The Unofficial 7-Eleven Speak Out Wireless Canada Consumer Page 
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2:19 am
I know that speakout canada doesn't work in the US, but I was wondering if there's any truth to what i've read that you can call US speakout customer service and get a US SIM card in the mail?
I go across the border regularly, so if speakout is a bad option are there any alternative ways i can just buy a sim card and put it in my unlocked nokia 1600 and use it in the US? maybe t-mobile?
also, does anyone know the US customer service number? seems 866-310-1023 is the number for both the US and Canadian services and you can only access the canadian service from canadian numbers.
any help or advice would be great!
6:24 pm
It's not an official part of service and customer service refused to provide me with one. See here:
http://www.howardforums.com/sh.....st10004072
1:15 pm
I use TMobile in the US. Off EBay I got a "starter kit" with a sim. Make sure to get a PayasUgo starter KIT W/ the authorization number. Don't just buy a TMob sim. Cost about $10. I also got a TMob $100 voucher for about $90. Guy emailed me the number...he had 100% feedback. I used an unlocked Nokia, installed the sim and was able to set up the TMob account from my house in Nanaimo,BC. TMob roams on Rogers. I have a southern Arizona area code and number. I added the $100 voucher and my minutes are good for 1 year. Cost is 10 cents/ minute anywhere in the US and Alaska, Hawaii, NO long distance. 20 cents/ minute to Cdn from the US. I can reduce that to 13 cents/min by using a 10-10-YAK LD card. IN Cdn it's 20 cents/ min PLUS Rogers charges some exorbitant rip-off roaming fee. As an aside. Since I moved to Cdn 7 years ago I've discovered of all the places I've lived Canada is the most corrupt screw yer buddy place of all. Hockey is NOT The national past time...... ripping each other off IS. the old saying "as goes the govt, so go the people" REALLY applies here.
6:59 pm
alan said:
I use TMobile in the US. Off EBay I got a "starter kit" with a sim. Make sure to get a PayasUgo starter KIT W/ the authorization number. Don't just buy a TMob sim. Cost about $10. I also got a TMob $100 voucher for about $90. Guy emailed me the number...he had 100% feedback. .
Thank for the tips.
Just one question: does the air-time of PayasUgo starter KIT expire in 90 days or 365 days like Speakout ?
If it is 90 days, would it a pain to refill every 90 days ?
1:10 pm
You can now purchase T-Mobile's SIM card/activation kit from their webpage for $10USD, including 10 mins of airtime.
However I have no idea if you can have it delivered to Canada or if it can be activated while in Canada.
Assuming that I'm reading their website correctly (maybe a T-Mobile user can confirm all this info because I'd like to "officially" know as well), it appears by default that T-Mobile's refill cards are good for 90 days....until/unless you spend a $100 on refills. Then you qualify for the "Gold Rewards" program which means that you get bonus minutes per refill plus the refills don't expire for 1 year. So in theory, once you hit that $100 threshold, it appears that even the $10 refill card would last a year. That's a pretty sweet deal. Even cheaper than Can SO.
It also looks like you can just add $ to refill your T-Mobile phone via the 'net.
It's free long distance within the US too but it does cost 50 cents per minute to Canada. I'm not sure how the logistics of those calls work (ie, What is the charge if you are in the States and receive a call from Canada vs. a Canadian cell phone in the same local area as your phone calling your T-Moblie number while in the States vs. a US local # calling your cell, etc, etc, the combinations are endless).
Also, does anyone know if they charge the 911 or system access fees on T-Mobile prepaid?
1:37 pm
However I have no idea if you can have it delivered to Canada or if it can be activated while in Canada.
Try fudging the address, e.g. make Zip: 00000 or 99999, state: CA, and then put your City, Province, Canada and Postal Code in the City field. I got free SIMs that way from T-Mobile UK using their UK website. You may be able to activate the SIM from Canada depending on how they do activation. Or just wait until you're about to make a trip to the US before you order the SIM.
maybe a T-Mobile user can confirm all this info because I'd like to "officially" know as well
Do some Googling on T-Moblie, prepaid, Gold Rewards, etc. I've seen several posts on other forums where people have confirmed this, i.e. you get 365 day expiry once you buy $100 airtime.
