TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands What's App for free messaging

Does anyone have any experience using What's App while in BVI? I was going to purchase the international plan from ATT but have been curious about this platform and if anyone has used it?

What am I missing about using this to text back home for free? I realize it takes wifi and is free wifi readily available?

If you are referring to the AT&T Passport, yes, I have used it very successfully in the BVI. For $30, you get a minimal amount of data - but the great thing is you get unlimited incoming and outgoing texts for no extra charge. The $30 plan also reduces the price for calls back home to $1/minute. Worked great for me and billing was exactly what I expected - only the $30 one-time charge.

Captain, thank you for your reply. Will What's App work without the ATT Passport plan?

What's App can be used with a Wifi connection.

If What's App works with wifi (presuming we can find free signal) what would be the reason to add ATT Passport? I'm leaning towards Passport but others in my travel group are questioning this add-on as unnecessary.

Thoughts appreciated!!

I travel internationally for work, and AT&T passport is for data and calls. If you plan to use cellular data and not just wifi, you will want an international plan. If you are okay only using wifi, then no need for an international plan. International roaming cellular data is terribly expensive - even with a plan, when I go over, my bills can be more than $500 per month.

There are some other options in the BVI like getting an unlocked phone and buying a local SIM card. Really all just depends on how in touch you need to be with home.

Each thank you for your reply. I need text to check in and send pics. Most likely will need to ck email for work a few times.

I think the Passport plan is right for my needs but I will let my travel partners know that What's App may be all they need.

Kim, we have used What's App in the BVI to text from boat to boat and boat to USA, It worked fine. Our boat is in TMM's fleet. TMM provides a digicel wifi modem for all of their boats at no charge.

Tony

Viber works as well...

if you are a Facebook user just use that messenger, that is actually how I finally got Rex on FB lol!! he was not into it until I was in the BVI without him and that became our main source of communication.

Does Viber or Whatsapp send sms messages? As in, standard text messages that do not require the other person to have the app?

Incoming text messages are free. There is a fee for outgoing messages.

If you text to/from Apple you can use imessage (standard messageing app) over wifi. The one person I text with frequently that is not on imessage is my youngest daughter. I use facebook messenger with her. My fallback is our LIME prepaid phone.

Cheers, RickG

I'm in IT, so I'm always in email so maybe that's why it is such a default for me, but since everyone seems to have email on their phones, why not just use email instead of texting?

From what I read and having downloaded the Whats App app, it seems that texts must be between user apps, as the whole purpose behind What's App is the not use SMS.

Google Hangouts is also a free option for texting over wifi to a regular cell #. It also includes free phone calls over wifi to any phone number (and video calls to other Hangouts users). That might be an option for your friends.

Rick - I know for Viber both parties must have it in order to text - worked great for me when I was there in October.

Google Hangouts is what I use for work via wifi/Digicel router. Hangout does not show a caller id when you make a call, but it is quite easy to do wifi calling. Whatsapp is what we end up using when we're working with an international team in Europe, India and China.

Winterstale, I haven't seen Viber anywhere else, but it looks like its the chat app embedded in a lot of games.

Cheers, RickG

Once again, applications like this are hugely confusing.

Whatsapp is one of 100s of Instant Messaging Clients, Viber, mentioned here, is another.

All of these apps are broadly classified as Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services although these particular apps are for short messages carried over the Internet (WiFi). To utilize the apps, you have to have an internet connection.

SMS (Short messaging Services) is a standardized format for phones using 3g/4g/LTE transmission protocols. To use SMS texting, you have to have a connection with a phone service that provides 3g/4g/LTE data service. Apps like whatsapp and Viber don't cross over to 3g/4g/LTE data services.

Buying a plan like ATT Passport (or any international calling plan for any voice/data provider - Sprint, Verizon, etc.) allows you access to international phone and data networks at a reduced charge. If you don't have an international calling/data plan and you connect to an international phone/data service, you are "roaming" and subject to all the excess fees your carrier charges.

Thus, voice/data services and WiFi services are distinctly different. For the purposes of this discussion, if you have a WiFi connection, you can communicate via apps like what'sapp with others who also have a wifi connection AND have the same app as you do. If you want to use SMS texting on your smart phone, you must have access to a local data network (Service provider). You can get this in a number of ways. (1) Buy a plan from your phone service provider that reduces the cost of doing that by "roaming," (2)Buy a Sim card for your "unlocked" phone and a data and calling plan from Digicel. There are other options but to keep it simple here are two.

Here's what I do with ATT: In the BVI you can buy an unlimited calling plan for just this region. It is $30/month. You can call or SMS text between phones in the US and phones in the BVI. I have a Digicel Mobile Hot Spot and a 3gigabyte Data Plan. This gives all my devices (phone and tablets) access to the internet via Digicel's 3G network. I have Viber on my Windows 8 phone. I find I rarely use it.

J thank you for the comprehensive answer, I really appreciate it.

I have ATT and will have the Passport plan, and what I will get with it--unlimited text, 120 mb of data, and if I want to make calls it will be $1 a minute.

How do you get unlimited calling?

Btw did I mention I am flying in to paradise today!

I have ATT as well. I'm going down for a month this summer. I have always done the International calling plan. While it reduces the cost it is still pricey. How do you get the BVI only version @ $30.00? Do you do it ahead of time or when you get there?

I have the ATT Unlimited, everything including a Hotspot (unlimited) for my IPad and my cel phone and it cost $100.00 per month.
I use the the ATT International plan at$10.00 per day per unit ($20.00) when traveling abroad and its also unlimited another words all the calls I make and all the Data & WIFI I use.

We were just returned from a 10 day charter and I communicated with my family through Whats App using Wifi for FREE! It worked great and you can usually find free wifi on each island!

If you have wifi, just place your phone into wifi calling mode. Phone calls and texts are free. No need for any app.