cell phone for Canada trip

[Sunset]

Hi,

I'm looking to see if any of you smart travelers have a good idea for Canada phone service when visiting.


We are planning a trip to Canada of about 2 months.

Previously we have made do with wifi calling at a McD's , but this time will need to be able to phone from isolated locations without wifi.

Currently we have the T-Mobile legacy pre-paid phone plan which is great for my usage in USA, and I plan to keep as it only costs me $10/yr per phone.

T-Mobile said I can buy a monthly plan for about $55 and use that sim in Canada for the 2 months.


I am considering using https://www.mintmobile.com/ as they have a 3 month plan for $15 per month, plus would need to add an international roaming which they call UpRoam of pre-paid amount of $20.
Then they charge low fees, so the $20 would last a long time

Flat Rate for Canada & Mexico: SMS $0.02/text (outbound) Flat Rate for Canada & Mexico: Voice $0.06/min
Flat Rate for Canada & Mexico: Data $0.06/MB

Maybe folks here have a better suggestion

 

[Freedom56]

Hi,

I'm looking to see if any of you smart travelers have a good idea for Canada phone service when visiting.


We are planning a trip to Canada of about 2 months.

Previously we have made do with wifi calling at a McD's , but this time will need to be able to phone from isolated locations without wifi.

Currently we have the T-Mobile legacy pre-paid phone plan which is great for my usage in USA, and I plan to keep as it only costs me $10/yr per phone.

T-Mobile said I can buy a monthly plan for about $55 and use that sim in Canada for the 2 months.


I am considering using https://www.mintmobile.com/ as they have a 3 month plan for $45 plus would need to add an international roaming which they call UpRoam of pre-paid amount of $20.
Then they charge low fees, so the $20 would last a long time

Flat Rate for Canada & Mexico: SMS $0.02/text (outbound) Flat Rate for Canada & Mexico: Voice $0.06/min
Flat Rate for Canada & Mexico: Data $0.06/MB

Maybe folks here have a better suggestion

I use Ultra Mobile (part of T-mobile). A no contract plan costs $30 per month and includes:

Unlimited data
Unlimited calling to 75 countries
International roaming credit of $5 (one time)
$0.05 per text sent from outside the US
$0.25 per minute for roaming calls

I have used it in Canada, England, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany without any problems.

When I have access to wifi, I use the ooma app to make calls

 

[97guns]

Check out cricket, I just went to Canada and used their service, they offer free roaming from Canada and Mexico with their unlimited plans for $50 and $55

 

[CaptTom]

We were in Canada for a couple months in 2016 on our Down East Loop trip. Things may have changed, but here's my experience:

I was going to go with an AT&T plan which supposedly included Canada and Mexico. Other carriers had similar plans. But when I looked at the fine print, they only worked for a limited time (one or two weeks) outside the US. Even the salesman in the AT&T store didn't know this. He called over a manager, who looked it up and confirmed that we'd have been cut off after that time if we didn't return to the US for at least a day.

We stopped at a Bell Mobility storefront shortly after crossing the border. It turns out they couldn't sell us a monthly plan, since we weren't Canadian residents. They could sell us a pre-paid plan, although they had to fudge the home address since we were traveling. Armed with a new SIM card in my existing phone, things went fine the rest of the trip. Even though it was a "pre-paid" plan, we paid by credit card, with automatic renewal, so no problems there.

Look at coverage for the area you plan to be in. Different carriers were better in different spots. We found surprisingly good coverage with Bell Mobility in the Maritimes in 2016. But if it's anything like US carriers, things are changing all the time.

Data plans were much more expensive, and had lower limits, than in the US at that time. It would be interesting to see if things like Google Fi have changed that any. We didn't use a lot of data anyway, since so many places we stayed had good WiFi.

 

[folivier]

Interested in this since next year we're going to Alaska in the motorhome. We'll spend about a month through Canada going and a month or longer on the way back. Most of this time will be without cell service except in the few remote towns along the way. So one option we're looking at is the new Spot X global messenger. It allows you to send/receive text messages anywhere there is satellite coverage. Kinda expensive at $250 for the unit + $200-300/year. But as a safety device to carry when in a remote area or hiking it can be a lifesaver. We've carried the original Spot for a few years now and never had to use it other than sending a "where we're at" message.

