MOBILE PHONE SERVICE IN MEXICO:

Your mobile phone may or may not work in Mexico. If your carrier is AT&T, T-Mobile or Cricket, your phone will work in Mexico. There are also many smaller carriers that use compatible equipment. With other carriers, it depends on your phone. Newer phones are more likely to be usable than older phones.

No matter what phone or carrier you have, you should contact your carrier, well before you travel to Mexico. They can confirm whether your phone will work in Mexico and discuss whether any changes are needed in your plan to support your anticipated usage during your visit.

Before you come to Mexico, make sure you know how to configure your phone for roaming on Mexican networks. Typically, you can choose to enable voice and SMS, or data, or both.  Check on the Internet or contact your carrier, if you need help figuring out how to do this on your phone.  ** Make sure that your rep gives you the cheapest package available for Mexico phone service add-on, and that they are NOT setting you up for roaming charges while using the phone in Mexico. **

When you enter Mexico, your phone may automatically switch to one of the local networks in Mexicali – it may not for a while. Make sure you know how to manually select a network for roaming.  In San Felipe, there is only one network with high-speed data service, TELCEL.  If your phone does not automatically connect to TELCEL, connect to it manually while you’re still in Mexicali. You may not have service in some areas on the drive down.  Don’t worry…once you’re on Mexico 5 south of Mexicali, you can’t get lost.

While in Mexico, if you need to call a Mexican number, just dial the ten-digit phone number.  If that ten-digit number is a mobile phone, you need to put a 1 in front of it.  (Example:  1-686-200-4000 – all land lines omit the 1).  If you need to call a US number (even if the phone is in Mexico), you dial +1,  then the ten-digit number.  The +1 (or 001) is the international code for the US.  On almost all mobile phones, dial + by holding down the 0 key for a second or two, until the 0 is replaced by +.  There are a few older phones for which this doesn’t work. If you have one of those, dial 00 instead of + .

If you have a smartphone, another method of having phone service is through an app like Skype.  You can pay for a number that can be called from the US directly to your phone.  You can also call out with your phone, using this app, by putting a small amount of money ($10) on it.  This amount will last a long time.  For this method, you need to be connected to WiFi – there is a decent free conection at the Saltito Road Entrance (must sit inside or near the guard station).  Another usable location is at the La Palapa Pool area, close to the PB courts.

With WiFi connection, you can also use the WhatsApp or Messenger apps to call to your contacts.