Keeping American cell provider and phone number abroad

[InlandSea]

I have heard that Google Voice sometimes does not work for two-factor authentication or sms short codes, so I am planning on keeping my current Mint Mobile plan and phone number (but using wi-fi only for that phone once I move to Thailand, so that I don't have to pay for international roaming or potentially have an issue with 2FA). I'd then buy a separate phone to use in Thailand and sign-up with a local provider for that phone. Other than the cost of continuing the Mint Mobile plan, do you see any flaws with this plan? Would a US cell provider like Mint Mobile cancel my plan if they found out I was living in abroad?

 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

The only point is that you are unlikely to need a second phone as virtually all current phones can have 2 current and active numbers.

[Billpro785]

 Not sure about Mint Mobile , but I have T- Mobile and never had any issues while living in Thailand. 

In fact, I bought a new apple phone and T-Mobile set the phone up with digital sim for state side number. 

[bamnutsak]

I would register for Google Voice, even if you plan to keep Mint Mobile, before leaving the U.S. as it is much more difficult to do from outisde the U.S.

 

Google Voice works fine for 2FA IME. I use it for dozens of apps., 5 -6 times per day and never had a problem. I do have several back-ups.

 

How often do you plan to use Mint Mobile? Will you be making and receiving calls? Will you have access to reliable WiFi? Does your handset currently support MM (T-Mo) WiFI calling implementation?

 

I would probably port MM to GV, or a lower-cost provider like UltraMobile or US Mobile.

 

I do not believe MM will have any issues with your residing outside of the U.S., but I would research that based on the terms of the plan, and even contact them to verify.

[TheAppletons]

13 hours ago, Billpro785 said:

 Not sure about Mint Mobile , but I have T- Mobile and never had any issues while living in Thailand. 

In fact, I bought a new apple phone and T-Mobile set the phone up with digital sim for state side number. 

I use T-Mobile exclusively in Thailand.  I didn't even bother with a Thai number this time.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

19 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

Google Voice works fine for 2FA IME. I use it for dozens of apps., 5 -6 times per day and never had a problem. I do have several back-ups.

I've had Google Voice for years, and use it as my primary mobile number for receiving financial and other SMS codes from the U.S. (though I keep several other numbers as well, including a legacy prepaid $3-a-month T-Mobile # and a Ting postpaid #.

 

However, it is true that SOME / A FEW U,S. financial entities' SMS systems do NOT work with Google Voice. Those certainly are the exception rather than the rule. But if someone happens to be using one of those, then another solution besides GV is going to be required.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

17 minutes ago, TheAppletons said:

I use T-Mobile exclusively in Thailand.  I didn't even bother with a Thai number this time.

I'm not sure that U.S. mobile numbers are going to work for receiving SMS codes (like One Time Passwords (OTPs) from sources like Thai banks and various Thai retailers. Do you have some experience with that?

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

27 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

I would probably port MM to GV, or a lower-cost provider like UltraMobile or US Mobile.

 

In my experience, if someone is planning to activate new service on those kinds of MVNO providers, it's generally better to do the INITIAL activation while in the U.S. as opposed to Thailand.

 

Because, some of them require you to actually activate on their U.S. network directly (the first time) before you can fully activate and proceed to setup wifi calling on their service.

 

If I recall correctly, Ting, Ultra Mobile and US Mobile are all MVNOs on the T-Mobile network. So such a user, as you pointed out, would want to make sure that their mobile device is compatible with T-Mobile wifi calling.... and not all mobile handsets necessarily are... especially the China brand models.

 

Though my Thailand purchased dual-SIM Samsung models seems to handle T-Mobile wifi calling just fine.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I'm pretty sure I recall other members reporting that they were able to use Mint Mobile numbers just fine in Thailand... though I think that was AFTER doing the initial account setup in the U.S.

 

[TheAppletons]

14 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I'm not sure that U.S. mobile numbers are going to work for receiving SMS codes (like One Time Passwords (OTPs) from sources like Thai banks and various Thai retailers. Do you have some experience with that?

 

 

For most of the OTPs that I require, I can receive via push notifications through the bank/retailer apps. 

 

In those instances where that isn't possible, I use another individual's Thai phone number.  

 

 

[DFPhuket]

On my iPhone I have both an eSIM with my Thai DTAC number and Ting as a hard SIM installed in my phone. I've never had an issue getting OTP's via Ting and have used it in multiple countries. It's charged to my US credit card monthly. As others have said, you need to get it (and I think Mint is similar) setup before you leave the US. Obviously leave data roaming turned off. My typical charge is about $11 unless I'm in the US and then it can jump to about $20-40 depending on usage. 

