Unlimited Data Plan - Using a US Cellphone carrier in Ontario

[drasticinput]

So it's no surprise that the mobile data plans in Canada suck.

Here's the plan - for about the same price, I can get a second line from a friend of mine in the US. They have unlimited talk, text and most importantly - UNLIMITED Data (including streaming). I have some questions:

1. Does having an American number as your primary number in Canada pose any issues, especially dealing with Banks, Employers, Uber, Food Delivery services, etc?
2. Is it a better idea to have a dual sim phone and only use the American SIM for data while having the Canadian number for Business as Usual activities?

Do let me know if you have experienced such an arrangement and how reliable it is.

Cheers

 

[sid1987]

So it's no surprise that the mobile data plans in Canada suck.

Here's the plan - for about the same price, I can get a second line from a friend of mine in the US. They have unlimited talk, text and most importantly - UNLIMITED Data (including streaming). I have some questions:

1. Does having an American number as your primary number in Canada pose any issues, especially dealing with Banks, Employers, Uber, Food Delivery services, etc?
2. Is it a better idea to have a dual sim phone and only use the American SIM for data while having the Canadian number for Business as Usual activities?

Do let me know if you have experienced such an arrangement and how reliable it is.

Cheers

nope it does not hehehe... I moved from US.. and have att for both me and my wife.. no issues at all

 

[canuck78]

Many people who have mobile only will likely have unlimited North America call and text but you will likely run into problems with things like your family doctor charging you long distance fees or wanting a local number to call. May run into problems with children's schools, etc. Basically with government or businesses with landlines. Would recommend at least 1 local number.

 

[NetMecca]

you can use voip and forward your voip number to any number you choose

 

[VOBuckeye]

I kept my Tmobile phone number. I got the app TextNow where you can choose a local number. Works like a regular phone with voice, text, voicemail

 

[philly2013]

I kept my Tmobile phone number. I got the app TextNow where you can choose a local number. Works like a regular phone with voice, text, voicemail

It worked for me for about a year till Tmobile started blocking roaming. There is a condition that 50% of your usage has to be in the U.S. More discussion about this can be found here https://thepointsguy.com/news/t-mobile-to-block-roaming-for-travelers-who-roam-excessively/.

Also, VOIP or TextNow are not very reliable. Dropped calls/poor connections occur often. I guess it's the trade-off you might have to make.

 

[BC4life]

Tried that with my T-Mobile after I landed last year but after a few weeks the "unlimited" data was not operational. There is some kind of limits on the percentage of data outside the US for those unlimited plans.

 

[VOBuckeye]

It worked for me for about a year till Tmobile started blocking roaming. There is a condition that 50% of your usage has to be in the U.S. More discussion about this can be found here https://thepointsguy.com/news/t-mobile-to-block-roaming-for-travelers-who-roam-excessively/.

Also, VOIP or TextNow are not very reliable. Dropped calls/poor connections occur often. I guess it's the trade-off you might have to make.

You have to change your phone settings to wifi calling as the preferred, and connect to wifi whenever possible. I used to get the messages but not anymore after I changed my settings.

 

[philly2013]

You have to change your phone settings to wifi calling as the preferred, and connect to wifi whenever possible. I used to get the messages but not anymore after I changed my settings.

If you are near wifi a lot, then wifi setting will work. If not, wifi setting doesn't do much. However, if you are near wifi a lot, then why the need for an unlimited plan anyway?

I needed a US plan because I worked in the States and my commute was long. Even so, I never went past 5gb a month but Tmobile still blocked my roaming because most of the usage occurred in Canada. Now I only have a Canadian plan with some roaming capability even though I still work in the States. My cellphone bill is actually lower than what I paid before for Tmobile.

The biggest upside of a Tmobile plan is international roaming. For someone that travels internationally a lot, it makes a lot of sense. For those that don't, then there are good options with Koodo, Public Mobile, Zoomer, etc. with about 5gb to 8gb for around $40 to $45. Big 3 are definitely expensive though. There are also data-only plans with Fido, Koodo, etc. that come with 3gb a month for $15. For someone who is near wifi a lot and is comfortable with voip, that might already be enough.

Even with wifi, Voip is not reliable. Once you've established a life in Canada, using a US number or Voip just makes it more difficult because there are things you'd want a reliable phone line for, especially when a kid is involved.

All these are just my personal opinions. I just don't think there is a universal solution. If you are comfortable with your set-up, by all means.

 

[VOBuckeye]

If you are near wifi a lot, then wifi setting will work. If not, wifi setting doesn't do much. However, if you are near wifi a lot, then why the need for an unlimited plan anyway?

I needed a US plan because I worked in the States and my commute was long. Even so, I never went past 5gb a month but Tmobile still blocked my roaming because most of the usage occurred in Canada. Now I only have a Canadian plan with some roaming capability even though I still work in the States. My cellphone bill is actually lower than what I paid before for Tmobile.

