Need a phone with internet while in the US 3 months

[Jimbone]

I will be in the US October to December and would like to have internet access on a phone. Not sure if this is possible. Currently I have AIS sim here in Thailand. Any suggesting are welcome. 

[Jeffr2]

I've not been back in several years, but last time we got a T-Mobile sim card at Walmart.  You can easily top it up when needed.  I'm sure there are many other options there now.

 

And many free internet places available.  Starbucks, etc.  There are even websites and apps that help you find the free internet locations. 

[Yellowtail]

I have "Mint Mobile" that I use while in the US. Great coverage and flat monthly rate ($15?) that includes unlimited talk & text and 4 gigs of data. Works in my AIS phone without any issue. 

 

I had T-Mobile before and it was good as well but I like the Mint flat-rate better.

[mtls2005]

What is the make and model of your current phone? Please be very precise. Maybe look at the box, or in Settings, About phone, Model & hardware.

 

It may work in the U.S.

 

What is your budget?

 

How much data in GB per month?

 

 

You need a phone which will work locally, and a provider/plan.

 

There are literally a million options.

 

 

For a start, you can add international data to your exisiting AIS plan or get a separate travel SIM (from AIS, DTAC or TrueMove H), which with a working phone will give you sevice on final approach.

 

With say, AIS WiFi calling you can make/receive calls using your AIS number with in-Thailand rates with Thailand (not internaitonal or intra-USA cals obviously).

 

After that you could look for a local SIM. 

 

 

Most third-party SIMs operate on either the T-Mo network or the Verizon network.

 

UltraMobile  https://www.ultramobile.com/

 

 

USMobile https://www.usmobile.com/plans

 

 

There are many others.

 

 

 

 

[kokesaat]

I went to the US last year, expecting to be there for 6 weeks.  Got a Mint Sim card and 3gb service for $15 a month.  Ended up staying for 13 months and continued using Mint for that time.  No problems, good coverage and best prices.

[Yellowtail]

4 minutes ago, kokesaat said:

I went to the US last year, expecting to be there for 6 weeks.  Got a Mint Sim card and 3gb service for $15 a month.  Ended up staying for 13 months and continued using Mint for that time.  No problems, good coverage and best prices.

 

I went for a month last Feb and ended up there for five months. The 3gb service was recently upgraded to 4gb for the same price.

 

I use the Mint sim in in my old 6S+ and it worked great. I use it in Thailand also to maintain a US number.

[Yellowtail]

19 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

What is the make and model of your current phone? Please be very precise. Maybe look at the box, or in Settings, About phone, Model & hardware.

 

It may work in the U.S.

 

What is your budget?

 

How much data in GB per month?

 

 

You need a phone which will work locally, and a provider/plan.

 

There are literally a million options.

 

 

For a start, you can add international data to your exisiting AIS plan or get a separate travel SIM (from AIS, DTAC or TrueMove H), which with a working phone will give you sevice on final approach.

 

With say, AIS WiFi calling you can make/receive calls using your AIS number with in-Thailand rates with Thailand (not internaitonal or intra-USA cals obviously).

 

After that you could look for a local SIM. 

 

 

Most third-party SIMs operate on either the T-Mo network or the Verizon network.

 

UltraMobile  https://www.ultramobile.com/

 

 

USMobile https://www.usmobile.com/plans

 

 

There are many others.

 

 

 

If you buy a US sim I think you can enter your phones model & serial and the providers check compatibility. I know you can do this with Mint & T-Mobile and I assume the rest do the same. 

[mtls2005]

Mint Mobile is a T-Mo MVNO, so they seem like a decent option as well.

 

https://www.mintmobile.com/plans/

 

 

Cost/price, availability, coverage aren't really concerns per se - plenty of options.

 

It's more about having a phone which supports the available frequencies.

 

34 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

I think you can enter your phones model & serial and the providers check compatibility.

 

IMEI.

 

Yes.   https://www.mintmobile.com/byop/

 

But if the OP provides the detail here we can provide extra insight, perhaps.

 

 

[Yellowtail]

I think AIS (GSM) phones will work with companies that use ATT/T-Mobile but NOT with companies that use Verizon/Sprint.

 

I would love to get a twin-sim phone that that would use my AIS & Mint sims at the same time, AND that would allow them to hot-spot each other such that they I can use "domestic" data to allow wifi calling and "free" data in both countries. 

 

I do this now with two phones but it is something of a PITA

 

 

[riclag]

Metro PCS is a good option ! They usually have shops at the airport or near by.

Buy a sim card and  they activate it right there in the store ! 

You don't need a contract ,cancel anytime!