Dunno about roaming charges and 911 fees. Again, try Googling or see if you can find a 1-800 for T-Mobile CS.
4:24 pm
D'oh - it appears I should have read further up in this forum; these q's are already answered. Sorry about that.
sapien said:
However I have no idea if you can have it delivered to Canada or if it can be activated while in Canada.
It's free long distance within the US too but it does cost 50 cents per minute to Canada. I'm not sure how the logistics of those calls work (ie, What is the charge if you are in the States and receive a call from Canada vs. a Canadian cell phone in the same local area as your phone calling your T-Moblie number while in the States vs. a US local # calling your cell, etc, etc, the combinations are endless).
2:39 pm
I bought my t mobile card and sim from ebay US. It was mailed to me in Canada. I was emailed the password. I called the 1877 # for tmobile from Canada no problem and changed the area code.
Until recently $10 refills were good for 30 days. the rest were 90 days all without gold status. About a week ago vendors with fresh stock sell $10 cards good for 90 days. You can also buy refills on the t moblieweb and from a TM tollfree number all from Canada.
Note the website says that you can let your minutes expire and then wait 90 days to refill. That would suit a lot of Canadians who maybe go to the USA twice per year. However, i received an email from the tmobile service saying your account dies in 60 days.
3:33 pm
Note the website says that you can let your minutes expire and then wait 90 days to refill. That would suit a lot of Canadians who maybe go to the USA twice per year. However, i received an email from the tmobile service saying your account dies in 60 days.
Interesting. Then it may be better to buy $100 airtime initially to get Gold status and 1-year expiry, then add $10 a year in order to extend the airtime indefinitely. It's more money up-front but it lasts longer and is less of a hassle.
2:43 pm
guelph-hpleug said:
I know that speakout canada doesn't work in the US, but I was wondering if there's any truth to what i've read that you can call US speakout customer service and get a US SIM card in the mail?
I go across the border regularly, so if speakout is a bad option are there any alternative ways i can just buy a sim card and put it in my unlocked nokia 1600 and use it in the US? maybe t-mobile?
also, does anyone know the US customer service number? seems 866-310-1023 is the number for both the US and Canadian services and you can only access the canadian service from canadian numbers.
any help or advice would be great!
Hi
Have you looked into http://www.Roamsimple.com ?
This is a POST PAY service where you are billed on your CC after use. They use AT&T in USA. Rates don't look too bad but...
I just posted a similar question elsewhere in the forum on this.
Stu
2:57 pm
also, does anyone know the US customer service number? seems 866-310-1023 is the number for both the US and Canadian services and you can only access the canadian service from canadian numbers.
--
The number you quote is the US number. They can transfer you to the Canadian CS but there is also a Canadian direct #: 866-830-7432
8:37 pm
Have a few questions. I currently have T-mobile family plan.
My daughter lives in Canada. When she calls me with her T-Mobile Cell phone that is part of my family plan, the cost is 59¢ a minute plus what ever roaming charges.
How can I reduce this? Any ideas. She has an unlocked T-mobile quad band phone. Should she get a Canadian sim card.
How would the rates be on that from Canada to the U.S.?
She travels often for her job, so always calling from a land line isn't possible. Just trying to find the cheapest way, besides Skype to talk with her.
Thank you.
Aine
9:34 pm
October 22, 2008
Offline
Yeah, roaming charges are outrageous up here in Canada. She'll end up paying considerably more than just 59 cents per minute once she gets the final total. 59 cents will seem like a bargain.
The least expensive way would be for her to buy a prepaid long distance card from a convenience store and to use a landline. Those long distance cards end up costing about 2 to 5 cents per minute to call the US.
