it's probably still best for international purposes. Either way I'm just happy I don't need to be on airplane mode anymore. Long overdue. Hopefully another year or so and everyone can just keep their phones on and not worry about anything.
I just returned to Canada from a 2 month visit to Mexico...Puerto Penasco, Lake Chapala, Guadalajara and points in between. On the way down I picked up a T-Mobile SIM for my iPhone 5S and put it on the new (as of July 2015) plan that provides for free everything in Mexico, US and Canada. The cost was $50 per month prepaid and required no long term commitment. The bill was in fact $50...no extra taxes or fees. Free unlimited voice and texts, and 1GB LTE data and unlimited lower speed data after the first 1GB each month.
Service was very good, even in some dodgy remote areas in Mexico. Not absolutely everywhere of course, but service in places where I did not expect it. Coverage through Puerto Penasco, including the Princesa resort was excellent.
Coverage in Phoenix and most of the way up I15 towards Canada was good. Montana was probably the poorest coverage. For some reason my wife's iPhone with a Canadian Rogers SIM got "more bars" in parts of Montana.
It worked fine in Canada as well although I only used it for a day or so before reverting to my Rogers SIM and Canadian phone number once back in Calgary.
I would use T-Mobile again if repeating the trip. In fact if they could provide service on a Canadian phone number (area code) and take over my long time cell phone number I would switch to T-Mobile permanently.
With that new Verizon two dollar a day thing. I'm a little dense on this. LOL. That means I don't have to turn my data off on my phone and if I don't use it while I'm down there, I don't get charged correct?
From everything I've read, T-Mobile throttles international data at 128 kbps? If untrue, then yeah it's probably still best for international purposes. Either way I'm just happy I don't need to be on airplane mode anymore. Long overdue. Hopefully another year or so and everyone can just keep their phones on and not worry about anything.
Much confusion about the 128kb throttling for international, you will get 2G/3G, 128kbs-3mps, it depends on where you are in 120+ countries.
In Mexico and Canada you will get 4G if the area is using 4G.Penasco has 4G.
If you are on the T-Mobiles, new Simple Choice plan, you get the North America connect package included with high speed 4G in Mexico and Canada.
I have an older Simple Choice family plan, so I had to add the North America connect package with tethering for an additional $10 per month total for all my 8 lines.
Before I added the $10 option, I was only getting 3G at about 1-3mps in Mexico (it was ok for most things) and 3G/4G in Canada.
I have done speed tests in Cholla and now get 10-25mps of 4G/LTE, some other places RP only 3G, it varies where I was.
With all the pressure T-Mobile/Sprint are putting on Verizon that $2 per day fee they charge will disappear.
Because in 2-3 years most of the world will have affordable roaming agreements between carriers which is great news for us customers.:)
All the carriers are changing their plans monthly it seems, so pay attention to the details when you start with a new plan.
We switched from Verizon to T-Mobile. Cheaper, great internet speed and almost unlimited Gigs and it seems we can be in the net for a lot longer and rack up very few Megs not even Gigs
I think the service here in PP is even better than in the states. It also works in Show Low, AZ.
With that new Verizon two dollar a day thing. I'm a little dense on this. LOL. That means I don't have to turn my data off on my phone and if I don't use it while I'm down there, I don't get charged correct?
Basically you need to either login to your account and turn this feature on, or just give them a call to do it. You only need to do it once, not every time you go to Mexico. Now in theory, you are correct, if you don't use it, then you won't be charged. However, the odds of you using no data, receiving no texts, or getting no calls is very slim. But if you just have them turn the feature on, you can continue to use your phone as usual when you cross the border and the most you'll pay is $2/day.
AT&T just announced a new Mexico plan two weeks ago.
We switched to the AT&T Mobile Share Plan several months ago to save money and lost our Mexico plan . Charge was $ 1.00 a minute phone and .50 cents a text is what we had. Not to bad as we didn't use it to much with the Magic Jack at the house.
NOW the good news,
AT&T Mexico Roaming Bonus Plan, you need to have the Mobile Share Plan in order to get it.
COST
$0.00
unlimited talk, to mexico, to us and in mexico
unlimited text to mexico, to us and in mexico
1 GB free data when roaming in Mexico per month.
I talked to a Washington DC # for a 1/2 hour today and no problems with connection.
Good news Terry... Seems like the cell carriers are finally giving up the scam they've been hitting us with for all these years. Another year or so and I'm sure everyone will be free. I don't care for their service, but we've got T-Mobile to thank for starting the trend, the rest are following.
AT&T just announced a new Mexico plan two weeks ago.
We switched to the AT&T Mobile Share Plan several months ago to save money and lost our Mexico plan . Charge was $ 1.00 a minute phone and .50 cents a text is what we had. Not to bad as we didn't use it to much with the Magic Jack at the house.
NOW the good news,
AT&T Mexico Roaming Bonus Plan, you need to have the Mobile Share Plan in order to get it.
COST
$0.00
unlimited talk, to mexico, to us and in mexico
unlimited text to mexico, to us and in mexico
1 GB free data when roaming in Mexico per month.
I talked to a Washington DC # for a 1/2 hour today and no problems with connection.
AT&T just announced a new Mexico plan two weeks ago.
We switched to the AT&T Mobile Share Plan several months ago to save money and lost our Mexico plan . Charge was $ 1.00 a minute phone and .50 cents a text is what we had. Not to bad as we didn't use it to much with the Magic Jack at the house.
