Mexico City - Post Report Question and Answers
Do you have any recommendations regarding mobile phones? Did you keep your home-country plan or use a local provider?
Google Fi works fine. Some use local providers too. - Jul 2023
We’ve gone with pay as you go telcel and been happy. US aAT&T numbers work too. - Apr 2021
Once again, Mexico's geographic proximity makes life easier. I am able to keep my US phone on a North America plan that's only slightly more expensive than my US-only plan. Others have been very happy with their cell phone service. - May 2020
We brought and unlocked Iphone and bought sim cards on a Mexico AT&T plan for me. My husband uses his work cell phone. Many people use their US numbers and phone carriers as well. - Apr 2019
You can do either. - Apr 2019
A lot of people keep their local number. Make sure you get What's App on your phone: you can't survive here without it. - May 2017
If you're at the US Embassy you'll get an official phone, and many people have a personal phone as well. The Embassy uses Telcel. Many people use Telcel's pay as you go plan for personal phones, but AT&T is becoming increasingly popular as well. Data is cheap and relatively fast on smartphones. You can use Whatsapp, FaceBook and some other social media sites for free, not charged against your data quotient. - Sep 2016
I took Telcel's "Amigo" pre-paid kit, and it works fine. I'm getting extra credit for recharging it every time if it's at least 100 pesos. - Jun 2016
I use T-Mobile and have retained my 202 phone number. Some folks get scared by the US digits, though, and won't call you. - May 2016
I recommend bringing your own unlocked phone and getting the AT&T plan here which can call to US, Canada and Mexico as well as be used in US, Canada and Mexico. Unlimited minutes and some data for about $10 a month. - May 2016
We have pay as you go with TelCel on a dual band, the One Plus. It works fine and is less expensive than a plan, but it does keep our data use down. - May 2016
Easy to get a pay-as you go plan here with data. You can recharge your minutes at most supermarkets. I spend about 500 (less than 40 bucks) every 6-8 weeks for talk and data. - Oct 2014
Any unlocked phone will do. I have a pay-as-you-go plan with MovieStar and it's about 300 pesos a month for calls, text & data. I rarely run out of minutes or data during that month. - Aug 2014
I used Telcel and it was great. Never had a problem. - Apr 2014
Telcel phones are cheap but you can also buy expensive ones. It depends on your preference. - Mar 2014
Unlock yours before you get here, then plan on getting robbed if you go with a cell phone plan. I didn't get a data plan, which was fine, and just recharged my SIM card at the local 7-11s when I ran out. 100 pesos (US$8) would last me a month, and even came with 1GB of data, so I could check maps if I were traveling. Cheaper this way, I think, though I always ran out of minutes when I was on the road - so that was the trade-off. - Dec 2013
No preferences. Ample offerrings. - Jul 2013
There are many service providers and packages to choose from. You can pretty much get everything you need here! - Jan 2013
Many people have iPhone or Blackberry. We used Telcel. - May 2012
Telmex and Nextel are the two options. Either one is a better deal than a land-line. Telmex tends to cost a bit more and have better coverage outside the major cities. Nextel works fine in Mexico City and has better international coverage. - Apr 2011
Get a local no-plan cell from Telcel. All you do is buy cards as you go. And at the end of your time in Mexico, you can pass along or sell the phone to someone else. Most US phone plans now have a North America plan available, as well. - Apr 2010
TelCel is the best. 2 more: nextel and MovieStar. - Feb 2010
We bought a basic, pay-as-you-go phone phone. In terms of phone service, Mexico is basically a monopoly, so it's more expensive than you would expect. - Jan 2010
Nokia, LG, Motorola...all seem to be common favorites. I"ve used them all. - Nov 2008
For our kids, we bought Amigo phones at Sanbornes for about US$30. They add minutes that are good for 2 months, and can be added in US$10 increments. You can also sign up for a plan, but we've made-do with this pay-as-you-go situation. If you have a fancy U.S. phone, you can bring it here and just change the SIM card, then sign up for a contract. - Oct 2008
