Doug Johnson

I didn't get the PM, but that's okay. I'm sure lots of people are interested in unlocking. The best kind of unlocking is to get your carrier to unlock it for you. That doesn't jailbreak or root the device. Unfortunately, many carriers won't do it if you're still in contract. Others will charge you a fairly significant amount of money. Others say they will do it, but don't tell their customer service people that they do it, so it can be somewhat frustrating trying to get it done. (I believe that Rogers in Canada will unlock a phone for $50, but only if your contract is over. I'm not sure about Virgin Mobile.)

There are lots of how-to videos on YouTube. There are a growing number of stores that will jailbreak or root your device. (There's one up the street from me.) A tethered jailbreak is pretty easy to reverse which can be a plus: or a minus because if you want to upgrade to a newer version of iOS, the phone is locked again.

A friend of mine has had an original iPhone jail broken for years and is quite happy. A computer programmer friend of mine was able to jailbreak his iPhone quite easily, but became very frustrated because the battery drains quickly.

We've experimented with unlocking our customer's phones but don't offer it as a service because we've been unable to find a fast, reliable way of unlocking that the vast majority of people like, that doesn't leave them with a phone whose battery drains quickly. We're going to bring in a $199 unlocked Android smart phone that works anywhere in the world. It won't be the latest and greatest, but it will be farily recent, pretty easy to use and perform most of the functions people require. We tested the concept on a couple of iPhone users and they preferred having a cheaper unlocked travel phone to jail breaking. I'm not sure if it will appeal to people with the latest and greatest Android. But if you love your current phone, and your carrier offers it as a service, carrier unlocking is definitely the way to go.

Doug Johnson

Since I've received a number of PMs about our Mexico data plan, I thought it would be good idea to mention that it is now on the website. Also, it unfortunately, comes with one very major inconvenient quirk. We can only process orders on the fourth of the month. That means if you order on March 3 for a trip on March 20-27, we can help you. If you wait until March 6, we're unable to take your order.

(I'm trying to improve the ordering process, but unfortunately when our Mexico carrier programmed their computer system, they set it up for locals who wanted a monthly local plan. It never occurred to them that visitors might want a more flexible option.) So, for now at least, we're stuck with the fourth of the month date.

drudell

Hi Doug,
I was actually asking (not very clearly!), about what plan of attack once the phone IS unlocked. Should I be buying a US and a Mexican sim card? How can I get the best bang for my buck?

Doug Johnson

Sorry about that. Yes, two SIMs is definitely going to give you the biggest bang for your buck.

As a general rule you should buy a SIM card that gives you a phone number in the country you are travelling to: the local number gives you the best local rates. So that means separate SIMs for the US and Mexico.

It’s usually best to buy from a North American distributor and have it shipped to your home before you leave. (The SIMs distributed in country are geared towards locals and have high rates for calls back to North America. As a general rule, cards distributed in North America are geared towards us, and have better rates for calling home.)

It’s most convenient if you have a data plan on the same SIM. (Especially if you can tether any devices through your phone.) Most data plans are for a month, although I am seeing a growing number of one day plans. It looks to me like one day plans are geared towards checking your email. If you’re a power user, it probably makes sense to get a one month plan – even if your vacation is only a week or two - since you may blow past the one day limit. (If in doubt of your usage, I’d recommend investing in a larger plan. The down side is that you might pay $20 per month unnecessarily, but overage tends to be pretty high when you are travelling, so that one large email attachment can end up costing you a lot more than you expect. We had a couple of tech entrepreneurs in the office yesterday who are working on a mobile app that would tell you when you are getting close to your data limits – no matter where you roam – but there’s nothing out there that I’m aware of that is currently cheap and reliable for an individual consumer.)

Getting a little more specific, since you are planning ahead, our Mexico plan is a good fit for you. Our US SIM is geared towards Canadians. It has good voice rates in the US and back to Canada. The data rates are below roaming rates, but really only good for checking your email. (We’re working on a US data plan for the power user. )

The good news is that America has lots of SIMs available with good data plans. I’m sure some of the forum members can recommend some options.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

avstechx

Hello Doug and others:

I am looking to get one of your Sim cards for my trip to Mexico on the 25th Feb to 4 March, as you can see I have a problem due to the dates, if there is any way you or one of the other readers can help me out I would really appreciate whatever can be done. I am not against paying for whatever I can get so if someone had a loaded card and only used it for a short time I would be 100% willing to pay for the card.
I need to be able to stay in touch with my 15 y.o. son while I am away.
By the way - I have a Sensation I am from Trenton, Ontario, Canada if that helps.