[mtls2005]

20 minutes ago, riclag said:

Metro PCS

 

Merged/bought by T-Mo.

 

Now called Metro by T-Mobile

 

 

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

I think AIS (GSM) phones will work with companies that use ATT/T-Mobile but NOT with companies that use Verizon/Sprint.

 

Meh. Yes, maybe, as a general statement, but really need to understand the phone first, then the provider.

 

LTE, Band 4 is broadly supported in the U.S. with T-Mo, but not every phone sold here supports band 4, as an example.

 

iPhones seem more capable.

 

 

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

I would love to get a twin-sim phone that that would use my AIS & Mint sims at the same time, AND that would allow them to hot-spot each other such that they I can use "domestic" data to allow wifi calling and "free" data in both countries. 

 

Not sure why any bog-standard mid-tier and up Android phone won't do this. Might require swapping the SIMs into their adjacent slots though.

[Yellowtail]

21 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

Merged/bought by T-Mo.

 

Now called Metro by T-Mobile

 

 

 

Meh. Yes, maybe, as a general statement, but really need to understand the phone first, then the provider.

 

LTE, Band 4 is broadly supported in the U.S. with T-Mo, but not every phone sold here supports band 4, as an example.

 

iPhones seem more capable.

 

 

 

Not sure why any bog-standard mid-tier and up Android phone won't do this. Might require swapping the SIMs into their adjacent slots though.

 

One sim will provide a hot-spot to the same phone? 

 

i might be a little confused. 

 

Can I use one sim's date to to wifi call with the other sim?

Edited May 20, 2021 by Yellowtail

[riclag]

3 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

 

One sim will provide a hot-spot 

 I bought the least expensive  plan(plan cancel anytime) with unlimited calling  and the least amount of data!

 I connected to wifi for data 99 percent of the time! The only time I used the data service, was for google maps! 

[Yellowtail]

4 minutes ago, riclag said:

 I bought the least expensive  plan(plan cancel anytime) with unlimited calling  and the least amount of data!

 I connected to wifi for data 99 percent of the time! The only time I used the data service, was for google maps! 

 

Your point? 

 

To be clear, I have a US phone and a Thailand phone and I use them both in both countries at the same time if need be.

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by Yellowtail

[mtls2005]

18 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

One sim will provide a hot-spot to the same phone? 

 

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

AND that would allow them to hot-spot each other

 

Re-read your post.

 

Not possible to "self-hotspot", obviously.

 

Silly idea anyway.

 

 

 

 

[Yellowtail]

Looking at Metro website the cheapest plan seems to be $40 a month. 

 

I pay $15 a month for Mint. 

 

I think if you get one now it's $20 unless you pay for a year...

[Yellowtail]

1 minute ago, mtls2005 said:

 

 

Re-read your post.

 

Not possible to "self-hotspot", obviously.

 

Silly idea anyway.

 

 

 

Why is it silly? I use wifi calling & data on my US phone while in Thailand ,and on my Thailand phone while in the US. 

 

Works great

 

 

[sirineou]

4 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

I've not been back in several years, but last time we got a T-Mobile sim card at Walmart.  You can easily top it up when needed.  I'm sure there are many other options there now.

 

And many free internet places available.  Starbucks, etc.  There are even websites and apps that help you find the free internet locations. 

last year my sister from Italy was visiting, we went to Walmart, they put a prepaid sim-card in her phone, many different options don't remember which one and she was good to go. 

Best bet is to find a place with Free WiFi (they are all over the place) log on and do your business without using your data. 

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

One sim will provide a hot-spot to the same phone? 

 

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

i might be a little confused. 

 

Yep.

 

I'm gonna let you run with this. You'll do fine.

 

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

I pay $15 a month for Mint. 

 

Again, this isn't about price, cost, coverage - there are many, many options, all good, from $3 up.

 

Yes, Mint Mobile is wonderful, super, excellent, perfect, best ever, way cool, and surprisingly minty and refreshing - done in my best Ryan Reynolds impression.

 

It's more about having a compatible handset, or getting one, and understanding the OPs requirements.

[GinBoy2]

Thing is, go into any Walmart, Target, Supermarket and you will be confronted with a rack of pre paid MVNO SIM cards, all essentially offering the same thing and all running on somebody else's  network.

 

So a lot does depend on the OP's tech savvyness on figuring out which one will work for him.

 

If, he's not that comfortable, just go into a Cricket (which is really just AT&T), AT&T or T-Mobile store and just get them to install a pre-paid and you're good to go. 

 

They will be more expensive, but not by much, but it's hassle free, and you're up and running, then if you want just change it a month later.

