Phone service in BsAs

[Guille A]

Hi all - We will be in BsAs for several months, starting in May. We have questions about how make and receive calls while in BsAs.

- We currently have unlocked iphone with T-moble in the U.S., and we will be suspending the service while we are in BsAs
- We want to be able to send and receive local and international calls
- We want to be able to access the internet from our phone without being connected to WiFi (like while we are walking in the streets or in a taxi, etc.)

Any suggestions on services, equipment needed and costs?

Thanks,
Guille

 

[earlyretirement]

If you have TMobile why don't you just keep the TMobile plan? I have TMobile and I get free roaming in most countries that I go to. I get free data and texts on it. Calls ARE 20 cents a minute but I really don't have many occasions where I don't have wi-fi and can't use wi-fi calling. The TMobile coverage was very fast at LTE speeds everywhere I went in BA.

I have a Skype plan where I can add refillable credits to a Skype # (https://secure.skype.com/en/skype-number/) and just use it to make calls when I have wi-fi. All my friends use WhatsApp so there is rarely an instance where I need to make calls from my USA mobile provider.

You can also check into a plan with Google Fi - https://fi.google.com/about/plans/. It's pretty affordable but honestly my TMobile plan has been great. I wouldn't necessarily cancel that plan. I'm not sure how long you're gone for. I don't think Tmobile made that plan to live overseas but I've been gone for 2 months at a time and my TMobile plan has worked all over the world.

You can just get a local SIM card if you need to make local calls. I looked into getting an eSIM for my iPhone 14 but couldn't find one without a plan. And honestly I didn't really need one as I just used my Skype # and my Tmobile plan.

BA is a VERY connected city so there is literally wi-fi almost anywhere you go.

 

[wineguy999]

AT&T has a plan that provides coverage throughout Latin America at no extra charge - unlimited calls and data.

 

[arvest]

Hi all - We will be in BsAs for several months, starting in May. We have questions about how make and receive calls while in BsAs.

- We currently have unlocked iphone with T-moble in the U.S., and we will be suspending the service while we are in BsAs
- We want to be able to send and receive local and international calls
- We want to be able to access the internet from our phone without being connected to WiFi (like while we are walking in the streets or in a taxi, etc.)

Any suggestions on services, equipment needed and costs?

Thanks,
Guille

If you have a newer phone from within the past few years it should have dual sim capability. So you can keep your USA number and get a local sim card at the same time. I keep my USA phone plan as an esim, I get data service (albeit slow) in every country I travel to. I can also receive calls and text messages from back in the US. Meanwhile for data I use my local sim card and pay peanuts in comparison.

You can get prepaid plans from Personal or Claro. However make sure you visit a company owned phone store to signup and activate your phone plan. You have to have a DNI (aka national ID card) in order to activate a plan remotely. For tourists you'll have to show up with your passport at a company store and wait for the attendant to register you in their system before your SIM card will work.

 

[zeno]

I have T-Mobile. I converted my T-Mobile to an e-sim on my iPhone 13 mini. I removed the physical SIM card before coming. I bought a Claro prepago SIM and inserted it. Now I have both cellular providers running simultaneously.

I just topped off my Claro sim last month for 1400 pesos (promotion), - 10 gb for 30 days, voice + text. That's about $4 for the entire month.

 

[earlyretirement]

I have T-Mobile. I converted my T-Mobile to an e-sim on my iPhone 13 mini. I removed the physical SIM card before coming. I bought a Claro prepago SIM and inserted it. Now I have both cellular providers running simultaneously.

I just topped off my Claro sim last month for 1400 pesos (promotion), - 10 gb for 30 days, voice + text. That's about $4 for the entire month.

Yep. That seems to be the best set up possible. I used to love when I had the iPhone 13 with at least 1 SIM slot but now with the 14 they got rid of it completely and I've found it's difficult to get eSIM pre-pago in many countries. Some you can get just data only but no phone.

 

[arvest]

Yep. That seems to be the best set up possible. I used to love when I had the iPhone 13 with at least 1 SIM slot but now with the 14 they got rid of it completely and I've found it's difficult to get eSIM pre-pago in many countries. Some you can get just data only but no phone.

That's why I got an iPhone from Canada. They still come with SIM card slots. Maybe in 2-3 more years the rest of the world will have decent esim plans for now the flexibility you get from a SIM card slot can't be replaced