I heard something about a store across from the digicell store that was cheap.
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I heard something about a store across from the digicell store that was cheap.
At many of the stores, even the grocery stores like HiLo, Lime is selling what they call "Phones To Go". I have seen an Alcatel phone for as low as j$1200 - and that comes with 100j local credit and 1000 long distance minutes.
With the credit, the phone is practically free...
Rob,
Where is the Lime store?
George.
It's upstairs, above ValueMaster
Hey thanks Melody.
Lime was a good deal. I think I paid about 35 us for one in March. Had very little local credit, but about 600 mins international I think. Easy to add mins to it though.
Mostly interested in local minutes for calling taxis etc.
How much would say 100 minutes cost?
The cost is about j$3 per minute, so 100 minutes would be j$300...
Look for the yellow packaged "Phone To Go" that Lime is offering at almost all grocery/retail stores and even gas stations. The cost is as low as j$1200 for $100 local credit and 1000 over seas minutes - and it includes the phone!
You can find them everywhere.
Thanks Rob - a picture would be nice :)
Any gas stations open Christmas day?
That sounds perfect - I'll take two please! Does anyone know if the gas station near the airport sells them?
Awesome news. If they sold them at arrivals at the airport (or just outside), it would be SO convenient and they'd sell like hot cakes.
Let me clarify, I meant the gas station near the NEGRIL airport. The one up by Couples Negril.
Most stores carry them - look for them behind the counter. Differnt brands (Nokia, Sansun, Alcatel, etc) have different costs - the Alcatel ones seem to be least expensive. You will probably pass 300 places selling them from Mobay airport to Negril, including the gas station by the Negril Aerodrome.
If you have an unlocked GSM phone here in the US, from ATT or T Mobile, you can just use it with a Jamaican sim card.
We bought this phone and it was a great deal and very useful. Now I am wondering if I will be able to use it again next year if I let the minutes run out and just add credits next year when we return? I appreciate any help as I got conflicting answers when I bought it and when I bought credits.
If you have not used the phone since last year you will most likely need to buy a new chip as the phone number won't be good anymore. If you don't keep credit on the phone it won't work, you need to keep it topped up.
When did you buy it? If you use it or top it up online over the year, it should be good. That's what I intend to do, I don't need to learn yet another number! Mine is LIME and you have 60 days after the minutes expire to top it up before you need a new sim card. Not sure about Digicel...
I think Melody posted that an email from Lime confirmed you have 6 months to top it up and keep your number. Can you confirm Melody?
Yes, that's true Mo. Someone else posted that they topped up online just under a year later and it worked. Someone else confirmed that it worked ~ 6 months later. Personally, I have definitely gone over 60 days before topping up successfully.
Ok, so this thread prompted me to do a little experiment...
Back in June '13, I brought an old, unlocked Blackberry with me to Negril and stopped at the Digicel store to pick-up a SIM card and some minutes. I got a Jamaican number a with a bunch of local and international minutes. I did not use up all my minutes, but when we returned home I basically turned off the phone and put it in my drawer. (Actually, I initially left it on but started getting some texts and phone calls, in patois, from a Jamiacan chick, which landed me in the doghouse with the wife. Then I turned it off.) Just yesterday, I dusted off the phone and charged it up. Sure enough, it was out of minutes but the phone appeared to be roaming on the AT&T network and I received a few text messages with instructions on how to top-up. I then went to the Digicel website and tried to top-up my phone number, online. I put on ~$400J and instantly the phone was alive again! Digicel actually gave me over $500J of credit. They also texted me an offer that allowed me to call any Jamaican Digicel phone for free while roaming in the US, so I promptly called favorite my driver and setup airport transportation for our February trip.
So, to make a long story short - it appears that a Digicel SIM card will stay active for at least 6 months after the minutes expire.
I have an Iphone 3 that's just sitting in the drawer at home. I'm thinking of bringing it to Jamaica and having it unlocked. Someone said there is a store across from Scotia bank that does this. Has anyone used them to unblock a phone? If so, how much did they charge? Thanks
There is a private guy named Marko that helps with phones, too. He hangs at Pee Wees and lives a few yards up the lane. Ask for him there.
Or, if you are a do-it-yourself-er, you can call your cell phone provider (or do an online support chat session) and they will walk you through the process of unlocking the phone for free.
FYI, I thought I heard that only unlocked AT&T and T-Mobile phones will work with Jamaican SIM cards. The Blackberry that I unlocked was an AT&T phone and it worked great. I had a strong signal all over Negril.
I unlocked my 4s two days ago. Used scissors to cut my ddigicel sim down to size. Works perfectly so far.