bolt on to use data in america? o2.
- Thread starter utajoker
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Depends on the Hotel...... Ask them.
no of course they won't.
however, if you get disconnected from the WiFi and your phone goes onto cellular data... you'd better have the lube on standby.
that said, you can always just disable cellular data while you're abroad.
There was a bug with IOS a while ago which actually did that - on wifi disconnect the phone would roam without prompt. I'd suggest disabling data while over there, your phone will probably suggest this too. Wifi is extremely common in urban areas over there, you should be fine.
Jailbreaking makes no odds, you have a choice of using wifi or paying through the nose for mobile data.
1) buy an US at&t 3G PAYG simcard off ebay
2) once your flight has landed, try topping up your phone, you'll have to go through to an operator and explain that you don't have an american credit card and you would like to use your own.
3) get phone topped up with X dollars (i would put something like $50 on it).
4) go on the internet and sign up for 100mb worth of usage - this knocks off $20 off your running balance on your phone.
5) i had problems with my iphone 3g initially but after following these instructions: http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/2...re-not-subscribed-to-a-cellular-data-service/ - it worked fine.
6) congrats, you now have data on your phone.
This is how i did it, i'm pretty sure at&t are the only sim card provider in america, as verizon only provided simcardless phones.
T-Mobile also provide sim cards in America, but unfortunately their PayG offering doesn't have a competitive data package.
A slight improvement on your method is, instead of buying a top-up through AT&T direct, use one of the online companies to do so. I used a company called CallingMart, who accept PayPal (inc. international accounts) and provide you an AT&T top-up code instantly after payment (no waiting for e-mails). They also discount the top-ups by 5% (so a $25 top-up actually only costs $23.50).
This allows you to do the whole thing online, from activation, top-up and purchase of the data bundle.
Another tip: *777*3# on your phone will give you a free update on how much data you have left -- you want to keep an eye on this and buy an additional 100mb bundle if you run low, as once the bundle runs out the data costs will eat through your remaining balance in seconds.
Also, bear in mind that AT&T's 3G network uses a totally different set of frequencies to the networks over here, so depending on your phone, you may only ever see 2G/EDGE speeds at most. T-Mobile uses the same frequencies as networks here, which is why it's especially annoying they don't have a competitive offering.
Finally, if you intend to make calls between members of your party when you're out there, it's worth getting an AT&T SIM for everyone, as the call costs are astronomically less than calling between UK mobiles. You can pick up the SIMs for around £3 on eBay so it's not expensive, but bear in mind they usually come from US sellers, so allow a couple of weeks for them to arrive.
A slight improvement on your method is, instead of buying a top-up through AT&T direct, use one of the online companies to do so. I used a company called CallingMart, who accept PayPal (inc. international accounts) and provide you an AT&T top-up code instantly after payment (no waiting for e-mails). They also discount the top-ups by 5% (so a $25 top-up actually only costs $23.50).
This allows you to do the whole thing online, from activation, top-up and purchase of the data bundle.
Another tip: *777*3# on your phone will give you a free update on how much data you have left -- you want to keep an eye on this and buy an additional 100mb bundle if you run low, as once the bundle runs out the data costs will eat through your remaining balance in seconds.
Also, bear in mind that AT&T's 3G network uses a totally different set of frequencies to the networks over here, so depending on your phone, you may only ever see 2G/EDGE speeds at most. T-Mobile uses the same frequencies as networks here, which is why it's especially annoying they don't have a competitive offering.
Finally, if you intend to make calls between members of your party when you're out there, it's worth getting an AT&T SIM for everyone, as the call costs are astronomically less than calling between UK mobiles. You can pick up the SIMs for around £3 on eBay so it's not expensive, but bear in mind they usually come from US sellers, so allow a couple of weeks for them to arrive.
Soldato
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I used www.mrsimcard.com for my three week trip to the states last year. Got one of the iphone unlimited data sims and it was fantastic.
kinda pricey but now i think about it - really good value.
If you go PAYG on AT&T you have to pay for both receiving and sending text messages (20c a pop, effectively 40c if you get a message back).
I spent at least 50 bucks in ten days and that wasn't unlimited data!
will be using mrsimcard next time i go back to the states, do they deliver to the uk?
Looks quite pricey to me unless you really are going to be using lots of *everything*.
It sounds like you went for the simple rate plan on AT&T, which for your usage pattern was the wrong move. If you were making frequent calls, the unlimited talk and text plan at $2 per day would have been much more cost-effective for a 10 day stay, for a cost of $20 plus a data package. Alternatively if you weren't doing much calling, then a 200 message text bundle would have been $5.
On the plus side though, SimpleMobile appear to be an MNVO of T-Mobile, which means that most UK phones will get a 3G/HSDPA link on this network, and if you are staying for an extended time then it starts to be quite a good deal.
However, it's definitely worth comparing them with going direct -- the AT&T 'unlimited talk and text' offer is priced at $95.99 for 30 days, whereas buying it direct would cost you approx $5 for a SIM and 30 x $2 for the service, at a cost of $65. The SimpleMobile deals appear to be approximately the same price as going direct, however.
It sounds like you went for the simple rate plan on AT&T, which for your usage pattern was the wrong move. If you were making frequent calls, the unlimited talk and text plan at $2 per day would have been much more cost-effective for a 10 day stay, for a cost of $20 plus a data package. Alternatively if you weren't doing much calling, then a 200 message text bundle would have been $5.
On the plus side though, SimpleMobile appear to be an MNVO of T-Mobile, which means that most UK phones will get a 3G/HSDPA link on this network, and if you are staying for an extended time then it starts to be quite a good deal.
However, it's definitely worth comparing them with going direct -- the AT&T 'unlimited talk and text' offer is priced at $95.99 for 30 days, whereas buying it direct would cost you approx $5 for a SIM and 30 x $2 for the service, at a cost of $65. The SimpleMobile deals appear to be approximately the same price as going direct, however.
Soldato
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I was in the states for three weeks on a driving holiday through calif and nevada so used the simplemobile simcard deal from MrSimcard to get the unlimited text/talk/data. Was worth every penny to basically have the same iphone functionality as while being in the UK albeit minus the 3G data speed.
I used sat nav, google maps, made lots of calls to BA/hotels/ car rental places etc, text my mates/family while having full internet access the whole time and not worrying about any sort of extra bill. It was a godsend actually as on arrival to San Francisco, our driver was nowhere to be seen. Had to get on the phone to the chauffeur company to sort it out and was on the phone for AGES.
Mirsimcard delivered to the UK, had to get in touch with them via 'live chat' to get the activation code before we left but this was a simple process to be fair. Am going back to the states in the summer and will 100% be ordering from them again, sure it is expensive but I think it was worth it.
/edit the only caveat to add to the above is that you need your phone to be unlocked first but I am sure everyone figured that out already
I used sat nav, google maps, made lots of calls to BA/hotels/ car rental places etc, text my mates/family while having full internet access the whole time and not worrying about any sort of extra bill. It was a godsend actually as on arrival to San Francisco, our driver was nowhere to be seen. Had to get on the phone to the chauffeur company to sort it out and was on the phone for AGES.
Mirsimcard delivered to the UK, had to get in touch with them via 'live chat' to get the activation code before we left but this was a simple process to be fair. Am going back to the states in the summer and will 100% be ordering from them again, sure it is expensive but I think it was worth it.
/edit the only caveat to add to the above is that you need your phone to be unlocked first but I am sure everyone figured that out already
He says it's jailbroken, not unlocked.