I-phone 3

[Aleister Crowley]

I bought a unlocked I-phone 3 in mexico , and have been using it down here with telmex.
I,m returning to vancouver in a few weeks and want to change the SIM card.
Will I have to buy a ridicules big 2-3 yr.. contract with one of the big companies like tellus? or is there a company that provides good coverage and pay as you go or have shorter contracts? info appreciated.

 

[Tugela]

Well, you can buy no-contract iPhones from most of the big providers so I don't see why not.

 

[dunnochit]

SIM Cards are available without contract. The contracts are to offset the cost of hardware as well as to lock you in for a time period. Sim cards are simply a means for connecting to their network and the cost is negligible to you.
JMHO
D

 

[storm rider]

SIM Cards are available without contract. The contracts are to offset the cost of hardware as well as to lock you in for a time period. Sim cards are simply a means for connecting to their network and the cost is negligible to you.
JMHO
D

He nailed it dead on.....swing by a fido kiosk and buy a new SIM card and you should be good to go.

SR

 

[Aleister Crowley]

He nailed it dead on.....swing by a fido kiosk and buy a new SIM card and you should be good to go.


SR

So, i can go to fido or others and buy their sim card and that automatically connects me to their network?
Are they sold by the minute or can one buy a long term one, say for 6 months? That way you get to keep a phone number for more than a week or month.
approx. cost?
is Fido a good server network with good coverage?

 

[mercyshooter]

in your case, it will have to be a pay per use type of thing. ask them and see.

in europe and asia, all gsm phones are unlocked to increase competition.

 

[Aleister Crowley]

mine is also unlocked.
is pay per use a lot more than contractual plans?

 

[dunnochit]

in your case, it will have to be a pay per use type of thing. ask them and see.

in europe and asia, all gsm phones are unlocked to increase competition.

I disagree. you can get a plan, with a SIM Card, without signing a contract. Fido is a city service provider, as is Koodoo, Wind, Mobilcity. If you want coverage outside of a city, go Rogers, Telus or Bell. They all support GSM now.
JMHO
D

 

[Tugela]

So, i can go to fido or others and buy their sim card and that automatically connects me to their network?
Are they sold by the minute or can one buy a long term one, say for 6 months? That way you get to keep a phone number for more than a week or month.
approx. cost?
is Fido a good server network with good coverage?

Make sure that the network you choose is compatible with the frequency used by your iPhone first.

 

[mercyshooter]

I disagree. you can get a plan, with a SIM Card, without signing a contract. Fido is a city service provider, as is Koodoo, Wind, Mobilcity. If you want coverage outside of a city, go Rogers, Telus or Bell. They all support GSM now.
JMHO
D

Without signing a contract? Then how the hell do you change plan afterwards with the same network?

 

[TheSpecialist]

Mobilicity nor Wind support iPhone's frequency.

 

[badbadboy]

I am pretty sure you are going to need a data plan to go along with a voice plan. It is just the nature of the iPhone, it wasn't meant to be a plain ordinary cell phone.

 

[dunnochit]

Without signing a contract? Then how the hell do you change plan afterwards with the same network?

You just choose a plan, no contract. I do it for my clients ALL the time. They change phones every 6 months, or less, and go with the coolest phone and the company that has it. Or they just buy one from Internet, ebay, hong kong etc.... They do not care about the phone cost and bounce between carriers all the time. They port their numbers. It is a month to month contract and you can change or cancel the plan at any time. It sometimes costs $25 to switch plans, but you NEVER need a contract.
And yes Mobilcity and Wind do not support iPhone. Just added them to the list of city plan companies.
And yes an iPhone requires a data plan
D

 

[mercyshooter]

You just choose a plan, no contract. I do it for my clients ALL the time. They change phones every 6 months, or less, and go with the coolest phone and the company that has it. Or they just buy one from Internet, ebay, hong kong etc.... They do not care about the phone cost and bounce between carriers all the time. They port their numbers. It is a month to month contract and you can change or cancel the plan at any time. It sometimes costs $25 to switch plans, but you NEVER need a contract.
And yes Mobilcity and Wind do not support iPhone. Just added them to the list of city plan companies.
And yes an iPhone requires a data plan
D

They need to know who the hell you are, right?

 

[dunnochit]

They need to know who the hell you are, right?

I am not sure I understand the question?
You need a place to send the bill. The OP never mentioned he needed a stealth phone.
D

 

[badbadboy]

You just choose a plan, no contract. I do it for my clients ALL the time. They change phones every 6 months, or less, and go with the coolest phone and the company that has it. Or they just buy one from Internet, ebay, hong kong etc.... They do not care about the phone cost and bounce between carriers all the time. They port their numbers. It is a month to month contract and you can change or cancel the plan at any time. It sometimes costs $25 to switch plans, but you NEVER need a contract.
And yes Mobilcity and Wind do not support iPhone. Just added them to the list of city plan companies.
And yes an iPhone requires a data plan
D

Who says you dontknowshit. Great post.

I have been sweating all weekend getting an unlocked Motorola Atrix 4G up and running on Rogers. Voice, voicemail, texting, WiFi, Bluetooth all easy. Data not so much and everyone I spoke to had a different idea about the APN required to get it working.

Obviously, support for a non approved phone is lacking and I was an island on my own with Rogers.

 

[Aleister Crowley]

thanks for all the input....
and yes i need cellular phone , plus data ,wifi.
So, lets see if i got this right , when i get to canada , i take my i-phone to a larger service provider like Telus or? and buy a sim card , get a number so it can work as plain cell, no contract , but to have a data plan attached then obviously i need some sort of contract for billing. I don't need stealth.
So , to elaborate on my original question , ....then i will need a contract , how long are they? last time i was there i had to buy a 3 yr tellus and was only there 6 months.... fukkers made me pay all the way and would not let me off the hook.
getting closer to the truth

 

[badbadboy]

Rogers.com
Fido.ca
telus.com
bell.ca

You can research it all at these places. Way too many options to type up for you. Fido may have what you are looking for in a non contract scenario.

You will need to find out the APN for the network operator you choose. I just went through the same thing this weekend with an unlocked Motorola Atrix. Finally had success after a couple of days of trial and error.

 

[dunnochit]

thanks for all the input....
and yes i need cellular phone , plus data ,wifi.
So, lets see if i got this right , when i get to canada , i take my i-phone to a larger service provider like Telus or? and buy a sim card , get a number so it can work as plain cell, no contract , but to have a data plan attached then obviously i need some sort of contract for billing. I don't need stealth.
So , to elaborate on my original question , ....then i will need a contract , how long are they? last time i was there i had to buy a 3 yr tellus and was only there 6 months.... fukkers made me pay all the way and would not let me off the hook.
getting closer to the truth

You do not need a contract at anytime, for anything, unless you consider a month to month a contract.
Rogers, Fido, Telus, Bell they all offer phone and data service without a contract.
Example using Rogers
How to Buy a Rogers SIM Card
I do this all the time. I have a Samsung Galaxy on Telus with NO contract. I picked my plan and pay month to month.
D

 

[Aleister Crowley]

You do not need a contract at anytime, for anything, unless you consider a month to month a contract.
Rogers, Fido, Telus, Bell they all offer phone and data service without a contract.
Example using Rogers
How to Buy a Rogers SIM Card
I do this all the time. I have a Samsung Galaxy on Telus with NO contract. I picked my plan and pay month to month.
D

Thats what i wanted to hear....mucho gracias amigo...