# Mobile phone confusion!



## NicG (Nov 17, 2012)

Hey! 

Just wondering if there are any Brits out in the States who had the same questions as me regarding their mobile?
My contract comes up for renewal in January, so luckily I don't need to pay to come out of a contract, so I can keep it rolling month to month till we move in March. 
We will be back in the UK perhaps twice a year. 
Do I get a mobile phone in the States? Or are there UK contracts that'll serve internationally. I don't want to commit to a 2 year contract (if things in the US don't work out) but I am going to need a phone. 
What has anybody else done and who would you recommend as a service provider? 
Thanks! 
Nic


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## vronchen (Jan 26, 2012)

I am using virgin mobile in the us as it is month by month and I can cancel any time. You can also skip a few weeks, and restart the service if needed. If you only skip a few weeks you keep the same number.


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## tully (Jan 5, 2012)

Hi I researched the mobile phone thing for months before moving to the US. US phone companies and plans are completely bizarre esp when it comes to using iPhones. I ended up opting for Truphone. You can get a UK number (australian in my case) as well as a US number so your Family and friends can call you as if you you're still in the country and u don't pay for receiving calls which you do with US carriers. I ported my Aus mobile number across before i left home so the transfer was flawless - no new number for people to learn. i also chose to get a US number ($8 a month) for ease of use in the US. It's prepaid and was easy to do. I have had lots of dealings with customer service and they have been great. I think they are a UK based company. It's been a great choice for me. Data is included but costs more than at home. Hope this helps!


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## NicG (Nov 17, 2012)

Thank you! That's helpful. Briefly read about those month to months... Have you got a decent phone??


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## cheeser (Jan 22, 2012)

We took a T-Mobile prepay account which offered unlimited international calls to land lines and free international texting.

Unfortunately T-mobile had terrible coverage in San Fran, or in our neigbourhood at least.


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## JennYoungUBS (Dec 31, 2012)

Just don't go with . .....


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Whatever you do don't go with PAYG in USA. You top up, they use up your new credit within minutes with spamming calls and SMS.


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## NicG (Nov 17, 2012)

baldilocks said:


> Whatever you do don't go with PAYG in USA. You top up, they use up your new credit within minutes with spamming calls and SMS.


OK...is this the T-Mobile prepay account?!


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## JennYoungUBS (Dec 31, 2012)

Pre paid is never a good idea especially with spamming as Baldilocks said.


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## cheeser (Jan 22, 2012)

We found (apart from the coverage) that T-mobile's pre-pay plan was great. There was some spam but given that it was unlimited calling and texting it didn't matter.

In fact if the underground bunker where I ended up working had anything other than Verizon repeaters I probably would have stayed with them, but walking outside to take a call ended up being too annoying.


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## USForex Guy (Jan 3, 2013)

cheeser said:


> We found (apart from the coverage) that T-mobile's pre-pay plan was great. There was some spam but given that it was unlimited calling and texting it didn't matter.
> 
> In fact if the underground bunker where I ended up working had anything other than Verizon repeaters I probably would have stayed with them, but walking outside to take a call ended up being too annoying.


I agree with Cheeser. T-Mobile Prepaid is the way to go, just make sure your phone is unlocked and get a prepaid SIM chip mailed to you or at a local dealer. 


Those 2 year plans are nightmares that most expats get locked into and can't get out of.


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## united954 (Jan 6, 2013)

Nic

I been in the USA for 12+ years and my parents recently tried to relocate from UK to USA so i did some research for them. They planned to stay in the USA for rest of their lives but they ended up going back to UK.

So your mobile in the UK, or even your home phone if you have one, do you want to keep the number? I might suggest porting the fixed line to a provider like the UK Vonage so that people can still contact you e.g. the UK Bank. The UK mobile number, can you convert that to a pre-paid (my parents had a UK prepaid to start with)? I've have a UK prepaid for over 10 years now. Just use it once every 6 months and its great. Perfect solution for this 1-2 trips home a year.

When in the US, you sure need a mobile even just for emergency situations. Providers kind of fall into 3 camps - contracts typically 2 yrs, pre-paid (ATT, TMO USA that i know of) and providers like MetroPCS, Virgin etc who have none contract accounts. I'd suggest going for a pre-paid and see how you like things. You can get an unlocked feature phone from Walmart for $10 or was it $20. Then you can spend your time thinking about what you really need. And maybe sign up for a google gmail account and have google voice so that you can keep a single number and swap your mobile number if needed.

Also dont think about using a UK SIM in the USA, the roaming rates will kill you and no US person is going to call a UK number. USA number is the way to go.

By the way as for 2 year contracts, i cant see the provider coming after you if things go wrong and you head back to the UK.


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## NicG (Nov 17, 2012)

united954 said:


> Nic
> 
> I been in the USA for 12+ years and my parents recently tried to relocate from UK to USA so i did some research for them. They planned to stay in the USA for rest of their lives but they ended up going back to UK.
> 
> ...


Hi! Cheers for your help. I really do have a few options and seems the easiest thing to do is play it by ear when I get our there. Think the prepaid plan is the way to go or maybe with Virgin, as I know who they are! 
I am definitely not going to worry about home phone though. Not when we have Skype these days! Thanks massively form your help. 

Nic


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## Gourockian (Nov 26, 2009)

*Net10 are good!*

My wife has a Net10 phone which we bought in Walmart and she pays $15/month for 150 minutes which was later upgraded to 200 minutes, for no extra charge. The good thing about their service is that if you sign up for direct debit, your unused minutes are rolled over each month, so you don't lose them.

It might not suit your needs but is worth checking out.

Another carrier worth looking at is MetroPCS.


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## goalie18 (Apr 15, 2012)

We found no carrier would give us a two year contract on our e3 visa and prepaid was our only option. That said, we haven't had any probs on the unlimited t mobile prepaid.


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