Phone use in States

MB05

For those of you thinking of going up North for the Sim Argos might be of use to you. The 12gb card isn't that competitive but the 3gb for £9.99 should be enough for a short trip. You might be able to reserve it before you go up.

http://www.argos.co.uk/search/three-sim/

MayoForSam

I'm off to the US on Monday week. Does anyone know how long delivery will take if I order a 3 data sim from mymemory.co.uk? Or would Argos be quicker using Parcelmotel or Parcel Wizard? Anyone looking to sell a partly used sim?

Atlantic Dawn

MayoForSam wrote: »

I'm off to the US on Monday week. Does anyone know how long delivery will take if I order a 3 data sim from mymemory.co.uk? Or would Argos be quicker using Parcelmotel or Parcel Wizard? Anyone looking to sell a partly used sim?

No chance getting it before Monday week from standard Irish post. It says on the site UK delivery 3-5 days, Parcelmotel or Parcel Wizard would be your best bet.

mar2000

MayoForSam wrote: »

I'm off to the US on Monday week. Does anyone know how long delivery will take if I order a 3 data sim from mymemory.co.uk? Or would Argos be quicker using Parcelmotel or Parcel Wizard? Anyone looking to sell a partly used sim?

Hi there. I have a spare sim never used. I got in May delivered to a relatives UK address. I thought my daughter would use it but she didn't want it. Having got a 3 UK sim myself for the States I can highly recommend it for data usage.

If you want it pm me your address and I will post it to you on Monday - no charge

rogieop

Just a note, the 3 sim hast to be used in either the north or the uk first before being used in the us../

bliger

rogieop wrote: »

Just a note, the 3 sim hast to be used in either the north or the uk first before being used in the us../

No

mar2000

rogieop wrote: »

Just a note, the 3 sim hast to be used in either the north or the uk first before being used in the us../

When I got my own sim last year via address pal from an post I topped it up with £20 credit and used it here to test it and it worked with no issues and then used in the States a week later. I used it again this year.

sioda

rogieop wrote: »

Just a note, the 3 sim hast to be used in either the north or the uk first before being used in the us../

Definitely not the case

dodzy

rogieop wrote: »

Just a note, the 3 sim hast to be used in either the north or the uk first before being used in the us../

100% incorrect

Atlantic Dawn

rogieop wrote: »

Just a note, the 3 sim hast to be used in either the north or the uk first before being used in the us../

You don't, however it's a good idea to register it online via three.co.uk so that you can see the balance of data left on it.

rogieop

bliger wrote: »

No

mar2000 wrote: »

When I got my own sim last year via address pal from an post I topped it up with £20 credit and used it here to test it and it worked with no issues and then used in the States a week later. I used it again this year.

sioda wrote: »

Definitely not the case

dodzy wrote: »

100% incorrect

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

You don't, however it's a good idea to register it online via three.co.uk so that you can see the balance of data left on it.

Well i went in to the the store in Newry told the lady exactly what i was doing and she told me i had to put it in my phone and register it on 3 uk before going abroad if i wanted to get the free roaming..

MayoForSam

mar2000 wrote: »

Hi there. I have a spare sim never used. I got in May delivered to a relatives UK address. I thought my daughter would use it but she didn't want it. Having got a 3 UK sim myself for the States I can highly recommend it for data usage.

If you want it pm me your address and I will post it to you on Monday - no charge

Thanks for the offer but I bought a 3GB sim from Argos UK via Parcel Wizard earlier, should have it by Friday. Someone else is free to get your spare from you.

The Duk

Hi all, just to say my sim is still working, sending this post with it.

givyjoe

rogieop wrote: »

Well i went in to the the store in Newry told the lady exactly what i was doing and she told me i had to put it in my phone and register it on 3 uk before going abroad if i wanted to get the free roaming..

Bought one a week before your post in the same store, was told literally the exact opposite. Still isn't registered and I used in the states between 16-23rd with 'no problem'.

I say no problem as the speeds made it almost useless bar using it for navigation, which is actually the main reason i got it.

MB05

Looking for a little advice from those of you that bought the 3 Data Sim and used Uber while in the States. Did you download the Uber app on your normal Irish mobile sim before you switched the sim in your phone or did you do it with the 3 sim?

I am going to the States in a few weeks so I activated my 3 sim today to make sure it worked before I went. It worked straight away, didn't seem to have to be in the UK or to have to register it.

Now I am wondering should I link the Uber app to the 3 number that came with the sim or just do it on my normal eir mobile number. I'd hate to have it all tied to my eir account, switch sims at the airport and then Uber won't work.

For what it's worth whatsapp and Revolut all seemed to still work automatically.

Ah-Watch

Register it against the sim number that will be in the phone so the 3 number. Uber drivers will ring you to say they're outside half the time or if they can't find you- even if its an international number.

johnnykilo

MB05 wrote: »

Looking for a little advice from those of you that bought the 3 Data Sim and used Uber while in the States. Did you download the Uber app on your normal Irish mobile sim before you switched the sim in your phone or did you do it with the 3 sim?

I am going to the States in a few weeks so I activated my 3 sim today to make sure it worked before I went. It worked straight away, didn't seem to have to be in the UK or to have to register it.

Now I am wondering should I link the Uber app to the 3 number that came with the sim or just do it on my normal eir mobile number. I'd hate to have it all tied to my eir account, switch sims at the airport and then Uber won't work.