 

It's great to have a US mobile number/data plan as soon as I land in the US. I've had it for about 10 years and there has been no issue even though I live full time overseas. 

[Skeptic7]

Don't know much about Mint, but you prob need some sort of International Plan from them. Certainly they couldn't give a flip where you live, as I see they have International services. However, your credit card company or issuing bank may care and cancel you if you don't maintain a USA mailing address. This could be a problem if you pay for Mint with a credit card. 

Edited February 16, 2023 by Skeptic7

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

21 minutes ago, DFPhuket said:

Obviously leave data roaming turned off. My typical charge is about $11 unless I'm in the US and then it can jump to about $20-40 depending on usage. 

 

It's great to have a US mobile number/data plan as soon as I land in the US. I've had it for about 10 years and there has been no issue even though I live full time overseas. 

Exactly the same for me... Ting has better mobile data rates and easier data access for when you're actually back in the U.S., vs. the legacy prepaid T-Mobile plan, which is really focused more on limited calling, limited SMS, and wifi calling.

 

Once you have Ting account setup with a U.S. address (upon signup) and establish a monthly billing by some U.S. payment source, the U.S. address is pretty much irrelevant after that. They pretty much don't postal mail anything to you... unless you need a new SIM card at some point in the future.

 

[edwardflory]

I have a US number ( Kentucky ) that rings on my mobile in Thailand via VOIP.

 

It is a FREE NUMBER that works anywhere you can connect to WiFi or use your data. Voice AND text. It is a ....application....

that rings your mobile  even if you are using your mobile

 

TEXTNOW.COM

 

I use it for my US BANKING and VOICE calls inboud / outbound - NO video. 

 

NOTE:There are several plans - free to paid.

 

You can probably port your US number.

 

HINT:  CHECK for application updates especially.... IF ....you get a error when you call UPDATE!!!!

Edited February 16, 2023 by edwardflory
spelling

[dsj]

7 hours ago, InlandSea said:

I have heard that Google Voice sometimes does not work for two-factor authentication or sms short codes, so I am planning on keeping my current Mint Mobile plan and phone number (but using wi-fi only for that phone once I move to Thailand, so that I don't have to pay for international roaming or potentially have an issue with 2FA). I'd then buy a separate phone to use in Thailand and sign-up with a local provider for that phone. Other than the cost of continuing the Mint Mobile plan, do you see any flaws with this plan? Would a US cell provider like Mint Mobile cancel my plan if they found out I was living in abroad?

I still have my mobile from Canada, I have unlimited Canada wide minutes and free international SMS and I have Wifi calling enable and set in airplane mode, and it works as if I was back in Canada, and uses my existing mobile plan, people I talk to don't realize that I am half way around the world as the voice quality is the same as if I was back in Canad. Last month I used around 1,000 minutes and wasn't charged any extra, and I am able to receive OTP from my banks in Canada.

I would check with Mint mobile offer Wifi calling.

Check out these 2 links from Mint Mobile.

https://www.mintmobile.com/features/wifi-calling-text/

https://www.mintmobile.com/help/what-is-wifi-calling-how-do-i-enable-it/

[dsj]

23 minutes ago, edwardflory said:

I have a US number ( Kentucky ) that rings on my mobile in Thailand via VOIP.

 

It is a FREE NUMBER that works anywhere you can connect toWiFi or data, Voice AND text. It is a ....application....

that rings even if you are using your mobile

 

TEXTNOW.COM

 

I use it for my US BANKING and VOICE calls inboud / outbound - NO video. 

 

NOTE:There are several plans - free to paid.

 

You can probably port your US number.

 

HINT:  CHECK for application updates especially.... IF ....you get a error when you call UPDATE!!!!

You should check out WiFi calling.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

50 minutes ago, edwardflory said:

 

TEXTNOW.COM

 

Technically, their website says you can only install their app and register for their service if you're in the U.S. or Canada, though a VPN might solve that issue.

 

"TextNow is currently only available to be downloaded and used within the United States and Canada. If you are outside of North America, you will not be able to register for an account through the app or on our website."

 

https://help.textnow.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042529194-Is-TextNow-Available-In-My-Country-

 

Apart from that, there were two past issues with their free service, as opposed to one of their paid tiers, when I used them some years back:

 

1. They'd tend to cancel your TN phone number for inactivity if you didn't use it to make a call or send an SMS pretty much every month.

 

As a result, they offer a paid Lock in Number tier, which I believe is about $5 A YEAR, whereby they won't spike your number for inactivity:

 

"Purchasing the Lock In Number subscription will allow you to keep your number no matter how much you use it. You will not lose your number due to inactivity and it provides support for receiving verification codes."

