Many people often ask for similar information for trips to the US or elsewhere in the world. I travel often and can provide my experience. I will update this as plans change. If you have info, please post or send me a PM. Thanks!
If you have a dual sim iPhone, you might be able to use wifi calling to use your Canadian number when you have a second SIM that has data coverage. Here are the steps,
Turn off roaming on your Canadian SIM.
Select your Canadian provider as the preferred network - not automatic.
Turn on wifi calling on the Canadian SIM.
Change default voice line to the Canadian SIM.
Change default data line to the Canadian SIM.
Turn on, Allow cellular Data Switching for cellular data.
When you are abroad, you won't have a cellular signal for your Canadian SIM but your data SIM will have a signal. Your Canadian SIM will go into wifi calling mode and use cellular data from your roaming/local SIM with a signal. It should look like this,
This works for Freedom Mobile and can also be used in Canada to avoid Freedom domestic roaming. It may work for Rogers and the other Canadian providers, but it has not been proven. If you have any more information, please PM me.
eSIM
Great site to look up eSIM for where you are visiting,
AT&T Prepaid
$30 unl dom talk, unl global text, $5/250mb data
$35 1GB dom data, unl dom talk/text, Mobile Hotspot
$50 8GB North America data, unl talk/text, MHsp, 1 month rollover data
$65 unl NA data, unl talk/text, NO MHsp
$85 unl NA data, unl talk/text, 6GB MHsp (US only)
Data Plans
500Mbs of 5G data for $5
2GB of 5G data for $10
5GB of 5G data for $20
10GB of 5G data for $30
30GB of 5G data for $40
50GB of 5G data for $50
Ultra Mobile
$3 100 minutes of talk, 100 texts and 100MB 5G • 4G LTE Data, .10 extra talk/text, 1-day 500mb $5 or 7-day 1GB $10 data pass, roaming: talk $1.99/min , text s/r .50/.10
2 Degrees visitor SIM
$10 250MB data, 100 minutes to NZ & Aus
$19 3GB, 200 minutes to NZ & Aus
$30 6GB, 300 minutes to NZ & Aus
Plans are monthly and data and minutes carryover. Unlimited texts to NZ & Aus. Free hour of data every day. Wifi calling and hotspot capable. SIM is free by ordering from their website.
Airsim
Hong Kong based but has data for many locations. Is physical SIM based so you will need to purchase a SIM card first. https://www.airsim.com.hk/
Know Roaming
Sample data rates:
US$4 global unlimited one day
$10 global unlimited three day
$6 US unlimited three day
$10 Asia or Europe or USA 1GB (30 day validity)
$40 Asia or Europe or USA 5GB (30 days)
$25 global 1GB (30 day validity)
$100 global 5GB (30 days)
Requires the purchase of a SIM card ($9.99) or sticker ($29.99)
eSIM is also available
Note about unlimited plans: From Knowroaming support: "Generally, we place no limitations on accounts drawing less than 250 MB per day. However, we reserve the right to scale access speed for individual accounts down to 2G (128 kbps) speeds once the user’s daily usage significantly”. However, "You're good as long as you dont go beyond 2GB per day."
Skyroam Hotspot
Buy or rent a mobile hotspot device that works almost everywhere worldwide. Check website for coverage.
Purchase
$150 (+$10 shipping to Canada, $5 to US) for Skyroam Solis, includes 1 free day pass.
$10 for additional days
$99 monthly
Rental
$9.99 per day + $10 shipping to Canada
Shipping avaiable to Canada for $10, but return shipping for the device was $60, so might be cost prohibitive.
Pickup is available at HOU, ATL, MIA airports in the US.
Three.co.uk
SIMs on eBay, cheap and ships very quickly. SIM can be activated in Canada - no need to step foot in the UK.
Roaming in: EU + Israel + USA + Australia + Singapore + Hong Kong + a bunch of Central/South America Countries
£10.00 1GB
£15.00 5GB
£20.00 12GB
TravelSIM
Global chat sim. Supports WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, Line and WeChat (text/emoji only)
SIM: US$25 includes 1 year of service, $12/year thereafter. Shipping is $10 for 1 card, free for 2 or more cards. No tax. Use coupon code 1300 for 10% off.
No worry of overusage or background data leakage because data for all other apps are blocked. Discussion thread, here.
You can get the Discover Hong Kong Tourist SIM Card at any 1O1O Centers in town, including the new outlet at 5/F of the Hong Kong International Airport Arrival Hall, more than 1,000 7-Eleven, Circle K or VanGO convenience stores, csl or HKT shops, and the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s Kowloon Visitor Centre at the Star Ferry Concourse in Tsim Sha Tsui.
China Mobile HK
$98 1GB data, 50 talk, 50 text, 3 days China, Hong Kong and Macau
$148 2GB data, 100 talk, 100 text, 10 days China, Hong Kong and Macau
$198 4GB data, 100 talk, 100 text, 10 days China, Hong Kong and Macau
$148 1.5GB data only 10 days 4G/3G can be consumed in either Mainland China or Hong Kong
Available at the China Mobile Service Centre in the arrival hall of Hong Kong International Airport. Prices may be cheaper that listed. I got the $148 1.5GB SIM card for $108 at the airport shop.