For what it's worth whatsapp and Revolut all seemed to still work automatically.

I actually couldn't get Uber to work when I arrived in the States using this roaming SIM in my main phone and my normal Irish SIM (the number a driver would ring to talk to me) in my spare phone.

However I downloaded another app which is basically the same thing called Lyft and that worked like a charm. Lyft is actually cheaper than Uber and they kept sending me discount codes while I was there. I think out of maybe 20 taxis I took on my trip I only paid full price for 5 of them, the rest were either 50% or 20% off.

MB05

johnnykilo wrote: »

I actually couldn't get Uber to work when I arrived in the States using this roaming SIM in my main phone and my normal Irish SIM (the number a driver would ring to talk to me) in my spare phone.

However I downloaded another app which is basically the same thing called Lyft and that worked like a charm. Lyft is actually cheaper than Uber and they kept sending me discount codes while I was there. I think out of maybe 20 taxis I took on my trip I only paid full price for 5 of them, the rest were either 50% or 20% off.

Thanks Johnnykilo, I plan to install Lyft too. I was just wondering should I register them both to the new 3 sim number or my usual Irish one.

Did you have Uber installed on your phone before you switched sim or after? I am just wondering if Uber didn't work but Lyft did because you installed Lyft after the switch but Uber was already linked to your Irish account if you know what I mean.

I am hoping they can still call me using the 3 number as I won't have my Irish sim in a different phone. I plan to use whatsapp or viber to contact people when I am out and about.

wotzgoingon

I was in New York about 2 weeks ago and was using the 3 UK sim. The sim did not let me ring back to Ireland for some reason. I was automatically on a edge or G signal so internet did not work when I first arrived so was a disaster. I did go into settings and change the operator which took forever for some reason. I rarely do that but I remember doing it in Bulagaria years ago on another phone and straight away after searching for other networks they all poped up it took about 2 minutes to find the other networks in New York. I also was not able to connect to some of the networks or get a 4G signal which was a bit weird considering I was in Manhattan New York city. So all I got was a H+ signal eventually.

So at least I got internet but the lack of 4G surprised me.

MB05

I went for the pure data sim because I read either here or on another forum/thread that the free calls and texts on the other 3 sim you can get wouldn't be free to ring or text back to Ireland as it was designed to be free to ring/text those with UK phone numbers.

I just hope the internet signal strength is strong enough to be able to contact each other over whatsapp and to use uber/lyft when I need a taxi.

Coeus

wotzgoingon wrote: »

I was in New York about 2 weeks ago and was using the 3 UK sim. The sim did not let me ring back to Ireland for some reason. I was automatically on a edge or G signal so internet did not work when I first arrived so was a disaster. I did go into settings and change the operator which took forever for some reason. I rarely do that but I remember doing it in Bulagaria years ago on another phone and straight away after searching for other networks they all poped up it took about 2 minutes to find the other networks in New York. I also was not able to connect to some of the networks or get a 4G signal which was a bit weird considering I was in Manhattan New York city. So all I got was a H+ signal eventually.

So at least I got internet but the lack of 4G surprised me.

4G is pretty much everywhere in urban areas in the US with T-Mobile and/or AT&T. The problem is lots of mobiles sold in Europe don't support the LTE frequency bands they use for 4G there. I had same the problem using T-Mobile SIM and wasn't able to connect to anything more than a 2G equivalent for data.

aaronm13

I set up both Uber and Lyft using my Irish number but wasn't too worried about this as my phone is dual SIM so both numbers are accessable. No drivers rang me even when I entered the wrong pick up location.

TheSheriff

I've been using the 3 sim for about a week now in Boston on my old HTC One M7. Problem is, I can only get EDGE data speeds on the T Mobile network.

I cannot detect any other service provider on the phone.

Anyone know of any tricks? I bought a 15GB data add on, so far ive managed to get through 60mb

aaronm13

TheSheriff wrote: »

I've been using the 3 sim for about a week now in Boston on my old HTC One M7. Problem is, I can only get EDGE data speeds on the T Mobile network.

I cannot detect any other service provider on the phone.

Anyone know of any tricks? I bought a 15GB data add on, so far ive managed to get through 60mb

T mobile was shocking for me too so selected AT&T which gave me 3g. Just try to manually select a network a few times

Ah-Watch

T Mobile service is nowhere near as reliable as AT&T when roaming. AT&T is a stronger network in Boston than T-Mobile, try manually selecting AT&T in the settings which will hopefully improve your service. It will mostly be down to the phone though that you're not receiving 4G. As mentioned above alot of european phones don't have the correct bands for the US LTE networks

wotzgoingon

TheSheriff wrote: »

I cannot detect any other service provider on the phone.

I am just back from America when searching just leaving it searching for at least 3 mins as I was the same when I was over there and thought I couldn't select any other networks.

Hoolies

I picked up the 12GB preloaded card to use in a broadband dongle. Have set it up and so far so good, lets hope it continues works ok in USA.

august12

Is that a 3 Ireland dongle?

Hoolies

No a D-Link Sim free one.

august12

Could one use a Vodafone Sim in this as well, I purchased a Vodafone dongle for 50 euro with sim, topped up with 20 euro but am still within the 14 day return window,