Cell phone service in San Miguel de Allende

4POSTS

8 years ago

Friends
We are planning a move to SMA in the not to distant future. We are wondering what kind of cell phone plan(s) we should have? Obviously we'll need to make local calls, but we'll want to sty in tough with friends and family at home. Use a US Cell phone? Get a Mexican cell phone? One of each?

Thanks for recommendations about what has worked for you!

Jerry

1 member reacted to this post

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Mel01 Active member

73POSTS

8 years ago

I had a USA phone when I came down , cost 50 US dollars a month 2 gigs. Got smart and got at&t Mexico unlimited from / to USA Canada and Mexico, 5 gigs paid for a year worked out to about 19 USA dollars a monthly. Has hot spot and all my apps on apple phone , had no problems.

joaquinx Serial expat

461POSTS

8 years ago

How much data does a person really need? I make local calls to friends with WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Hangouts. I also use my providers services for telephone calls. I lieu of over usage of data, I seek out WiFi cafes and public WiFi. There are plenty of those. I spend between 50 and 200 pesos a month for my cell service.

jerobrien New member

4POSTS

8 years ago

Thanks!
J

jerobrien New member

4POSTS

8 years ago

Wow, these are great idea!
thanks
J

Guestposter651 Guest

0POSTS

8 years ago

Att Mexico has a plan for 200 pesos a month unlimited calls to the Us and Canada,internet and free messaging.Unfortunately they dont seem to have service in southern Mexico,Oaxaca Chiapas etc.

gudgrief ViP

844POSTS

8 years ago

I'm a little late in this one but here's my take.

Skype fails regularly here. Sometimes it doesn't ring at all at other times it rings twice and cuts.

By law every cell provider must give you service to/from US, Canada, Mexico at the same rate as local calls. All providers have plans that give you unlimited voice and text plus an amount of MBs for Facebook and twitter, some unlimited and some include whatsapp and some give you data service in US and Canada but at a charge per MB less than data roaming would be.

Can you call landlines with Whatsapp? I don't think so.

I don't need much Internet data because I'm rarely far from free wifi. But traveling by bus within Mexico, I enjoy having it available en-route even though it is a bit tricky on most roads.

In many locations LTE performance is far superior to wifi.

So, for convenience sake 200 pesos a month with a particular gives me all the MB's I need, best Internet performance locally (better than wifi in places) and the best overall coverage where I go in Mexico and the US.

1 member reacted to this post

jerobrien New member

4POSTS

8 years ago

Thanks! Very helpful info!
J

travellight VIP Member

2460POSTS

8 years ago

That's interesting Stinky,
I am in the definitely southern part of Mexico and I have it. Perhaps it's some other specific area problem. Makes no sense for me to have it and not you.

Guestposter651 Guest

0POSTS

8 years ago

#10

Glad there ATT in the panhandle,dont rely on it in the rural areas,Last month as I was making my myway home from my depotation I had no service at all with ATT,Oaxaca and Chiapas,

travellight VIP Member

2460POSTS

8 years ago

#11

Ah I see , AT&T, I had lots of problems in the past with them, and many of the others in the U.S I'm using Telcel and have had no problems.

In the U S I used Credo /Sprint and had no problems. All of the others were horrible service and attitude.

Guestposter651 Guest

0POSTS

8 years ago

#12

I had a two year contract with Tercel.My plan was advertised as $300 a month but in reality it was usually between $800--1000.i have been in contract with att for almost a year the plan was advertised as $198 a month and that's exactly what I pay,Online payments,can you believe it?wheres the Fula haha

gudgrief ViP

844POSTS

8 years ago

#13

gudgrief wrote:
I'm a little late in this one but here's my take.

Skype fails regularly here. Sometimes it doesn't ring at all at other times it rings twice and cuts.

By law every cell provider must give you service to/from US, Canada, Mexico at the same rate as local calls. All providers have plans that give you unlimited voice and text plus an amount of MBs for Facebook and twitter, some unlimited and some include whatsapp and some give you data service in US and Canada but at a charge per MB less than data roaming would be.

Can you call landlines with Whatsapp? I don't think so.

I don't need much Internet data because I'm rarely far from free wifi. But traveling by bus within Mexico, I enjoy having it available en-route even though it is a bit tricky on most roads.

In many locations LTE performance is far superior to wifi.

So, for convenience sake 200 pesos a month with a particular gives me all the MB's I need, best Internet performance locally (better than WiFi in places) and the best overall coverage where I go in Mexico and the US.

