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I always wanted a my own personal phone for vac in jamaica . I have an older model galaxy as mentioned in title was wondering if I can get this going on a digicell account while I'm in negril ? Like what makes a phone able to be used over there ? And once I am using it in negril can it be used for same use here in canada upon return home ?? Any insite would be great. I have a samsung galaxy s2 model gt i9000
If the phone is unlocked it should accept any providers SIM. The SIM card is assigned a telephone number and allows the phone to operate on a providers network (e.g. Digicel\Lime\T-Mobile\Verizon). Whatever SIM is in the phone is the number and "account" you will be using to make calls.
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So is there digicell providers in canada . Ontario mainly or is this something I have to wait to get to jamaica to do ?? How much does it cost to get this going ? So a SIM card and number with minutes for ten days , I'm doing a budget and would like to fit this in . Thanks in advance for any advice:)))
Digicel stores are only found in Jamaica and a few other Caribbean countries. However, once you have a Digicel phone/sim card you can roam in north America (in the US you can roam on the AT&T network. not sure about Canada).
I once found a third-party website that would sell you an activated digicel SIM card, loaded up with minutes and ship it to your home. However, the cost was twice as much as going to the digicel store in JA. I was also afraid to order something by mail and find that it didn't work in my phone. It was much cheaper and convenient to stop at the digicel store in the Burger King plaza and get my old Blackberry setup by someone who knows what they are doing.
I maintain a Digicel prepay account year-round. When you're in Jamaica purchase the prepaid SIM and minutes. I purchase the international bundle with my minutes for calls back to the US during my trip and use the rest of my minutes for local calls. When I return home I add small amount of minutes about every 2 months using online top up. You must add minutes every 90 days to keep the SIM active. If the SIM is not used for 90 days the SIM will be deactivated and you will need to purchase a new SIM\minutes. You should be able to "rollover" the minutes until you're on the island again. I typically use some minutes to make calls and or txts back to Jamaica. If I need to call I will sometimes purchase the the "roam like your home" bundle.
Digical has roaming agreements with every Canadian provider per their website. Data is only available through Bell and Rogers. For rates etc see:
http://www.digiceljamaica.com > Coverage and Roaming > Roaming Rates.
The tricky part is remembering to add minutes. If you do that you can use the same number\phone year after year. This is very convenient for obvious reasons. I suggest maintaining a competently separate phone so you can keep Jamaican contacts separate from your "home contacts". Since contacts can be saved to the SIM you could inadvertently end up with both set of contacts on your phone if you're not sure what your doing. Even if it does happen you can remove the unwanted contacts if needed.
Also, I suggest you turn your phone off when traveling to\from the island. This ensures you don't get locked onto a tower which can prevent the SIM from registering on the next network once you land. If that happens you may need to contact digicel to have your phone "logged off" from the tower it's locked to. This doesn't always happen but shutting down should prevent it from occurring.
Sorry to bug :(. What's cost of SIM card ect needed to activate at the digicell near Burger King if you know ? If it's cheaper I'll bring the phone this sounds so easy to me . But I don't wanna spend too much for a phone . I'm on a budget trip solo .
Pardon my ignorance, but is unlocking only for a smart phone, or any cell phone. I am wondering if bringing my old flip phone would work.
Thanks
The cost of the SIM is usually around US$20 plus any minutes you put on it. It's been 3 years since I purchased mine so I can;t say for sure.
The phone must accept a SIM (be a GSM phone) and operate on the Bands available in Jamaica (if it works in the US\Canada it will likely work in Ja).
This what typical SIM looks like in case you don't know what a SIM is:
Attachment 41009
When you buy a phone from your cell phone provider they "lock" the phone so only their SIM cards will work. In most cases once you have fulfilled the contract they will provide the unlock code and instructions. Phones can also be unlocked using nefarious means fairly easily. This could void any warranties and violate agreements you made with your carrier but is fairly common practice. The easiest way to tell if you phone is unlocked is to find someone who has a different cell phone provider then who you purchased the phone from and see if it works in that phone. If you can make\receive calls then the phone is unlocked. If it doesn't then its likely not unlocked.
Some older phones are not GSM and do not accept a SIM card. These types of phones are obsolete.