Canadian Solutions for Mexico Cell Coverage
City in Mexico
Some of our Canadian customers have requested information on Canadian solutions for Mexico cell coverage. Apparently, their cell phones from home didn’t work in Mexico. We investigated and found out what you need to know if you want to use your Canadian cell phone in Mexico.
Canadian Carriers
The Big 3 carriers and the popular smaller ones work in Mexico. Those customers who experienced difficulties probably didn’t activate an international roaming plan before they left.
All cell phone companies have remarkably similar plans, except for Fido, which offers a freebie. The one thing they all have in common is that you have to “activate” an international plan before you leave Canada. Mostly you can do this online or through your phone via a menu or text. If you do not activate a plan, you might as well sign over your house to the phone company because international calling without a plan is the equivalent of information highway robbery.
Mexican Carriers
We find the best cell phone plans for an extended stay in Mexico come from Mexican carriers. The two top carriers are Telcel and Movistar.
You’ll need an additional phone–either locked to them in Mexico or an unlocked GSM phone that allows you to insert your current Sim card and their new one.
You can buy very inexpensive cell phones locked to either carrier at Walmart, Soriana, Best Buy, or OXXO convenience stores, from kiosks in shopping malls (if they are open), or from stand-alone cell phone stores in downtowns.
American Carriers
Some Canadians get American cell phones because their plans are less expensive than the Canadian companies if they call Mexico and the USA. We will follow up with an article on American cell phone carriers too.
Canadian Solutions for Mexico Cell Coverage: But I Like My Phone!
But you already have a nice, shiny new, expensive cell phone with all your family, friends, and contacts in it. You don’t want to buy a new phone. That’s okay. We’ll tell you what to do.
Keep Your Phone, Get A Plan
Here are some solutions from the Big 3—Rogers, Bell, or Telus, and three smaller companies.
Rogers—Their “Roam Like Home” plan might be good for short trips, but it’s only good for 15 days and is pricey. $8.00 a day in the US and $12 in Mexico. They have a $ 5-a-month add-on for US & International calls, but it’s only good for calls originating in Canada. So, you can call Mexico but cannot call from within Mexico.
Bell—Their “International” plan offers unlimited talk and text, plus you can use data from your account for $12 a day in Mexico and $8.00 a day in the USA. You can call to and from Mexico. There do not appear to be (at the time of writing) any time limitations.
Telus—Their “Easy Roam” plan is remarkably like Bell’s. $12 a day for Mexico. $8 for the USA.
Fido –“Fido Roam” changes the same as the others, BUT only charges you for the first 15 days of roaming. After that, they say the rest of your billing cycle is paid by them.
Virgin Mobile—has a “Roam Sweet Roam” plan with unlimited talk & text, and use the data from your plan for $8.00 a day the USA or $12.00 a day in Mexico. I should point out that Virgin uses a CDMA network, and you cannot transfer your information to an unlocked GSM phone. I tried.
Koodo Mobile—has what they call the “Easy Roam” plan for (you guessed it) $8.00 USA, $12.00 Mexico. It is not unlimited like the others. You use the data plan you signed up for.
Canadian Solutions for Mexico Cell Coverage Conclusion
For a short trip, adding a plan to your existing phone contract is probably the easiest solution. It is way more expensive than getting a Mexican phone or getting a dual sim card phone. But it’s easy to do. When you get back, some plans require you to cancel the plan, others say they can figure out that you are back in Canada. Regardless, make sure you know the rules before you get a plan.
If you are going to stay in Mexico for a month or a season, the Canadian plans cost several times what a Mexican or even an American plan costs. Fortunately, an upcoming article will cover other alternatives, including dual sim card phones. Stay tuned…
I don’t think it was merely an issue of them not enabling roaming before leaving. Some Canadian cell phone providers like Freedom use different frequencies.
You are right, Kate. For most people that works, but not all. That’s why I hate cell phone companies. The best you can do is query the company first.
Your Canadian/ USA/UK cell phone number is mostly an indexxing number for tax purposes in unfree countries like USA Canada Austrailia and UK. I have been a nomad for about a decade and my Mexican SIM works everywhere except for the open air prisons that I mentioned above. I can recieve calls and texts but am unable to return them. (this disproves the myth of frequencies being the reason) The real reason is to protect monopolistic companies profit from cheaper providers abroad. (fascism is real) The data plans from mexico work worldwide and offer unlimted use of whatsapp. This is why the rest of the planet uses this app for almost everythig and phone numbers are somewhat like telegrams and fax machines. I use whatsapp (and a few others when im in these totalitarian countries) but whatsapp works everywhere with the mexican sim regardless of the phones location or manufacturing origin. (as long as it isnt locked a fascist cell company like Bell AT&T or Rogers) I pay 17$ Cad per month. Roaming charges dont exist in the free world. My suggestion is drop the number and the emotional attachment you have to your prisoner number. Want help? I can walk you through. Its easier than you think.
Excellent points – thank you for contributing!
This is intriguing to me. I’m living in Canada. Can I get this $17 a month cell
Plan? Tell me more.
Shaw was $50 per month unlimited North America + Mexico.
It is now transferred to Rogers and it works also.
Probably not valid for new customers anymore.
I am a Canadian ( with a Koodo cell phone plan) trying to understand how getting a Mexican SIM card in my phone will affect my existing Koodo plan. I get Internet fine here, but if I’m not in a Wi-Fi zone and use data to connect, I get dinged $16.00 a day by Koodo on their International Easy Roaming service. I am her for 2 1/2 months and can’t afford this. I checked my usage and got charged $16 a day for the first four days I was here because I answered phone calls, I think. I’m not sure what usage exactly leads to this daily charge. I spoke with a Telcel representative in Merida who was very helpful in explaining the SIM card packages. The advantage seems to me that when I am out and about, I wouldn’t have to always worry about losing a n Internet signal because I could use the data on the Telcel plan, whereas I would be charged $16 to use data when outside a Wifi zone. This would help a lot when it comes to calling Ubers, and also in making calls in Mexico. However, I don’t know what happens to my Koodo plan if I get a Telcel SIM card with 300 G of data. I don’t need to cancel my existing Koodo plan, do I? Can I just not use the data in that p,an? How is this data use distinguished? If the Koodo SIM card is replaced with a Mexican one, does that mean the Koodo plan is simply not active while I’m away. I am still co fused, and any help you can offer would be much appreciated! Thank you!
Its very confusing! The SIM in Mexico is not very expensive. Have you tried putting it into your phone? What type of phone are you using? What did Koodo say about adding a Mex sim?