[Q] Prepaid SIM with Data in Belgium - General Topics

Calling all Belgians,
I have a few days in Brussels this week and would like to get a prepaid SIM that has a data allowance whilst I am there.
What's the best deal, best network? I really don't think I am going to need more that a couple of hundred MB, just need to check emails, twitter, skype and maybe a little bit of tethering with my laptop. Not bothered about text allowance or call time, just the data.
Any ideas?
Thanks!

Related

I have internet with no data plan??

I seem to be able to get internet and go to any site I want to when I connect T-Zones. But I do not pay for any data plans at all, just my Get More 600 plan. Is this normal? Am I going to get billed if I use it? It is using minutes instead?
Be carefull. T-Mobile will let you access what you like without a data plan but charge you a fortune for it!!!!
First time I did it, I downloaded a few emails and before I knew it my data cost was over 90 pounds!
Ring them and check your current bill/plan.
same happened here on cingular. It adds up fast. (im currently looking into how to prevent the un-intentional ussage of such a feature. ITs on by default. Scarry.
Be very careful! Many providers do that, if you did not purchase data plan then you will most likely pay much more than expected.
If you disconnect very often then it will make it worse because they count data transfer in big blocks for example 50KB instead of real usage.
Some even round up data blocks every hour, so if you use 10KB and stay connected then in an hour they will round up for you, as if you used 50KB - which you did not.
I don't know about T-Mo USA, but T-Mo Hungary has a default data plan pretty much for everyone. It has no monthly fees but the data is very expensive and has a daily activation fee.
I too appear to be getting free internet/wap/gprs. I sent in a message to T-mobile USA and they said that I was NOT getting charged for my usage and that they were probably doing work in my area.
I expected them to say "Oh, you are getting free service! Well lets fix that right away. Please forgive us for this heinous inconvenience, sir." but the gut just shrugged it off.
Despite this, I don't use it incessantly. I figure they'll surprise me with charges sooner or later.
prepaid
I been getting free internet by using a prepaid sim(no charge to credit in account) for the past week or two but i havent had a chance to test this on another wizard and a different sim. I think its a problem with tmobile like when you could send free sms through gprs on some nokia phones and tmobile could not notice how many you were sending. if you tried this pim me with the results

Going to london for a couple of months - recommended GSM provider?

Hi!
I will soon travel to London for a while and I realized I have no idea whatsoever on what providers exist over there and which is the best.
I will mainly use it for 3G (or are there lots of free WiFi-spots?) and phoning home to Sweden. I will probably need to send SMS and call inside UK sometimes to, but mostly Sweden. It should be a prepaid alternative.
Any recommendations?
I used an Orange card when I was there for a few days last winter. I used it for calls and texts, but I think they had 4 different pre-paid plans, depending on your preferences. It was cheap, and I'd use them again.
Thank you
Best coverage is vodafone, cheapest pay-as-go is orange (£1/day data). Vodafone has 3g pay-as-go, but cannot get 3g on my orange pay-as-go. Many wi-fi hotspots around. Best look at vodafone/orange websites - they are the biggest & best in UK
I'm with O2 and can't really fault them, but Vodafone currently have a deal where you don't pay extra for roaming, so you could take it back to Sweeden and not get caught for extra cash (check terms and conditions though...) O2 do a 'bolt on' which you can buy unlimted web data for a fixed fee (was about £7.50 when I subscribed).
Lots of free wifi (McDonalds is one, but there are more) and plenty of idiots that don't have security on their wifi access points. I know it's stealing, but it can get you out of a fix and it's not like you'll use it for hours on end sitting in someone's front garden...
Check out the '3' network.
Every time you top-up (GBP10) you get 150MB of free data, and a lot of free sms messages.
If 150MB is not enough for you, for GBP5 you can get the Internet Monthly add-on which allows up to 2GB limit over 30 days.
Also, they have a free Skype facility using a modified version of ISkoot (search XDA-Developers for details of how to make it work on WM devices).
I use data far more than calls and sms and I find '3' to be the best deal.
66mustang said:
I'm with O2 and can't really fault them, but Vodafone currently have a deal where you don't pay extra for roaming, so you could take it back to Sweeden and not get caught for extra cash (check terms and conditions though...) O2 do a 'bolt on' which you can buy unlimted web data for a fixed fee (was about £7.50 when I subscribed).
Lots of free wifi (McDonalds is one, but there are more) and plenty of idiots that don't have security on their wifi access points. I know it's stealing, but it can get you out of a fix and it's not like you'll use it for hours on end sitting in someone's front garden...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I do. £7.50 for unlimited 3G is brilliant, and even though I get EDGE on my Elf, it's still really quite fast. Albeit I only get G or 2G coverage where I live (north of Bristol) but it's still quite nice to have the ability to forget about my emails, and then pick it up and they're sitting there for me.
O2.