But since you said she can't always get to a landline, she can buy that same long distance card and she can buy a Speakout sim from anyone selling one on this forum. That way she'll be paying 20 or 25 cents per minute using the Speakout card, plus whatever the long distance card charges. Of course you can skip the long distance card and use Speakout's long distance, but that will cost her and extra 20 cents/minute on top of the Speakout rates.
10:05 am
alan said:
I use TMobile in the US. Off EBay I got a "starter kit" with a sim. Make sure to get a PayasUgo starter KIT W/ the authorization number. Don't just buy a TMob sim. Cost about $10. I also got a TMob $100 voucher for about $90. Guy emailed me the number...he had 100% feedback. I used an unlocked Nokia, installed the sim and was able to set up the TMob account from my house in Nanaimo,BC. TMob roams on Rogers. I have a southern Arizona area code and number. I added the $100 voucher and my minutes are good for 1 year. Cost is 10 cents/ minute anywhere in the US and Alaska, Hawaii, NO long distance. 20 cents/ minute to Cdn from the US. I can reduce that to 13 cents/min by using a 10-10-YAK LD card. IN Cdn it's 20 cents/ min PLUS Rogers charges some exorbitant rip-off roaming fee. As an aside. Since I moved to Cdn 7 years ago I've discovered of all the places I've lived Canada is the most corrupt screw yer buddy place of all. Hockey is NOT The national past time...... ripping each other off IS. the old saying "as goes the govt, so go the people" REALLY applies here.
I live in Nanaimo and will be staying in Arizona this winter. I also have a Nokia 1208. Could we communicate ?
2:13 pm
March 15, 2008
Offline
alan said:
I used an unlocked Nokia, installed the sim and was able to set up the TMob account from my house in Nanaimo,BC. TMob roams on Rogers.
lazyrebel said:
I live in Nanaimo and will be staying in Arizona this winter. I also have a Nokia 1208. Could we communicate ?
Note that alan said he was able to use his T-Mob SIM from Nanaimo by roaming on Rogers. You can do that too but prepare to pay outrageous fees.
(A T-Mob US SIM can roam in Canada subject to Robbers' Rapacious Roaming Rates®, however a SO Canada SIM can't roam outside of Canada.)
2:15 pm
September 28, 2010
Offline
Before I visited the USA I bought an AT&T sim card from ebay (postage was more than card) for my android phone. I called At&T to get a number in my destination area code, then bought the smallest $15 prepay good for a month. Basic local & long distance, no roaming service outside the area code. Couldn't create an account from Canada so I called from land line when I arrived, they sent the text containing a password (so I could pay online or add stuff). Very cheap solution for short visit. I can always use the sim and online account if I visit there again.
For WiFi voip calling on my Android phone I installed the free Nimbuzz app -- very new and has a few bugs. It is supposed to allow you to setup your Skype account and use skype credit but wasn't working consistently so I bought the minimum Nimbuzz credit about $15. Very clear calls but a 1 sec. delay can make the initial "hello" a bit odd. My first trial call to a land-line, the person answered but I didn't hear them so they hung up.
5:01 pm
December 24, 2010
Offline
Big Ang said:
Yeah, roaming charges are outrageous up here in Canada. She'll end up paying considerably more than just 59 cents per minute once she gets the final total. 59 cents will seem like a bargain.
The least expensive way would be for her to buy a prepaid long distance card from a convenience store and to use a landline. Those long distance cards end up costing about 2 to 5 cents per minute to call the US.
I find the CiCi calling card (by GoldLine Telemanagement) seems to be the best calling card to buy in Canada as the calls are crystal clear and it's only 2.5 cents a minute to the US. Combining that with calling from a landline works great. The Continental Calling Card is also good but has less access numbers in Canada than CiCi does. Both expire 6 months after first use and don't have a lot of the hidden charges/fees most other cheap calling cards do, plus the sound quality is superior compared to the ones that cost even less per minute.
You can also buy these cards online and get emailed the PIN and access numbers instantly. Just Google it. A $5 card lasts forever at those rates.
