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My Adventures with Toggle Mobile (Mostly Good)

My Adventures with Toggle Mobile (Mostly Good)

Old May 14, 2013, 11:18 am
  #16  
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I tried ordering a card last night for a friend - ran up against the same brick wall, wouldn't take any of my US cards.

I wrote their customer service an email, and they immediately offered to send me a card for free (presumably with no credit on the card.)

I would like this company to succeed, because they have a great service. While they are not there on data yet, their prices for voice in many cases are (much) cheaper than a local SIM card. So let's all be nice Flyertalkers and only write to their customer service if we've tried ordering online first and the order was rejected.
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Old May 14, 2013, 5:01 pm
  #17  
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Originally Posted by Dubai Stu
Callcentric gives away NY numbers which can be forwarded abroad. The per minute is higher than localphone.
Thanks. Ill take a look into it.
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Old May 17, 2013, 10:13 am
  #18  
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They now have updated their website and it is now clear that you do not need to register for UK travel (as the global number is the UK number):

If travelling to any of the toggle mobile countries excluding the UK make sure you register for that country before you travel, to do so just login into your account and click Register Local Number, then follow the steps on the screen. You will automatically receive a local country number and benefit from the toggle countries local rates. (SIM must be inserted into the phone and have network signal)




Originally Posted by blackjack-21
From their emailed replies to me, you have to first register in order to get a UK phone number (or other country's number from their list) as the number that comes up when you first put in the SIM is their "global number" which doesn't get the low rate on calls. I saw the UK listed in their dropdown list to register, as was Canada listed, but that's as far as I could go, as I couldn't get them to accept either a Canadian or UK address on the website so I could register and then choose which country (UK in this case) I'd use the phone. Fine if the UK is the default number after registering, but the global number that first comes up before registering isn't the one that gets the 3 pence per call. So one must register, which gets the default UK number, or then choose another country from their list. That's probably why the UK doesn't show up on the country list dropdown to choose from after registering, as it's the default number already once you've registered.

bj-21.
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Old May 28, 2013, 8:21 pm
  #19  
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Activating outside Europe?

Got my card today 11 days after ordering. Do I need to actually activate the SIM in Europe or can it be done in North America?
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Old May 28, 2013, 8:23 pm
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Originally Posted by YVR Cockroach
Got my card today 11 days after ordering. Do I need to actually activate the SIM in Europe or can it be done in North America?
My understanding you need to register your sim card number online then you can choose a local number for 30 days of the country you are planning to visit.
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Old May 28, 2013, 8:46 pm
  #21  
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Originally Posted by YVR Cockroach
Got my card today 11 days after ordering. Do I need to actually activate the SIM in Europe or can it be done in North America?
It can be done in North America. It takes a couple of minutes for the SIM to figure out that it can actually roam on T-Mobile (and I presume AT&T).

Also, even though buying a new SIM can't use Paypal, reloading can use it just fine - I added 10 GBP to my account to make sure I could do it.
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Old May 28, 2013, 9:30 pm
  #22  
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Just tried it. Won't work in Canada. So I assume it hasn't been activated which is good as I won't be in Europe for another few months. Would it be a problem if I first activate it in the NL (layover in AMS) before I use it in Austria, Italy and France?

I also plan on being in France for an extended period. Will the French number expire after 30 days and if so, do I just renew it or get a new one?
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Old May 29, 2013, 12:23 am
  #23  
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Note that although you can use the SIM in Austria and Italy, you cannot get local numbers there, and outgoing calls are 28p within the EU and 1.02 to North America.

You should be able to activate and use in NL.

Supposedly the French number will disappear after 30 days,I believe you can just get another one at that point. If it is important to you to keep the same number, you can pay 5 and keep the number for a year.

Note that your caller ID will always show the UK number.

Were you able to use a Canadian credit card to order the SIM?


Originally Posted by YVR Cockroach
Just tried it. Won't work in Canada. So I assume it hasn't been activated which is good as I won't be in Europe for another few months. Would it be a problem if I first activate it in the NL (layover in AMS) before I use it in Austria, Italy and France?