 

https://help.textnow.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500003971461

 

And, alluded to in the last sentence of their support info above, they also at one point restricted their phone numbers ability to receive bank SMS short codes, once again, to customers who were paying for their service.

Why do I have to pay for verification codes?

"Our mission is to provide everyone with an affordable way to communicate. Because we have access to a limited inventory of phone numbers, we recycle inactive numbers tied to our free WiFi service. If your number is released due to inactivity, you may have issues accessing online accounts tied to that number. By buying Lock In Number (or any of our other subscriptions listed above) you are ensuring that your number will stay on your account even if you don't use it every day."

 

I had this in my TextNow folder on my PC from 2021:

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[riclag]

OP,I have what you have and I’ve been 

living here with my mintmobile plan

since 2019!The only issue in the future is if the carrier MM partners with (tmobile) sunsets the phone for the 5g technology.

Make sure you activate the phone before you come here ( one less potential headache) .

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2023 by riclag

[ibjoe]

I have both MINT and T-Mobile. I bought some international credits and data for my MINT plan. But cellphone doesn't always connect or work as hotspot with MINT. T-Mobile has been better; generally reliable, always connecting with local carrier, high speed data allowance. With T-Mobile I always get my MFA codes, no problems with Google logins prompts. Because it is a US #, no problems with MFA. Most of my financial institutions don't accept Thai - or any international - #s. Probably same for Thai institutions, they won't text MFA to US #s. I had to get a Thai phone number account to get a Thai bank account. Credit phone plan doesn't work, needs to be monthly plan.

[InlandSea]

19 minutes ago, ibjoe said:

I have both MINT and T-Mobile. I bought some international credits and data for my MINT plan. But cellphone doesn't always connect or work as hotspot with MINT. T-Mobile has been better; generally reliable, always connecting with local carrier, high speed data allowance. With T-Mobile I always get my MFA codes, no problems with Google logins prompts. Because it is a US #, no problems with MFA. Most of my financial institutions don't accept Thai - or any international - #s. Probably same for Thai institutions, they won't text MFA to US #s. I had to get a Thai phone number account to get a Thai bank account. Credit phone plan doesn't work, needs to be monthly plan.

Thanks, that's what I thought. I know there is the option to make this work with a dual sim phone, but I'm planning to just get a separate phone for Thailand with DTAC or another local provider and keep my US-based phone as wi-fi only and stowed away until needed. The new, local phone/number would become my daily driver for calls and local apps and it wouldn't be a disaster if I lose it or it drop it, etc. I don't think I'll need to buy any international roaming on Mint under the wi-fi only scenario for the old phone. As far as the other info here, I will look into textnow as a backup option. Others mentioned Ting, which does appear to be a bit cheaper than Mint, at least for limited data, but not enough for me to switch at this point. Thanks all for the helpful info!

 

[NORDO]

I used ATT for many years, $30 month...basic message phone.

Switched to VYKE and have been able to get sms phone security codes from most financial institutions.

about $50 year and can have multiple numbers

[The Old Bull]

I have two SIM cards in my phone one from Thailand and one from

Canada. Because I get free SMS's on my Thai number  all my banking  OTP's go to my Thai number . I had to go into my Canadian bank to set this up . Also my Thai SIM works in Canada but my Canadian SIM does not work in Thailand.

[EVENKEEL]

15 hours ago, DFPhuket said:

On my iPhone I have both an eSIM with my Thai DTAC number and Ting as a hard SIM installed in my phone. I've never had an issue getting OTP's via Ting and have used it in multiple countries. It's charged to my US credit card monthly. As others have said, you need to get it (and I think Mint is similar) setup before you leave the US. Obviously leave data roaming turned off. My typical charge is about $11 unless I'm in the US and then it can jump to about $20-40 depending on usage. 

 

It's great to have a US mobile number/data plan as soon as I land in the US. I've had it for about 10 years and there has been no issue even though I live full time overseas. 

I have Ting as well, my last trip to US I used google map almost everyday for 3 weeks. My bill was $110. I'm not really happy with Ting but it gets the job done and like you say average monthly charge in Th is pretty low.

[EVENKEEL]

9 hours ago, InlandSea said:

Thanks, that's what I thought. I know there is the option to make this work with a dual sim phone, but I'm planning to just get a separate phone for Thailand with DTAC or another local provider and keep my US-based phone as wi-fi only and stowed away until needed. The new, local phone/number would become my daily driver for calls and local apps and it wouldn't be a disaster if I lose it or it drop it, etc. I don't think I'll need to buy any international roaming on Mint under the wi-fi only scenario for the old phone. As far as the other info here, I will look into textnow as a backup option. Others mentioned Ting, which does appear to be a bit cheaper than Mint, at least for limited data, but not enough for me to switch at this point. Thanks all for the helpful info!