Thanks and have a good day!

SiNiSon

This could be me... send me a PM.

S

SiNiSon

Just returned from Mexico (Cabo). I had two Brightroam SIMS one with the 3GB data plan.. will write up a review as soon as I get all my costs in and paid.

S.

racerfan

I'm traveling to Cabo the first week of April. Looking forward to your review. I'm pondering SIM cards for two phones and maybe data.

avstechx

Hello Doug and others:

I am looking to get one of your Sim cards for my trip to Mexico on the 25th Feb to 4 March, as you can see I have a problem due to the dates, if there is any way you or one of the other readers can help me out I would really appreciate whatever can be done. I am not against paying for whatever I can get so if someone had a loaded card and only used it for a short time I would be 100% willing to pay for the card.
I need to be able to stay in touch with my 15 y.o. son while I am away.
By the way - I have a Sensation I am from Trenton, Ontario, Canada if that helps.

Thanks and have a good day!

Doug Johnson

Scott:

Hope you had a great trip. Thank you for using Brightroam. I'm looking forward to your review. However, please, please never, ever give your Brightroam SIM card to anyone. As I mentioned, it is a pay-as-you-go service. You pay only for what you use. It is charged to your credit card. So, giving your way your SIM is literally like giving away your credit card.

Your SIM with the data plan also has voice activated. So anyone stick your SIM in their phone and call Australia. You would be stuck with the bill. (And even our data plans have overage. So if someone watched a dozen movies, you would also be stuck with an unpleasant bill.)

Please let me know that you have received this message, so I know that there are no problems.

(In fact, if I don't hear from you soon - because you said you returned from your trip - I'll deactivate your card to protect you.)

Avstechx, I apologize for the inconvenience, but international data plans just haven't caught up to the smartphone revolution yet. For example, we are unable to offer a data plan in Germany, which has a very sophisticated cellular infrastructure. We just can't source one.

I'm working on the Mexico ordering problem, but it has to do with the way the Mexican systems are programmed, so I don't even know if we will ever be able to offer a more convenient ordering process for a Mexico data plan.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Doug Johnson

Sorry. Didn't mean to offend you. Just wanted to make it clear nobody should ever resell a pay as you go sim. I can help you phone your son for 39 cents a minute. You can Text him for 25 cents. Incoming text are free. Our data rate is 3.99 a mb, so you can even exchange a few emails for a reasonable cost.

If you have any more questions please let me know. Or send me a pm. I promise to do what I can.

Doug

akel

So we got two sim cards in December with the mexico sim promotion (free mexico sim cards) (Doug's post on Nov. 9, 11) I received a bill in March charging full amount for those two sims (2x39 = $78). I am waiting on the phone for last 20 min hoping that someone will come in and quickly resolve this. Anyone else with similar problem? Doug, is this a simple computer glitch or was there some fine print there saying we will charge you after three months?

Thanks

Update: After 25 minutes of wait .. I am told that this will be taken care of in 24 hours and it was a mistake. I asked them to remove my credit card information from their system to not get similar surprises. The support person said he will request it but can not guarantee. (Last use of the sim card was 3.5 months ago and I closed the sim cards 3 months ago ..)

Doug Johnson

Hi Akel:

Sorry for the inconvenience. We have two systems: an ecommerce one and a billing one. The coupon worked on one system, but not the other. So the billing system made a mistake. We are reversing the charges. But PM me your name and if possible account number. I'll make sure they reverse the charge on your account right away.

Hope you enjoyed your trip.

mnscout

OK, sorry to re-animate this thread, but I've just noticed the ads popping up all over the Flyertalk, and remembered I'd never actually reported my experience with this service last year in Mexico. So, it was great. Absolutely painless, great and fast customer service, provided I ordered it at the last possible minute. The card started working immediately upon landing and kept working all the time I was in Cancun. The billing was accurate except a single $1 charge for a call to Europe I never made, but one email took care of that. All in all, very positive experience. Thanks, Doug, if you're still around.

Doug Johnson

Thanks for the feedback. I'm still around. The ads are my doing. Let me know if you find them excessive. Or if anyone else finds them excessive. (I'm working hard to only show them to people who will be travelling in the next couple of weeks, but that's easier to say than to do.)