I also plan on being in France for an extended period. Will the French number expire after 30 days and if so, do I just renew it or get a new one?
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Old May 29, 2013, 9:09 am
  #24  
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Originally Posted by BigFlyer
Note that although you can use the SIM in Austria and Italy, you cannot get local numbers there, and outgoing calls are 28p within the EU and 1.02 to North America.
Thanks for the heads up. Probably won't need to make calls the 1st 2 weeks but nice to be able to get incoming ones free.

You should be able to activate and use in NL.
Thanks again for that. So I just turn on the phone and let it do its usual thing and then get the phone number?

And again, one needs the local in-country number to get the in-country rates?

Were you able to use a Canadian credit card to order the SIM?
Yes, transaction went through with no problems.
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Old May 29, 2013, 10:18 am
  #25  
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I have seen reports that the SIM will not work at all in the TOGGLE countries if you don't first get a local number before entering that country. So, you should at least go online, register, and get yourself an NL number before leaving. If you could log into a mobile network in Canada, your SIM would get an IMSI update and you should be good to go in NL.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by activation, now that I think of it. I turned it on and added some money to it online and it worked. The one that I have had a phone number already assigned, both on the SIM card holder, as well as on the back of the package. Do you have a number already?

I would also suspect that if you work at it you will be able to get onto a network in Canada. You would need to go to the place where you select networks in your phone. First choose automatic selection and leave the phone for half an hour and see if it registers with a GSM/UMTS network. If that doesn't work, you can select each network manually - from what I read you may have to select a network 4 times on some occasions because of roaming steering (the home carrier trying to push you to a particular roaming carrier.)

Apparently the roaming IMSI is from Vodafone NL, which is how the Canadian networks will see the SIM.


Originally Posted by YVR Cockroach
Thanks for the heads up. Probably won't need to make calls the 1st 2 weeks but nice to be able to get incoming ones free.



Thanks again for that. So I just turn on the phone and let it do its usual thing and then get the phone number?

And again, one needs the local in-country number to get the in-country rates?



Yes, transaction went through with no problems.
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Old Jan 1, 2014, 11:05 am
  #26  
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I am thinking of getting a Toggle mobile number as I travel to the US a lot and having a local number there helps (I will likely pay the 5 per year to retain it).

A couple of questions:

1) I am mostly in CA and would prefer a 408 area code - is there a choice of area code?
2) If the caller id shows my UK number when I call them when I am in the US, and they then store it on their phone then it seems to me that unless they edit their contacts that they will be calling my UK number - is that correct? ie. they will not see my local US number unless I explicitly give it to them ?
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Old Jan 1, 2014, 11:49 am
  #27  
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Don't know the answers to your questions, but area codes are becoming less and less important. Virtually all mobile plans in the US incur no long distance fees, as do most landline plans.
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Old Jan 1, 2014, 12:48 pm
  #28  
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Originally Posted by Silver Fox
2) If the caller id shows my UK number when I call them when I am in the US, and they then store it on their phone then it seems to me that unless they edit their contacts that they will be calling my UK number - is that correct? ie. they will not see my local US number unless I explicitly give it to them ?
If it shows your UK number when you call their latching system, once again, isn't working properly, and you are most likely being charged a ridiculous amount compared to what they advertise. Might wanna check your bill.
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Old Jan 1, 2014, 1:06 pm
  #29  
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Originally Posted by PainCorp
If it shows your UK number when you call their latching system, once again, isn't working properly, and you are most likely being charged a ridiculous amount compared to what they advertise. Might wanna check your bill.
I haven't got it. It was one of my questions before I do.
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Old Jan 1, 2014, 3:26 pm
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Originally Posted by Silver Fox
I am thinking of getting a Toggle mobile number as I travel to the US a lot and having a local number there helps (I will likely pay the 5 per year to retain it).

A couple of questions:

1) I am mostly in CA and would prefer a 408 area code - is there a choice of area code?
2) If the caller id shows my UK number when I call them when I am in the US, and they then store it on their phone then it seems to me that unless they edit their contacts that they will be calling my UK number - is that correct? ie. they will not see my local US number unless I explicitly give it to them ?
I was not offered a choice of Area Code. Mine ended up as a New Jersey code, yuk. I agree with the comment upthread that AC doesn't matter much any more unless you are using a landline.

When I use the USA number in the USA I am on T Mobile and the receiving phone sees my USA number. To be safe I would txt your USA number to your friends and have them put that in their contacts.

Here is my post about my recent adventures with Toggle

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22001841-post153.html
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