Silver Fox

Do you have to pay for incoming SMS/texts on your "local number" ? If it is on their site I cannot find it.

TAHKUCT

Incoming SMS are free to receive

Silver Fox

Thanks, I think I shall go for a speculative £25 on them and see how they work out.

TAHKUCT

I have used Toggle mobile on several trips in the past 6 months. Love the ability to receive free phone calls in 20 countries on my UK, German or US local number.

jsmeeker

Like others, I had no choice in area code when requesting a local number in the USA (or France). Off the top of my head, I don't even know what it is. I would have to get the phone to take a look or log into my account. And then, I would have to look up that area code to see where it is.

But I only registered for a USA number just so I could keep the phone going until I get back to the UK. I know it will expire in a little, but that's no big deal as it appears there are no issues requesting a USA number while in the USA. (that's how I did. I didn't request it prior to leaning London). I can just re-register for a new number so I can spend the least amount of money to keep my account alive.

Also, when I called my main work mobile number, the phone number DID come across as that USA number and not the UK number. Not sure why it works differently in the USA vs when I was in France (call made from there showed up as the main UK number like I was expecting it to based on everything I had read)

Silver Fox

I have ordered one, will not be using it until Jan/Feb in the US, so will see what happens ad report back.

Silver Fox

So, Toggle SIM arrived and it is in the phone, and I have registered for a local USA number using their website. US number is assigned. However, I am a bit disappointed with whatever the rate is likely to be as I have had 3 different variations:

From the website:
Landline/mobile 3p/min, SMS 7p/sms, data 15p/mb
On the Register local number page:
Landline/mobile 3p/min, SMS 9p/sms, data 15p/mb
On the Welcome text:
Landline/mobile 9p/min, SMS 7p/sms, data 15p/mb
On the pamphlet they send (and which I just bothered to read!):
Landline/mobile 3p/min, SMS 7p/sms, data 15p/mb

I don't like discrepancies like this as it just seems amateurish. Unless I am misunderstanding something of course.

Apart from that, the rest of the process is pretty good thus far.

ajGoes

Welcome to the challenging world of the Toggle customer, where communication is a dark art. You can find your actual rates on the My Toggle page. I just used my SIMs a couple of days ago to keep the accounts alive and verified that I was charged £0.03/min to call a US number.

Buster

Yup. Challenging is a good way to describe being a Toggle customer. I just spent the better part of 2 weeks attempting to get a US number and have the SIM latch to a US network to keep my Toggle SIM and credit alive. The entire process seemed like a black box, and I'm honestly still not sure what magical combination I finally used to get it to work!

ajGoes

Did you read the How to Use entry, "How do I latch SIM when I don't have signal?" I read every one of the FAQs but none of them answer the question "what does 'latch sim' mean?"

Buster

Yup. I read every single FAQ. I also emailed Toggle support, and got a nonsensical response. What happened to me was that I had signal, but the only networks showing were AT&T and T-Mobile, but neither was associated with Toggle.

jsmeeker

I noticed the same thing about rates. I would see different things depending on which web page I looked at. But when it came to using it, I am pretty sure I always got the lowest rates that I saw. It's easy to log in and see all of your calls and texts and see what you got charged. Data is a little tricker, though. It seems like you get lots and lots of data "calls" listed in your account, all with varying charges. Still, for me, I have not run into any billing issues. I used it in the UK, France, and now in the USA. Hopefully, I won't have any problems in the future getting a new USA number and placing a call/text to keep my balance and account going.

My biggest tip is to jot down the APN settings some place handy. They don't always set set automatically when you "latch". And you may need to re-enter them for each NEW country you visit. But AFIK, the settings are always the same for all Toggle countries.

ajGoes

My dumb phone says "toggle" (all lower case) when it's on Toggle's network. When it says "Toggle Mobile" it costs around US$2/minute. ):

Silver Fox

Well, if the "latching" does not take place automatically like they say, then I have no clue as to how I am supposed to do it manually on my Android phone. SimToolkit is not active if that is the method.

HappyCamp232947239

Bug in Android. SIM Toolkit will NOT show up unless you have a PIN active on your SIM.

Setup SIM card lock in Settings->Security. Reboot the phone and enter your PIN. Then you should see SIM Toolkit in your Application list.