NOW the good news,
AT&T Mexico Roaming Bonus Plan, you need to have the Mobile Share Plan in order to get it.
COST
$0.00
unlimited talk, to mexico, to us and in mexico
unlimited text to mexico, to us and in mexico 1 GB free data when roaming in Mexico per month.
I talked to a Washington DC # for a 1/2 hour today and no problems with connection.
After the 1Gb of free Mexico data is used up, it costs $20/gb thereafter and the Gbs from the US can't be used to supplement the Mexico data, according to AT&T customer service. It is still a great benefit though.
I just wanted to report back that our AT&T hotspot created through the iPhone worked acceptably well this last time down and didn't seem to use up too much data. Heads up to Terry for sharing the news.
And on the Verizon end, used the $2/day thing over New Years weekend. Data wasn't great, perhaps due to all the tourists, should knows. Still nice to just keep my phone on and not worry about any crazy charges when I get back.
We did turn on the feature before heading down, but another person in our group didn't. They were however prompted in Sonoyta with a text to opt in the $2 deal.
I like the peace and put phone in airplane mode. One of the pluses to cross the border.
Email via wifi is always available and Whatsap can be used to talk, and receive calls using wifi. All free (whatsAp is Facebook owned and is .99cents a Year. )
2 $ a day seems expensive at $60mo, $720 yr.
It's geared towards tourists like myself, not residents. They only charge you the $2 while you're connected to international towers. Once you're back in the states, it automatically stops.
I just returned to Canada from a 2 month visit to Mexico...Puerto Penasco, Lake Chapala, Guadalajara and points in between. On the way down I picked up a T-Mobile SIM for my iPhone 5S and put it on the new (as of July 2015) plan that provides for free everything in Mexico, US and Canada. The cost was $50 per month prepaid and required no long term commitment. The bill was in fact $50...no extra taxes or fees. Free unlimited voice and texts, and 1GB LTE data and unlimited lower speed data after the first 1GB each month.
Service was very good, even in some dodgy remote areas in Mexico. Not absolutely everywhere of course, but service in places where I did not expect it. Coverage through Puerto Penasco, including the Princesa resort was excellent.
Coverage in Phoenix and most of the way up I15 towards Canada was good. Montana was probably the poorest coverage. For some reason my wife's iPhone with a Canadian Rogers SIM got "more bars" in parts of Montana.
It worked fine in Canada as well although I only used it for a day or so before reverting to my Rogers SIM and Canadian phone number once back in Calgary.
I would use T-Mobile again if repeating the trip. In fact if they could provide service on a Canadian phone number (area code) and take over my long time cell phone number I would switch to T-Mobile permanently.
Update: the T-Mobile Simple Choice NA plan ($50/mo) now includes 2GB of LTE (fast) data before dropping to unlimited slower speed.
Update: the T-Mobile Simple Choice NA plan ($50/mo) now includes 2GB of LTE (fast) data before dropping to unlimited slower speed.
That's what I've been using since August. LOVE IT. Never had to think about the phone - everything is FREE. I actually get better phone service in Mexico than I do in some parts of Phoenix. Go figure.
We are having a problem with making calls and receiving calls,mostly from each other. Telcel has had some operating problems so that has dropped service to us, I think.
We will be going back into T-M office to see if there is a telephone problem or what the problem is.
We are having a problem with making calls and receiving calls,mostly from each other. Telcel has had some operating problems so that has dropped service to us, I think.
We will be going back into T-M office to see if there is a telephone problem or what the problem is.
Bill
We had the same problem with our T-Mobile service on Saturday the 2nd, roaming with Tel-cel, the service worked great for
the prior 4 days and then on Sat. when we were heading back to PHX, we weren't able to send texts or make phone calls.
It worked fine after we crossed the border. The texts we did send were received but our phones in Mexico
showed the message, "unable to connect to network, please try later".
We tried 3 different phones. so it was a problem with Tel-cel.
Next trip, I will choose Movistar for the provider when I go into Roaming mode.
My T-Mo phones have always worked great in RP using Movistar, but on busy weekends, it would sometimes
take a few tries to make calls because the networks were overwhelmed.
Desert Diva, If you have a 4g phone it is free at Verizon. All you have to do is call them and they will switch your phone. You get 500 min. calls ,500 text and 1gig data at no charge. Better than spending 15.00. Just thought you would like to know. I personally like the free part, so I can buy more cold Indio's. Leigh
Desert Diva, If you have a 4g phone it is free at Verizon. All you have to do is call them and they will switch your phone. You get 500 min. calls ,500 text and 1gig data at no charge. Better than spending 15.00. Just thought you would like to know. I personally like the free part, so I can buy more cold Indio's. Leigh
Leigh,
I'm sure I don't qualify for this as I don't even qualify for the $2.00/day plan. I have an "old" plan with 450 minutes talk, 250 text messages, and UNLIMITED data (which I'm not giving up).
I'm on ATT it works great in PP but thinking to change to Sprint has anyone had any experience with Sprint in Mexico?
I have Sprint and added the plan for free calls to and in Mexico to my regular plan, in January while in Mexico I couldn't get my phone to dial out so I am giving them a call for any instruction since we are going next week, After we get back I'll let you know how it went. Thank goodness my fiance added the Mexico plan to his Cricket phone, when my Sprint one didn't work his worked perfectly!