Skype over 3G Data Only plan

I've always liked the versatility of a PDA/smartphone but I could never justify the cost of a voice plan that I barely use and a data plan. It occurred to me to try getting a data only plan and running Skype with a subscription for the few voice calls I get. I'm hoping someone here has tried this before and can give me some feedback on their experience.
AT&T's coverage maps claim Houston is blanketed in 3G/HSPDA. For the majority of my day I'm in a WiFi area and not really mobile too much, but the quality of both the call and 3G service when driving around Houston is still a slight concern.
What will happen to my phone number when I switch to a data only plan? If I keep it, what happens when someone tries to call it or send me a text message?
I can't really upgrade to a smartphone to try it out and drop the data plan if it doesn't work, considering AT&T has made data plans mandatory for smartphones, and I'll be stuck paying for one.
Huh, that's very nice!
nathanpc said:
Huh, that's very nice!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I suppose it is. Instead of paying $50 for a bunch of minutes I don't use, I can pay $35 for unlimited data and messaging and a couple $ more for unlimited calling and a phone number with Skype. I end up paying about the same amount but getting a much better deal.
IF it works. I've been able to test a call on Verizon but that doesn't tell me anything about AT&T's data network. I tried streaming Pandora while driving when I got my current phone and that was a disappointment - though I think the Pandora app was the majority of the problem. Still, I have no idea if the call quality will be terrible or if calls will be dropping on me while having full signal, etc, etc. Has anyone tried this recently?
It's a little bit expansive...
Just to make sure, I'll drop it after this: There is no one out there who has tried this already?
haven't / cant try it here, often wondered about this too. id say double check att's buyer remorse policy (i think its 30 days return) make sure you can undo any contract changes, but take the phone and try it. all you would stand to lose is the time lost with returning bureaucracy, a small risk given the potential reward
Sprint sell smartphones with data only plans
including plam pre and touch pro 1 & 2 with 2 year contract what's great about it's the data plan is just $30
http://www.sprintrelaystore.com/
they don't ask for proof that you are really are deaf
Still being under contract with AT&T kind of limits me to sticking with them. As soon as I can get some pricing for upgrade on the LG Expo's, I'll probably be moving ahead with this. I spoke with three people at AT&T to make sure there wouldn't be any trouble and confirmed I'll be able to get the data only plan on a smartphone and fulfill the data plan requirement.
The plan isn't actually just data with voice disabled, it's really the reverse of a regular voice plan: package with minutes, billed per Kb of data usage VS unlimited data package, voice/messages billed per minute/message. Beauty of it is that you can forward incoming calls on your cellphone and you won't be charged - which solves the problem of everyone still calling me on my cellphone.
Unfortunately sms/mms will still go through and I'll be charged. Still working out the kinks on that. I figure I'll have to start giving out a different number at some point in time so I'll probably use Google Voice for this and forward SMS to email, but that doesn't work for MMS. Maybe I'll just have to get the cheap messaging plan, or maybe just eat the cost of the occasional MMS. Unless I can also forward messages to a different number or email from the phone which would just solve everything.
Of course, none of this is a problem for me, but trying to make this seamless and hassle free for people calling me is the goal.
llvllerlin said:
I've always liked the versatility of a PDA/smartphone but I could never justify the cost of a voice plan that I barely use and a data plan. It occurred to me to try getting a data only plan and running Skype with a subscription for the few voice calls I get. I'm hoping someone here has tried this before and can give me some feedback on their experience.
