For my recent trip to Cancun, I really wanted to have mobile internet access, without having to pay crazy resort fees to access some flaky wifi! As nice as it is to get away from the usual online distractions from home, I did need to have access to my email. Its also nice to do some research on trips etc whilst there, and to use Google Maps etc.
I did LOTS of digging around online to find the best deal, the most up to date information, and to have the least amount of leg work possible when I arrived. I thought I would document my findings on the web, so that people searching for help would hopefully be able to take advantage of what I learnt. This all worked REALLY well for me, and at the time of going to press (September 2013) this is the cheapest most effective route! I should add that I am in no way affiliated with any of the companies mentioned.
It appears there were 2 phone networks to buy Sims for, I went for Telcel and the coverage and speed was excellent - and the process was pretty simple. I read about people going to local shops in Mexico, having to submit paperwork and their passports, and taking a few hours to activate a local Sim card. I didn't like the sound of that!
I purchased a Telcel Micro SIM Card from http://www.mexicosimcard.com Most places seemed to be $29, whereas here was $19. You can buy them elsewhere, and on ebay. I had it shipped to the US for $4.95 (to friends that I would meet on holiday...I didn't have enough time for it to come to me in the UK before i left for my vacation). I didn't order any pre-loaded data from here, it was expensive compared to what I had planned!
Once the card arrived, and I had the phone number from it, I recharged it with an online service. There are several of them, all at similar prices. For example https://www.worldremit.com/en/mexico/telcel Its really easy to enter the sim card phone number, buy your credit (in US$), and it gets added to your Sim card. NB You won't be able to check this, or activate your service until you are in Mexico.
The data plans are listed here: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s86/sh/b1990a3f-0691-4bd1-b6c5-495b711edbe0/4cfe6b0a3d45e0d48b678c10bab305c9 Basically, buy enough credit for which ever plan is suitable for you (you will need to convert from pesos, based on the rate at the time). I personally wanted 7 days, 1GB at $169. At the time of ordering, the Sim card came with $50 (pesos) credit already on it, so I ordered $150 pesos of credit to give me a bit of a buffer.
The error I made is when I arrived in Cancun, I put the Sim card in, turned my phone on, but had data switched on! This meant my phone went online, and started using the credit right away downloading emails etc, before I could activate my data plan! This meant that by the time I sent my text to activate the plan, I didn't have enough credit on my account! My tip would be, make sure that your data service is turned off on your phone BEFORE you put your Sim card in. This is different to "Roaming"...since you have a local sim card, as far as the phone is concerned, you are in your home country, and not roaming!.
As per the data plan link above, I sent a text reading "Saldo" to 333. This tells you how much is on your credit account, and it showed that my top-up online had worked. I then text "medio7" to 5050. This gave me 7 days of data, up to 400mb. I am a fairly heavy user, and that was plenty for me.
This should be all of the information you need. It looks complicated, but it really isn't, and its the cheapest way to get online. I haven't gone into specifics like phone settings, as these will vary with different phones, and over time! Basically, buy a Sim card online. Buy the credit. Activate the service you need once you arrive by text. And you are done!
I hope you find this useful! Feel free to reply to this blog if you find any updates to this info, or if you find a better solution. Or if this method worked for you!
No comments:
Post a Comment