Mobile Wi-Fi in Canada

[AirReg]

Hello,

We are travelling to Quebec soon and found out that my Sprint mobile hotspot will not work. Please let me know if you have any ideas for pay as you go mobile internet, or other options.

Thanks

[Len n Jeanne]

Oh, gosh. There are Canadian systems that don't work in the US, and vice versa. The main Canadian Internet provider, at least in the western provinces, is Telus. You might contact them, or see which US provider interfaces with them. Similarly, our Canadian cell phone service via a Rogers subsidiary won't pick up Verizon, but it seems to pick up the other major US providers: AT & T, Sprint, T-Mobile. AT&T seems to interface well with Bell Canada, but I'm not sure if they are the major carrier in Quebec. I suppose there's always Wi-Fi at RV parks, coffee shops, &c.

Let us know what you find out!

[mefly2]

Verizon uses CDMA ... so, that is why other systems do not interface well ...

[Gearheart]

Get a 7-!! speakout sim card for your phone and $25 pay as you go + $10 for 100 megs of download. Free wi fi at McD's is another option depending on how connected you need/want to be. Roaming charges will eat your lunch.
I get a Walmart sim and pay as you go when in the States to deal with the flip side of your problem.

[Aage]

The only pay as you go program I am aware of in Canada is Rogers: Wireless, Internet, TV, Home Monitoring, and Home Phone

You have to look hard around their site to find it, but you get, IIRC, a SIM card for CAD$10 which cannot be used to data, phone only.

However, once on a wi-fi you can do what you want. McDonalds and Tim Horton can be found everywhere in Canada and both have decent free wi-fi in all stores.

I use this service exclusively for cell communication and get their signal everywhere I go. I go through about a hundred dollars a year in my Rogers plan, but I am retired and actively seek out wifi spots to keep charges down.

Enjoy your visit!

[Gearheart]

@ Aage, 7-11 uses Rogers and charges way less. You can buy blocks of tine for $25 and they last a whole year. Rogers keeps the change and dings you for another $25 at the end of each month. 7-11 also has data for an additional $10 a month. I am using it now for 5 years so I know whereof I speak. You can buy a sim card at any 7-11 as well as $25 blocks of air time.

[Aage]

So it is. I looked at their site, and sure enough, they are big in Toronto. But, I did a search of Ottawa (with a 100 mile radius), and Montreal, and there are no stores within a hundred miles of those two towns. I stopped searching after that.

I buy $100 blocks of time when I need it, and it's good for a year. I have never been "dinged" for anything on Rogers, no extra charges at all.

Since I never talk while driving, I do all calling while either at home or at one or the thousands of wifi spots. No charge for data. No charge for LD.

But what ever floats your boat...

[Gearheart]

I guess 7-11 crossed the border at Detroit and the infestation has not yet reached your neck of the woods. My bad. I thought they were ubiquitous.

[JBinKC]

So exactly what are the settings on a Verizon iPhone 6 to avoid roaming charges while traveling in Canada? Will the "airplane mode" take care of it? Or are there other settings to turn off? Thanks in advance for any and all tech support.

[Len n Jeanne]

I suggest you talk to the folks at Verizon. Heading south from Canada to the US, we have to purchase a supplementary travel pac for data roaming, phone, and text messages.

[Gearheart]

Pick up a second cheap unlocked handset for travelling. Electronic discounters like factory direct have 'em.