Forums > General > Living, Working, Retiring

twelveoaks

Feb 14, 2012, 8:27 AM

Post #1 of 20 (5533 views)

Shortcut

will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

My wife and I will be driving to Ajijic in late March. Prior to that we will need to cancel our internet provider as it is satellite and the parts need to be returned. Also, we currently use a no contract TracFone for our cell phone which does not work in Mexico.

My concern is that we will have no ability to communicate once we hit the road.

Does anyone have any advice as to what type of cell phone we might obtain here in the U.S. that would work in Mexico ? We don't want a contract as we will use Vonage once established in Mexico. Also, can we find a way to set our computer up so that we can access wi-fi on the road ? It is a Toshiba laptop and is wi-fi capable but in " hot spots " only.

Have any of you encountered this problem on your drive down and if so how did you solve it ?

Thanks,

Fred & Donna

chicois8

Feb 14, 2012, 9:19 AM

Post #2 of 20 (5509 views)

Shortcut

Re: [twelveoaks] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

I went to a local TELCEL office and bought a phone for 300 pesos and 100 pesos of that fee was for time on it-----

I also bought a wireless stick Huawei for 600 pesos with 500 pesos of that fee going to the one month cost of running your computer...works well

DavidHF

Feb 14, 2012, 10:02 AM

Post #3 of 20 (5487 views)

Shortcut

Re: [twelveoaks] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Buy a the least expensive "pay as you go" phone from your local cell provider. Once here you can get a new chip for $150 Pesos and have cell phone here. I would not be on the road here without a cell phone. If you speak perfect Spanish then you'll be OK. If not then best to carry a cell phone so you can call friends or your insurance company when you have an accident or need help.

RickS

Feb 14, 2012, 12:43 PM

Post #4 of 20 (5442 views)

Shortcut

Re: [twelveoaks] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

This is a summary of what you have heard.....

+ Keep you TracFone cellphone with you to use while in the US
+ The moment you cross the border the TracFone will quit working... put it away and
+ Go to a TelCel store in the border town where you are crossing. (Google TelCel and your border town to find the addresses, then do a Google map to get the direction of the one closest to your path). This will work as long as you are crossing at a place that actually HAS a border town and not somewhere like the the Colombia crossing up from Laredo or the Mariposa crossing at Nogales et. al. If you cross at one of these places just go to a TelCel store in the first town you come to
+Buy a TelCel phone (they are as cheap as 250 pesos... I bought mine for $299) and put an extra 100 pesos of time on it. This phone will work anywhere on your trip to Ajijic (although after you leave the 'zone' where you bought it the pesos-rate for minutes will be higher but what do you care because you probably won't use it at all anyway!)
+ Once in Ajijic, go to a TelCel store and buy, as DavidHF suggested, a new SIM card for the phone you bought for 150 pesos. They will install it for you. This card will be the zone for Ajijic and then your pesos/call rate will be back to 'normal'.

Axixic

Feb 14, 2012, 12:49 PM

Post #5 of 20 (5439 views)

Shortcut

Re: [twelveoaks] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

When you cross the border there are vendors selling Telcel phones that are pay as you go. Some phones now are under $300 pesos and that includes 300 pesos in minutes. The first year a Telcel is about 4 pesos a minute dropping to 1 peso the next year. Most people use Telcel so it's cheaper to make calls to other Telcel phones and you get some free calls to other Telcel users.

Depending on your phone type, not all can be converted to work in Mexico by changing the Sim chip. It's cheaper and easier to buy a Mexican phone.

Telcel also sells 3G but getting it for your computer is not as simple as walking into a store and buying it. It takes time and I doubt you want to hang around some border town waiting to get 3G. Even with 3G, the coverage is spotty and you will need to be in larger towns to use it. I've been an unhappy Telcel 3G customer.

There should be enough Hot Spots in hotels and restaurants for you. Several McDonald's have WiFi, as do Sanborns and Vips.

Try this program on you computer and it will locate WiFi signals.
http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/

List of some Mexico Hot Spots:

http://www.openwifispots.com/country_free_wifi_wireless_hotspot-Mexico_MX.aspx

Scroll down to "Mexico" for emergency numbers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_number

CanuckBob

Feb 14, 2012, 2:37 PM

Post #6 of 20 (5413 views)

Shortcut

Re: [RickS] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Do you need a CURP # to get a sim card?