AT&T's coverage maps claim Houston is blanketed in 3G/HSPDA. For the majority of my day I'm in a WiFi area and not really mobile too much, but the quality of both the call and 3G service when driving around Houston is still a slight concern.
What will happen to my phone number when I switch to a data only plan? If I keep it, what happens when someone tries to call it or send me a text message?
I can't really upgrade to a smartphone to try it out and drop the data plan if it doesn't work, considering AT&T has made data plans mandatory for smartphones, and I'll be stuck paying for one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does not work very well.
also - skype absolutely drains the battery. we are talking 1-2 hours of standby time before the battery goes from 100% to 0%.
llvllerlin said:
Still being under contract with AT&T kind of limits me to sticking with them. As soon as I can get some pricing for upgrade on the LG Expo's, I'll probably be moving ahead with this. I spoke with three people at AT&T to make sure there wouldn't be any trouble and confirmed I'll be able to get the data only plan on a smartphone and fulfill the data plan requirement.
The plan isn't actually just data with voice disabled, it's really the reverse of a regular voice plan: package with minutes, billed per Kb of data usage VS unlimited data package, voice/messages billed per minute/message. Beauty of it is that you can forward incoming calls on your cellphone and you won't be charged - which solves the problem of everyone still calling me on my cellphone.
Unfortunately sms/mms will still go through and I'll be charged. Still working out the kinks on that. I figure I'll have to start giving out a different number at some point in time so I'll probably use Google Voice for this and forward SMS to email, but that doesn't work for MMS. Maybe I'll just have to get the cheap messaging plan, or maybe just eat the cost of the occasional MMS. Unless I can also forward messages to a different number or email from the phone which would just solve everything.
Of course, none of this is a problem for me, but trying to make this seamless and hassle free for people calling me is the goal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI, AT&T still doesn't have the eXpo, but RadioShack is selling it right now. I upgraded mine for $149.
In the UK we have "Three", They allow skype calls on their mobile phones and offer plans for as little as £15 with unlimited texts, unlimited internet, 200 minutes and unlimited skype usage (I believe it comes with "SkypeOUt" or whatever it's called). Skype to skype calls are always free even if you are on pay as you go (Prepay) and have no credit!
If you don't have something similar in the US then it will more than likely come soon as this sort of thing is starting to catch on. It's actually quite encouraging because if Google Voice does launch over here and google plans on having a "google voice" only mobile phone then three would be a network willing to consider it.
coolVariable said:
does not work very well.
also - skype absolutely drains the battery. we are talking 1-2 hours of standby time before the battery goes from 100% to 0%.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I take it you've tried it out then. My phones are usually docked while I'm at work and when I get home they might go 3 hours before it's back on the charger for the night.
If you don't mind, what carrier and city, and around when did you try it out? Was it over WiFi or 3G?
SPIDERTECH said:
FYI, AT&T still doesn't have the eXpo, but RadioShack is selling it right now. I upgraded mine for $149.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll have to check it out then. I still haven't seen a single word on availability yet and RadioShack's website shows nothing about it. What city?
llvllerlin said:
I take it you've tried it out then. My phones are usually docked while I'm at work and when I get home they might go 3 hours before it's back on the charger for the night.
If you don't mind, what carrier and city, and around when did you try it out? Was it over WiFi or 3G?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3G. AT&T. Tried it pretty much all over SoCal, primarily LA, San Diego and Santa Barbara.
Just doesn't work.

