TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Cell Phone Questions

Just talked to Consumer Cellular about enabling international roaming for my cell phone. They're sending me a sim card for T-Mobile since that's what they use for international calls but the rep also said they couldn't guarantee it would work on the island. Has anyone had success with t-mobile usage there??
I'm pretty clueless when it comes to cell technology and terminology so please be gentle!!!

We have iPhones but don't make calls we text & it's .75 a text. Helpful?

And you use t-mobile?? We'd probably text too. Just need it to keep in touch with family.

I don't know if this is appropriate or even possible in your situation but it is worth a try and takes a few seconds. We have used wifi calling everywhere we travel with no charges at all..no sims...no special calling plan needed...nada....France, Spain, Caribbean but we do have Verizon not T-Mobile but I also did see this on the T-Mobile website:

"Every Wi-Fi connection works like a T-Mobile tower.
You can use your phone to make calls and texts anywhere there’s Wi-Fi. It’s easy. Just connect your phone to a Wi-Fi network and it’s all set. No additional apps, logins or costs required"

Right now...just put your phone in airplane mode (wifi/cell signal will shut off )...turn wifi back on...wait 10-15 seconds....make a call....it should work and ,if it does, it will work ANYWHERE there is a wifi signal with no worries about whether there is a working cell tower where you are. Incoming calls will work like you are at home.Only downside is that you will need wifi.

We go in airplane mode as soon as we get on the plane and stay that way until we return and make as many calls/texts as we want for zero cost.

Do have feel if it works with AA&T ?

As with other providers it should work with any of the last few editions of smartphones. Try it from home first. My home cell signal (Verizon) is near non-existent so all my calls are via wifi

https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/features/wifi-calling.html

No special plan. Digicel. Just text same as at home ..nothing special to do.

AT&T does have wifi calling, just make sure you activate it on your phone at home before you do

AT& T, Verizon and T-Mobile...no charge wifi calls and texts. Try it at home before you leave. A no brainer.....

This works on my phone, the droid force, but does not on my husbands which is an older model. It will not call wihen in airplane mode, he is not able to turn on wifi wihile in airplane mode...

This works on my phone, the droid force, but does not on my husbands which is an older model. It will not call wihen in airplane mode, he is not able to turn on wifi wihile in airplane mode...

Right. My wife’s iPhone 5 doesn’t have WiFi calling capability, but my 6S does.

Yup....mostly phones issued in the last few years or so. Verizon has 17 models, AT & T 23 models with WIFI calling. I have a Samsung S7 and it works great. If you are unsure just try it from home. Remember..you will also receive calls wherever you are when connected to wifi. As I said, my cell is ALWAYS on airplane mode at home...I just take it off when leaving the house....MUCH better call quality in my situation.

I just think it is a no brainer with near zero effort needed.

Just be aware, if you're using wifi calling, it will only work if you're connected to a wifi network. Therefore, if you have an emergency on the road, you can't make a call without taking the phone out of airplane mode.

If your phone or carrier don't support Wi-Fi Calling, a free (last I checked) alternative is Goggle Voice with the Google Hangouts app.

Correct..and referred to earlier. It does work for 99% of a vacationer's needs. If an emergency arises I would just suck up the International roaming fee for that call. Some providers have a back up that only charges you a daily fee when used. We have that also. Verizon charges $10 for a 24 hour period but only if used so it is great for unexpected emergencies. We activated it but only used it once while driving to notify a rental owner of our arrival time. Great back up for wifi calling.

Note: you do not HAVE to use wifi calling. I was only a suggestion that has worked great for us wherever we travel. Personal preference always prevails.

Thank-you for posting this.
I have to check into it.
I did notice that it said there were some charges though.

Only "charges" are that you use use minutes like you would with any call...my cell plan is unlimited calls and texts so not an issue. Data is not an issue 'cuz it's off. We have never seen any additional costs added other than when we used the one day $10 TravelPass for calls from the car. During our last trip in July to Brittany, FR my better half talked to her sister in FL for over an hour....that was the big test.....no charges

We have wi-fi assist as well with AT&T. Found out by mistake that while using this, calls to the states were free, but calls to the island, while on the island were charged quite a bit!

WIFI assist is a different tool that switches to a cellular network when you do not have or have poor wifi connection. When it switches to cellular you will have charges.

Example from IPhones:

In iOS 9, Apple is giving us the option to choose which connection is best to make a call (Wi-Fi Calling), as well as making iPhones able to switch back and forth in a way that’s both automatic and seamless (Wi-Fi Assist).

[/i]
iOS 9 will also include Wi-Fi Assist, a feature that automatically boosts your connection by relying on a cell signal when your Wi-Fi is weak.

