Canadian has a few question about TracFone

I've been doing a lot of reading tonight here and at TracFones web site.

I travel to Myrtle Beach S.C. from Ontario Canada.
I like the idea of same pricing for international calls.

So please confirm;

- $19.99 buys 60 minutes of talk - local and international?
- To call international dial 1-800-706-3839, select language and dial the number?
- By setting up International neighbors, family can call at no long distance charge to them?

But, did I also read that it takes 48 hours to activate? Is there any way to speed that up? Or set it up before leaving on next trip?

What happens and how do I restart service if unused for say 6-8 months?

Can phone be used while in Canada and what are the charges?

Thanks for reading. Some of the above are for confirmation to what I've read and some are for info that I missed or couldn't find.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dbusguy

I've been doing a lot of reading tonight here and at TracFones web site.

I travel to Myrtle Beach S.C. from Ontario Canada.
I like the idea of same pricing for international calls.

So please confirm;

- $19.99 buys 60 minutes of talk - local and international?
- To call international dial 1-800-706-3839, select language and dial the number?
- By setting up International neighbors, family can call at no long distance charge to them?

But, did I also read that it takes 48 hours to activate? Is there any way to speed that up? Or set it up before leaving on next trip?

What happens and how do I restart service if unused for say 6-8 months?

Can phone be used while in Canada and what are the charges?

Thanks for reading. Some of the above are for confirmation to what I've read and some are for info that I missed or couldn't find.

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Yes, $19.99 buys 60 minutes on Tracfone, and you can call anyone in Canada with the 1-800 dial around. AFAIK you can still set up an Canadian number for your friends to call you. Activation can take minutes, if it takes more than 24 hours you need to call CS.

Unfortunately the phone cannot be used in Canada -- sorry! You must also activate and add time from the States. Restarting service is a simple as buying time and calling CS with the CDMA version. With the GSM version you must order a new free SIM card by calling CS and using a US mailing address -- after you get the new SIM, add your time.

Net 10 works the same and is cheaper if you use more than 60 minutes a month. Rates are 10cpm US and 15cpm to Canada, it also has a 1-800 dial around for Canada -- and also cannot be used in Canada.

Thanks for the info. Not being able to sctivate and add time from Canada will be a problem. It would need to be up and running before I leave. Going to Myrtle Beach for only a weekend. Leave Friday and return Monday. It would have to be done in advance.

I also contacted Virgin USA with same questions basically. I have Virgin here but it doesn't work in the US. I can activate online and top up online, so I should be able to do that before leaving. Once they confirm that, I asked if they would sell and ship to me here. If not, I have a friend in the US who would buy for me and mail it to me. That should work too.

I'll google net 10 and take a look at them. It needs to have coverage from Buffalo to Myrtle Beach.

Once again, thanks for the info.

I know that was the old standard answer, but I'm wondering if that might be changing. One of the new Tracfone Value Plans is the Lifeline one. Where for $4.95 you activate your Tracfone for 30 days service. Seems to be automatic when you try to use your phone after it reaches the Service End Date. (They can do this because you have to leave them with a CC or checking account number to be billed "automatically.") If you don't use your phone that often, then this plan might work for you. (Looking at it, you might want to get it activated at the US point of origin for your trip. Activate it when you are in the US or just before using a computer <see below>.)

The other part is that you can also go online to keep your account active. (I've added airtime from online so I don't see that you have to be "in country".) Supposedly you can reactivate your phone from online. (If you check they have changed the reactivation screens on the web site. Don't know if it works or not, but it's different from what it was a few weeks ago.) Should be nice if it's true, not having all these SIM card swapouts. (Might also be the reason that Tracfone has gone this route, since it was such a pain for users and customer service.)

I looked at net10. I've read not so good things about the C139 so I'm thinking about the C155. For $30.00 I can get their phone with 300 minutes of talking time. 200 minutes if I phone home to Canada. I didn't read on their site about the 1-800 number. Can someone point me to that? I can accept that I cannot use it in Canada, no problem.

Looks like I can activate and top up using the internet - great. So once I have the phone, if it expires time wise, I would just have to get a new top up card and re-activate it and charge it up - correct? Great. I have a friend in the US who can buy it for me and mail it up to me. I think this will work.

Does anybody have any info or warnings that I should know about before going ahead with this?

Thanks :)

Addition - I found the info on Canadians calling to net10 numbers

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NET10 International Neighbors is a service that enables callers in Mexico and Canada to set up a local number to ring on a NET10 in the U.S. Please visit www.NET10.com or call 1-877-836-2368 for details.

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Just so you know, from the time you hit the WV state line on I79, and down US19, and I77 until you hit NC, you will have little-to-no GSM coverage. (Cingular has 0 native coverage along that route of WV and VA) and from what I understand Net10 is mainly Cingular coverage with some roaming, similar to Cingular postpaid coverage..

I drove up from Columbia with a Cingular paygo phone 2 yrs ago and from NC/VA line to North of the WV/PA line didn't see anything but my phones wallpaper. lol. Hopefully with some roaming with Net10 you'll have atleast some coverage there.