The biggest upside of a Tmobile plan is international roaming. For someone that travels internationally a lot, it makes a lot of sense. For those that don't, then there are good options with Koodo, Public Mobile, Zoomer, etc. with about 5gb to 8gb for around $40 to $45. Big 3 are definitely expensive though. There are also data-only plans with Fido, Koodo, etc. that come with 3gb a month for $15. For someone who is near wifi a lot and is comfortable with voip, that might already be enough.

Even with wifi, Voip is not reliable. Once you've established a life in Canada, using a US number or Voip just makes it more difficult because there are things you'd want a reliable phone line for, especially when a kid is involved.

All these are just my personal opinions. I just don't think there is a universal solution. If you are comfortable with your set-up, by all means.

You bring up good points. I haven't really looked at other oprions; Tmobile One plan works for me as it does include Canada and Mexico.

 

[summerxx]

If you are near wifi a lot, then wifi setting will work. If not, wifi setting doesn't do much. However, if you are near wifi a lot, then why the need for an unlimited plan anyway?

I needed a US plan because I worked in the States and my commute was long. Even so, I never went past 5gb a month but Tmobile still blocked my roaming because most of the usage occurred in Canada. Now I only have a Canadian plan with some roaming capability even though I still work in the States. My cellphone bill is actually lower than what I paid before for Tmobile.

The biggest upside of a Tmobile plan is international roaming. For someone that travels internationally a lot, it makes a lot of sense. For those that don't, then there are good options with Koodo, Public Mobile, Zoomer, etc. with about 5gb to 8gb for around $40 to $45. Big 3 are definitely expensive though. There are also data-only plans with Fido, Koodo, etc. that come with 3gb a month for $15. For someone who is near wifi a lot and is comfortable with voip, that might already be enough.

Even with wifi, Voip is not reliable. Once you've established a life in Canada, using a US number or Voip just makes it more difficult because there are things you'd want a reliable phone line for, especially when a kid is involved.

All these are just my personal opinions. I just don't think there is a universal solution. If you are comfortable with your set-up, by all means.

Thanks for sharing the experience.
I guess I'll just stick to Tmobile until my roaming is blocked.

 

[mgnlky]

So it's no surprise that the mobile data plans in Canada suck.

Here's the plan - for about the same price, I can get a second line from a friend of mine in the US. They have unlimited talk, text and most importantly - UNLIMITED Data (including streaming). I have some questions:

1. Does having an American number as your primary number in Canada pose any issues, especially dealing with Banks, Employers, Uber, Food Delivery services, etc?
2. Is it a better idea to have a dual sim phone and only use the American SIM for data while having the Canadian number for Business as Usual activities?

Do let me know if you have experienced such an arrangement and how reliable it is.

Cheers

I had recruiters tell me that companies would question why I had a US phone number, and in at least two phone interviews, literally during the interview as I was sitting in Vancouver, the interviewer told me basically "You realize this call to a US number is costing me, right?" or "Sorry I was late, I couldn't dial internationally from my office line." So yes, there are risks especially dealing with employers.

Delivery services like Foodora, DoorDash and UberEats...often the delivery people do not have international calling so they simply won't call you. You may or may not actually get your food. If you live in an apartment/strata building with a door buzzer, some can't set it to call an American phone number since it's long distance--which could impact mail deliveries (UPS, FedEx, etc that need into the building).

I have Bell's plan that that allows unlimited talk/text to USA, as well as no roaming/extra charges when I'm in the USA, with 12GB of Data for 180$/month. I'm on wifi at work and home and could easily drop down to 4-6GB. Even today, I'm halfway through my billing cycle and have used 1.81GB of data.

 

[summerxx]

I had recruiters tell me that companies would question why I had a US phone number, and in at least two phone interviews, literally during the interview as I was sitting in Vancouver, the interviewer told me basically "You realize this call to a US number is costing me, right?" or "Sorry I was late, I couldn't dial internationally from my office line." So yes, there are risks especially dealing with employers.

Delivery services like Foodora, DoorDash and UberEats...often the delivery people do not have international calling so they simply won't call you. You may or may not actually get your food. If you live in an apartment/strata building with a door buzzer, some can't set it to call an American phone number since it's long distance--which could impact mail deliveries (UPS, FedEx, etc that need into the building).

I have Bell's plan that that allows unlimited talk/text to USA, as well as no roaming/extra charges when I'm in the USA, with 12GB of Data for 180$/month. I'm on wifi at work and home and could easily drop down to 4-6GB. Even today, I'm halfway through my billing cycle and have used 1.81GB of data.

hmmm, I didn't realize some recruiters simply ignore a US number.
To the contrary of your observation, I was able to receive multiple interview related calls, receive delivery calls using DoorDash(I used DoorDash for the initial two weeks), and receive door buzzer requests from my condo building, with my current US number..............
But I would agree in the long term, a local number works better and is necessary.

 

[summerxx]

Thanks for sharing the experience.
I guess I'll just stick to Tmobile until my roaming is blocked.

ok, so I thought it might be helpful for others for me to provide some update.
The roaming service for my Tmobile plan was cut off last week, due to the policy mentioned above by philly2013. I switched to Fido and ported my US number to Google Voice. So far it's working well.

 

[sid1987]

I use ATT here and no issues at all...