Trilo

Hi folks, I depart to the States early next month and was wondering what is best to do regards my mobile phone. Obviously I will have to cancel my Vodafone contract and get my phone unlocked to be used abroad, what is the best course of action to begin with until I get settled in the US and can open up a contract with a provider, Pay as you go I assume would be OK to begin with? Any advice would be appreciated

tom169

Can pick up a sim card from most grocery stores and pay for a month or whatever. Federal law means they have to let you port your number when you find a network that you like.

michaelr711

Get a prepay sim from Walmart for a month and then transfer over to Sprints One Year Free - Bring Your Own Device.

https://www.sprint.com/en/shop/offer...=&gclsrc=aw.ds

jkeller

^^^^^^
I don't think his phone will work on Sprint. A UK phone will be GSM only. Sprint still has legacy 3G CDMA and a lot of it. I think(??) Verizon is allowing GSM only phones to be activated on their network now. ATT and Tmobile are both GSM only and a UK phone should work.

michaelr711

If it is an iPhone there is a good chance he can, depending on the model. If not though, you are right and that won't be an option.

petitefrancaise

t-mobile pay as you go is ok - works very much like a regular post paid contract, You can just walk in to any t-mobile store and open up an account,no credit check. Takes about 30 minutes. You can even pay with a non-US debit/credit card just make sure you have some id on you.

ch2016

I used AT&T's prepaid plan with my UK phone when I first came over, and have been happy to stay on it for the last couple of years.

Alternatively I just used Tracfone prepaid sim for a visiting guest. I liked that they had a 60 day plan, $25, 500Mb, 500 mins. You can buy the sim card at places like Target. Seemed much better value than the use-once tourist sims T-Mobile sell.

Your phone is more likely to work on AT&T or T-Mobile (or mobile virtual networks that use them https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...work_operators) than it is to work on Verizon or Sprint. Not impossible you have a phone capable of working on any network, just much more likely those first two,

jammiie

I walked into T Mobile on my very first day on the ground and was given a phone contract with no problem.

I took my UK phone out with me so there was no handset involved which I assumed helped.

Trilo

It's an iPhone SE

jkeller

I think that phone only came with the Qualcomm modem. So it should have GSM/CDMA radios and work on all mobile providers in the US.

setting>general>about>model>model again. It should say A1662 or A1723. Most likely A1723 as that was the world-wide model. If it says A1724 that was a China only model and I don't know what the differences are radio-wise.

samills610

Just wondering - has anybody moved over to the states who already has a UK contract that offers cheap/free internet and calls whilst away?

I currently have unlimited internet and calls with the Three network on a rolling 30 day contract, that lets me use in the USA for no additional cost. Wondering how long I can effectively remain on this when I first move over before it becomes an issue

tom169

From memory that only works for something like 60 or 90 days until you need to use the phone in the UK again.

The major flaw is that you'll find most things in the US will ask for a cell number. Health insurance, store memberships, contracts... And they won't take a UK number.

samills610

OK perfect thanks for the info. Whilst not a complete solution it should help for some things

TheKingOfHearts

It works for the short term, but it's cripplingly slow. Think Edge/slow 3G equivalent, unlike some other countries where the 3 SIM gives you full 4G/LTE, the US is not one of those.

samills610

Are you sure? Is that everywhere or perhaps only in certain parts of the country?

I have used it on a few previous trips to NYC / CT previously, and although I noticed it wasn't quite as strong as in the UK, I was perfectly able to stream music and do other various data-intensive things with my phone