 

If what you have works then stick with it. I have Ting and it's picky on what phone you have. It doesn't work well in my Samsung A3 so have to use my Galaxy S21 for Ting and my cheap phone for Thai sim.

 

 

[bamnutsak]

UltraMobile is a T-Mo MVNO, and took over the PAYG plans from T-Mo.

 

UM has a $3/month plan (100 min, 100 SMS, 100 MB), and supports WiFI calling. I ported my T-Mo number - which I originally got from VoiceSteram back in the late 90's - to UM, it was quite simple to do. The SIMs, I bought two, used to be $13 on eBay, but are a bit more expensive these days, $36.95 was what I saw after a brief search. Maybe not so bad if amortized over three or more years? Can be used for trips back by adding data packs. Needs to be activated in the U.S., maybe by a friend/family member, then mailed here. I infer the OP is still in the U.S.?

 

Any T-Mo MVNO roams here for GSM voice and mobile data reliably. WiFi calling works, subject to handset specs and reliable WiFi, but given that SMSes are 10 cents not huge issue IME.

 

A lot of people have raved about Skype, and that seems pretty reasonably priced, both for the number and the monthly fee/service.

 

Choices come down to indivudual requirements, ranging from a few OTP SMSes per month all the way up to hundreds of voice minutes, GB of mobile data.

 

2 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

and it's picky on what phone you have

Agreed. Have a Samsung A53 (Thai purchased) which works fine. Most other phones I have do not. Even if I turn off Vowifi carrier check (Open the Dialer
enter this code – *#*#869434#*#*).

 

 

[riclag]

15 hours ago, InlandSea said:

Thanks, that's what I thought. I know there is the option to make this work with a dual sim phone, but I'm planning to just get a separate phone for Thailand with DTAC or another local provider and keep my US-based phone as wi-fi only and stowed away until needed. The new, local phone/number would become my daily driver for calls and local apps and it wouldn't be a disaster if I lose it or it drop it, etc. I don't think I'll need to buy any international roaming on Mint under the wi-fi only scenario for the old phone. As far as the other info here, I will look into textnow as a backup option. Others mentioned Ting, which does appear to be a bit cheaper than Mint, at least for limited data, but not enough for me to switch at this point. Thanks all for the helpful info!

 

Like I said in my previous post I have been doing MM here for years . I agree with your intentions going forward! On occasion I get a random txt from random people which cost 5 cents ,because of this I purchased $ 10 of international roaming ! I keep half of it in my MMwallet account which never expires .

[edwardflory]

On 2/16/2023 at 6:54 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Technically, their website says you can only install their app and register for their service if you're in the U.S. ......."

I installedand registered while in Thailand WITHOUT a VPN.  Has been working fine for 2 years except for 2 days - upgraded app, no problem after. 

 

You MUST use or LOOSE number without "locking" your number.  Not  aproblem for me, use 3-4 tmes a week.  Usually to one person, have been on phone call OVER 1 hour.

Edited February 17, 2023 by edwardflory
no edit

[NanLaew]

On 2/17/2023 at 6:32 AM, NORDO said:

I used ATT for many years, $30 month...basic message phone.

Switched to VYKE and have been able to get sms phone security codes from most financial institutions.

about $50 year and can have multiple numbers

I signed up for a Vyke number last month and tested sms to/from Thailand to/from the US (a friends phone) and my UK mobile numbers and it all worked. This was an alternative to Skype that can send but not receive, ie. sms sent to my US Skype number from non-US numbers are never received. Vyke also worked for my US bank inasmuch as the bank setup accepted it whereas last year it refused a Google voice number (can't use VOIP numbers). However, I haven't had the opportunity to actually test if the 2FA works.

 

This morning, I was tidying up the numbers in my PayPal US account and they wouldn't accept the Vyke number for registration (can't use VOIP numbers).

 

So I am still looking for bulletproof but economical 2-way solution for a US phone number that satisfies all the security hurdles. I have a friend heading to the US for a vacation so I will probably ask him acquire a SIM (or eSIM?) for me and get that activated while he's there. Earlier posts recommend Ting, Mint or Ultra.

Edited March 31, 2023 by NanLaew

[NanLaew]

I recall being unable to set up a Google Voice number last year as it wouldn't accept a Skype number for the 6-digit verification code. Just tried it with my Vyke number, also denied.

[Longwood50]

I have a T Mobile USA number that is $3.00 per month.  I get a very limited number of minutes which I never use and a limited number of SMS messages before I start to get charged ten cents for each.  

https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans/pay-go