I would highly recommend as well the Nokia 2126i single rate Tracfone. I am a Canadian as well, and cross into the USA constantly. It is a CDMA phone, and has signal strength where my friend's GSM phones do not. I find that GSM phones are great around bigger cities but lack once you get out in the country.

Thanks for that info DaBones and iamdrumming. That's the info I needed. I started looking at the TracFone and then started to look at the Net10. Guess I'll go back to the TracFone. On their web site I only see the Nokia 2126 listed, is this the same phone. I have to be specific when I tell my friend what to get and the description doesn't say CDMA or GSM. I wish my CDN Virgin phone worked down there.

My friend is in SC by Augusta GA. She'll probably buy from Walmart. TracFones web sit only shows Nokia's 1100, 2600, Motorola's W370, C139, C155 and V176 on their web site. And their site doesn't say CDMA or GSM. Will she be able to get a 2126?

iamdrumming, you can probably answer this for me. I got a reply from VirginUSA and they said they cannot process a CDN credit card. So I cannot purchase time online. Do you know if TracFone can? As mentioned before, I have a friend who will buy me a phone and send it to me to get going for my next trip. She can also buy me my cards and send me the number. So I guess this will work. Do you know, can I activate online while in Canada before I leave or should I get her to activate it before she sends it up. My next trip is for 4 days, Oct 19 - 22 (Fri - Mon). Quick weekend round trip to Myrtle Beach. So we won't have time to do this as we go, I would like it up and running for the trip down.

Yes, it's a quick trip but my buddy I'm going with, we're both bus drivers so 8 hours of straight driving is normal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dbusguy

Thanks for that info DaBones and iamdrumming. That's the info I needed. I started looking at the TracFone and then started to look at the Net10. Guess I'll go back to the TracFone. On their web site I only see the Nokia 2126 listed, is this the same phone. I have to be specific when I tell my friend what to get and the description doesn't say CDMA or GSM. I wish my CDN Virgin phone worked down there.

My friend is in SC by Augusta GA. She'll probably buy from Walmart. TracFones web sit only shows Nokia's 1100, 2600, Motorola's W370, C139, C155 and V176 on their web site. And their site doesn't say CDMA or GSM. Will she be able to get a 2126?

iamdrumming, you can probably answer this for me. I got a reply from VirginUSA and they said they cannot process a CDN credit card. So I cannot purchase time online. Do you know if TracFone can? As mentioned before, I have a friend who will buy me a phone and send it to me to get going for my next trip. She can also buy me my cards and send me the number. So I guess this will work. Do you know, can I activate online while in Canada before I leave or should I get her to activate it before she sends it up. My next trip is for 4 days, Oct 19 - 22 (Fri - Mon). Quick weekend round trip to Myrtle Beach. So we won't have time to do this as we go, I would like it up and running for the trip down.

Yes, it's a quick trip but my buddy I'm going with, we're both bus drivers so 8 hours of straight driving is normal.

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You will have to get a Nokia 2126i Tracfone, not the normal 2126 (no i). The 2126i is single rate, which means it is one rate for all calls, the 2126 is dual rate, and will deduct 2 units when you are roaming.

I would let your friend get you a phone and set it up for you. It would be much easier. All she has to do is give Tracfone a USA zipcode. I would also recommend get a zip code that is in a Verizon area. Verizon seems to be king of CDMA coverage in the USA. Even if the zip code is not in the Myrtle Beach area, the Nokia 2126i will only deduct 1 unit of airtime.

Another question about TracFone. What is the difference between single rate and national coverage? And is there any way to tell if a listed phone is GSM or CDMA?

thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dbusguy

Another question about TracFone. What is the difference between single rate and national coverage? And is there any way to tell if a listed phone is GSM or CDMA?

thanks

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All phones are national coverage. Single rate just means it will deduct 1 unit when you are out of your home area. The older phones would deduct 1 unit for local calls (in your home area) and 2 units when you are roaming. The Nokia 2126i will deduct 1 unit, regardless of where you are in the USA.

The best way I found to review phones (and find out if they are GSM or CDMA) is to get a specific phone model (like a Nokia 2126i) and google it. There are lots of sites where you can review the phones, or you can go the manufacturer's website.

Here is a good site to compare the phones.

http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/fin...&car=r&ca_17=y

As far as the 2126 goes, you have to look carefully at the package. The 2126 and the 2126i are nearly identical. (There is a thread in this forum that goes into more detail. I think you have to look carefully at the phone/packaging to see the i.)

By the way all the phones you listed (Nokia's 1100, 2600, Motorola's W370, C139, C155 and V176 ) are GSM phones. I guess your friend lives in an area that has GSM coverage as a "primary" carrier.

Thanks for all your help. I got in touch with iamdrumming today as he had a new 2126i still in the package. We met at Tim Horton's (where else in Canada) and I bought it from him. He's a really nice guy and he's been very helpful with info. The phone is charging now and will be used on my trip south on Oct 19th.

Thanks for everyones help on this thread and the other posters on the many others I read. This forum really helped me to find the right phone and the right service for my trip through the US.


Thanks all. :D

You are very welcome, and I'm glad I helped you out. I would recommend activating the phone online if possible. As far as I know you might not be able to activate from where you are any other way. Just because they need an American cell signal. Not sure though. Hope everything else works out for you.