Bob
Inside Lakeside
http://www.insidelakeside.com

RickS

Feb 14, 2012, 2:55 PM

Post #7 of 20 (5404 views)

Shortcut

Re: [CanuckBob] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Since I am neither a citizen nor a resident of Mexico, CURP does not apply to me.

To answer directly, I was able to purchase a phone and a SIM card with nothing more than pesos and a smile. I DID have to give TelCel some personal information at the time but I don't remember exactly what all I gave them..... and I don't have that paperwork at my fingertips at the moment.

johanson

Feb 14, 2012, 6:27 PM

Post #8 of 20 (5359 views)

Shortcut

Re: [RickS] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

In Reply To

Huh? I'm neither a Mexican citizen nor a permanent resident, but I got a CURP. I didn't need to get one, but was able to get it in maybe 15 minutes on the square of the town I live in when in Mexico (Ajijic). It sure made getting my cell phone registered easier. Although I could have done it without my CURP

Remember that in the US, there are two types of cell phone systems, GSM and CDMA. The GSM type that for example AT&T uses is the same as used in Mexico by the major carriers and the CDMA which works in the US but is not used by the primary Mexican carriers.

That's why, when I came down with my unlocked GSM US iPhone, I was simply able to get a chip from Telcel in Mexico put it in my US purchased GSM cell phone and everything worked great.

When in the states, if I wanted to, I cut replace the Mexican Telcel GSM chip with an AT&T GSM chip.

RickS

Feb 14, 2012, 6:38 PM

Post #9 of 20 (5355 views)

Shortcut

Re: [johanson] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Well, Pete, let me rephrase that..... I am only in Mexico every year as a 'tourist' with an FMM and haven't understood that a CURP was available to me nor very useful to me if it were available. You, on the other hand, are there much of the year, own a home and otherwise would probably find a CURP useful.

With respect to making the registration of a cellphone from TelCel easier I can only say that, without having a CURP, my whole purchase experience took about 10 minutes and most of that time was me making up my mind which phone I wanted to purchase.

YMMV

(This post was edited by RickS on Feb 14, 2012, 7:05 PM)

bournemouth

Feb 14, 2012, 6:57 PM

Post #10 of 20 (5346 views)

Shortcut

Re: [RickS] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

I thought the requirement to register a cell phone had been dropped, which would explain the ease of RickS's purchase.

johanson

Feb 14, 2012, 7:34 PM

Post #11 of 20 (5326 views)

Shortcut

Re: [RickS] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

You are right Rick, the only reason I even got a CURP was because I needed a topic for an article I wrote for my old Tech Talk column in the Guadalajara Reporter. Counting the time it took me to get the Curp plus counting the time it took me to register my Cell phone was more than it took for you to just register your cell phone.

I guess I should have posted that one can get a CURP card even if his permanent residence is up North. And actually the only thing it has done for me so far was to make getting my cell phone registered a little simpler, but not that much simpler.

And bournemouth, I have to buy more time on my Cell in a few days and I will check to see if there are new requirements, or whether you even need to register a new cell phone these days.

YucaLandia

Feb 14, 2012, 7:41 PM

Post #12 of 20 (5322 views)

Shortcut

Re: [CanuckBob] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Bob,
About 3 years ago, the Mex. Gob. put a rule in place that required CURPs to get SIM cards. That lasted for a while - but then Telcel got the approval / ability to sell and activate SIM cards for expats (show your passport or INM card) without a CURP.

The times I have gotten phones on Telcel Amigo plans for visiting gringo friends, the techs said they could do it without a CURP, but it was easier if I just gave them mine. If you have an FM2 or FM3, it should have a CURP listed on it.
-
-
Read-on MacDuff
E-visit at http://yucalandia.com

careyeroslib

Feb 14, 2012, 8:05 PM

Post #13 of 20 (5315 views)

Shortcut

Re: [twelveoaks] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Another option is to buy a GO phone in the US. (If you aren´t familiar with them, GO phones are sold at convenience stores like Happy Go). Good coverage in Mexico. You can call and receive calls between Mexico and the US and within Mexico. I believe it is 25 cents per call.

I personally wouldn´t bother with mobile Internet on the road. Most places you will stay overnight have free WiFi.

To call between Mexico and the US on a GO phone is exactly the same as calling landline to landline (same prefixes).

A Telcel phone is great too, for within Mexico, but, you can use your GO phone to make calls in Mexico as well. The prefixes are slightly different, but it works well.