I should have mentioned I always buy the phone outright and get it unblocked. I always go prepaid for airtime because I can change companies whenever it suits.

My current prepaid 200 pesos for 33 days plan works great. A couple of days before the 33 days are up, I get a text message and I go online to pay another 200 pesos. Having to manually make the payment every time is the only small inconvenience.

2 members reacted to this post

travellight VIP Member

2460POSTS

8 years ago

#14

Wow, you have been having a bad time. Telcel advertised $200 and that's what I pay. Never had any outages or been stuck with no service.

Guestposter651 Guest

0POSTS

8 years ago

#15

Yeh,if you can fix a set price with telcel its definitely the way to go as their coverage being a Mexican company is much better.Att suits me at the moment as I have no plans to travel.

1 member reacted to this post

MikeGB Serial expat

299POSTS

8 years ago

#16

Gudgrief posted a great synopsis. I would like to add one thing that I don't think has been mentioned yet. AT&T Mexico (which is not affiliated with AT&T US) does not charge roaming fees in the US (don't know about Canada yet). Also they have unlimited calling in Mexico as well as the US and Canada for $200 MX per month.

I have heard of people even getting a better deal than that if you are willing to pay 6 months in advance.

And there is no contract at this rate.

I should add I am based In San Miguel de Allende and AT&T has worked well for me here (4G).

1 member reacted to this post

joaquinx Serial expat

461POSTS

8 years ago

#17

I would like to know how people use "data" as opposed to wifi access. Do you keep it on 24/7 or just when you go out? Do you seek out cafes or public wifi areas for free wifi access?

Mreid51 Active member

72POSTS

8 years ago

#18

I leave mine on at all times. I also leave th WiFi on at all times. When I'm in a place that has free WiFi I connect to it. Once you connect to a WiFi location once the phone should automatically connect the next time you are within range. When I'm not in range of a known WiFi hotspot the phone automatically switches to the data plan. This drains the battery a bit faster but not so much as to be a problem.

I don't usually browse much when I'm away from home. Mostly use it for e-mail and directions when out and about.

Mel01 Active member

73POSTS

8 years ago

#19

This is just me , I use my phone / iPad for all my accounts in the states. I honestly just don't trust a joint/ shared public wifi access to my devices that contain this information. I am probably paranoid.

Mreid51 Active member

72POSTS

8 years ago

#20

Oh, neither do I. I have an annual subscription ($39yr) to PrivateInternetAccess VPN service and use it on all my devices! That solves the public access problem. I should also mention that I use a VPN router at home so that all traffic in and out of the house is routed via PIA VPN.

Mreid51 Active member

72POSTS

8 years ago

#21

And, your paranoia is valid and proper!

1 member reacted to this post

MikeGB Serial expat

299POSTS

8 years ago

#22

joaquinx wrote:
I would like to know how people use "data" as opposed to wifi access. Do you keep it on 24/7 or just when you go out? Do you seek out cafes or public wifi areas for free wifi access?

I have mine turned on all the time, but when I am the vicinity of a hotspot I use that instead. I have 1 gig included per month and have yet never used that much. I do not use Skype or any apps that require a lot of bandwidth when I am using the cellular net.

I also have configured most apps not to be able to use the Internet when no WiFi is available.

gudgrief ViP

844POSTS

8 years ago

#23

I leave Mobile Data turned off as long as there's good free WiFi available. I noticed enough battery drain while I'm moving around and not interested in Internet access that I decided to keep it off unless I needed it. My primary use is on long bus trips. There are times at home where the WiFi performance is slow and Mobile Data works better so I use it there too infrequently.

gudgrief ViP

844POSTS

8 years ago

#24

Mreid51 wrote:
Oh, neither do I. I have an annual subscription ($39yr) to PrivateInternetAccess VPN service and use it on all my devices! That solves the public access problem. I should also mention that I use a VPN router at home so that all traffic in and out of the house is routed via PIA VPN.

I use VPN also and any sensitive personal data that I access while out of the house is encrypted.

joaquinx Serial expat

461POSTS

8 years ago

#25

Opera offers a VPN that is free. It's on android. I don't know about iPhone.

MikeGB Serial expat

299POSTS

8 years ago

#26

gudgrief wrote:
I noticed enough battery drain while I'm moving around and not interested in Internet access that I decided to keep it off unless I needed it.

If you configure your apps (with the exception of a few) to only use the Internet when a WiFi connection is available you won't have to worry about turning it off. Thus the battery drain should be decreased.

