Registering with MercadoLibre

[JaneD]

Greetings,
I moved to BA 3 weeks ago.
How do I register for MercadoLibre account with a US phone number? I can't get drop the 54 code from the phone registration.
Thank you,
J

 

[lunar]

How do I register for MercadoLibre account with a US phone number?

Not planning to get a local phone number at all?

 

[JaneD]

I had not thought about it. Is it expensive?

I need to have my US phone number at all times because I have a severely disabled adult daughter in the US who has no use of her hands. I pay an extra $100 a month for open phone service to and from the US.

J

 

[Caribbean Cool]

If I were you....keep your U.S. phone at home if you can.....losing it could cause a nightmare (maybe). Buy a local phone....maybe costs $160...then local service is very cheap. You will get a lot of opinions and I don't claim to be a genius but you WILL get all bank messages this way.

 

[JaneD]

I had not thought about it. Is it expensive?

I need to have my US phone number at all times because I have a severely disabled adult daughter in the US who has no use of her hands. I pay an extra $100 a month for open phone service to and from the US.

J

If I were you....keep your U.S. phone at home if you can.....losing it could cause a nightmare (maybe). Buy a local phone....maybe costs $160...then local service is very cheap. You will get a lot of opinions and I don't claim to be a genius but you WILL get all bank messages this way.

Thank you! Will do.

 

[lunar]

I had not thought about it. Is it expensive?

Just stop by the Claro office to get a chip. They offer a prepaid plan with no monthly fees; you can top it up with a minimum amount, like 100 pesos, every 6 months to keep the number active. This should be enough to receive local SMS messages for verification. If you are a resident, getting the number is probably free, or there may be some small charge that mostly goes to your balance. For tourists, they offer a 9000 pesos plan for one month (credit card required).

As for the new phone, you can start by swapping SIM cards. Just insert your local card into your phone to receive SMS, then switch back to your US SIM card.

 

[JaneD]

Than you all. I will get a local number and phone, however I need to have my US phone with me at all times.
My daughter can reach my phone by voice activation at any time in case of emergency.

Can she call the BA phone company by voice activation via Alexa?

J

 

[JaneD]

OK, I forgot to explain, all she does is says to Alexa; call Mom and the call comes through.
If she can do this with my BA service that would be wonderful.
J

 

[Stephano]

If I were you....keep your U.S. phone at home if you can.....losing it could cause a nightmare (maybe). Buy a local phone....maybe costs $160...then local service is very cheap. You will get a lot of opinions and I don't claim to be a genius but you WILL get all bank messages this way.

You can also verify whether your US phone company supports eSIM. I converted my physical Mint SIM into eSIM (took only a few minutes), so I had a free slot on my phone for a local chip. With (Android) you can configure what to use for calls outbound and texts, but in any case you should always be able to receive calls and texts on your US number.

 

[obiwanderkenobi]

@JaneD here's my two cents. I want to preface it though by saying that I'm in my 30s and still fairly tech savvy, so I know that what may seem intuitive to me may be the complete opposite to others on this forum (I'm not asking and you don't have to say, lol). For example, it was only via this forum that I learned Vonage is apparently still a thing - for me that's a word that's about as quaint as hearing someone mention AOL or Y2K. I also say this knowing my parents (who are 60 and 70) would probably look at me like deer in headlights after reading this post.

Anyways, I understand that you have a disabled daughter who needs to reach you as easily as possible, and that's obviously more important than money, but....paying $100 a month just to keep a U.S. phone number is a really crazy concept for me to wrap my head around. I pay absolutely nothing, zero cents a month, and get all of my U.S. calls and texts here (including SMS and bank verification codes) with no issues whatsoever. Here's what I did:

1. Signed up for a free Google Voice number before I started traveling. You'll receive a new U.S. phone number and can generally choose whatever area code you prefer. You need an existing U.S. phone number to initially register, which is why I did this before leaving the States, but you can do it from here as well. Once you've completed registration you can dump your current number and use Google Voice's number exclusively. Google Voice is my primary and I use it for 99% of any calls I need to make or receive to/from the States.
2. Set up a backup account with a U.S. mobile app called "TextFree" - this will give you a second U.S. phone number. The cost is free and you don't lose your number as long as you use it at least once every 30 days. There are similar apps, but TextFree has worked very well for me.
3. Visit a local Claro store and ask for a tourist SIM. You'll need your passport and a credit card. The initial cost should be less than $10 and your first month will be included, most likely with a 20 or 25gb data package. There are other providers besides Claro if you prefer. You'll then have a local number you can use to sign up with MercadoLibre, Rappi, PedidosYa, etc.
4. After your first month with Claro, you can add "top-up" packages on their website. The cost for a monthly package is ridiculously cheap. For example, I just checked and it's 3.500 pesos for a monthly package which includes 15gb of data, unlimited Whatsapp and social media, and 1000 local minutes + 1000 local texts (which I never use because almost everyone here uses WhatsApp).
5. If you're not already on WhatsApp, you can use your new local phone number to create a new WhatsApp account.

Once this is all completed, you now have three ways people in the U.S. can call or message you for free:

1. They can call you or text you at your U.S. phone number that you created via Google Voice. My phone rings here just the same as it would back home. Google Voice works best while you're connected to WiFi, but will also work while you're connected to Claro's mobile network assuming you're in the city and not in some remote area that only has 2G or 3G towers.
2. Or they can call you or text you at your U.S. phone number that you created with TextFree.
3. Or they can create a WhatsApp account and call you or message you for free via WhatsApp.

Since it sounds like you currently have an existing U.S. phone number with a traditional carrier, I don't see any reason why you can't get a new number with Google Voice and program it into your daughter's Alexa. As long as you are on WiFi or have a good mobile signal with Claro, your phone should ring like it would for any other phone call. You can also program Google Voice to send you an email alert any time you have a missed call, as well as send you emails with transcripts of your incoming text messages and voicemails.

As far as banks and whatnot, I've had no issues getting verification codes from my various financial institutions. I bank with USAA, and have credit cards through Capital One, Citi, Discover, and a few others. I also get SMS verification codes just fine from other companies like Airbnb, Amazon, Uber, credit report providers, etc. I have all of my credit cards programmed to send me text alerts for every transaction attempt regardless of the amount, and those text alerts always come through on Google Voice within seconds of me making a purchase.

I get that you might be wary and cautious of trying anything new or different since already know your current set-up works for you and your daughter. But there shouldn't be any downside in exploring the alternatives and keeping your current U.S. number while you do so. Once everything's set up, you can try a few test calls and make sure you're happy with the call quality and everything. If everything works great, dump your current provider and you've got an extra $100 a month in your pocket. If not and you're not happy or satisfied with the alternatives, then keep your current setup for now and at most you've only lost $10 from the Claro SIM you purchased.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or if I can be of any other help!