Complaint re: charges:

[i]Is anyone else having a complaint about WiFi assist on iPhone 6? I am a new customer and was charged overages due to this. I was unaware of this needing to be turned off in order of not getting overages.

It is VERY important to put your phone in airplane mode and keep it there. Otherwise there may be charges. WIFI assist cannot work in airplane mode

Also I made three wifi calls to a rental owner from MA to France and there were zero charges. Should be no different calling to a location on SXM...NOT with wifi assist enabled though.This, again, is with Verizon AND on airplane mode.

Full disclosure: Both AT & T and Verizon websites state that there will be charges for wifi calls made to international destinations, With airplane mode enabled I have never incurred any charge for any calls to any country. They have no clue where you are. They do NOT mention enabling airplane mode for a definite reason (charges). Just relaying how it is for me with my S7 and Verizon.

When you are out of country make a one minute call to a location NOT in the USA ...airplane mode on...wifi calling (NOT wifi assist) enabled. Check your account in a couple of days and see if there are any charges. Worse case you might have a one minute charge but I would be shocked if it was there.

I had no clue that this worked until I unexpectedly received a call on my cell while in SXM from my bro in law in Virginia. How could that happen? I'm in airplane mode....but I am in my room with a wifi connection enabled., Been using it ever since that epiphany (after a couple of test runs)

Wifi calling, at least with AT&T, and I suspect Verizon is the same, is just like normal calling when in the States, you're right, they have no clue where you are, but they probably do due to the IP address you are logged onto, BUT they do know where you are calling and this is where the charges come in. Call to the US, no charge as they are part of your plan, Calls to the Island, there will be a charge, just the same as if you were physically in the US

I routinely make calls to family in Nova Scotia (from MA) and never have been charged. I have made at least three calls to France from MA and never have been charged. I have called a French cellphone from an apartment in France and never have been charged. The key is AIRPLANE MODE ON! WiFi turned back on. Repeating myself: If you do NOT enable airplane mode you WILL be charged. Just relating MY experiences.

I kinda give up...I was just trying to offer an extremely easy an inexpensive alternative that has worked for me and my friends.

I will take some success in getting some to confirm that calling the USA from anywhere works....the rest is another issue left for the adventurous. Unless you have tried it then every comment about how it works is purely speculation.

BTW...I don't think I mentioned texts,,,same deal. You can receive and send texts also.

Boucharda- thanks for the information. We are heading to SXM in February and I just tried the wifi calling per your instructions. I seems to work great.

Scott

Boucharda- just returned from our trip to SXM. The wifi calling and texting worked great. Your suggestion to try this was a big help. I appreciate it.

Scott

Your welcome...it has worked for us for years

Where can I buy a Chippie Sim Card ?????

UTS Simpson Bay or Philipsburg

Thanks for the detailed info. I've got a new Samsung S8 note and will give it a try. Been using Whatsapp for calling and texting but that only is good if the other party has it too. With an IPhone like my wife has, facetime works great but then again the other party has to have an iPhone too.

Have used TMobile for two years at Club O. For data, turned off wifi because cellular data was faster than Club O wifi. Used the phone for calls with and without wifi and never had a problem. Always worked without dropped calls. Calls are 20 cents a minute and no charge for unlimited data and text.

S8 will work great....nothing to buy/insert/pay...airplane mode on...wifi back on...that's it

I have Verizon, i use an older Iphone 5s. They have a plan that is $40 for the month. You get 100 minutes, 100 sent texts (unlimited incoming text and 100 mb data. Overage is $.25/min, $.25/msg, $25/100mb.,
I'm here now and it works.

Boucharda - we also have Galaxy S8's through AT&T. WiFi calling works beautiful just like you said. Ya just have to try it, and once you do, you'll never worry again about SIM cards, unlocked phones, type of cell service, etc, etc. Totally hassle free. If wifi calling isn't an option on your phone, there are several free wifi calling apps that people say work great.

We do have AT&T International Calling set up just in case we ever need it, but in last 5-6 trips abroad, we have never needed it. We do use it occasionally when wifi is un-secured and I wanted a more secure wifi connection and used my phone as a hot-spot. I strongly believe many people need to consider that A LOT since anything on your phone can be copied in nano-seconds on open wifi. Many people don't even realize how many of their passwords are stored on their phone since they often don't need to be re-entered after you've used them the first time.

We used that ATT International plan before we found out about wifi calling and it always worked great everywhere. It's just a one-time setup that takes a minute and its there forever. Sure, it's $10 a day for the day you need to use it, but that's the cost of dealing with whatever emergency or critical situation arises. For us, other than the security of a personal hot-spot, it's just a great back up as a just-in-case.

DandM
How exactly does the Hotspot work.
We both have IPhone 8's and are thinking of using WIFI calling with an international
back-up. With the International back-up you go off Airplane Mode and let all the normal
phone calls from home come through??