 

[CaptTom]

The Spot line has come a long way since the original version. We have a competing product, the InReach (formerly Delorme, now Garmin.) We opt for the annual plan that lets us activate and de-activate it month by month, and only pay for the plan we want, and for the month(s) we want.

The plan we get allows unlimited text and does "bread crumb" transmissions (visible on a web site by anyone you want to share with) every 10 minutes, or less frequently (or not at all) if you prefer.

It connects to a regular cell phone via BlueTooth, so sending and receiving texts is as easy as doing so on your phone. You can even use your phone's contact list, so you don't have to key in numbers. It also has a "distress" mode which allows you to two-way text with a 24-hour emergency center. Much better than hitting a button and hoping someone heard it, and figured out what you need.

There are other plans. Check out their rates and functionality. We found it more functional and a better value than anything else out there.

If you haven't heard of these, the way I describe them is a satellite phone without the phone; only text.

You can also sign up for services, like weather texts. There's a new version which can display a map, too.

 

[Spudd]

Once you get here, you can get a Canadian pre-paid plan, just replace your SIM with the Canadian one. If all you need is calling, something like Speakout (from 7-11) would work well, they charge 30c/min for Canada-wide and incoming calls, 45c/min for calling the US. You have a year until your minutes expire so you might be able to get away with just buying the cheapest level and stretching it for the 2 months.
https://www.speakout7eleven.ca/plans

PC Mobile is available in any Loblaws grocery store (these are common) and charges 20c/min for Canada and 40c/min for US. You can either get a plan ($15/mo is cheapest) or just buy minutes. Plans & Features - Prepaid | PC mobile

Fido would also be an option although their website refuses to tell me the rates for calling the US. I imagine it wouldn't be too out of line with the rest of the providers though.
https://www.fido.ca/web/page/portal/Fido/PrepaidPlans/Plans

 

[OldShooter]

Last time we were there I carried an old GSM phone that we were no longer using, then bought a SIM at a 7-Eleven. It was a moderate amount of screwing around and maybe $20-30 total but it served the purpose.

Now we are on Google Project Fi and our phones work in Canada exactly as they work in the US. So, no hassles. Free calls local and home IIRC.

 

[Sunset]

Once you get here, you can get a Canadian pre-paid plan, just replace your SIM with the Canadian one. If all you need is calling, something like Speakout (from 7-11) would work well, they charge 30c/min for Canada-wide and incoming calls, 45c/min for calling the US. You have a year until your minutes expire so you might be able to get away with just buying the cheapest level and stretching it for the 2 months.
https://www.speakout7eleven.ca/plans

PC Mobile is available in any Loblaws grocery store (these are common) and charges 20c/min for Canada and 40c/min for US. You can either get a plan ($15/mo is cheapest) or just buy minutes. Plans & Features - Prepaid | PC mobile

Fido would also be an option although their website refuses to tell me the rates for calling the US. I imagine it wouldn't be too out of line with the rest of the providers though.
https://www.fido.ca/web/page/portal/Fido/PrepaidPlans/Plans

Thanks for the links.



Just so others reading are aware:

I checked out the PC Mobile one, and it sounded pretty simple and great, until I read how the 20c/min is for local calls and they charge 40c/min for Canada (long distance) and USA.

 

[Sunset]

I ended up using the mintmobile.com service.
It worked great.
I bought the $45 for 3 months unlimited in the USA phone plan (which I think is pretty good). Then I added $10 roaming to it, which only was used in Canada for texting $.02 and phone calls $.06 /min.
I turned off data as it is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive $200/Gb.

When the roaming ran out, I made a call and it automatically when to their help, I explained I was in Canada and needed another $10 added, they already had my card number and did it. Two minutes later and I was able to make calls.

It also allowed me to make unlimited calls to Mexico and Canada, when I was in the USA for no extra charge. Which was handy when arranging things before going.

