Wind Mobile when travelling

[cral12]

Hey all,

Travelling to Montreal next month. From my understanding (I'm admittedly easily confused by roaming, etc), I won't have Wind Network and would be charged for any voice/data I use while there.

a) Do I have this correct?
b) Any options to avoid massive charges if I want to use my phone there?

Thanks

[GGG]

Originally Posted by cral12

Hey all,

Travelling to Montreal next month. From my understanding (I'm admittedly easily confused by roaming, etc), I won't have Wind Network and would be charged for any voice/data I use while there.

a) Do I have this correct?
b) Any options to avoid massive charges if I want to use my phone there?

Thanks

You are correct, 5 cents a text, 10 cents a minute, $1 per meg.

Just dont use data. Use wifi only. The cost of voice and text is nominal and for a week would probably less than $10.

Starbucks and mcdonalds usually have free wifi.

[Temporary_User]

Viber is good for calls over wifi.
Does Whatsapp do texting over wifi?

Other than that, I assume you are saving $30-40 a month on service by being with Wind, so even if you do have some roaming charges this trip you should still come up ahead by the end of the month.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

Does Whatsapp do texting over wifi?

yes

[calumniate]

Hey, couldn't find the general wind thread but is the service down for anyone? I'm in the mission area

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by calumniate

Hey, couldn't find the general wind thread but is the service down for anyone? I'm in the mission area

Winds website is dang slow probably because its' being hammered and it's completely down for me up by Panorama!

EDIT: back up

[Ben_in_Canada]

Originally Posted by cral12

Hey all,

Travelling to Montreal next month. From my understanding (I'm admittedly easily confused by roaming, etc), I won't have Wind Network and would be charged for any voice/data I use while there.

a) Do I have this correct?
b) Any options to avoid massive charges if I want to use my phone there?

Thanks

As GGG said, turn off your data!
When I first got a wind phone I took it down to Montana for three days and got a $200 roaming data charge. I hardly even used it. There are plenty of places with free wifi so just go that route. The roaming charges for text and phone are really minimal so no issues there.

[Trumbull]

Originally Posted by Ben_in_Canada

As GGG said, turn off your data!
When I first got a wind phone I took it down to Montana for three days and got a $200 roaming data charge. I hardly even used it. There are plenty of places with free wifi so just go that route. The roaming charges for text and phone are really minimal so no issues there.

Holy crap. I thought Wind had friendly US travel plans?

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Trumbull

Holy crap. I thought Wind had friendly US travel plans?

It does. You can add unlimited US roaming to your plan for $15/month.

[AC]

Originally Posted by SebC

It does. You can add unlimited US roaming to your plan for $15/month.

I'm heading down to Seattle next month and was planning on adding this feature while I'm there.

I'm assuming once its set up I'm good to go worry-free, right?

[SebC]

Originally Posted by AC

I'm assuming once its set up I'm good to go worry-free, right?

The only thing I'd be concerned about is what happens if you go off T-mobile's network - I'd assume you'd just lose reception but you might want to look into it.

[AC]

Yeah, I also figure I'd have to leave my phone disconnected until I'm actually in the US (we're driving) as I don't want to get dinged with away roaming while driving through BC.

I'll talk to a Wind rep directly for clarification.

[Ben_in_Canada]

Originally Posted by Trumbull

Holy crap. I thought Wind had friendly US travel plans?

They do now, not so much in 2011

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by calumniate

Hey, couldn't find the general wind thread but is the service down for anyone? I'm in the mission area

Yup. Looks like there was a major service disruption (possibly coast to coast...) last night. My phone went dark around 600pm. It was back up when I checked at about 400am.

Their Twitter account went nuts with "OMG, it's a cell-pocalypse" and "I demand compensation" claims....was borderline entertaining.

For what it's worth, it's the first time (in my three years as a customer) that the service was unavailable....must have been a pretty significant event on the back-end.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by AC

I'm heading down to Seattle next month and was planning on adding this feature while I'm there.

I'm assuming once its set up I'm good to go worry-free, right?

Yes. It's as easy as getting the US-Roaming package turned on and then being on the T-Mobile network. One of the few things in life that's as easy as it sounds (and should be).

And to confirm SebC's comment, yes, if you go off the T-Mobile network, the phone just registers as 'no reception'. Although this hasn't ever been an issue for me when I've driven to Seattle along main roadways.

As for roaming while in BC.....I always just turn off the roaming data when not in use. That way I can still make/take calls, cause really, spending a dollar or two for phone calls isn't a big deal....it's the data roaming that can add up fast.

Go to "Settings" and "Mobile Network Settings". There's a "Data Roaming" box to turn on and off. Super simple, and no worries.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by WilsonFourTwo

Yup. Looks like there was a major service disruption (possibly coast to coast...) last night. My phone went dark around 600pm. It was back up when I checked at about 400am.

Their Twitter account went nuts with "OMG, it's a cell-pocalypse" and "I demand compensation" claims....was borderline entertaining.

For what it's worth, it's the first time (in my three years as a customer) that the service was unavailable....must have been a pretty significant event on the back-end.

I love the I demand compensation crowed. At $30 a month for your pkan thats $1 per day, The phone was out for about 8 hours so everybody gets a 33 cent discount on there bill.

Glad I complained about that.

[Stud_McCool]

Originally Posted by AC

I'm heading down to Seattle next month and was planning on adding this feature while I'm there.

I'm assuming once its set up I'm good to go worry-free, right?

I just got back from Vegas thinking this $15 plan was good to go when I added this add-on.
Once down there, I did not get any reception whatsoever even though I was registered on the T-Mobile network. Went back and forth with the Wind tech reps and they suggested battery pulls, sim card pulls, connect to AT&T, etc. Nothing worked.
Then they finally got back to me saying I needed an upgraded SIM card. I was never informed of needing a new SIM when I spoke to them about adding the US roaming plan.
So, make sure you talk to Wind and ensure you have an upgraded SIM card for US roaming. Good Luck!

[AC]

Thanks guys, I'll go into a Wind store and get confirmation on it all.

I have the $30 unlimited special offer plan currently, which appears to be $35 now, so going the $15 add-on route for a month seems the best way for me.

[Trumbull]

Originally Posted by AC

Thanks guys, I'll go into a Wind store and get confirmation on it all.

I have the $30 unlimited special offer plan currently, which appears to be $35 now, so going the $15 add-on route for a month seems the best way for me.

I've not bothered to do these add-ons for Telus yet when visiting the states (most of my data would be on maps but I use Sygic's offline GPS/maps), but now I'm suddenly interested if Telus has those same issues with their US add-ons for data/voice/text.

[cral12]

I just used Wind US Data Roaming add-on in Maui - worked brilliantly - At one point I got a little paranoid and called them to ensure it was working as planned and it was.
Actually really enhanced the trip utilizing apps and navigation via my Nexus 5 phone.
The only thing you have to do beforehand is to call (maybe can do on the web) is to activate US roaming on your plan (free to do so) in order for the plan to work once you get there (this is separate from adding the $15 plan as an add on) - If unsure, call Wind and it's quick and painless.