Yes. Then go back onto airplane mode with WiFi for WiFi and FaceTime calling.

Exactly...free insurance just in case. Pay the $10/day only if you lose wifi for some reason or have an on the road emergency...otherwise zero cost and zero effort. We we first went to France I signed up for it (Verizon Travel Pass 'cuz I didn't think wifi calling would work....and when we got to the apartment and turned on wifi a call from home rang 10 minutes later. Voila...sold on it since then

You asked two questions. First - the Hot Spot. With an iPhone 8, this is turned on in your Settings > Cellular. Tap Personal Hot Spot and tap the slider bar to turn it on (or off). https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204023 For most Androids, its Settings > Connections > Mobile Hotspot. The first time you use it, you'll need to set up a password on your phone; after that, all your mobile devices can access it. The only thing you need to do is turn on your tablet or whatever device you're using and do a wifi search which will show your phone as an available network. Log in just like any other network and enter the password you set up in your Hot Spot setup. It'll log in just like normal and you're all connected to the internet. Turn off your hot spot on your phone when done to save your battery.

I stream Netflix and other apps on my tablet and download books to my Kindle all the time through the hot spot when traveling in airports or other non-secure wifi environments. No one should ever use public wifi if they've got a cell phone with them, and who doesn't?

Your focus should be on learning about wifi calling and how to do it on your phone. In a short time, we've moved from getting local phones to using local sim cards on your own unlocked phones to AT&T /Verizon international calling plans on your home phone and now to wifi calling, meaning that international calling plans are "yesterday", already. For now, though, I suggest you just turn on airplane mode and turn on wifi calling using your home network and see if you have any problems. It works the same anywhere you can log into a wifi network.

If you really, really want to use AT&T's or Verizons international Calling Plans, just log onto your cell provider website and activate whatever plan fits your thinking. You'll probably never use it but peace of mind - it'll always be there. Then, when in another country and you really need to make a call and don't have wifi, all you do is turn off Airplane Mode and your phone will access local towers and work just like you had a local phone without you doing anything. Cost is $10 / day or $40 / week (AT&T) depending on what plan you activated with your provider. Don't forget to turn on airplane mode before you go to bed (LOL, before midnight!) and make sure your wifi calling icon is still turned on and lighted. Easy as can be. Assuming you don't call while driving, its really rare to use the calling plan, and like I said, we don't. Its just backup. (The only "burp" I've had was one day before I started using wifi calling and I was using the AT&T calling plan. We traveled between Orient and Phillipsburg and I lost cell service on the Dutch side. What's the answer to anything? Reboot, right? So I turned the phone off and back on and it worked fine again. I read later that was because we "changed countries" and we needed to reset where we were. LOL! Only in SXM!)

We don't take a phone to the beach, but anywhere else we go usually has wifi, and we get incoming calls through wifi routinely with no cost to the caller or us, so there are no "stored" calls or messages to "come through". We have had voicemails a few times just like normal (we should have ignored them since we were on vacation!). I'm not sure what others in this thread have experienced, but as long as we're on wifi, the phone works just like we're at home and since we really only use the phone around the villa, we don't even think about it. The only downside to all this is being able to log onto the wifi at where-ever you are if you feel a need to be connected 100% of the time. Once at the villa is good enough for us, but I might log in somewhere if we'll be there for several hours. Again, like anywhere, its only a first time login. (Actually, it's kind of a kick to video call someone at home and show them the ocean view while having drinks before dinner!! Hmmm, sad that's not likely at Grand Case right now.)

BTW, both of our phones are set up this way and we use them both when traveling, and we wouldn't duplicate this if costs were involved.

We don't use Facetime or Google chat or anything else anymore - wifi calling on AT&T does it all just like you're at home when you make a voice or video call. Again, as easy as can be. Like moving from a flip phone to a smart phone - once you get current with technology, you wonder why you waited. It's exactly the reason "Queen of SXM" / Sharon closed her cell phone business - it was obsolete.

(after reading my post, I just need to confirm - no, I don't work for AT&T!) LOL!

I hope this helps.

When we use our US phone on wifi to make SXM dinner reservations on either side, we never get charged. Have you gotten charged for calls within SXM using your home phone on wifi, UkSimonUSA???

I haven't because I always use the $10 a day option as I need to be contactable wherever I am, my daughter lives in Cupecoy and uses wifi calling to call home etc, not sure if she has called local SXM numbers, but I have never seen a charge on my bill

Thank-you DandM for your answer--it's very nice of you to take so much time to explain all this!!!!

We have just changed to IPhones, and I do miss my Galaxy, so there is a lot to learn. My husband likes the Iphone
more than I do.

I'm printing your post!!!