Tell me how to make my phone work in Canada?
 

Yes, I know this is the US board, but the question is really to other US people who go to Canada.
I only have a prepaid Tracfone. It will apparently not work during my two weeks in BC, Canada. I see myself needing more cell phone than I usually do (which is "almost never") as I'll be in an apartment for a week in Vancouver -- without a phone -- and connecting with a lot of people in the Victoria area.
Is there a cheap way? Can I buy some sort of cheap SIM card that will work IN my Tracfone? Do I need to buy a really cheap Tracfone type prepaid phone there (I'm talking something like what I have now -- purchased phone and 100 minutes for $29.95 at Office Max)?

And don't say to call Tracfone -- I did -- they'd only say that Tracfone will only work in the US and had no suggestions.

Patrick,

You might want to pick up a cheap AT%T phone as I'm pretty sure they work in Canada. You can get one for under $50 and put $20 on the phone whenever you need to.

Have a great time and fill us in on all the details.

hi patrick,

ummm, i don't know what a tracfone is but you could just buy a prepaid phone with one of the canadian carriers when you arrive.

if you're in the states before you get to canada, then a prepaid GSM phone from a US carrier SHOULD work with the rogers/fido network in canada ... i don't know if rogers/fido sell prepaid SIMs (i.e. without a phone) ... check online or give them a call perhaps?

A friend was in Vancouver last year from the UK... his UK phone would have cost him 4 dollars a minute to use.

I bought a pay as you go Virgin phone at a Walmart for 18.95 and it came with 10 dollars of air time. I mailed it to his hotel and it was there when he arrived.
He used the hotel computer to activate it online. It worked perfectly.
Tough deal to beat.

Rob

I would try calling Rogers and see what they suggest. Maybe they sell sim cards to use in your phone. They are the big ones in Canada with sports arenas named after them and all. In certain spots in downtown Detroit (including my friends apartment) our phones will switch over to the Rogers network because it wafts across the river. If you make a call when that happens you end up paying $$$!

http://www.rogers.com

Patrick, I think you should wait until you get to Canada and then buy the cheapest pre-paid phone you can find at a local store. It will probably cost about $40, basically the same price as in the U.S.

Most of the pre-paid plans only cover calls in the U.S., and since the bulk of your calling is likely to be in Canada, you'd pay hefty roaming charges for the length of your trip. I'm not sure if Tracphone will work in Canada even with a Canadian SIM.

Thanks all. Looks like I'll be going right by a WalMart after arrival in Victoria on my way to Sooke -- so that seems like one of the cheapest and best ideas.

I know many of you spend lots of bucks on cell phones, air times and monthly plans, so it seems like nothing.

But having spent only about $40 for my phone and all the air time I could possibly want or use for the past 8 months -- (that's a total of $5 a month for everything) -- it just seems amazing to me to think of paying something like $70 for phone use for just two weeks!

Hint: Tracfone does work in Canada. It piggybacks of Rogers. Tracfone does not like it and may shut off your service but it usually takes about 4-6 weeks of continuos use before that happens. And if they do shut it off, all you have to do is promise them never to do it again and they will turn it back on.

It's the same charges as if you were calling within US.

I would take it with you and try it first before investing in a new phone.

Interesting, AA. I do know that someone had mentioned here before when I was buying the Tracfone, that theirs had worked in Canada. So I was a little surprised when I called Tracfone and he gave me a point blank "it will only work in the US -- we don't offer any service in Canada". But your explanation kind of covers that. For those unfamiliar with Tracfone, they have no service of their own, but it picks up any other company's signal and there is never a roaming charge -- I guess they pay something to the other servers? Since it's a prepaid program and it has NO roaming charges that are billable -- it seems great if it should work -- and worth a shot.