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Telcel question: How to buy a bunch of data time?


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My wife has a smart phone that can be a wifi hot spot.  We use this phone a lot while in the U.S. and since we are going to be on an extended RV trip where it would be the only access to internet, she wants to put a bunch of internet, as opposed to voice, time on it.

She has one of those open ended pay 200 pesos per month plans that she reups on the Telcel website.  Looking there we see no way to just purchase more internet time.  We won't need more voice time.

Does anyone know how to do this?  Will she need to get a more formal plan?

 

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Check this or just head into a Telcel store to see which way is best / easiest for you:  (paquetes or just data)

Paquetes amigo sin límites - Ahora con más datos | Telcel

The data works in USA & Canada and if you set it up with a credit card, you can renew / recharge as needed since 30 days is the max term.

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Maybe not the answer you are looking for, but as an option: You can add packages while out of Mexico, if needed, by using the XOOM site.

Select Reload, then Mexico.  The money goes through PayPal. Same prices as doing it here.

Also works well Lakeside when you run out of phone time and it is raining hard outside. 😄

 

https://www.xoom.com/mexico/mobile-reloads

 

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1 minute ago, Mainecoons said:

She does re-up her phone using a credit card and the plan is sin limite.  What we are trying to figure out is how to add more data.  Don't need more voice time.

Understood. I was in the same position in the US and had another two weeks of txt and call time left. I ended up adding a 500p package just to get data. 😒

Hope someone can offer a work around, as I'd like to know too. 

 

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1 hour ago, Mainecoons said:

She does re-up her phone using a credit card and the plan is sin limite.  What we are trying to figure out is how to add more data.  Don't need more voice time.

It's simple- you go put $ on "Telcel Internet" at any Oxo. NOT a paquete, just internet. Don't know how much data you will require, but $300 gives you 5 GB for 30 days, for instance. To see tbe various options and prices, dial *133# and follow the options. Firstcluck on Amigo Internet, then there willbe options, but if you click on "mas opciones", you'll see them all.

The internet data will run in conjunction with your sin limites. So if you have 3GB on your Sin limites and buy the 300 peso internet, you'll have 8 GB.

 

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Here's what I do. Get the mi Telcel app on your phone. This is how I pay my monthly Telcel bill. I have a cheap plan where I  get my phone plus 1 gig of data monthly since I'm usually on wifi. 

When I visit my cabin in Colorado I get a compatible AT&T phone signal from a nearby tower, but there's no wifi. To get data I get on my mi Telcel app, scroll down to internet, where I'm shown how much data I have used. Just underneath this it says "I want more data". Click on arrow to the right. This page has buying more data options. Click to move to the right again. Same more data options, but on this 2nd page you're buying for just one month, not for future months. 

My last visit to Colorado I opted for the 20 gigs of data package for $599 pesos. It showed up on my phone quickly. Its good till the end of your billing period. At the end of my billing period, I got my regular bill plus 599 pesos. Easy. But my trip wasn't over, so I got 4 more gigs for the last few day. On my next bill on mi Telcel, I was charged for my regular bill plus 149 pesos. 

Hope this helps. 

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I am on a plan and it is due today. This is what comes up on my laptop at telcel.com when I sign into MiTelcel... click on "Quiero mas datos" and there are the following choices... I assume that what you choose shows up on your next bill which you can print off and pay at many locations or with a credit card?

image.thumb.png.1670dedb856ceaf80f356a70a1ca4bc7.png

image.thumb.png.1ea1ceecf14648a9e0f0a303eb0cbc05.png

 
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It is not me, it is my  wife.  I use the cheapest possible pay every two months plan on a flip phone.  It and me are "NoFi".  :D 

We will be traveling in our RV and will be boondocking a lot.  To stay in touch and check route info we will use her phone as a WiFi hot spot for my laptop computer.  We know we will need more data than she gets for 200 pesos per month.  

One of the things I'm trying to figure out is how much extra data we will need.  Is there any relationship between data usage and time on line?

Thanks to all for the information, it is helping greatly.

 

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You guys have really helped us tremendously with this.

We now know how to check data and how to add data.

We're going to use the phone for me to connect to the internet and do some of the usual stuff like checking email, looking at maps, checking RV camp sites, that sort of thing.  We'll time the connection and check the data balance before and after.

I'll come back and report the result here.

 

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I was interested at one time in seeing how much data I actually used on the internet to be able to choose a Telcel plan. ComputerGuy suggested Glasswire and I installed it on my laptop. It is ONE of the programs listed here for download... Glasswire is easy to see and use. I do not know about the others. I just used the free version of Glasswire to achieve what I wanted to know.

12 Best Software to Monitor Internet Usage on Windows 10 | MashTips

 

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Everyone,

Sorry I don't know the name of my plan. I started the plan at the phone store next to Alex's Pasta Bar. Lady named Ana runs it. You can get various data packages. I got a cheap plan for $229/month for 1 gig data and unlimited phone and texting. The plan is good for calls and data in MX, USA, and Canada. Supposedly Facebook and Twitter are free in all 3 countries and don't count against your data, but I found this not the case in the US. Originally, I believe I had to sign up for an 18 month contract. Now I'm on a month to month. I pay monthly using a US credit card and the mi Telcel app. 

Mainecoons, when in CO I didn't download or stream movies but I was constantly on my phone checking emails, Facebook, Utube, uploading photos, looking at maps, getting local info. I tore through data like I was home on wifi. I went thru 16 gigs of data in 19 days, then my billing month ended, and I had to give up the remaining 4 gigs. So I bought 4 more gigs for the remaining 5 days of my trip. 

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MC, I don't know of any cell data plan that is concerned about the 'time' that one is connected to the service. Data used is the only metric.

We do the same thing that you are anticipating.... boondocking where there is no wifi but rather tethering our 2 iPads to either an iPhone or Android. Be aware that (some/most?) US plans will 'regulate' your tethering.... your tethered speed may be slower... maybe even 3G.... and there 'may' be a limit as to how much data you can use. My T-Mobile plan is unlimited data in the US, but when tethered it drops to maybe 5 gigs free for that tether.  One can chew up a lot of data if participating in youtube, Facebook pics, down/up loading pictures, etc etc. The good news is that one can 'buy' some extra Gigs 'by the month' for this purpose. Been there done that.

Also I'm not sure what speeds/data are available from Telcel when one is roaming in the US with another cellphone partner. I know that my T-Mobile plan partners with Telcel when I am in Mexico BUT my data cap is not unlimited there like in the States but rather 5Gigs/month with TelCel. And service will not be LTE but 3G.  Maybe the reverse is different, but.....

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It would be a pain if you were using your cell phone for a GPS to navigate and it ran out of data. That is one reason that I pay for 6 months at a time on my plan.

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On 7/20/2021 at 12:01 PM, Whipstock said:

The money goes through PayPal. Same prices as doing it here.

Alert to all readers here:   I tried this option, and Xoom / Paypal charged it as a cash advance / wire transfer, instead of a purchase.      So the credit card that is linked to my Paypal account was charged a cash advance fee of $3.50 dollars, PLUS they charge interest on the amount of the payment from the time the "purchase" is made.

I would highly recommend, based on my experience, NOT to use Xoom / Paypal, although I am informed that using a debit card linked to the Paypal account, instead of a credit card, may avoid this issue.       I assume also having a balance on one's Paypal account, could also do that.       FYI so you don't get the same hit that I did......and if anyone has further info on this, please post it back here.    Thank you.

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