Getting PH phone ready in US?

[Gator]

14 hours ago, Reboot said:

My question is this: Is it possible to have a PH phone, ready to go, shipped in the US? What I mean is a decent smartphone that will work "over there," have a card and a load. I'd rather have everything ready to go before I get there, rather than having to fumble and set it all up after I do. Anyone familiar with US based cos?

My own phone won't work. It's Verizon CDMA and PH is all GSM. 

Sorry if this question has been asked before. I looked around and didn't find it

Thanks.

Even though your question may already be answered - and you have an S5 which should work, I'll add my 2 centavos. 

When it comes to phones I'm not an online purchase type of guy, for others who are the same Best Buy, Metro PCS and a few other smaller retailers sell unlocked phones at reasonable prices. I think you can even get them now at Wal-Mart too, but don't hold me to that.

As Brett said, you can get a SIM card from eBay (although cheap at around 10$ US - it's still 10-15 times what they cost in the Phils, lol), but make sure it's either the right size for your phone or a dual/tri-cut card. Trying to cut it yourself to fit your phone (even using a template) is a pain in the a** and if you don't cut it exactly to size then it most likely won't work (you won't know until you arrive).

Also, some eBay retailers sell pre-activated cards already set to roam in the USA, so be sure to read the fine print. If you buy a new card, you'll have to wait until you arrive to activate and load it (you can't pre-load a card from the respective telcom's website until it's activated nor can anyone "pasa load" to you). You can also usually find load cards on eBay as well; or just use the small load that comes with the SIM card until you can top it off when you get there.

 

 

 

[Reboot]

5 minutes ago, Gator said:

Even though your question may already be answered - and you have an S5 which should work, I'll add my 2 centavos. 

When it comes to phones I'm not an online purchase type of guy, for others who are the same Best Buy, Metro PCS and a few other smaller retailers sell unlocked phones at reasonable prices. I think you can even get them now at Wal-Mart too, but don't hold me to that.

As Brett said, you can get a SIM card from eBay (although cheap at around 10$ US - it's still 10-15 times what they cost in the Phils, lol), but make sure it's either the right size for your phone or a dual/tri-cut card. Trying to cut it yourself to fit your phone (even using a template) is a pain in the a** and if you don't cut it exactly to size then it most likely won't work (you won't know until you arrive).

Also, some eBay retailers sell pre-activated cards already set to roam in the USA, so be sure to read the fine print. If you buy a new card, you'll have to wait until you arrive to activate and load it (you can't pre-load a card from the respective telcom's website until it's activated nor can anyone "pasa load" to you). You can also usually find load cards on eBay as well; or just use the small load that comes with the SIM card until you can top it off when you get there.

 

 

 

Thanks Gator...my next question was about finding a sim card and load here...

[Gratefuled]

A lot of useful information here for those who know what they want and need. I just have a cheap dumb phone that sends and receives text messages. Oh, I can also send and receive phone calls. It has Sudoku game too for idle moments. 

My wife has a small Apple Ipad that does a lot but I don't know how to use it. Oh well, I'm really "old school".

[frosty (chris)]

I bought a new Sun sim card the other day, cost was 35pesos, the very cute young lady said she would install it for me but I was in a hurry, so declined the offer. A lot of the girls here use Sun as it is free calls/text with other Sun users. The load is from 10 pesos up but for me I would just get a 100 pesos, there are load stations every where here. Another advantage of buying your card here is that you never know which pretty Filipina may take your eye, for some reason all the phone/load/sim card stations in the malls seemed to be staffed by very attractive young ladies. Good luck with you upcoming trip, have fun

[Reboot]

Got a SMART Pinoy Roaming Sim in the mail today. $10 on Amazon. Threw it in the Galaxy 5, put a load on it. Looks like it works fine here in the States, but no pretty Filipina lady to do the install for me . I guess I will have to fly 9000 miles to get the full experience. 

[robert k]

54 minutes ago, Reboot said:

Got a SMART Pinoy Roaming Sim in the mail today. $10 on Amazon. Threw it in the Galaxy 5, put a load on it. Looks like it works fine here in the States, but no pretty Filipina lady to do the install for me . I guess I will have to fly 9000 miles to get the full experience. 

I've had the experience, always make sure it works before you walk away.

Always buy load cards at reputable businesses, I bought a card in Manila that was counterfeit. 200 php didn't mean anything but I was without phone service until I could get some more load. I thought I had that covered

[Gratefuled]

Ok, I still have my Verizon phone. When I am in the states, I use my son's Verizon connection. He just pays an additional $10 monthly fee and it becomes like one of his phones. 

I just carry my cheap Samsung phone for when I return.