Whats the best USA sim card deal at the moment?

[Bofter]

Got a T-mobile SIM for my partner via Travelgear for September 2011 - it worked without any dramas and the option with the free international calls came in very handy. I wouldn't be confident recommending them based on just this one exposure some time ago, but as with Kerrodt my experience was a positive one. Before seeing some of the remarks here I had simply planned to do this again for my partner for September 2013, now I will reconsider other options also.

 

[QF029]

I have a Galaxy S2 and was told by a guy at T Mobile that I'd only get Edge speeds so I went to AT&T. Couldn't have been easier - $25 for a call and sms plan i'll barely use and $25 for 1gb data. I was out in less than 5 mins with a working phone.

 

[Deewhy]

I used t mobile for the last month. Prepay $60 for the month. Unlimited SMS and talk plus 4gb data, and unlimited internatinal SMS. Add $10 for unlimited international landline calls. Second one was half price. Up and running in 5 mins.

 

[albatross710]

I have a Galaxy S2 and was told by a guy at T Mobile that I'd only get Edge speeds so I went to AT&T. Couldn't have been easier - $25 for a call and sms plan i'll barely use and $25 for 1gb data. I was out in less than 5 mins with a working phone.

The deals change all the time. My experience in the last week of November 12 was:

AT&T, no pre-paid data plans available. "Try T-Mobile sir"

T-Mobile, $2 per day pre-paid. Unlimited text and calls, 2gb data. Had Edge (2G) speeds every day.

I wouldn't fret about the Edge speeds. There is so much free wi-fi available that as long as I had some data for email and maps I was satisifed.

Alby

 

[Rebekkap]

The deals change all the time. My experience in the last week of November 12 was:

AT&T, no pre-paid data plans available. "Try T-Mobile sir"

T-Mobile, $2 per day pre-paid. Unlimited text and calls, 2gb data. Had Edge (2G) speeds every day.

I wouldn't fret about the Edge speeds. There is so much free wi-fi available that as long as I had some data for email and maps I was satisifed.

Alby

i suppose that depends what you're using it for - I found edge speeds PAINFUL! Particularly for Internet but even for email.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Telecoms in the states is an area they let themselves down in and are not efficient.

I used AT&T and felt it chewed through my credit

 

[Mrmaxwell]

I'll be in the US for 3 weeks next month and can't believe there is still no clear winner in the 'holiday SIM' market.

Time for a small start-up I reckon!

There is no way I could go from 4G to EDGE speeds...wifi is great but there are those few times when you just have to have fast reliable data access. ATT seems like the way to go...

 

[Rebekkap]

I'll be in the US for 3 weeks next month and can't believe there is still no clear winner in the 'holiday SIM' market.

Time for a small start-up I reckon!

There is no way I could go from 4G to EDGE speeds...wifi is great but there are those few times when you just have to have fast reliable data access. ATT seems like the way to go...

net10 is giving me consistent 4g speeds (it uses both AT&T and T-Mobile networks) and with unlimited data is a much better deal. I ordered mine before I left so I just had to activate when I got here.

ETA - I'm using it right now in Vegas to reply to this thread - the other cool thing is unlike my Australian telco they haven't disabled the personal wireless hotspot feature on my iPhone - so I can share the connection.

 

[Sprucegoose]

net10 is giving me consistent 4g speeds (it uses both AT&T and T-Mobile networks) and with unlimited data is a much better deal. I ordered mine before I left so I just had to activate when I got here.

ETA - I'm using it right now in Vegas to reply to this thread - the other cool thing is unlike my Australian telco they haven't disabled the personal wireless hotspot feature on my iPhone - so I can share the connection.

Are you using an iPad ? What plan?

 

[Rebekkap]

Are you using an iPad ? What plan?

Iphone but am using the personal hotspot to share the connection with my iPad for browsing. $50 unlimited text/talk/data for a month. It's a plan technically but it doesn't auto renew so perfect for a few weeks.

