Best way to get SIM data in america

Buffman

Buffman

Buffman

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Joined
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West Midlands
Hi All,

I'm going to america (california) in may and would like a sim data package so that I can use google maps and general data for whatsapp etc.

What is the best way to do this /have reliable internet? I will be going for 16 days and doing quite a lot of driving so a fairly reliable connection would be good (I will download google maps beforehand!)

Willing to pay whatever it costs, but if theres an option that costs circa £40 with tethering that would be good (allow me and mrs to use phones when relaxing).

Currently we're both on BT mobile which doesnt offer good roaming options.
 
StevieP said:
Just get a monthly Three SIM card and use that - they include data over there!
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This! We've done it the last 3-4 times we've been over there... not blindingly fast, but does the job.

@The Craig try Waze over there as well... with the social element of it, it's damn good for getting about and being alerted to any incidents/fender benders etc.
 
If you do get a Three SIM just make sure you put the "+44" bit in the numbers on your phone because the plan only includes calls to UK numbers!

In other words you will still have to pay for any calls to US numbers!
 
I found Three to be next to useless on the West Coast. Full signal but data throttled to an extent it was unusable. I would definitely not have been able to rely on it for navigation. Even reading emails was hard.

This was a couple of years ago though, so things may be better now. I moved to Vodafone, and although it's a fiver a day it's like being at home.
 
Terminal_Boy said:
What phone or tablet do you have?
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I've got a huawei p20 Pro and a huawei m3 tablet (no sim). Mrs has a motorola g5 I think.
I assume they will have correct bands to pick up 3g signals?

I've heard mixed reviews about the 3 sims in America, im not bothered for speed (e.g streaming ) more just reliability. Any other experiences of 3 in California (recently?)
whiskycycle said:
This! We've done it the last 3-4 times we've been over there... not blindingly fast, but does the job.

@The Craig try Waze over there as well... with the social element of it, it's damn good for getting about and being alerted to any incidents/fender benders etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks I'll try waze (never use it in the UK) , can you download maps on it?
 
When I was in Vegas and Hawaii last year the T-Mobile shops had 'tourist bundles' for about $30 which would get you a load of prepaid minutes and data. Can't remember how much but it seemed like it'd be enough for a couple of weeks when wifi wasn't available.
 
Em3bbs said:
I found Three to be next to useless on the West Coast. Full signal but data throttled to an extent it was unusable. I would definitely not have been able to rely on it for navigation. Even reading emails was hard.

This was a couple of years ago though, so things may be better now. I moved to Vodafone, and although it's a fiver a day it's like being at home.
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Glad you've mentioned this as I'm on Three and heading to the west coast in April. Hopefully it's improved, will need it for navigation!
 
The Craig said:
I've heard mixed reviews about the 3 sims in America, im not bothered for speed (e.g streaming ) more just reliability. Any other experiences of 3 in California (recently?)
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Never had any coverage problems in the US while using Three - including Florida, up and down the East Coast and West Coast, Vegas and Canada!

Granted my California experience is a few years ago but don't all providers tend to piggy back pn each other's networks anyway?
 
I used my 3 sim in San Franciso & Vegas in September and then in San Jose (essentially San Fran) in October with no issues. Used it for emails, browsing, uber / google maps and some youtube. Generally worked fine for everything, although sometimes Youtube was a bit slow.
 
Don't get a three sim. I've done four road trips now, three of those times I took a three sim and barely got 2g speeds.

Best thing to do is land, go straight to an AT&T store and ask for a tourist sim. Sure it's about 30-40$ but you'll get max 4g speeds nationwide.

It's just not worth making do when for a few quid more you get ~9GB data at 4g and then after that unlimited 3g or something like that.

We'll be doing another road trip in November and I'll be doing the same.
 
Kol said:
Best thing to do is land, go straight to an AT&T store and ask for a tourist sim. Sure it's about 30-40$ but you'll get max 4g speeds nationwide.

It's just not worth making do when for a few quid more you get ~9GB data at 4g and then after that unlimited 3g or something like that.

We'll be doing another road trip in November and I'll be doing the same.
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That sounds great mate. Are the stores in the Airports by any chance?
 
malachi said:
Three was great in Vegas and LA but pants in New York, could barely browse.
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Three Roaming Abroad was crap for me in New York (Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan) while staying over there through end of December to New Year. The only provider it could find was T-Mobile on 2G and that kept dropping.
 
did a full west coast tour Seattle to San Diego in June and me on ee and my wife on three had no issues with signal or speed. my wife only had 1 problem which was in Canada and that's because three dont allow data in Canada!
 
Kol said:
Don't get a three sim. I've done four road trips now, three of those times I took a three sim and barely got 2g speeds.

Best thing to do is land, go straight to an AT&T store and ask for a tourist sim. Sure it's about 30-40$ but you'll get max 4g speeds nationwide.

It's just not worth making do when for a few quid more you get ~9GB data at 4g and then after that unlimited 3g or something like that.

We'll be doing another road trip in November and I'll be doing the same.
Click to expand...

Realise im going in 2 weeks now :o, are the stores in airports?
 
Good question ... I've never sought one out at the airport but I suspect so. I'm sure they will have tourist sims etc.
 
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