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MARIGOT
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Posted: Mon Oct 12th, 2009 01:37 am |
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I will be visiting San Carlos soon and will need to establish cell phone service - what are my options?
Will I be able to use my US cell phone and just get a MX chip installed? if so, then how do I use the phone when I return to the US for visits?
Need to get a new phone with MX cell phone company?
How many carriers are available in San Carlos?
Any pros and cons on which cell phone company to sign up with?
Any info will be appreciated. Thanks to all who reply. 
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RichD
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Posted: Mon Oct 12th, 2009 02:15 am |
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TelCel, Movistar, and Nextell are available here. If you are only here for a short time and will be making local calls only, TelCel is probably the easiest. You should be able to buy a SIM chip for around 100 pesos. You can buy cards to load time on your phone or just take the phone number into a convenience store like Oxxo and they will load the value for you. Movistar has a variety of plans and may have one for relatively inexpensive calling to the US. In short, you have lots of options.
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taoswheat
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| Location: | Taos, New Mexico USA |
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Posted: Mon Oct 12th, 2009 03:55 am |
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I just went through this in September. Easiest way to get cell service is to see Mario at the TelCel office (new) on the right towards town from Charlie's Rock. For 360 pesos you get a phone with 300 pesos of time included. This is cheaper than putting a SIM in your existing phone. Mario speaks English and hands you a working phone before you pay.
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MARIGOT
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Posted: Mon Oct 12th, 2009 03:04 pm |
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Thanks, taoswheat and RichD, for the replies. I will have to find Charlie's Rock and navigate from there!
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Jimmy
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Posted: Tue Oct 13th, 2009 02:56 pm |
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| I use my AT&T. Seamless use in Mexico. Works just like in the States. Watch usage to keep price down.
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gwbuild
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Posted: Fri Oct 16th, 2009 02:09 am |
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Verizon also works, but service is spotty. AT&T seems to work the best of US providers around the area.
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5:00 SMWHR
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Posted: Sat Oct 17th, 2009 05:58 am |
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| I have NEXTEL from the US and have total coverage from Nogales to San Carlos. Since the hurricane, service has been bad right at San Carlos but that may be because they have their cell site down.
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MARIGOT
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Posted: Sat Oct 17th, 2009 11:59 pm |
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Drat! I have neither AT&T, Verizon nor Nextel.
I think I will just do the prepaid phone /card/ thingy until I can decide which carrier to sign up with on a contract (Movistar or TelCel).
Thanks for all the info on the US carriers that work there. 
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mesa
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Posted: Sun Oct 18th, 2009 01:23 am |
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| Bring a laptop and use Skype, its free.
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MARIGOT
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Posted: Sun Oct 18th, 2009 04:23 pm |
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I have a laptop and Magic Jack, but have been unable to get the stupid thing to work after repeated 2 HOUR chats with the talented techs at MJ. They think (?) Nero is the problem and want me to delete the software from my computer, which I will not do. Even if it worked, I would have to have an internet connection, (which I read in another post the Fiesta Real Hotel does not have- as well as no phones).
I think I will have to have a cell phone for local calls in San Carlos. It doesn't require an internet connection.
Any other suggestions, or a MJ expert among the group? 
Last edited on Sun Oct 18th, 2009 04:26 pm by MARIGOT
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taoswheat
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Posted: Sun Oct 18th, 2009 04:33 pm |
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You might want to try Skype. Free to download and try. Does require a microphone and speakers- your laptop may have both. I use it in San Carlos regularly. It does cost for calls to cell or land line phones but free for Skype to Skype. I have both cell and Skype so I always have phone access.
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Sandman
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Posted: Sun Oct 18th, 2009 07:07 pm |
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Don't call Magic Jack. I had the same problem, I called Gateway and they helped me.
It may cost you, but it was worth it. NO problems now.
Go to Device Manager, right click My computer, Properties, Hardware. Most likely there is a yellow ? mark showing somewhere, that will pinpoint where the problem is. Actually MJ now shows on the E-drive. Do you have Vista? That is another problem.
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MARIGOT
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Posted: Mon Oct 19th, 2009 12:30 am |
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Sandman-
I am assuming you have a Gateway computer? Mine is an Acer - you think Acer support will be able to help me?
I probably should make a new post about the MJ problem so we are not changing the subject on the cell phone thread.
Thanks for the suggestion. I really didn't think about the laptop manufacturer helping with MJ.
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gwbuild
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Posted: Sun Oct 25th, 2009 03:03 am |
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With our Skype, we just forward the number to our home in San Carlos. Don't need to have the computer, but you only pay the next-to-nothing Skype rate when people call you from the USA.
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AlanSonora
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Posted: Mon Oct 26th, 2009 04:30 pm |
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Back to the original questions about cell phones.....