[Resolved] UK GSM Provider: Orange or O2?

Im getting a HD2 unlocked for christmas and Im trying to decide something. Which GSM Provider should I use
Which would be the best for me to get for free texts and internet? Orange's dolphin plan will give me free internet and 300 free texts when I top up £10 a month, but with O2 I get unlimited free texts and internet but with £15 a month, so which one would you guys recomend? The plus side to orange is Im already with them on my very old phone
or any other ideas?
I HAVE NEVER GOT 3G/HSPDA ON ANY HTC DEVICE WITH ORANGE EVEN THE ORANGE BRANDED ONES, GO WITH 02 lol
o2 pay as you go is a very good deal but there pay as go setup is a nightmare as they use a proxy to stop pop3, so you have the choice of Web&MMS or Web&Email... I use Web&Email by using a different setup.
Oh and unlimited means 500 megs lol "T&C" and can't mem exact text think 1300 or so...
A good deal @ mo is T-Mo they use same network connection for payasgo as do monthly, £10P/M for Unlimited Web "TAC" 40MB per day and again not sure on Text as found no info..
Just about to change most likely Tom
stylez said:
o2 pay as you go is a very good deal but there pay as go setup is a nightmare as they use a proxy to stop pop3, so you have the choice of Web&MMS or Web&Email... I use Web&Email by using a different setup.
Oh and unlimited means 500 megs lol "T&C" and can't mem exact text think 1300 or so...
A good deal @ mo is T-Mo they use same network connection for payasgo as do monthly, £10P/M for Unlimited Web "TAC" 40MB per day and again not sure on Text as found no info..
Just about to change most likely Tom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait so its only 40mb a day on T-mobile?
and is it 500 megs a day on O2?
thanks
[★] said:
Wait so its only 40mb a day on T-mobile?
and is it 500 megs a day on O2?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
500mb per month "aprx 16mb per day" on O2 so T-Mo better offer
stylez said:
500mb per month "aprx 16mb per day" on O2 so T-Mo better offer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh I was hoping to get some good downloading done, like a couple 100mb a day sometimes, I guess thats not gonna happen.
[★] said:
Ahh I was hoping to get some good downloading done, like a couple 100mb a day sometimes, I guess thats not gonna happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah all these pay&go Unlimited deals have a terms & conditions apply.
Might be worth checking out 3 i have no idea what they do as can't get network @ home.
Yeah I'll check them out. Do you know how good the 3g reception is in the west midlands? Worcestershire to be exact. Also are there any problems with T-mobile internet, Ive read it wont let you watch youtube videos as it doesnt fall under the fair use policy, and do you have to install some web and walk manager thing?
So its
O2
Orange
T-mobile
3
Hmmm....
I spoke to a T-Mo representative the other day who said the only restriction is 40MB and they use the same connection setup as monthly so should be no probs with YouTube.
O2 place the same kinda terms no use of instant messenger, no email, no tethering blah blah and it goes on and on... But they use a proxy so can stop certain services like previously said i choose email over MMS and get full web access.
Best bet is to ask friends on networks or even look at there online coverage "not that it's always correct"
stylez said:
I spoke to a T-Mo representative the other day who said the only restriction is 40MB and they use the same connection setup as monthly so should be no probs with YouTube.
O2 place the same kinda terms no use of instant messenger, no email, no tethering blah blah and it goes on and on... But they use a proxy so can stop certain services like previously said i choose email over MMS and get full web access.
Best bet is to ask friends on networks or even look at there online coverage "not that it's always correct"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh decisions decisions. None of my friends are on PAYG tmobile . So with TMo you can use all networking sites, skype, email, weather for htc hd2, teathering, all that kinda stuff right? I guess its by far the best bet, especailly for £5 less. And is 40mb the most you can get from any provider, is that considered quite alot in 3g internet terms?
[★] said:
Ahh decisions decisions. None of my friends are on PAYG tmobile . So with TMo you can use all networking sites, skype, email, weather for htc hd2, teathering, all that kinda stuff right? I guess its by far the best bet, especailly for £5 less. And is 40mb the most you can get from any provider, is that considered quite alot in 3g internet terms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to be popping into T-Mo tom, i know that teathering is in there restrictions but if they use same normal network then can't see an issue if you stick within 40MB, will ask as many Q's as possible.
40MB should be per day i used to use a dongle and top up about 1GB per month but that's just surfing and not much downloading ROMs etc...
3G is just the speed of connection it's all equates the same.