Mexico
Telcel
MX$20 15 day unl NA talk/text, 200mb NA data, 1GB NA WhatsApp or dom social media
$100 21 day unl NA talk/text, 300mb NA data, 1GB NA WhatsApp or dom social media
$150 28 day unl NA talk/text, 600mb NA data, 1.5GB NA WhatsApp or dom social media
$200 33 day unl NA talk/text, 1GB NA data, 1.5GB NA WhatsApp or dom social media
$300 30 day unl NA talk/text, 1.5GB NA data, 1.5GB NA WhatsApp or dom social media
$500 30 day unl NA talk/text, 4GB NA data, unl NA WhatsApp or dom social media
Singtel
S$15 7 day 500 min, 100 text, unlimited social media, 30 min international calls, 100GB data
$30 10 day unlimited talk & text, unlimited social media, 90 min international calls, 100GB data, 2GB roaming data for Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia
$50 10 day unlimited talk & text, unlimited social media, 90 min international calls, 100GB data, 5GB roaming data for Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia (two SIM cards included)
Starhub
S$12 7 days 500 talk, 100 text, 30 min LD, 100GB 4G data, 1GB roaming data
$32 12 days 3000 talk, 5000 text, 90 min LD, 100GB 4G data, 3GB roaming data valid for 30 days
$50 180 days 100GB local data (10 days), 5GB roaming data (30 days), $50 airtime credit included
Dent wireless - NOT recommended - removed from list on November 19, 2022 because of this,
Email from Dent wireless on November 19, 2022: In order to respond to the growth we see on the platform, we have made the decision that all DENT Bonus Data will now have a validity of 7 days. All DENT Bonus Data received in the past year will have a validity period of 7 days on 28.11.2022 . Please remember to use up any of your bonus data prior to 05.12.2022.
China Mobile HK
Not as easy to get as you need a HK mailing address to receive the SIM. However, you may be able to get some of them from Amazon or eBay vendors.
Worthy mention. FreedomPop is a "wifi first" carrier where talk & text are done via app. It's also good for calling back to Canada, since the VoIP app considers Canada calling as domestic. Also since it's VoIP, it won't work for Google voice sms validation.
@batcave can you please compare roaming only sims like know roaming, roam mobility, one sim card, etc.? Also focus on travel destinations where picking up a local sim is really difficult (language barrier and ID requirements).
MrPsv1 wrote: ↑
Is the Roam Mobility sim best for data only then? Going to California for 9 days
With Roam Mobility your best option for 9 days is to get a 10 days daily plans Talk-Text-Data for $49.50.
That will give you 5GB of LTE data for $10 less than their data only plan @ $59.95 for the same amount of data.
And it will give you the unlimited talk+text and LD as a plus if you need it.
If you bust you data plan, you can still access it in 2G speed or just add the amount of days (@ 512MB/days) of LTE data that you want to add.
I've done that numerous time for my trips to the states.
InExtremis wrote: ↑
With Roam Mobility your best option for 9 days is to get a 10 days daily plans Talk-Text-Data for $49.50.
That will give you 5GB of LTE data for $10 less than their data only plan @ $59.95 for the same amount of data.
And it will give you the unlimited talk+text and LD as a plus if you need it.
If you bust you data plan, you can still access it in 2G speed or just add the amount of days (@ 512MB/days) of LTE data that you want to add.
I've done that numerous time for my trips to the states.
I am now in Seattle area for 2 weeks. I went for Can$30 2 Gb plan as data is King. With just data I have voice/text . My sim in Canada also works in a dual sim phone. I can return call and text with textmeup to anywhere in US and Can. all free
2Gb LTE is barely enough for 2 persons and 2 weeks
BTW RM users should pay attention.
I have an older (2 years old) RM sim card. This time when I bought the data add on for this trip, I was told to change the APN of the sim to a new name "wholesale". Wow...Kind of a shock.
But anyway I was thinking that it might be a software issue. So the minute the phone was still rolling on the tarmac of Seattle airport, I turned on the phone and let my phone to try out it's auto APN function first. While the plane was still moving, the RM signal got in and in 2 minutes I was on 4g. The auto APN worked like a charm. Then I was calling my relative on Textmeup to pick me up.
There is another speculation too. I am on a new Huawei Mate SE on 7.1.1. Maybe the other RM user can chime in to see if they need to go by manual APN.
Likely RM advice for manual APN only applies to people using older phones.
My (auto)APN of RM is now on fast.t-mobile.com instead. The name is T-MobileData (all auto). The only thing I needed was to switch manually my data SIM from Fido data to that of RM.
Three.co.uk (SIMs on eBay, cheap and ships very quickly)
Roaming in: EU + Israel + USA + Australia + Singapore + Hong Kong + a bunch of Central/South America Countries (http://www.three.co.uk/feel-at-home/)
£10.00 1GB
£15.00 5GB
£20.00 12GB
SIM can be activated in Canada (no need to step foot in the UK).