[oldcarguy]

if you have someone in the USA that you plan on seeing when you arrive you can order a Mint sim - 3 months/ 4gb a month , unlimited calls/ text for $30 on Ebay

 

They can buy it a month before you arrive and activate it when you get here , 

[Jimbone]

OP here.

First, thanks for all the replies.

Second, sorry for not providing more information; I believe my lack of tech-savy has shown through. 

Phone specs: I will use a Huawei P30 lite, Model MAR-LX2, EMUI version 10.0.0 android 10.  

I would like to have internet available when travelling: maps/finding hotels, restaurants, sites (not social media/games, etc).  Also would like a fixed monthly charge; no year contract. Currently using a AIS sim.

Again, apologies for my total ignorance. 

 

[mtls2005]

On 5/21/2021 at 11:33 AM, Jimbone said:

Huawei P30 lite, Model MAR-LX2

 

Yeah, you're pretty much hosed.

 

https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/US/huawei-p30-lite

 

You might get some coverage on LTE B5, and 3G B2/B5 - Cricket, or another AT&T MVNO, but no guarantees.

 

You're going to have to source a phone, here or in the U.S. which supports some of the local frequencies.

 

Most "global" versions of popular models will support at least a few frequencies, and Global versions are available here.

 

Phone budget?

 

This Samsung A51 (SM-A515F/DSN) is 7,990 THB here and will work fine. There are probably a couple of hundred other options, both higher and lower priced.

 

https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/US/samsung-galaxy-a51

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/samsung-galaxy-a51-8128gb-i792708233-s1587146598.html?spm=a2o4m.seller.list.21.35aa52812tHeqY&mp=1&freeshipping=1

 

 

You could scan walmart.com too.

 

 

 

 

[wanderingengine]

Late reply, but maybe helpful to other readers.

If you really want cheap, you can get really inexpensive TracFones from HSN with a year of service. The usually run $75-100 for a phone with a year of service.

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, wanderingengine said:

Late reply, but maybe helpful to other readers.

If you really want cheap, you can get really inexpensive TracFones from HSN with a year of service. The usually run $75-100 for a phone with a year of service.

Where do you see the year of service?

 

[Jeffr2]

On 5/20/2021 at 6:29 AM, Yellowtail said:

Looking at Metro website the cheapest plan seems to be $40 a month. 

 

I pay $15 a month for Mint. 

 

I think if you get one now it's $20 unless you pay for a year...

I tried Mint. Great one state, worthless in another. Cheap though!

[Yellowtail]

1 hour ago, Jeffr2 said:

I tried Mint. Great one state, worthless in another. Cheap though!

As a MVNO Mint operates on T-Mobile's network which is pretty good, of course some carriers cover some areas better than others. I Had T-Mobile for a few years and Trac (Verizon I think) for a while before that. I have not noticed that any one was noticeably better than another where I have used them.  

 

In what state did Mint not work for you? It worked great for me in California, Texas, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee.

 

In any event, the only time I have to use the "network" is while I'm in the US, the rest of the time it uses wifi calling which works great. I put $20 of international roaming on when I bought it, and there is still $6.80 left.

 

What US carrier do you use? 

[Jeffr2]

3 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

As a MVNO Mint operates on T-Mobile's network which is pretty good, of course some carriers cover some areas better than others. I Had T-Mobile for a few years and Trac (Verizon I think) for a while before that. I have not noticed that any one was noticeably better than another where I have used them.  

 

In what state did Mint not work for you? It worked great for me in California, Texas, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee.

 

In any event, the only time I have to use the "network" is while I'm in the US, the rest of the time it uses wifi calling which works great. I put $20 of international roaming on when I bought it, and there is still $6.80 left.

 

What US carrier do you use? 

We were in Colorado. Quite a few places had no coverage at all. Especially in the mountain towns.

 

But was fantastic in Seattle!

[wanderingengine]

On 9/10/2021 at 4:55 AM, Yellowtail said:

Where do you see the year of service?

 

Are we allowed to post links to other forums here? Try slickdeals.net and search for "HSN". These deals come and go all the time.

[bendejo]

Another is Tello, which may be slightly cheaper than Mint and has a good reputation.

The important thing when installing one of these SIMs is your phone has to be UNLOCKED.  This unlocking business is a topic all its own, my guess is it may be easier (and cheaper) to have this done in LOS.  Bear in mind N America uses different carrier frequencies than other parts of the world

http://allworldcellphones.com/gsm-frequencies-list.htm

 

If you care to delve into this stuff, here's a good place for such discussions

www.howardforums.com