I’m going to Canada for a few weeks with an iPhone SE (中華電信 plan). What are the options these days for using data in a different country? Does anyone know about plans and costs available? I’m vaguely aware of people renting small … boxes … (I presume there’s a name!) that let me tap into the local network at a reasonable cost, but I’m not sure what the cost is.
In the past I’ve just used wifi when available, but it’d be nice to have broader options.
I always just pick up local SIMs with unlimited data in whatever country I visit. Usually between US$20-$60 per period/month. The SIM itself is free in many countries. Make sure your phone is unlocked so you can insert other SIMs.
The shop in the the thread below might have SIMs for Canada also. It has information for getting a SIM in Taiwan before going to USA.
I googled “temporary (or tourist) Canada SIM” and found a lot of information but I don’t know Canada service providers well enough to make any suggestions.
@Andrew0409 and I went through a similar process before heading to the states awhile ago. He bought a card from a place in Guang Hua and I got lucky with family helping me out and just added value when I arrived in the states.
I’m not sure if there’s a similar card for Canada, but it’s worth checking with the store that Andrew bought it from.
Ah, “SIM” was the magic word I was missing when searching.
But, possible Apple-related problems: my iPhone number is used for two-stage notification. A code will be sent to my iPhone and I’ll need that to access something. (I’m never entirely sure when that security function is going to pop up.) Won’t that be unavailable if I use a different SIM card?
Yes of course. A different SIM is a different phone number. It’s not an Apple related problem.
So if you want to keep your Taiwan phone number in Canada (which you’ll be paying roaming fees), then you need another device for another SIM.
Well, Apple-related problem in that I’m never sure when I’m using Apple services through my SIM/cell phone number or through my Apple ID. If I’m using my iPhone in Canada, I want to be sure that I’m also connected to all the different Apple services, and I suspect - but am not certain - that using a different SIM would break that connection.
So far it seems like I can only connect two-factor authentication to a phone number (rather than an email address), but I’m still not sure about that.
I had the impression that you can rent little boxes that are somewhat analogous to a VPN - you pre-pay a certain amount here, and that gives you X amount of data when you’re overseas, and you’ve still got the same phone number. But I may be wrong about that.
Yes most places you can also rent a small portable WiFi capability. Sorry, I thought you wanted to use your phone with a local SIM so I was mostly talking about that capability.