 

[mrWinter]

Using the app Whatsapp you can make 'phone calls' over any data connection. A buddy of mine did that a few years ago in the BVI's using the restaurant's wifi connection. You turn off the cellular and cell data on your existing phone so you don't get hit with the insane exorbitant international charges (you have to be careful to not turn them back on for even a second or that second will download all missed texts and data and whatnot and cost you a bundle), but leave the wifi on, and wherever you have wifi you are good to go via Whatsapp. Not sure what other apps this works with, maybe google hangouts if that's still alive, I'm sure there are others.



Obviously only solves the problem if you want an occasional call when you find wifi, not for normal cell operation walking the streets.

 

[flintnational]

Thanks for the update. Mint is an MVNO for T Mobile. Glad to hear their network worked in Canada. Earlier this year we switched to T Mobile's 55+ plan. The international usage was a big part of our decision. Calls, texts and data are free in Mexico and Canada and reduced data speeds and texts are free globally. Calls in other countries are around 25 cents. With a trip to Europe finished, we continue to be impressed. It looks like Mint is still running the new customer deal, 2GB of data for $15 a month for 3 months. The regular price is $23 per month.

 

[Sunset]

Using the app Whatsapp you can make 'phone calls' over any data connection. A buddy of mine did that a few years ago in the BVI's using the restaurant's wifi connection. You turn off the cellular and cell data on your existing phone so you don't get hit with the insane exorbitant international charges (you have to be careful to not turn them back on for even a second or that second will download all missed texts and data and whatnot and cost you a bundle), but leave the wifi on, and wherever you have wifi you are good to go via Whatsapp. Not sure what other apps this works with, maybe google hangouts if that's still alive, I'm sure there are others.

Obviously only solves the problem if you want an occasional call when you find wifi, not for normal cell operation walking the streets.

I also have skype credits (no plan) and could make phone calls from Canada to USA for 2.5 cents per minute, BUT only when I was in a town with free wifi.

In my case I needed cellular phone service, as my location was too remote for any wifi without some traveling.

 

[Sunset]

Thanks for the update. Mint is an MVNO for T Mobile. Glad to hear their network worked in Canada. Earlier this year we switched to T Mobile's 55+ plan. The international usage was a big part of our decision. Calls, texts and data are free in Mexico and Canada and reduced data speeds and texts are free globally. Calls in other countries are around 25 cents. With a trip to Europe finished, we continue to be impressed. It looks like Mint is still running the new customer deal, 2GB of data for $15 a month for 3 months. The regular price is $23 per month.

They offer the same $15 / month for longer periods as well, like 12 months. https://www.mintmobile.com/product/12-month-2gb-plan-sim-kit/

As for their website, it said the 3 month was intro offer. I bought one, went to Canada, came back and the 3 months ran out (which was my plan).
I had to return to Canada a week later, so I bought another 3 month plan for total $45 and currently have it.
Each time I got a new phone number, otherwise no issues.

I will keep the 55+ plan in mind, as for 2 lines and over age 55, it is only $35/line which is pretty decent.

 

[OldConch]

Check out cricket, I just went to Canada and used their service, they offer free roaming from Canada and Mexico with their unlimited plans for $50 and $55

+1 for Cricket. 4 lines unlimited for $100 prepaid is, IMO, a bargain. We spent a week on Vancouver Island in June and our phones worked great. IIRC, you need to add a "1" to numbers you call in the U.S.

 

[mancesnow]

+1 Ultra Mobile. And Telegram.

 

[mh]

Thanks for the update. Mint is an MVNO for T Mobile. Glad to hear their network worked in Canada. Earlier this year we switched to T Mobile's 55+ plan. The international usage was a big part of our decision. Calls, texts and data are free in Mexico and Canada and reduced data speeds and texts are free globally. Calls in other countries are around 25 cents. With a trip to Europe finished, we continue to be impressed. It looks like Mint is still running the new customer deal, 2GB of data for $15 a month for 3 months. The regular price is $23 per month.

As a data point my t mobile 55+ data worked well enough in London for me. I wasn’t blazing speed but it had enough speed such that it wasn’t noticeably annoying me.