Best US cell phone to text Canada

[lacoccinelle 0]

Hello,

Still new here, but here's my question:

We have our montreal interview Oct 3, and we're planning to move Nov 3. I'm looking at getting a new cell phone in the states, but I need to be able to text my family and friends in Canada. I don't care about calling or data, I just need texting.

Who do you use? Do you like it? Is it crazy expensive?

(I'm using virgin mobile Canada and I pay $25 a month for unlimited sent and received texts in Canada and the us. Everything I'm looking at costs at least $50 a month)

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Hello,

Still new here, but here's my question:

We have our montreal interview Oct 3, and we're planning to move Nov 3. I'm looking at getting a new cell phone in the states, but I need to be able to text my family and friends in Canada. I don't care about calling or data, I just need texting.

Who do you use? Do you like it? Is it crazy expensive?

(I'm using virgin mobile Canada and I pay $25 a month for unlimited sent and received texts in Canada and the us. Everything I'm looking at costs at least $50 a month)

Texting is texting - I can text my Cdn niece - it doesn't cost me anymore then texting someone here in the US. Get an unlimited texting plan and you can text like nuts for the monthly fee.

We use Verizon but check out each carrier's unlimited texting fees and then go from there.

[Flames9_RN 358]

And depending where u live in the USA some cell providers provide better coverage--less dropped calls! We used to have AT&T, but had a lot of dropped calls in the DC area. Verizon was far superior!! Bro in law had been with AT&T forever and got sick of the dropped calls and switched to Verizon last yr and is much happier.

Don't have time to find it, but their are websites that show which providers work best for which city!!

Yes not ur original question,lol But yes check on the pkg rates. I was wondering why my 1 cell bil was like $25 higher than normal--had gone over the text limit bundle that we purchased!!

Edited September 24, 2011 by Flames9_RN

[SapphireDreams 71]

Texting is texting - I can text my Cdn niece - it doesn't cost me anymore then texting someone here in the US. Get an unlimited texting plan and you can text like nuts for the monthly fee.

We use Verizon but check out each carrier's unlimited texting fees and then go from there.

Actually, recently T-Mobile changed their texting and now it's 10 cents/text to Canada. So no texting isn't considered equal by all providers. It just recently changed. T-Mobile plans are pretty cheap though, so I can't fault them and I mainly use BBM.

You should look into Boost Mobile, Metro PCS and Cricket (depending on where you live) - those are the equivalent to plans like Virgin America in Canada.

Edited September 24, 2011 by SapphireDreams

[CanuckGurl 3]

Texting is texting - I can text my Cdn niece - it doesn't cost me anymore then texting someone here in the US. Get an unlimited texting plan and you can text like nuts for the monthly fee.

We use Verizon but check out each carrier's unlimited texting fees and then go from there.

Careful - texting isn't always texting. It depends on your carrier and where you are too. I have my US carrier phone while here in Canada and it costs me $0.15 for every text I send/receive in addition to my package price of $5 for 200 txts a month with AT&T. I pretty much just have to sneeze and I get an additional charge added to the monthly bill.

It doesn't appear to be costing us anything additional for my husband to text me, but that is probably ecause he is in the US.

Good luck finding the right carrier for the right fee!

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Careful - texting isn't always texting. It depends on your carrier and where you are too. I have my US carrier phone while here in Canada and it costs me $0.15 for every text I send/receive in addition to my package price of $5 for 200 txts a month with AT&T. I pretty much just have to sneeze and I get an additional charge added to the monthly bill.

It doesn't appear to be costing us anything additional for my husband to text me, but that is probably ecause he is in the US.

Good luck finding the right carrier for the right fee!

Is this because you're roaming? Although I can text while in Canada and it's still free (we have unlimited texting due to 3 teenagers who cannot communicate without texts). I have my data set to turn off once it starts roaming too - my bill would be sky high otherwise.

Definitely check your plan.

[Shawna and James 4]

My husband and I ended up switching to blackberries for BBM because of this issue. He is with AT&T and even with the 200 text package, we were going over that so quick. His bills were sky rocketing. Having worked for T-mobile in Canada (at a call center), I knew they also charged for Canadian texts. Personally, to keep in touch with my Canadian friends now that I am in the US, we all got live profile (since not all of us have blackberries) and just IM. There is no "messaging" cost, it comes out my data plan. Or, I use facebook on my phone for those who dont have live profile. But that's just my two cents worth.

[ralyse 31]

I worked for a Canadian provider for years until I moved, so I can tell you that despite having the same country code it's entirely up to the provider if they differentiate between US and Canada for texting costs, no matter where you are. My Fiance was also with T-Mobile who changed it. Same goes in Canada where for example Rogers charges separately for texts to the US and some other providers include the US in their Texting bundle. Best bet is to call and ask specifically, and don't let things like roaming get involved, or you're liable to get misinformation as that means different things to different people in the industry and its a huge pain in the ####.

[Gypsyangel 11]

I always find this stuff so confusing and I too have worked for cell phone providers in Canada. You basically need to look at the fine print to see if there are charges to Canada. You might even, omg, have to speak to an actual person to get a straight answer (not that that always works).

I have Verizon and there was no problem for me texting to Canada with a $5/mo unlimited texting plan. The problem was with the Canadians I was texting ... they were getting charged for receiving and sending U.S. texts. For that reason, we started using BBM and there's no extra charge because it's part of my unlimited data plan. I've never heard of 'live profile' but that sounds like a good option too.

Roaming charges when you visit Canada with a U.S. phone are kinda crazy. Because I do business in Canada, I have one of those cheapo unlimited plans that I use for business when i'm there.

[Colleens 40]

We have sprint and have the unlimited plan and it costs us about $140 a month for 2 phones. It inculdes unlimited texts (to canada included) unlimited mobile to moblie calls, unlimited week nights and weekends. There are 200 daytime mins (I think) if you are calling landlines. It also includes unlimited data. Texting is also free when I am in Canada and am texting my husband in the US...this is a bit plus.

[Paul H 4]

I have sprint with unlimited texting and data and the texting to Canada is included. Jenni has Rogers and they charge for texting. She called them to get free incoming texts and 500 texts per month to U.S. package, but we go over that so her bill gets kind of crazy. We use skype and facebook as much as possible to avoid text charges. We also have an unlimited calling plan with skype to make calls between U.S. and Canada. I think it's $30 per year.

[Inky 1,111]

Vonage / verizon is what we use. Very happy with that.

[HisGirl 0]

I have the sprint unlimited plan. Its awesome and have never had a problem in the year I have had the phone.

If you have a smart phone and the person you are texting with has a smart phone, why not email back and forth? That is what I do with my sister, so that she doesn't get charged crazy fees for replying to my texts. The emails go back and forth really quickly, so its almost like texting

[CanuckGurl 3]

Is this because you're roaming? Although I can text while in Canada and it's still free (we have unlimited texting due to 3 teenagers who cannot communicate without texts). I have my data set to turn off once it starts roaming too - my bill would be sky high otherwise.

Definitely check your plan.

The data charges are different - I have data roaming turned off (love free wi-fi spots!).

[Colleens 40]

You can also send SMS messages for free through yahoo messenger (I am not 100% sure whether you get charged a incoming fee though....we never did when we used it). I used to do this with hubby when I was still in Canada. You just need to put the cell number into the persons contact card and then you can click on the "send a SMS message" icon and your message will go to their phone. Their reply will come back to your messenger.