Phone help!

[jujulin]

I'm sure this has been covered but I can't find any recent help. We will be arriving in Cozumel next Thursday for a week of diving and I need to know the best way be able to make and receive calls to and from the states. I have heard of buying a sim card, but I don't have an unlocked phone. I need to be in contact with my family because my mother is very ill and don't want to cancel our trip. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Mossman]

The best way is to use your own cell phone, though it may not be the cheapest way.

 

[mstevens]

There are several ways of dealing with this. It would be helpful to know a few things:

• Are you expecting to need to place and receive lots of calls, or only a few?
• Do you need to be able to use your US number, or will a new Mexican number suffice?
• What is your phone?
• What carrier do you use?

Nearly any US mobile phone will work perfectly on the island. It'll just cost you, and mostly likely quite a lot, to roam internationally. If you don't make a lot of calls, this may not be a big issue.

Nearly any phone with a SIM slot can be unlocked, whether your carrier likes it or not. The specifics of getting this done vary by carrier and sometimes by phone.

If you need to receive calls on your US number, you may end up paying quite a bit no matter how you slice it since you'll either need to forward your US number to a Mexican one and pay the long-distance fees or roam with your US number.

Some carriers have roaming plans that include Mexico and can save you a bundle. Data use, in general, won't be part of those roaming plans and will cost more than you're likely to happy with.

 

[M-diver]

Check with your carrier for international package. I had for my family unlimited text and web, calls for $0.20 per minute from Tmo on our family plan. If you have web, you van use google voice service or similar to make calls to US for free over your data connection. This (google voice) also works over WIFi in case you don't get the carrier package. You will not be available all the time but there are lots of hot spots on the island and you can keep in touch with the family.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[diversteve]

If you have wi-fi access there's Skype. Works on any device, wi-fi phone, tablet, laptop etc. Even video if both devices have cameras. You can call a land line with it also reasonably. Across wi-fi to another Skype user it's free. Skype - Free internet calls and online cheap calls to phones and mobiles

 

[islanddream]

I bought the Verizon Mexico plan a few years ago when we went to Cozumel. I never got any "bars" on my cell phone (even though the Verizon representative assured me my phone would work there) so it was a waste of money. I'm still with Verizon but haven't used my phone on subsequent trips so I don't know the status of the Verizon cell towers. Perhaps if you post the carrier you use (and maybe the type of phone you have), someone who lives on the island or visits it frequently might be able to let you know if your phone will work.

When we go to Coz, I bring my computer and get on to the hotel's Wi-Fi to check email messages or I Skype. I let my kids and my sibs know how to reach me in an emergency....either via email (I check it a couple times a day) or by calling the phone number I give them for The Blue Angel Resort (where we stay). However, with your situation, you might need to have immediate access to an emergency call so a cell phone would most likely be your best option.

I'm so sorry your mom is ill, and I hope she has a complete recovery. Going on vacation is suppose to be stress-free, and worrying about a loved one puts a damper on the fun. Prayers for your mother.....

 

[Mike]

I'm sure this has been covered but I can't find any recent help. We will be arriving in Cozumel next Thursday for a week of diving and I need to know the best way be able to make and receive calls to and from the states. I have heard of buying a sim card, but I don't have an unlocked phone. I need to be in contact with my family because my mother is very ill and don't want to cancel our trip. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

If you have T-mobile, it's basically free already, your cell phone works in Mexico at almost no additional cost. You get data too. I've used it in 4 different locations in the Caribbean besides Mexico since they started it last year and it works.

I do believe the one catch is you just need to call them first and have one thing changed on your account to flag the account so you qualify for it. I believe it's like 20 cents a minute to make calls in Mexico to other Mexican numbers, but calls back to a US number are going to be free.

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[Mossman]

I bought the Verizon Mexico plan a few years ago when we went to Cozumel. I never got any "bars" on my cell phone (even though the Verizon representative assured me my phone would work there) so it was a waste of money. I'm still with Verizon but haven't used my phone on subsequent trips so I don't know the status of the Verizon cell towers. Perhaps if you post the carrier you use (and maybe the type of phone you have), someone who lives on the island or visits it frequently might be able to let you know if your phone will work.

Does Verizon even have cell towers in Mexico? It's my understanding that in foreign countries, phones roam on alternate networks.

 

[jujulin]

Thanks for the info so far. I have a Samsung S4 with at&t. Hospice is helping with my mom and said it could be a few weeks but they don't know for sure and I need to be reachable when I am not "under the sea". We are staying at the Park Royal and I have heard that their WiFi is not real good.

 

[Tunaman68]

Wi-Fi + Viber is what we use. You can go video, or just audio, or if you all have apple devices, you can just use face time (face time audio is pretty good even with sketchy wi-fi).