Pocket wifi

[rickulivi]

I am in japan and discovered pocket wifi. They are excelent. Does anyone know if these exist in buenos aires or should i buy one in the usa and take with me to ba? Can you rent them in ba for a short time period? I would appreciate you sharing any experience you have with them. Thanl you!

 

[jantango]

https://listado.mercadolibre.com.ar/pocket-wifi#D[Aocket wifi]

There is free WIFI in CABA and in restaurants. Is there a need for a pocket WIFI in BA?

https://www.sakuramobile.jp/japan-wifi/is-free-wifi-in-japan-safe/

 

[Ries]

you do understand that "pocket wifi" doesnt magically skip the phone company, right? you can buy a dongle/pocket wifi device, but it will still cost you $9USD a day for that wifi to work in Argentina, and you will still be using whichever company Teppy or your pocket wifi provider has a deal with- movistar, personal, or whatever. $270 a month doesnt seem like its that great to me, unless its for a weeklong vacation.
https://www.tepwireless.com/orders/new

 

[rickulivi]

Jantango: I appreciate your comment. You are very right, and that's one advantage of BA vs. Japan, but I often need to make and receive calls while I am just around, or using Google maps for whatever, and having a pocket wifi is super convenient.

Ries: thanks for your reply too. I assumed there was a cost in addition to the equipment, but I was not aware it could be that expensive. In Japan, it is very hard to find wifi in coffee shops, etc. and so many tourists and locals use these pocket wifis (you can rent them for short time periods) , so I assumed they were low cost. What was not clear in my mind was whether I could rent one in the US and use in Argentina. I just loved their convenience; lots of airbnb's in Japan advertise that they give you a free pocket wifi during your stay and it's a strong inducement.

Thanks again all for your responses.

 

[BAJeffpat]

Japan uses CDMA technology and frequencies that are generally different from other countries making it almost always impossible to use a cell phone bought in another country on a Japanese network. Argentina is GSM, which is a much more common system, so you can most likely just buy a pre-paid sim card and used yout cell on the Argentine networks without an additional device like a pocket wifi hotspot. Use the search box on this site for info how to get an Argentine sim card.

 

[TomAtAlki]

Just sign up with T-Mobile. Free data in almost every country in the world as well as 20cent a minute for phone calls. I'm here for 6 months +/- and never bothered getting a local sim card. I use WhatsApp for local communication. Data is almost always LTE and for a few $$ a month you can make it that you have unlimited LTE (fast data ie wifi equivalent). I love T-Mobile!

T/

 

[rickulivi]

Japan uses CDMA technology and frequencies that are generally different from other countries making it almost always impossible to use a cell phone bought in another country on a Japanese network. Argentina is GSM, which is a much more common system, so you can most likely just buy a pre-paid sim card and used yout cell on the Argentine networks without an additional device like a pocket wifi hotspot. Use the search box on this site for info how to get an Argentine sim card.

Thank you for explaining why I had such a hard time getting my phone's Internet to work in Japan. Learning is fun!

 

[rickulivi]

Just sign up with T-Mobile. Free data in almost every country in the world as well as 20cent a minute for phone calls. I'm here for 6 months +/- and never bothered getting a local sim card. I use WhatsApp for local communication. Data is almost always LTE and for a few $$ a month you can make it that you have unlimited LTE (fast data ie wifi equivalent). I love T-Mobile!

T/

Thank you for your suggestion. I do use T-Mobile and pay extra for their international system. The problem I have using my US cell in Argentina is that to make free whatsapp calls my phone needs to show the words T-Mobile at the top left of the screen next to the wifi sign. If it does not show that, you can still make calls using Whatsapp but you pay $0.20 per minute rather than free. I am often connected to a wifi, and still the T Mobile words do not appear on my phone, so I end up paying for the calls. Because I need to make lots of calls, I end up with a huge bill from T-MObile, even at $0.20 per minute. That's one reason why I thought that using a pocket wifi may solve my problem, but I am not sure if I can rent one in Argentina and what the cost would be. I'll find out soon. I appreciate your response and suggestion. See you soon.

 

[rickulivi]

Japan uses CDMA technology and frequencies that are generally different from other countries making it almost always impossible to use a cell phone bought in another country on a Japanese network. Argentina is GSM, which is a much more common system, so you can most likely just buy a pre-paid sim card and used yout cell on the Argentine networks without an additional device like a pocket wifi hotspot. Use the search box on this site for info how to get an Argentine sim card.

Question: if, when in Argentina, I replace the sim card in my t-mobile account phone with an argentina sim card, do I loose my US based phone number? I obviously don't understand how sim cards work.

 

[BAJeffpat]

Question: if, when in Argentina, I replace the sim card in my t-mobile account phone with an argentina sim card, do I loose my US based phone number? I obviously don't understand how sim cards work.

The sim card basically is the thing that "holds" your number. If I put my sim card in your phone, for example, and my friend called me, your phone would ring. You can change back and forth between sim cards without any problem. In some countries, you can even buy a dual sim phone.

One note, when you change sim cards, whatsapp might as you if you want to change to your number to the new sim card's number. Say no and carry on.