Will update with what they say as it's something that O2 stumped me on till twiddled about with connection settings.
stylez said:
I'm going to be popping into T-Mo tom, i know that teathering is in there restrictions but if they use same normal network then can't see an issue if you stick within 40MB, will ask as many Q's as possible.
40MB should be per day i used to use a dongle and top up about 1GB per month but that's just surfing and not much downloading ROMs etc...
3G is just the speed of connection it's all equates the same.
Will update with what they say as it's something that O2 stumped me on till twiddled about with connection settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok great thakns, funnily enough, Im going to town tomorrow to get a sim card as well. You say I cant do tethering with tmobile? D: wow that sucks, that was one of the things I really wanted to try out does everything else I listed work ?
Are there any providers who dont restrict you? :/
Went for t-mobile
I went and got there free sim deal. Heres some details
1gb/month (can run over, fair use policy)
Can tether (on the HD2 atleast)
£10 top up required
Same as what i got today along with a Touch Pro and yes teathering allowed as long as don't go over the amount 1GB P/M 40MB Per day
stylez said:
Same as what i got today along with a Touch Pro and yes teathering allowed as long as don't go over the amount 1GB P/M 40MB Per day
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, but you dont have to restrict it too 4omb a day, strictly speaking you COULD use 995mb in one day, as long as you spread the other 5 mb over the rest of the month
[★] said:
Im getting a HD2 unlocked for christmas and Im trying to decide something. Which GSM Provider should I use
Which would be the best for me to get for free texts and internet? Orange's dolphin plan will give me free internet and 300 free texts when I top up £10 a month, but with O2 I get unlimited free texts and internet but with £15 a month, so which one would you guys recomend? The plus side to orange is Im already with them on my very old phone
or any other ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also depends on the signal you can get. I'm in the East Midlands and have a rock solid 3g signal from home which none of the others can do. I've used TMob for ages now and browse YouTube, email etc a lot and have never had any problem. Their Solo 20 plan looked good and if it wasn't for the fact they upgraded me free to a HD2 I would have probably moved to that..
----
I slightly overbaked my reply hence I shall summarise. O2 PAYG web bolt on is absolutely the most terrible unusable thing ever and I wasted 7.50 on it!!!! O2 monthly is by far better. T-mobile PAYG is the only option for internet on this basis. Coming to that realisation makes most of my post redundant lol!!! but it might be of interest to those also considering contract.
---
just one note, but you cannot get a text and talk bundle on T-mobile AS WELL AS the unlimited texts and internet.
I think for PAYG T-mobile have the best deal for internet as long as you dont do much calling and just use internet.
If you call then their £20 package gives 300mins+unlimited texts. Then £2.50 for five days of internet access as it opts you out of the texts+internet deal.
I tried the O2 web bolt on with a PAYG sim card and the speeds and quality are dire. In fact it's best to use edge as the negotiation time to start a connection is much speedier than 3G. I only get a few hundre KB on O2 PAYG internet with full 3G. And also most times it simply just stalles after 50KB or so.
As for orange....people rave about them, but got a 3G orange PAYG card and it seems to have worse reception than O2 and T-mobile.
My reception between O2 and T-mobile seems to swing between the two, but orange seems to be consistently lower than either.
I would term O2 as maximin - it will maximise your 2G signal, and often gets 3G where T-mobile fails. However, where T-mobile picks up a signal O2 will be a bar or two behind.
T-mobile is maximax - it will more often give you full 3G bars, but will also disappear much sooner.
I think the T-mobile network from testing is less congested - and their image proxy can be avoided I believe.
For monthly contracts O2 web is good however.
For PAYG T-mobile is by far the best provider.
I will personally go for O2 monthly contract. But if I were going PAYG it would be T-mobile.
For contract:
Orange have the best monthly deal - 1200mins, UT, 500MB, £30 phone for £30pm.
O2: 600mins, 1000T, UWeb, £100 phone, £30pm
T-mobile: 900mins, UT, Uweb, £180 phone, £25pm.
For PAYG:
T-mobile: internet+texts = £10. 25p/10p calls/texts; £20 = 300mins+UTexts
O2: £10 for internet+ 300texts, 25/10p calls/texts; £8.00 = 50mins
Vodafone: £20 is 300mins and 3000 texts, no web package.
Orange: £10 - unlimited internet...well, 50MB a month!!!! how shiste is that?
If you roam to europe however, O2 wins....but its PAYG internet is useless.
There is another option - SIM only 30 day rolling contract...
Sorry I should have asked for this thread to be closed ages ago :3
I went with Tmobile, and I love it, very good signal and plenty of bandwith for what I actually need to do .
You may close