My recommendation is that you go with Telcel. They are the largest cell provider in Mexico (more customers than all their competitors combined) and have the best coverage, including rural and highways. I found on a recent trip that much of Mexico Highway 15 south to Guadalajara and beyond already has the faster 3G signals.
You might be able to get by with just a Telcel SIM card in your existing phone. However, only unlocked GSM phones can accept the SIMs. If your phone was originally bought from your cell provider, chances are it is locked to the carrier and would need to be unlocked. This is probably possible and probably not very expensive. The cell phone shop in SC can probably do that. After that, you may change the SIM card whenever you travel to the states. It's like changing the memory card in a digital camera, more or less.
As Taoswheat suggested, your out-of-pocket expense of $360 pesos with $300 in airtime, makes a new phone only cost $60 pesos (currently less than $5 USD). That deal is hard to beat. If you opt for this route, have THAT new phone unlocked, and you could potentially use it with a U.S. SIM card in the states, too.
I have a couple of unlocked phones (bought them unlocked on Ebay) with SIM cards from AT&T and from Telcel. When I am in Mexico, I pop in the Telcel card. (The card fits in a slot, often located in the battery compartment.) When I go north, I remove the Telcel card and put in the AT&T card.
There are some U.S. cell providers that don't use the GSM network (Verizon, for instance). Their phones do not have SIM cards and cannot be modified to work on Telcel.
Depending on how much you plan to use your phone, the prepaid plan AMIGO might be all you need. No contract and the airtime is not that expensive. Plus, all your airtime will rollover. Even if your airtime expires, you can add some to the phone (there is a time limit) and recoup your previous balance. A recharge of $100 pesos or more will be good for 60 days. There are bonuses...the more you buy, the more you get...$100=$100, $200=$260, $300=$450, $500=$900. The big plus is that the airtime is available EVERYWHERE......phone shops, OXXO, checkout lines at supermarkets, ATM machines, etc. I seldom buy the scratch-off cards anymore, I just walk into OXXO and recharge at the cash register. The new airtime is on the phone before you can walk out of the store.
Theoretically, you could add $100 pesos every two months and keep your phone number active. That's a total cost of $600 pesos for one year, which is about $46 USD at the current exchange rate. Obviously that would not give you much talk time, but that's less than $4 USD per month to keep the phone active. That's a good deal if you ask me...By comparison, my AT&T Go Phone costs a minimum of $100 USD to keep it active for one year.
Hope this info helps.
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bournemouth
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Posted: Mon Oct 26th, 2009 07:41 pm |
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Alan - that's the best post on cell phones I've seen anywhere - I've copied and filed it for future reference. Thanks for all that information.
Last edited on Tue Oct 27th, 2009 12:23 am by bournemouth
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AlanSonora
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Posted: Mon Oct 26th, 2009 08:39 pm |
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You're welcome!
Honestly, I don't really enjoy talking on the phone that much, but I love gadgets and technology. My wife thinks I'm nuts and has threatened to disown me if I get another new phone. ....
Another interesting thing to note....Telcel AMIGO SIM cards will work for mobile internet as well. I got an AT&T laptop connect card and had it unlocked just like a cell phone. You take out the AT&T SIM and insert a Telcel SIM. Change a few settings (found the settings via Google) and voila....access to the internet. You can activate it for 1 day, 2 days, 7 days, 15 days or 30 days by sending a text message right from the software on your computer. One day costs about $5 USD and the full 30 days is about $40 if I remember correctly.
There are no ongoing charges from month to month other than to keep the SIM active. It's probably not cost effective for long term or high traffic use, but I travel to Mexico City and Guadalajara occasionally and activate it for the duration of my trip. That way, I have 3G internet on my laptop wherever I go and can check my email.
There really is nothing to compare to this in the U.S. in terms of cost, ease of use, and excellent coverage. I actually got another SIM recently to use exclusively with the aircard so I have phone AND internet when I travel. The bonus is, I can pop the extra SIM into a spare phone and have ANOTHER cell phone if I need it. If you have a smart phone with data capability, you can activate the internet and have phone and data on the same device at the same time. Way cool!
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Ian948
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| Joined: | Fri Jul 10th, 2009 |
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Posted: Tue Oct 27th, 2009 02:21 am |
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Alan,
Any chance you could offer a run down on IPHONES available in Mexico ?
Thanks
Ian
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AlanSonora
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Posted: Tue Oct 27th, 2009 05:11 am |
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Check out this page:
http://www.telcel.com.mx/iphone/
Don't know if you read Spanish or not, but it should be pretty intuitive.
Click on the "Planes" link to see the various plans and prices. Looks like you can even use an Iphone with the AMIGO prepaid cards, but I suspect the data side of it gets expensive.
Looks like they offer the 8gb model, as well as the 16gb and 32gb 3Gs models.
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Ian948
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Posted: Tue Oct 27th, 2009 05:26 am |
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Thanks - very helpful , I had only found outdated pages before !
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