[Norm01]

I will be traveling to the States shortly and I have an unlocked GSM phone. If I order a Gophone sim on the Internet does anyone know if I can activate it while in Canada through the net or by phone. If on the net, do they allow you to choose a number from a list, I need to activate two of them and would like sequential numbers.

 

[North_of_Calgary]

I got mine from an AT&T store in the states. When I wanted to top up the data from Canada prior to my next trip I had to call in and get an actual person to do it. I think to get the original sim's and the account setup the first time you will need to go to a AT&T store.

 

[PhotoJim]

No reason not to activate it at the destination, except for knowing your number in advance.

The other option is to get a T-Mobile SIM instead. You can get them preactivated, and they actually work in Canada (at a higher rate) so you can test them. It's also cheaper to keep them alive ($100 first year, $10/year after that, unless you need more because of your usage). T-Mobile also roams on many providers and AT&T does not with their prepaid service.

 

[North_of_Calgary]

I can confirm that the AT&T gophone SIMs will not work at all in Canada (not in roaming mode).

 

[volvik]

I've used an AT&T GoPhone for several years to avoid the Bell roaming charges when calling back to Canada. I live on Vancouver Island and purchased the phone while in Oregon.

FYI this works well while you're in the 'native' area where you purchased your phone however if you stray too far you'll discover that you can't use it.

Your signal strength will be good but there will be no service (phone icon will have the line thru it). The message 'Emergency Calls Only' will display.

AT&T doesn't not have international roaming to Canada arrangements outside of that native area where you purchased your phone/sim card.

For me everything was fine in Washington and Oregon west of the mountains however when I started travelling east into NV, UT AZ MT etc no signal.

Very frustrating. What I've decided to do is to go with T-Mobile as they do have international roaming to Canada.

I'm waiting for Shaw to roll out their wireless first then pick up a GSM from them and get a T-Mobile sim.

My .02 cents...