US local mobile options

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › US local mobile options

kiwind

74 posts

Master Geek

#68283 18-Sep-2010 11:02

I'm visiting the US soon and looking for advice on what local options there are for mobiles there.

Typically when I travel I buy a local pre-pay SIM for my iPhone and use that with my NZ SIM in an old spare phone just in case anyone calls me. It makes for no bill shock when I get home (one bad bill is all I can cope with).

Any suggestions/ideas for what I can do?

Cheers
Andy

petes117

371 posts

Ultimate Geek

#381587 18-Sep-2010 11:48

You can check these threads:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=76&topicid=61554
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=76&topicid=59295
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=85&TopicId=62525

Ive just got back from the US myself and used my iPhone on an AT&T plan. Still waiting to get my deposit back, I'm pretty unimpressed with them.
The amount if hoops you have to jump through is crazy, you'd swear they've never had an international customer with an iPhone before!

boby55

1539 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#381594 18-Sep-2010 12:13

What sort of iPhone is it?

iPhone 4 you might be stuck with AT&T depending on which providers have micro sims considering they are currently only for apple devices.

kiwind

74 posts

Master Geek

#381595 18-Sep-2010 12:15

iPhone 4 - so guess AT&T will be it.

I see from some other threads now (why didn't they come up in my search) that it could be an AT&T plan, with deposit down. Not ideal, but still cheaper than 2 weeks of roaming data.

petes117

371 posts

Ultimate Geek

#381606 18-Sep-2010 12:50

Make sure they don't sign you up for a plan with termination fees too. I hate how they don't sell pre-pay sims, but unfortunately theres no other choice!

quickymart

13987 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#381742 19-Sep-2010 00:47

I found T-Mobile to be okay when I was there last year (I roamed on them). AT&T might be your best bet tho.

old3eyes

9120 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#381797 19-Sep-2010 10:07

boby55: What sort of iPhone is it?

iPhone 4 you might be stuck with AT&T depending on which providers have micro sims considering they are currently only for apple devices.

I did hear on one of the US podcasts that if you put a AT&T SIM into an unlocked iPhone 4 then it gets locked to the AT&T network. Not sure how much truth is in this..

Regards,

Old3eyes

bcourtney

652 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#381800 19-Sep-2010 10:19

How long are you there for and whereabouts will you be visiting? I was there for 3 weeks in July, doing a road trip from LA-Vegas-Salt Lake City-through Idaho and Washington to Seattle-down through Oregon to Portland and finally to San Fran.

Didn't use a local SIM and just turned my phone's data roaming off. I found free wifi networks pretty much whenever I needed one and all the hotels I stayed at offered free wifi too.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

kiwind

74 posts

Master Geek

#381825 19-Sep-2010 11:35

2 weeks, california, and Nevada mostly.
Want to be able to make calls and use it for Google Maps so kind of keen to have data.
Happy to pay deposit on a contract provided I can cancel after a month!

bcourtney

652 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#381831 19-Sep-2010 11:53

Ah yeah. Fair enough. I bought the TomTom US app due to driving approximately 5,000kms so didn't have the need for google maps which of course meant no data