Question about bringing phones

My wife has an iphone that has been unlocked (whatever that means). Can she bring it to Jamaica and use it there (buy a sim card, whatever that is)? We are from Canada if that makes any difference.
And if the answer is yes, is there a certain card to buy to obtain minutes? Now if the answer is no, can I purchase a cheap one in Negril ready to use?
When it comes to cell phones, my ignorance knows no bounds.

We have never brought a phone on previous trips but this time want to be prepared as we have a list of drivers for getting around as I am not quite as comfortable walking around in the evening after a previous incident.

Is important that your iPhone is unlocked, otherwise you cannot use it with another cellular service other than for original service that you bought it with. You can get a local Jamaican cellular service (with a Jamaican phone number) at very reasonable price to call locally and to call home. Way they connect Jamaican cellular service to your cellphone is replace something called a "SIM" card which they sell and install for you. I recommend either going to a "Digicell" or "Lime" store to get their cellular services in Jamaica. I don't remember exact cost but I think $30 will get you more minutes than you can use. Hope you have a great vacation.

I found Negril to be very safe over the years, but I'm sure others will agree that you shouldn't do something there that you wouldn't do at home. Always be polite but firm, and never walk in deserted dark areas (like along the beach) alone.

Thanks frank. We have been to Negril several times and are quite familiar with the "scene" Just never brought a phone before.
Thanks for the info, and yes her phone has been unlocked.

One other thing.. I believe you will need your passport in hand when you get the Jamaican cellular service at either the "Digicell" or "Lime" store.

first of all mi discourage bringing anything expensive to Jamaica......especially phones......
you always better off using a cheapy bought or brought here so you don't loose sumthin expensive in paradise......

Digicel sim is about $600J's and Lime is about $300J's......
neither Digicel or Lime will cut down a sim down to micro or nano size.....
but you can go upstairs from the Digicel Store is and a guy cuts dem for $600J's......
Lime has a 3 day data plan for $50J's.....and Digicel wants $60J's per day....
good enuff to do a likkle internet stuff like Facebook, emails and whatsapp etc......
they both have better and more expensive dat packages.....
you just enter codes/numbers into your phone to get the plan you want...

I will cut down a regular size sim down to micro size for free......mi hang at Pee Wees

Cool Runnings, Marko

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Originally Posted by frankk

One other thing.. I believe you will need your passport in hand when you get the Jamaican cellular service at either the "Digicell" or "Lime" store.

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Just an ID will work. Digicel took my US driver's license. I think it was $530j for the SIM and I got a week's worth of data for like $10 US.

~Moose

Dont care about internet, we are on vacation. Just want to be able to call a driver when we need a ride. Might be borrowing one from Linston, but want to have a plan "b".
I have an old flip phone lying around. If I can find the charger can I make that work? Its probably 10 years old, have no idea if would be "locked".
Like I said, phone technology isnt something I have ever concerned myself with.

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Originally Posted by sandman66

I have an old flip phone lying around. If I can find the charger can I make that work? Its probably 10 years old, have no idea if would be "locked".
Like I said, phone technology isnt something I have ever concerned myself with.

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The 10 year old flip phone may work, if it's on the GSM network. (old AT&T phones are, but I am not familiar with Canadian mobile service providers.) However, there is a good chance that the phone is locked. You can unlock it yourself, if you contact the customer service department of the cell phone provider and plug in a few codes and navigate a bunch of menus. Also, if the phone is 10 years old there is good chance that you need a new battery. If all this sounds technologically daunting (and it can be), it may be a lot easier to buy a basic phone at the Digicel store in Negril for ~$20.

I had no problem getting a micro-SIM for my old iPhone5 from "Lime" dealer in Negril last year. I'm pretty sure "Digitel" will do same.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sandman66

Dont care about internet, we are on vacation. Just want to be able to call a driver when we need a ride. Might be borrowing one from Linston, but want to have a plan "b".
I have an old flip phone lying around. If I can find the charger can I make that work? Its probably 10 years old, have no idea if would be "locked".
Like I said, phone technology isnt something I have ever concerned myself with.

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Hey Sandman....I work for the local phone company here in Saskatchewan. The old flip phone is more than likely locked and a CDMA phone so it likely won't work with the cellular offered in Jamaica. The iPhone is your best bet and the guy above the digicel store does a good job of trimming the sim card to fit into the slot on your iPhone. Make sure you have a straight pin or the 'iPhone' Sim tool to pop open the compartment on the side of the phone to access where the sim card is. I have done this in the past and had no issues. We have also bought just a cheap Digicel phone and it cost like 30 bucks....we just top up the minutes online every few months to keep it active and send a couple of messages with it. Like its been said though keep the phone low key because things like that are very popular down there. Borrowing from Linston is likely the easiest thing to do.....

Sandman,

Sent you an email. Phone will be waiting for you

Cap

Thanks all for the info. I agree, not a fan of my wife bringing her iphone, but you know women, they are set in their ways lol
Got the email Cap, thanks.
Jeeps packed, heading out the door shortly. Partying in downtown Winterpeg tonight!!

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Originally Posted by sandman66

Thanks all for the info. I agree, not a fan of my wife bringing her iphone, but you know women, they are set in their ways lol

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I can relate. My wife likes to bring her iPhone, too. I just have her put it in airplane mode, then connect it to the hotel wifi. That way she can use it around the hotel to message folks back home and use her apps, but we don't bring it off the property.

Have a great trip!

Original iPhone 5 on Verizon came unlocked with CDMA and GSM capability. A true world phone when combined with a local SIM card. Digicel now sells trimmed SIM's for them.

I save my older generation iPhones for travel.I unlock them and they work great for travel. Never a problem getting right size SIM card in Jamaica or Europe.

Good news if you have a US Sprint phone..the basic international plan is now free and allows free unlimited texts from Jamaica to the states and also to receive..also data is free but is only 1g so it is very slow..and calling is only 20 cents a minutes calling out to states and receiving...I no longer use my Jamaican phone as it is over 20$ to load up international and local minutes..ect..I was going to drop Sprint and try Verizon but now will keep it for certain as this saves me alot of money and convenience when on the rock..

If you have a Canadian cell phone, that baby is locked. The Government recently put through laws that our carriers can no longer prevent us from unlocking them. Locally in Canada, a carrier will unlock your phone, but it's about $50 to do it. And they don't make it easy to do.

There's a guy upstairs from Digicel, across from the Scotia bank, that will unlock it about for USD10. Just stand outside Digicel, and there's a staircase to your left. He does repairs, too!

You will need a Government issue photo ID to get yourself set up with Digicel and, I would assume Lime (we use Digi) do the same. We pay about USD15 for 1,000 international minutes. Yes, One Thousand minutes. We don't have a data pack. You can use the international minutes locally, you're just using "international", but that's a lot of minutes to use up on a 2 week vacation - and they keep adding minutes on!

If you're a frequent or regular annual visitor to Jamaica, with Digicel (and again, I assume Lime would have a similar programme) you can top up your account on line from home, for about $3 a month thru the year and keep you number active, and have the same one the next time you go down.

We don't bring our phones down. We have a phone we use strictly for Jamaica. It's an old Motorola flip phone our kids got in Europe in 2010. It's fine.
I believe you can get a pretty "no brainer" phone down there for about $30-35.

Remember, Canada is the world leader in exhorbitant cell phone and cell services costs. (Yay, us!) Our government even set up a page on their website telling us we pay too much. You gotta love this country!

mi unlock HTC, PANTECH, LG, ZTE and some MOTOROLAS...phone has to use a Sim Card....no iPhones, Samsung or Nokia

Cool Runnings, Marko