 

[Trashy]

How did you get them to ship to Australia? I am looking on their website at the moment and can only find US shipping- did you use a parcel forwarding service?

Also have you already gone through the process of changing settings etc in the past? I am contemplating just buying a cheap phone rather than bother, but if it is simple enough I would prefer to use my iPhone 5.

 

[Limewood]

I just walked into an ATT store in SFO got free sim, signed up for a monthly deal used it in 4 cites, cancelled it when leaving the USA.

 

[Rebekkap]

How did you get them to ship to Australia? I am looking on their website at the moment and can only find US shipping- did you use a parcel forwarding service?

Also have you already gone through the process of changing settings etc in the past? I am contemplating just buying a cheap phone rather than bother, but if it is simple enough I would prefer to use my iPhone 5.

I bought one from a third party seller on eBay - just search for net10 sim, there are a bunch of sellers. And changing the settings was easy - the net10 website gives you a link, you just click it and it changes them for you. Resetting when you get home should change it back to your normal telco.

 

[albatross710]

I bought one from a third party seller on eBay - just search for net10 sim, there are a bunch of sellers. And changing the settings was easy - the net10 website gives you a link, you just click it and it changes them for you. Resetting when you get home should change it back to your normal telco.

I use apnchanger.com.

I've also now started to change the APN before I leave my previous country ie when travelling to Philippines recently, I changed the APN at BNE airport, turned off my phone. When I arrived I plugged in my Ph SIM and away it went. It meant I didn't have to find a wifi upon arrival.

 

[petercr]

Just tossing up these sort of options before we head off to the US early next month (a week in LA and then 2wks in NY/NJ). I found a local 3rd party on eBay who sells both AT&T and H2O sims so I think we'll go with two of those and throw some credit on them. Its a little more expensive than getting sims direct from the US but it should mean we get them in a couple of days vs a couple of weeks (and they'd be ready to go as soon as we arrive).

As far as I know H2O are just an AT&T reseller but can anyone suggest which would be the better to go with (the H2O sim is $5 cheaper), I assume they'd be okay in an iPhone 4S and Galaxy S3 ???

 

[infinity]

Just tossing up these sort of options before we head off to the US early next month (a week in LA and then 2wks in NY/NJ). I found a local 3rd party on eBay who sells both AT&T and H2O sims so I think we'll go with two of those and throw some credit on them. Its a little more expensive than getting sims direct from the US but it should mean we get them in a couple of days vs a couple of weeks (and they'd be ready to go as soon as we arrive).

As far as I know H2O are just an AT&T reseller but can anyone suggest which would be the better to go with (the H2O sim is $5 cheaper), I assume they'd be okay in an iPhone 4S and Galaxy S3 ???

I am using the AT&T on my iphone 5

Works fine and when you pick up an AT&T store they will sort out the APN settings

Just choose your plan that suits

Data speeds are 4G

AT&T GoPhone - Prepaid Wireless from AT&T

 

[Sprucegoose]

Iphone but am using the personal hotspot to share the connection with my iPad for browsing. $50 unlimited text/talk/data for a month. It's a plan technically but it doesn't auto renew so perfect for a few weeks.

Thanks, sounds like a good deal

 

[Rebekkap]

I use apnchanger.com.

I've also now started to change the APN before I leave my previous country ie when travelling to Philippines recently, I changed the APN at BNE airport, turned off my phone. When I arrived I plugged in my Ph SIM and away it went. It meant I didn't have to find a wifi upon arrival.

Changing the apn before you leave is a seriously good idea - why didn't I think of that!? I generally use apn changer too, but it didn't work for net10. Luckily we were staying with friends when we arrived, so I had time and wifi to figure it out.

 

[Mrmaxwell]

Changing the apn before you leave is a seriously good idea - why didn't I think of that!? I generally use apn changer too, but it didn't work for net10. Luckily we were staying with friends when we arrived, so I had time and wifi to figure it out.

What are the APN settings for ATT/Net10?

 

[Rebekkap]

What are the APN settings for ATT/Net10?

apn.net10sim.com