How do I sign up for a new number in the states while using my current phone that I bought in Taiwan. I just bought two nokia 5140’s before I found out I would be going home early. It seems that all the providers require that I buy a new phone and sign a 2 year contract. Can’t I just get a new number? Even the prepaid systems seem to require a dedicated phone…
I should be able to get a new number only and pay month to month right?. It seems that once I get everything pretty much figured out here I have to go home and learn everything all over again.
Has anyone used thier Taiwan phones in the states?
Hi,
The US sucks for cell phones.
The only deals I was able to find required that you use “their” phones. Even if you managed to get the same model you had in Taiwan (sometimes possible) you had to use “theirs” because theirs are locked to their chip/frequency/whatever it is. Even so-called “prepaid” or “pay as you go” services require you to buy THEIR phones.
I agree this is a huge irritation. My Taiwan cell phone is sitting in the drawer here too, unused. I miss the days when you could borrow your friend’s phone if your battery died, just slip your chip in and talk away.
One thing to watch out for, if you have numbers on your Taiwan cell phone chip that you might want back in the States – copy them down while you’re still in Taiwan. In the States, you can’t connect to access them. That can be a nasty surprise, especially when you’re concentrating on other things making the move back.
I always use my own phone when I am in the states.
Ironlady, I think you may be a little bit mixed up. Most of the phones that they give you are “locked” and will only work with their sim card, but you can use their sim card in any gsm phone, provided it is the correct frequency.
I believe the Nokia 5140 is a tri band, which means you should be able to use it in the US. Good luck finding a plan that will let you go month to month. Just about everyone is trying to get you for a 1-2 year contract.
It can be done, but it will take some footwork on your part. I believe Cingular’s month to month plan allows you to use unlocked phones but it is not a feature they advertise. They took over the ATT Wireless system which used SIM cards and allowed you to use any phone they approved on their network. Since it’s not publicized the specific rep you work with may or may not know about it so you may have to do a bit of digging to speak to someone who will do it for you. There are also smaller carriers that may allow you to use your phones.
Most Taiwan phones are on the GSM standard. (There are a few that use the Japanese PHS standard.) In the US the two GSM services are T-Mobile and Cingular. The catch though is that the freqency bands for GSM in North America are different than the rest of the world. You will need a phone that works on those frequencies. If you have a ‘tri band’ or ‘quad band’ phone you’ll be fine. If you have a two band ‘world phone’ it should also work.
Neither provider has a standard plan for using your own phone on their service. However if you call them you might be able to sign up without a phone and they will send you just the SIM card. If not, you can sign up for a contract with one of their ‘free’ phones and use the SIM card it comes with on your own phone.
[quote=“jlick”]Most Taiwan phones are on the GSM standard. (There are a few that use the Japanese PHS standard.) In the US the two GSM services are T-Mobile and Cingular. The catch though is that the freqency bands for GSM in North America are different than the rest of the world. You will need a phone that works on those frequencies. If you have a ‘tri band’ or ‘quad band’ phone you’ll be fine. If you have a two band ‘world phone’ it should also work.
Neither provider has a standard plan for using your own phone on their service. However if you call them you might be able to sign up without a phone and they will send you just the SIM card. If not, you can sign up for a contract with one of their ‘free’ phones and use the SIM card it comes with on your own phone.[/quote]
I’m assuming that means that the Motorola Razar will work in the US, also.
to complicate matter further, I want to use my current “push to talk” feature back home. It loks like a might have to get a new contract. I really hate contracts. We are going to have to pay the 400 nt a month for the next 17 months on the phones we already have. The push to talk might work in America without costing a fortune but I doubt it.
Iron lady, Are you back in the states now? hIf so, How long have you been back?
I am in the States. I’ve been back since August 2004.
My cell phone experience here was that NO ONE would allow me to use the perfectly good phone I already had from Taiwan, nor were any of their phones of the type where you could remove the SIM card. Nor did my phone work in the States. I had Taiwan Dageda if I remember correctly. I just put the phone on minimum monthly charge, prepaid that amount, and let the contract run out when I left Taiwan – better than paying a penalty. I’m not sure how the company felt about it but as far as I’m concerned they got the same amount of money as though I’d been in Taiwan, and for the same period of time.
Around here, at least (I’m not in a really big city though) the choices are a 2-year contract (annoying) or pre-paid service (more expensive). Probably the cheapest choice for someone who just wants service and doesn’t really use the thing much is to get prepaid. We got a year-long prepaid card for my mother just as a safety backup kind of phone, and that works out okay for her, but she hardly ever talks on the thing.
Ah, when will customer service at T-mobile or Cingular ever improve.
While I was in Seattle, I went to a Cingular store and got a month by month sim card without trouble at all. I went in, asked about their month to month plans, got the details, and at the right time, said I had my own phone. It was all good to go within 5 minutes.
You can recharge over the phone or online.
My old Sony Erickson T610 is good for now. Bluetooth allows me to remote control iTunes (powerpoint, office, dvd player, anything you want) for now. It’s kinda small and not so bad looking. Every single cell phone ever invented has been ugly and hard to use. I’ll wait for a possible future phone from Apple.
[quote=“dix2111”]to complicate matter further, I want to use my current “push to talk” feature back home. It loks like a might have to get a new contract. I really hate contracts. We are going to have to pay the 400 nt a month for the next 17 months on the phones we already have. The push to talk might work in America without costing a fortune but I doubt it.
Iron lady, Are you back in the states now? hIf so, How long have you been back?[/quote]
AFAIK push-to-talk requires GPRS, so you need to purchase that service.
GPRS itself is optional, thus check if the operator actually provides it.
I’ll wait for a possible future phone from Apple.