Best carrier for the West Coast

[kaktus1389]

So in a few weeks I am going for a trip to the West Coast and I would like to get as much carrier info as possible. I live in Europe so therefore I own European variants of Lumia 950 and Lumia 640 (not sure which one of these phones I'll take with me since my 950 is still being repaired) and to my knowledge those don't support Verizon.

However I would like to ask you guys for advice on which carrier I should pick - I am looking predominantly for a carrier with good coverage in California, Nevada and Arizona with good price for prepaid plan - I am mostly looking for data plans but if there is a better pricing if minutes and texts are included that's fine with me as well as long as the price is good enough (possibly under 30$).

 

[nate0]

From my perspective for GSM, anything that uses AT&T towers (Cricket etc.) is your best bet in Arizona. Cricket also has some good deals on plans and they run promos like every month it seems. AT&T has a good prepaid plan too with one for 30 bucks 1GB data only though.... https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...att.com%2Fprepaid%2Findex.html&token=L_dX1TEU

Although I hear T-Mobile has good coverage in California it has descent coverage in AZ, but take that with a grain of salt. The coverage issues of T-Mobile in AZ I only know from friends that use it that say they have a dropped call every once in a while and barely any signal for data, but they are some what near the South Mountain mountain range. If traveling though you might want to look at coverage maps, but also make sure your 640 or 950 can take advantage of the carrier. If you choose a T-Mobile mvno you need band 12 as it is their most widely active LTE Band. For an AT&T mvno your phones could use band 17 or band 12, since AT&T interoperates on band 12. Looking at those coverage maps though will ensure you have coverage while moving in your car if that is important to you.

I am not sure about Nevada since I have not traveled to there in quite a while. Hope some of this helps.

 

[Guytronic]

I'm on T-Mobile here in California.
LTE is super fast and solid in most areas now.
2G is pretty much everywhere.

Tracfone is probably the better deal for temporary use however.

I use a Tracfone SIM for an extra phone I have it uses the AT&T network.
LTE is good in most places and it's pretty cheap for a 60 day refill card @ $20.00 USD.
One gig of refillable data is $10.00 USD.

 

[kaktus1389]

Thank you @Nate W and @Guytronic, any info is much appreciated as I have zero knowledge on American carriers as an average European.

 

[yipsan]

Kaktus, there is a thread on Howard’s forum that shows uk 3 sim, feel at home feature gives 9gb of data for 30 days while traveling in USA. I think it runs on TMo. Cost about 20gbp. Might be worth looking into to see if it suits your needs.

 

[anon(8063781)]

I've used T-mobile on a prepaid plan as a tourist (from Canada) when hiking in all three states and didn't notice any serious coverage issues.

But for the last few years I've been using a travel SIM from ROAM mobility. It apparently piggybacks off both AT&T and T-Mobile towers, so you get the combined coverage of both. I don't know if you can get their SIMs by mail, or if you could get one fast enough. Perhaps there is a European equivalent travel SIM that is as good.

 

[RumoredNow]

I own European variants of Lumia 950 and Lumia 640 (not sure which one of these phones I'll take with me since my 950 is still being repaired)

I hope your 950 is ready for the trip, not only for the superior camera, but also for the world ready radio.

I'm having a hard time tracking it down specifically, but I believe L640 suffers from Balkanization in terms of frequencies between the variants and your 640 may not even be worth attempting in the US. Can you access Field Test Menu (##3282#) on your Lumia 640 to see what radio bands you even have available?

 

[kaktus1389]

I hope your 950 is ready for the trip, not only for the superior camera, but also for the world ready radio.

I'm having a hard time tracking it down specifically, but I believe L640 suffers from Balkanization in terms of frequencies between the variants and your 640 may not even be worth attempting in the US. Can you access Field Test Menu (##3282#) on your Lumia 640 to see what radio bands you even have available?

Thanks! I tried to access the Field Test Menu but apparently my carrier won't let me do that, but if the exact model number helps - Nokia RM-1072_1044.

 

[RumoredNow]

@kaktus1389 that did help. I went to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-No...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3711399

Here's what they say and remember only ATT or T-Mo need to be considered since Sprint and Verizon are no fly zones for GSM phones.




Also, throw out the bit about ATT 2G as they retired that on January 1st, 2017.

I'd say bring the L950 and go ATT/Cricket/GoPhone/Straight Talk/etc. or buy a cheap hone for while you are here on whatever plan catches your fancy.

 

[RumoredNow]

@kaktus1389

How much data do you want/need? How long will you be traveling in the US?

I was out that way in 2015 and had no issues using AT&T towers via Cricket. Did Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Phoenix area, Painted Desert...

It might also help others to know what cities/locals you might visit.

 

[kaktus1389]

Yeah my plan is to bring a 950 anyway but reparation is taking kind of long.

I will be staying for 9 days, going to do stuff around LA, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, San Francisco and Death Valley.

I am kind of thinking of buying T-Mobile travel Sim for ~40€ and just get unlimited data, international texts and calls in America

 

[kaktus1389]

How much data do you want/need?

Missed this one - as much as possible, I don't trust all the motels I'll be staying at so I'd prefer unlimited or at least 5GB/10GB. The travel SIM I was talking about offers me unlimited data for ~40€ so I think it's decent deal, but I'd be happy if you guys know of any better deals.

 

[RumoredNow]

Missed this one - as much as possible, I don't trust all the motels I'll be staying at so I'd prefer unlimited or at least 5GB/10GB. The travel SIM I was talking about offers me unlimited data for ~40€ so I think it's decent deal, but I'd be happy if you guys know of any better deals.

Well this one is AT&T towers and no activation fee. Like most plans in the US now, you get a high speed allotment (LTE) and when that runs out they throttle your speed rather than cut you off.

https://www.h2owirelessnow.com/mainControl.php?page=planMonth#

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H2O_Wireless

 

[kaktus1389]

Thanks @RumoredNow, just one more quesion - my 950 just got repaired - model number is MicrosoftMDG RM-1104_15218, will it work on US carriers?

 

[RumoredNow]

Thanks @RumoredNow, just one more quesion - my 950 just got repaired - model number is MicrosoftMDG RM-1104_15218, will it work on US carriers?

Starting with the x50 phones, Microsoft went with world ready radios. All sources point to no issues with H+ or LTE on US GSM networks for the single or dual SIM version.

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=7262&idPhone2=7632


Glad you have the 950 back. Looking forward to seeing some pics in here: https://forums.windowscentral.com/m...621-pictures-videos-taken-my-lumia-950-a.html


When are you visiting over here? I'll be in Portugal for 2 weeks starting next Tuesday and will try and post some 950 picture examples in that thread every day.

 

[kaktus1389]

That's great and thank you again for your advice. I will arrive in San Francisco on the 28th if everything goes as planned. I'll surely try to post as many pictures as possible although you should bare in mind that I am not really the best photographer in the world. I have never been to Portugal but the weather and architecture should be great there, hope you'll enjoy your trip as well!

Sent from mTalk on my Lumia 950

 

[RumoredNow]

LOL @kaktus1389 I use the spray and pray method. I take like 200+ a day when on vacation. Some of them have to come out well just based on the law of averages. :winktongue:

Having been through some of where you'll be if you visit Yosemite, Vegas, Grand Canyon and/or Painted Desert you'll get some great chances at quality snaps.

BTW, the place I always see H[SUB]2[/SUB]O SIMS is at Best Buy if you have any trouble tracking them down.

Have a lot of fun and a safe trip.