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how to use a new phone with SO or Petro Canada
August 11, 2009
11:17 pm
oldguy99
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August 11, 2009
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Hi all, I am new to this group, have browsed it and found it quite helpful. Here is what I want to do: I need a phone that will work on Gulf Islands (between Vancouver and Vancouver island) I have been told by people living there Telus or Rogers are best. I won't use Telus for reasons I won't go into here. So since both SO and PC use Rogers network I am thinking about going with one of them. I want a newer phone than either of them are selling as it will be used mostly for texting so I want to buy one with the full keyboard. So how do I get a phone like this to work with SO or PC? i.e. what are the steps to buying a phone from Rogers and changing the SIM card....I have absolutely no idea how to go about this so any help grealy appreciated.

Bevin B.

August 11, 2009
11:27 pm
lazyacer
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April 23, 2009
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hi, welcome to the forum!

don;t worry, you are asking all the right questions and have a specific goal in mind which means you're half way there already...

i'd suggest you go with Speakout and a Rogers texty phone.. here's how..

Step 1. Research the Rogers pre-paid phones selection and buy the texty one you like best.

Step 2. Buy a Speakout phone and activate it.

Step 3. Swap sims. Ie. remove the activated sim from the SO phone and put it in the Rogers texty phone.

All done!

Step 4 optional. Sell SO phone and Rogers sim.

That's what I would do. Some others will be sure to have good advice if I;ve missed anything.

August 11, 2009
11:32 pm
iamdrumming
Niagara Falls
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October 14, 2008
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oldguy99 said:

Hi all, I am new to this group, have browsed it and found it quite helpful. Here is what I want to do: I need a phone that will work on Gulf Islands (between Vancouver and Vancouver island) I have been told by people living there Telus or Rogers are best. I won't use Telus for reasons I won't go into here. So since both SO and PC use Rogers network I am thinking about going with one of them. I want a newer phone than either of them are selling as it will be used mostly for texting so I want to buy one with the full keyboard. So how do I get a phone like this to work with SO or PC? i.e. what are the steps to buying a phone from Rogers and changing the SIM card....I have absolutely no idea how to go about this so any help grealy appreciated.

Bevin B.


First off, welcome to the site!

You can use any Rogers phone with a SpeakOut sim, except the newer 3G phones. SpeakOut only works on 2G.

Changing the sim is easy. The sim card is (for most phones) underneath the battery. Ensure the phone is off, then take out the battery. Under the battery you will see a little card that's held in place by a clip that swings down. Just unclip it, remove the sim, pop in the new sim, replace the battery, and you are good to go.

By they way, any unlocked GSM device (that uses the North American bands of 850/1900) will work with SpeakOut.

August 11, 2009
11:35 pm
Big Ang
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Instead of buying a prepaid phone from Rogers, you can try buying one from Ebay - just make sure it's unlocked, uses GSM, and ideally has both North American bands (850 and 1900 MHz).

Also, you can buy a SIM card from someone off this site. However, now that the "Buy $100 in airtime, get phone for 1/2 price" is going on, I'd go for that.

August 11, 2009
11:35 pm
iamdrumming
Niagara Falls
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By there way, there is also lots of good information on the home page of this site, including a sim card guide. I would encourage you to read there as well.

August 12, 2009
8:14 am
bylo
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March 15, 2008
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I agree that it's silly to buy a phone from Rogers when you can use any unlocked GSM phone that operates in (at least) North America. If you need a full keyboard then you can get a BlackBerry or [unlocked!] iPhone. Some reliable vendors of unlocked phones are http://www.puremobile.ca/ and http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=1809&name=unlocked-gsm-phone& but I'm sure there must be places in BC that have storefronts, etc.

There seem to be a lot of refurbished BlackBerrys out there these days at attrractive prices.