USA in Canada

Will a cellphone purchased in the USA work in Canada.? I am thinking of a
pre-paid plan and only want a phone. I don't want pictures, text messages
or internet.
Thanks,
Martin

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At 08 Oct 2007 17:28:06 +0000 Quercus Robur wrote:
> Will a cellphone purchased in the USA work in Canada.? I am
> thinking of a pre-paid plan and only want a phone. I don't
> want pictures, text messages or internet.

Maybe I don't understand the question. The three possible scenarios
I came up with were:

1) You want to buy a phone in the US to take back to Canada to use on
a Canadian prepaid service...

This could be a problem because American phones are typically
"locked" to their provider. You'd have to get it unlocked, which
usually (these days) means paying a shop to unlock it, which might
negate any cost savings vs. buying a more expensive phone in Canada.

2) You want an American phone with American service to use while
visiting the States, that you could then reuse in in Canada...

This presents the same problem as #1 above, however, if you buy a T-
Mobile prepaid phone, that's the only US prepaid service I know of
that will roam in Canada, so you could at least burn up any unused
time back at home. T-Mo charges $0.69US/min for Canadian roaming.
Then you could put the phone away and reactivate it on your next trip
to the states.

3) You want an American phone with American service to roam back in
Canada with because you think it's perhaps cheaper than Canadian
service...

Unlikely- again, T-Mo prepaid roams in Canada, but $0.69US is much
more than native Canadian prepaid service costs, I suspect.


If I missed your actual intention, please let me know.

Good luck!


--

"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003

Thank you. Number 2 best describes the intention. I did not want to get
too involved with my question.

Actually, my brother in law, who lives in Canada, is coming to the US for an
extended southern winter vacation. He asked me which phone to buy while
here. I assumed none would be useable back in Canada which you confirm.

Martin

"Todd Allcock" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> At 08 Oct 2007 17:28:06 +0000 Quercus Robur wrote:
>> Will a cellphone purchased in the USA work in Canada.? I am
>> thinking of a pre-paid plan and only want a phone. I don't
>> want pictures, text messages or internet.
>
> Maybe I don't understand the question. The three possible scenarios
> I came up with were:
>
> 1) You want to buy a phone in the US to take back to Canada to use on
> a Canadian prepaid service...
>
> This could be a problem because American phones are typically
> "locked" to their provider. You'd have to get it unlocked, which
> usually (these days) means paying a shop to unlock it, which might
> negate any cost savings vs. buying a more expensive phone in Canada.
>
> 2) You want an American phone with American service to use while
> visiting the States, that you could then reuse in in Canada...
>
> This presents the same problem as #1 above, however, if you buy a T-
> Mobile prepaid phone, that's the only US prepaid service I know of
> that will roam in Canada, so you could at least burn up any unused
> time back at home. T-Mo charges $0.69US/min for Canadian roaming.
> Then you could put the phone away and reactivate it on your next trip
> to the states.
>
> 3) You want an American phone with American service to roam back in
> Canada with because you think it's perhaps cheaper than Canadian
> service...
>
> Unlikely- again, T-Mo prepaid roams in Canada, but $0.69US is much
> more than native Canadian prepaid service costs, I suspect.
>
>
> If I missed your actual intention, please let me know.
>
> Good luck!
>
>
> --
>
> "I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
> or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
> all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
> ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
>

At 08 Oct 2007 21:38:04 +0000 Quercus Robur wrote:

> Actually, my brother in law, who lives in Canada, is coming to the
> US for an extended southern winter vacation. He asked me which
> phone to buy while here. I assumed none would be useable back
> in Canada which you confirm.


I guess it depends on how "extended" his vacation his. T-Mobile will
actually give out the codes to unlock their prepaid phones after 90
days of service, and within (10 or 30, I forget) days of an airtime
purchase. So, if he buys a phone, adds an airtime cardgood for 90
days or more ($25 and up, he could add a $10 card (the lowest card
they sell) at day 90 just to qualify for an unlock code, then be able
to use the phone on Rogers or Fido.

That's a bit of hassle, so I'd only really suggest it if he finds a
phone down here he really likes for a very good price.

Otherwise pick up a cheapie and file it away for next time, or dump
it on eBay after he returns to the Great White...

Have a good one, and a safe trip to your B-I-L!



--

"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003