Also, leaving your WiFi or GPS turned on while you are out and about will use up much more battery. They are the real battery killers. Also your display will eat up a lot of battery, but that can't really be helped.

gudgrief ViP

844POSTS

8 years ago

#27

joaquinx wrote:
Opera offers a VPN that is free. It's on android. I don't know about iPhone.

That's interesting and although I don't really like the Opera browser, I thought I'd look further since I'm something of a miser when it comes to computer use and came across this:

https://www.shivarweb.com/12325/opera-vpn-review/

"It’s Not Really A VPN
Here’s the elephant in the room when it comes to this service. Opera’s VPN isn’t exactly a VPN.

It’s more like a proxy server.

Sure, it provides all the functionality you need from a VPN when it comes to your browser data, but it stops there. Opera’s VPN only encrypts the data that’s being transmitted between your web browser and the internet. But, your browsing data only represents a portion of your internet use."

I do use apps on Windows and Android that don't go through any browser so that limit would be a concern.

gudgrief ViP

844POSTS

8 years ago

#28

MikeGB wrote:
gudgrief wrote:
I noticed enough battery drain while I'm moving around and not interested in Internet access that I decided to keep it off unless I needed it.

If you configure your apps (with the exception of a few) to only use the Internet when a WiFi connection is available you won't have to worry about turning it off. Thus the battery drain should be decreased.

Also, leaving your WiFi or GPS turned on while you are out and about will use up much more battery. They are the real battery killers. Also your display will eat up a lot of battery, but that can't really be helped.

Can you elaborate on configuring apps to use only WiFi? I don't believe my gmail, banking or reservation apps and others have options to use only WiFi. I'll admit my eyesight is not what it once was. Thanks.

I do turn Location off when I'm out of the house unless I actually need it.

joaquinx Serial expat

461POSTS

8 years ago

#29

I should point out that many sites are shifting to https encryption (even Facebook). Not this site, but banks and other sites that ask for personal information use this browser to site encryption.

MikeGB Serial expat

299POSTS

8 years ago

#30

joaquinx wrote:
I should point out that many sites are shifting to https encryption (even Facebook). Not this site, but banks and other sites that ask for personal information use this browser to site encryption.

One thing to keep in mind: Even though many sites do this, if they have been hacked your data can be freely available to them. For example, Facebook has been hacked in the past and so has Yahoo (several times). Bank sites are usually pretty safe (with the exception of fake bank sites - people need to pay very close attention to the site URL to prevent this kind of thing).

MikeGB Serial expat

299POSTS

8 years ago

#31

gudgrief wrote:
Can you elaborate on configuring apps to use only WiFi?

I use Android. If you use an iPhone I can't be of much help.

But with Android you open up SETTINGS and then tap DATA USAGE. There are 2 tabs at the top: Cellular & Wireless.

You can set a "Cellular Limit" (which could be handy). I don't bother.

But as you scroll down you will see a list of Apps. Tap on the App of interest and scroll to the bottom. You will see "Restrict App Background Data". Turn this on for each App you don't want to use the Cellular net.

2 members reacted to this post

gudgrief ViP

844POSTS

8 years ago

#32

MikeGB wrote:
gudgrief wrote:
Can you elaborate on configuring apps to use only WiFi?

I use Android. If you use an iPhone I can't be of much help.

But with Android you open up SETTINGS and then tap DATA USAGE. There are 2 tabs at the top: Cellular & Wireless.

You can set a "Cellular Limit" (which could be handy). I don't bother.

But as you scroll down you will see a list of Apps. Tap on the App of interest and scroll to the bottom. You will see "Restrict App Background Data". Turn this on for each App you don't want to use the Cellular net.

On my phone, the structure is different. I had to select MORE on Data Usage to find Restrict Background Data to bring up the list of apps. It may come in handy at some point. Thanks.

1 member reacted to this post

joaquinx Serial expat

461POSTS

8 years ago

#33

A big one would be Google Play. It has its own switch under settings within the app. Setting it to WiFi only to prevent updating apps over data.

5 members reacted to this post

KatRN Member

1POSTS

4 years ago

#34

We will be there initially for four months. Would we have to sign a one year contract? What company ?

Mike Bluett Member

11POSTS

4 years ago

#35

No you do not have to sign a contract for any period of time. You can pay each month for that month's usage. That is how I started out when I first arrived here. Now I pay an annual contract because it removes the hassle of paying each month.