Papirex

Feb 14, 2012, 8:09 PM

Post #14 of 20 (5311 views)

Shortcut

Re: [RickS] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

A few years ago, a law was being enforced requiring anyone with a cell phone to register it with a CURP number. The law was faulty because it allowed anyone to use anyone else s CURP number, it was discarded in a few months. The law was intended to prevent criminals from using untraceable, throw away phones.

The manager of our local cell phone provider, ISACELL, told me to just register our phones using my Mexican wife's CURP number. We had 3 cell phones at that time, all of them were in my name. One was for my wife, one was for her mother, my suegra, and one of them was for my use.

According to newspaper reports, several hundred people registered their cell phones using President Calderon's CURP number.

The problem with getting my own CURP number is that they keep moving the office that issues them. I even asked my facilitator to help me find them. He could not find any office that issued them here in Cuernavaca. I will probably get a CURP number someday, when I can find an office for them here, in case they are ever required for something again.

For most of México, Telcel is the worst cell provider with the poorest service and coverage in the entire Republic. For an extra cost of about $3 US Bucks per month, I also have road insurance to have about five liters of gas brought to me, more if I want to pay for it, tire changes, and minor repairs to start a car, or towing service to the nearest full service garage if necessary. I thought it was good to have while my wife was living, now that I am down to only one phone, it is still worthwhile. A cell phone is pretty much a necessity when traveling here.

When I had three phones, we could call one another anywhere in the Republic at no charge. I used to call my wife when she visited her aunt in Ajjijic, or when she visited her family in México City, no charge.

At any time, there may be good reasons to have a CURP number here that might not be obvious to a casual visitor.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

morgaine7

Feb 14, 2012, 9:52 PM

Post #15 of 20 (5288 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Papirex] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Quote

At any time, there may be good reasons to have a CURP number here that might not be obvious to a casual visitor.

Well, I renewed my car registration yesterday, and there were signs up all over the tránsito building saying that the CURP is now required for "all transactions". And INM told me a while back that a CURP is needed for anyone who's applying for inmigrado status. So It looks like Officialdom is gradually getting more serious about implementing it.

Kate

tashby

Feb 14, 2012, 10:22 PM

Post #16 of 20 (5287 views)

Shortcut

Re: [morgaine7] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

The CURP # thing does seem to be popping up more frequently.

Nonetheless.....all this "CURP-talk" is, I'm pretty sure, irrelevant to the OP, who just wants to have a mobile phone for the drive down between the border and destination. The "You need a CURP # to register your cell phone" ridiculousness was aborted a while back, I'm pretty sure.

As instructed above, upon entering Mexico, find a TelCel (or whatever) store that sells phones and minutes. Buy a cheap phone and have them hook you up. They'll likely ask for some information, maybe your passport # or Visa # or whatever. No matter what, they want to sell you the phone, so they'll do what they need to do. Test it out shortly thereafter and you're on your way.

You can deal with a more permanent solution later.

Safe travels.

Papirex

Feb 15, 2012, 6:16 AM

Post #17 of 20 (5252 views)

Shortcut

Re: [morgaine7] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Well, as we all know, laws are interpreted, modified and administered in different ways in every state here. I just registered a change in ownership at the Transito office for a car I bought in México City last week here in Morelos state. It was not quick or easy, it took about six months to accomplish. It required an investigation in México City to verify that the person I bought it from was who he said he was, and that he acquired the car legally.

No mention was made of requiring a CURP number for anything. It may happen someday though. No certificate of automobile ownership recognized everywhere is ever issued here, so buying a car in a different state often, not always, complicates things here.

I bought the car through a sobrino that is a broker on the side in México City, for $10,000 Pesos less than the asking price, so it was probably worth the trouble.

A CURP number will probably be necessary for me someday though.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

clariboe

Feb 18, 2012, 5:50 PM

Post #18 of 20 (5029 views)

Shortcut

Re: [twelveoaks] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

If you find a hot spot for WiFi and you have a laptop, you can use a Magic Jack for free calls to the US.

RickS

Feb 18, 2012, 7:20 PM

Post #19 of 20 (5008 views)

Shortcut

Re: [clariboe] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

I think the OP was more concerned about having a phone while on the road..... like for emergencies to call his (Mexican) car insurance company or to call ahead for motel reservations, etc. etc. Magicjack would not be a good choice for this purpose.

clariboe

Feb 19, 2012, 9:13 AM

Post #20 of 20 (4948 views)

Shortcut

Re: [RickS] will we be " flying blind " when we drive down ?

Can't Post | Private Reply

You are correct.