vacations out of US

Hi,
in a few days I will be going in vacations (lucky me) in Mexico. But I don't want to pay for international Datas. I want to use my phone only has a phone and will contect thru Wifi when available.
ma question is: If the "Data roaming" (settings-wireless and network- mobile networks) is un checked, is that mean it will "cut" the datas as soon as I'm not with ATT?
Thanks
Yes, but you'll still be subject to roaming charges for voice and messaging.
- Dial *#*#INFO#*#* which is *#*#4636#*#*
- Go to Phone Info
- You can hit your "More" softkey and there will be a menu with an option called More
There should be an option that says disable data on boot. Now any time you restart your phone you should not be getting data network
LinuxNewb said:
- Dial *#*#INFO#*#* which is *#*#4636#*#*
- Go to Phone Info
- You can hit your "More" softkey and there will be a menu with an option called More
There should be an option that says disable data on boot. Now any time you restart your phone you should not be getting data network
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this code but it doesn't seems to work on my captivate
xargs1 said:
Yes, but you'll still be subject to roaming charges for voice and messaging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, it was what I tough.
Just keep it in airplane mode. I travel mostly out of the country and that's what I do. You can enable wifi while in airplane mode.
a_fuegon said:
Just keep it in airplane mode. I travel mostly out of the country and that's what I do. You can enable wifi while in airplane mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, but in my case I have to be able to anwer calls
Duh, I guess I selectively absorb content I read. I just get sim cards locally and pass that number to the people I need to stay in touch with. Granted it's only a select few though, perhaps that's why it's practical for me. It's the more cost efficient way for me. I do have an unlocked winmo phone that I use abroad for this.
Turn off data, and call at&t and sign up for the international plan. You can cancel it after the vacation and it is pro-rated. I went on a cruise to mexico and ended up paying like $120 on less than a half hour of calls back home.
I am on a trip in Brazil right now, and have the exact same requirements. I turn off Data Roaming so that I don't run up any data charges. Just to be safe, I also turned off sync for Google, Twitter, and Facebook. I signed up for the AT&T International Plan at $5.99 per month, which makes calls between US and Brazil at $1.99 per minute. Text messages are $.80 each. If you really want to save money on calls, take a laptop and use Skype. I can call a US landline from Skype for $.02 per minute, not quite free, but it feels like it compared to the AT&T rate.
just fff up your apn.. but remember settings.. that is what the disable/enable data widgets do anyway.. screw up something in the apn and you will get no data.
grmcgee said:
I am on a trip in Brazil right now, and have the exact same requirements. I turn off Data Roaming so that I don't run up any data charges. Just to be safe, I also turned off sync for Google, Twitter, and Facebook. I signed up for the AT&T International Plan at $5.99 per month, which makes calls between US and Brazil at $1.99 per minute. Text messages are $.80 each. If you really want to save money on calls, take a laptop and use Skype. I can call a US landline from Skype for $.02 per minute, not quite free, but it feels like it compared to the AT&T rate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can use nimbuzz on your phone to connect to skype thru wifi
Simple as turning off data roaming, I went to Mexico City a few weeks ago and didn't incur any data charges. I've been there a few times with my iPhone and haven't had to pay anything extra either. Just make sure you get the AT&T Mexico feature. It's $4.99 a month and .59 a minute while roaming in Mexico.
Mexico Plans
I am currently travelling to Mexico every week for business and signed up for a voice plan.
Instead of the regular $59.99 plan giving 900 minutes, I have a $74.99 plan that allows me to use my minutes while in Mexico also. ATT has some weird scheming where they say, the first month you can use all of the 900 mins, 2nd month only 40% of the minutes, 3rd month again 900, 4th month 40% only, and so on. Go figure what the smartypants at ATT were dreaming when they created this plan.
But again, everytime I call ATT, the idiots give me a new answer. SMS and MMS, I have gotten multiple answers, so i try not to use it.
Data plan - ATT will rip you naked in a few minutes of data usage. It's like $20 per 10MB or something like that - that's if you sign up for a plan before hand. If not, it gets even more ridiculous.
So, bottom line, if you need to make/receive calls on your US #, signup for one of those international plans. Forget data. SMS - I don't know.
Turnoff data roaming - settings --> Wireless Networks --> Mobile networks --> Data roaming uncheck.
Verizon has a $35 unlimited data plan (on top of your regular plan), if you have a choice.
edit: btw, I am unable to call any toll free #s while in Mexico. Whether those calls are allowed or not seems to be dependent on the combination of ATT and local carrier (for me Telcel). Didn't have this problem with Verizon.
For what it's worth, the international plans and the flip flopping of at&t reps is what drove me to simply give up using my phone abroad. I am somewhere south of the US almost weekly, so for me it is a big issue. I eventually resorted to picking up local sim cards, which works for me. I usually spend max of $10 for the sim and a bucket of mins, which also includes texting if need be. All incoming calls are free, which is what makes it work for me.
Enough of the thread jacking for me.

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