Inexpensive cell phone for a month in Canada.

November 23, 2015 3:48 PM

So I'm going to be spending about a month in Edmonton, AB this December and need to find an inexpensive cell phone and plan. I don't need data, only text & voice. I've seen other similar questions but they seemed to all have the option of bringing in a mobile phone from abroad whereas I want to buy something cheap and not too crappy.
posted by flyingfox to Technology (9 answers total)

You can buy the usual prepaid phones at 7-11, Wal-Mart etc that you would find in the USA, with similar throwaway, pay-as-you-go plans. Easy if cheap Android is acceptable, trickier if you need an iPhone or such.
posted by rokusan at 4:03 PM on November 23, 2015

Best answer: From the last time I looked into this (for a friend, about a year ago) my sense is that, somewhat surprisingly, your best offer is from 7-11. See here: http://www.speakout7eleven.ca/
posted by ManInSuit at 4:09 PM on November 23, 2015

Best answer: Cell phones aren't cheap in Canada and the prices will shock Americans. That's just a fact I learned. Are you wanting a phone for emergencies, or for daily usage? I went through this when I was traveling in Canada for a month recently and I wanted a phone strictly for emergency/limited usage. I decided to just get AT&T's Go Phone, which works in Canada for 39 cents per minute. It did the job and didn't cost me as much as it would've to buy a prepaid Rogers or Bell cell phone and I was able to get it set up while I was still in the USA.

I looked into the Speakout 711 phones, but they were too expensive for my needs. My backup plan was to buy a cheap phone that worked on SIM cards and to buy just a Speakout SIM, but I liked that AT&T Go Phone was everything at once: one phone, one plan, one cost. I bought the phone and put money on it at the AT&T store. I used it twice in Canada.
posted by AppleTurnover at 4:30 PM on November 23, 2015

FWIW, if you are a US TMobile customer, roaming in Canada is completely and 100% free (subject to the limits of your US plan, of course - they won't give you *extra*).
posted by scolbath at 4:36 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh and just to be clear, how did I survive without a working cell phone for a month?: I made nearly all phone calls through Google Voice and Skype since I always had internet where I was staying and working. I also communicated with colleagues and friends via email. My phone only worked on WiFi, but I started to get good at finding WiFi when I was out.
posted by AppleTurnover at 4:39 PM on November 23, 2015

Response by poster: Yeah, a friend had recommended I hit up 7-11 for a cheap flip phone when I cross the border. I'll look into AT&T as well. Unfortunately, I'm not with T-Mobile down in the States, so no joy there.
posted by flyingfox at 4:56 PM on November 23, 2015

No suggestions beyond the above re: cell phones, but if you want any suggestions for places in yeg to eat/caffeinate/have a drink, hit me up on memail.
posted by experiencing a significant gravitas shortfall at 5:50 PM on November 23, 2015

Maybe obvious but: If you use your AT&T phone in Canada, you will have your usual US phone number. If you use a 7-11 phone or SIM that you get in Canada, you will have a Canadian phone number. One or the other of these may be more desirable depending on who, if anyone, you want to be easily reachable to when receiving calls.
posted by ManInSuit at 8:12 PM on November 23, 2015

Response by poster: So I ended up going with a 7-11 flip phone and their pay as you go service. The phone is really quite terrible (about par for the course) but the coverage is good and inexpensive. I word of caution for people traveling from the US: You can't add money to the 7-11 pay as you go service with an American credit card. You have to buy the voucher from 7-11 which is super easy.
posted by flyingfox at 10:32 PM on December 14, 2015