I'm traveling to the USA so I purchased a roam sim card. I noticed my credit card has a $11.95 (the sim + tax) that I expected.. but it also has a separate $1 charge from roam mobility... what is that $1 for??
rilles wrote: ↑
I'm traveling to the USA so I purchased a roam sim card. I noticed my credit card has a $11.95 (the sim + tax) that I expected.. but it also has a separate $1 charge from roam mobility... what is that $1 for??
I bought their data package of $29.95. $1 was added too but it is gone in the final bill.
rilles wrote: ↑
but it also has a separate $1 charge from roam mobility... what is that $1 for??
I'm guessing at this. Maybe for a test charge to see if your card is good or valid. I recall PayPal doing something like that.
Does anything show up when you check for transactions on your credit card.
ROYinTO wrote: ↑
I'm guessing at this. Maybe for a test charge to see if your card is good or valid. I recall PayPal doing something like that.
Does anything show up when you check for transactions on your credit card.
its a "pending" transaction. maybe it will go away when it changes state if it was a test.
batcave wrote: ↑ [...]If you have info, please post or send me a PM. Thanks! [...]
There is another cost effective alternative for USA and Mexico: for those (like me) who occasionally need 2-4 weeks of full service in the US (including 5-10GB of LTE data and unlimited calls to USA and Canada and Mexico): there are several ebay US sellers who sell discounted, preloaded T-Mobile SIM cards, pre-activated with T-Mobile $50/month plan (unlimited local/international text/calls, and 10GB of LTE data per month). Such SIM cards are sold for around USD$20-$25 (shipped free to an ameri-friend or to your hotel in the USA; shipping to Canada is available but it is stupidly expensive). The prepaid service loaded on these SIMs expires in 30 days from activation (you send an email to the seller the day before you need activation of the service). Extending the service for one additional month is expensive (another USD $50 or $60) and not worth it; for longer stays, it is better to buy another one of these $20 SIM cards ahead of time and activate the second SIM, with a new phone number, when the first SIM expires. Search on ebay.ca for: "preloaded T-MOBILE SIM MONTH FREE", here is an example: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Preloaded-Tmobi ... 3159794810
I used such a SIM last year in the USA and service was excellent in those areas with good T-Mobile coverage. Even after burning through 10GB of LTE data in less than two weeks (tethering for the entire family), there was still unlimited 2G data connection for the remainder of 30 days, slow but OK for Google maps and real-time navigation. Or, if you have data/minutes left at the end of your trip when you return to Canada, you can continue to use the remaining data/minutes in Canada until 30th day from activation. It also works in Mexico.
ahoroba wrote: ↑
There is another cost effective alternative for USA and Mexico: for those (like me) who occasionally need 2-4 weeks of full service in the US (including 5-10GB of LTE data and unlimited calls to USA and Canada and Mexico): there are several ebay US sellers who sell discounted, preloaded T-Mobile SIM cards, pre-activated with T-Mobile $50/month plan (unlimited local/international text/calls, and 10GB of LTE data per month). Such SIM cards are sold for around USD$20-$25 (shipped free to an ameri-friend or to your hotel in the USA; shipping to Canada is available but it is stupidly expensive). The prepaid service loaded on these SIMs expires in 30 days from activation (you send an email to the seller the day before you need activation of the service). Extending the service for one additional month is expensive (another USD $50 or $60) and not worth it; for longer stays, it is better to buy another one of these $20 SIM cards ahead of time and activate the second SIM, with a new phone number, when the first SIM expires. Search on ebay.ca for: "preloaded T-MOBILE SIM MONTH FREE", here is an example: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Preloaded-Tmobi ... 3159794810
I used such a SIM last year in the USA and service was excellent in those areas with good T-Mobile coverage. Even after burning through 10GB of LTE data in less than two weeks (tethering for the entire family), there was still unlimited 2G data connection for the remainder of 30 days, slow but OK for Google maps and real-time navigation. Or, if you have data/minutes left at the end of your trip when you return to Canada, you can continue to use the remaining data/minutes in Canada until 30th day from activation. It also works in Mexico.
I still have two active SIMs with $2/day unlimited call/text/data. I only get charged if I use it, so it sits on the shelf waiting to be used on trips to US.
Data speed and service is dependent on city for the most part.
We're all bozos on the bus until we find a way to express ourselves...
Failure is always an option...just not the preferred one!
I still have two active SIMs with $2/day unlimited call/text/data. I only get charged if I use it, so it sits on the shelf waiting to be used on trips to US.
Data speed and service is dependent on city for the most part.
Unless I am mistaken, they stopped offering this in 2015. It was replaced with $3/month 30 minutes/texts.
You can't get this plan now but those who had it, could continue to access it. I have two SIMs with the plan. I believe you may be able to even but SIMs on eBay with this plan.
We're all bozos on the bus until we find a way to express ourselves...
Failure is always an option...just not the preferred one!
