rudyn1
4/2/2017 16:03 EST
I'm planning 45 days travel in Panama this summer to evaluate different cities where we might live for a year. Current US cellphone providers Verizon and Sprint are "dodgy" about buying a new cellphone here and then transferring it to Panama service. Any suggestions about buying a cheap cellphone for the 45 day visit--cost, usefulness throughout Panama, etc.?
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ranadelnorte
4/2/2017 16:59 EST
You can buy a cheapie Samsung for $20 that uses a prepaid card ($5 each) from your choice of providers, BUT it won't be a smartphone, so no photos, or apps such as Waze. A cheapie smartphone by Huawei or Samsung will set you back $100-$130, and also can be used with a prepaid card. Depends on how and why you want to use the phone, but it is always handy to have one in my opinion. Another option is to have your home phone "unlocked", then buy a new SIM card in Panama from a local provider. Consensus is that MasMovil is the provider with best coverage across the country.
Good luck!
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tombseekers
4/2/2017 17:04 EST
Get your smartphone unlocked before you get here. You will want apps - WAZE, Whatsapp and others. You will use it when you come here for an extended time. Then you just need a chip - Claro, MovieStar etc and buy more time when you need it. Otherwise, just get a cheap phone ($20-25) here and use the wifi function on your US phone.
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Panama2017
4/2/2017 17:28 EST
Again, it depends on why you need a phone. Sprint offers a free option to have free unlimites data and texts with calls at reduced rate. But if you need a local Panana number then this doesn't help.
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SunsetSteve
4/2/2017 18:39 EST
IMO there is only one sensible option (because it's what I do). Call your provider and arrange to unlock your phone before leaving the US. As soon as you arrive in Panama visit just about any shop with an open door an for about $15 buy a local SIM card with Claro or Movistar and load it with date and phone. You get a local phone number and plenty of date, access to the net etc. Also - before leaving the US, download the free Whatsapp to your phone and have family and friends in the US do the same. Having done the foregoing you will have peace of mind knowing you can communicate freely with no chance of your ISP nailing you with overage fees.
Just do it.
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namawi7
4/4/2017 15:52 EST
WHY NOT BUY A CHEAP ONE THERE? I AM GOING DOWN IN MAY TO LOOK ABOUT HOUSING...RETIRING IN DECEMBER AND MAKING MY WAY BACK TO PANAMA BY MARCH 2018.
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expatdude
4/4/2017 16:24 EST
Plaza Mirage has a great Asian cell phone shop with all phones available and unlocked, I have fixed my wifes iPhone screen and daughters ipad screen a few times there, they are great. I am sure they also have prepaid cell phone chips.
When I first moved here I went and got a prepaid cell phone chip at Multiplaza mall (all cell phone companies are there on the same floor as the food court but on the other end), and they gave me the chip and I installed it all there and it worked for me at the time.
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rudyn1
4/5/2017 12:26 EST
Wow! The Expat Forum really is "a community." I've received at least a dozen responses and am sorting through them to determine what fits best for our circumstances. I am grateful for the many helpful ideas as well as the diversity of answers. Muchas Gracias [I'll skip the California version of that phrase....:)]
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rudyn1
4/5/2017 12:30 EST
Hmmm...I see possibilities here I'd not thought about. It could be buying a cheapie and leaving another phone on the US network may be our best option.
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rudyn1
4/5/2017 12:32 EST
Thanks. I agree with you. But neither Sprint nor Verizon, our existing providers, seem inclined to sell me a new phone for cash and then unlock it.
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rudyn1
4/5/2017 12:38 EST
Great suggestion. We plan to be in David early July after spending a couple weeks in a couple provinces closer to Panama City.
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rudyn1
4/5/2017 12:38 EST
Great suggestion. We plan to be in David early July after spending a couple weeks in a couple provinces closer to Panama City.
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maxiandrews
4/5/2017 12:41 EST
Another option is to buy a new phone for use when in Panamá. Because our iPhone couldn't be used here we purchased an LG5 smartphone with a Panamá number, prepaid voice, and data for $135. Recharging has been easy.
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ChiriquiDebbie
4/5/2017 12:50 EST
You won't be able to unlock a Verizon phone because it's on a different system (CDMA). Phones that use SIM cards are on GSM and can be unlocked, then you just slip in a new SIM card when you travel. I first bought a $20 phone with SIM card and purchased minutes as I went. Easy. A cheap smart phone can be found for about $50 in Panama (BLU is one brand I know of). They don't use 2 years commitment plans here, it's all pay as you go.
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rudyn1
4/5/2017 13:21 EST
May I ask why your iPhone wouldn't work in Panama? My partner's bringing her iPhone 4--unless I'm successful in buying the 7+ and getting the provider to unlock it.
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JK1502
4/5/2017 13:57 EST
You can buy unlocked iPhones directly from Apple. My first one I bought in the states, and my 2nd one I bought on-line from Apple and had shipped via MBE. The unlocked phones do cost more than those anchored to a cell phone company, however. If your current iPhone is attached to Verizon or most other popular cell service providers, it will not work here in Panama unless they unlock it for you.....and good luck with that!
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golric
4/5/2017 14:33 EST
This is one of the things I love about Pty. The freedom to pick your celphone provider or just buy a card in any supermarket.
In the US companies take advantage. I know of a friend who had to call customer service several times, also walk into the store to be able to port her number to another company. Perhaps Movistar should go to US
or Mas Movil.
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lismore11
4/5/2017 15:19 EST
Actually Verizon iphones 5 and later are unlocked and can be used in Panama. I successfully swapped out SIM cards on my iphone 5 without any problems.
Here is a concise explanation from cnet about Verizon iphones.
Verizon 4G LTE devices are unlocked out of the box
One thing to note here in terms of software phone locks is that all Verizon 4G LTE smartphones come unlocked out of the box. The reason why is that the spectrum Verizon is using to build its 4G LTE network had restrictions put on it by the Federal Communications Commission, which required the company to allow "open access" to the network. So as part of this provision, Verizon has decided not to lock those devices. That said, its 3G devices are locked.
So what does this mean for the average consumer? Let's take the iPhone 5 as an example. It's a 4G LTE device. A Verizon version of this phone comes unlocked out of the box. There aren't special codes that need to be entered in order to use it on another carrier's network. But because of the spectrum differences I mentioned above, a Verizon iPhone 5 won't operate on AT&T's LTE network. It will operate on AT&T's 3G network, which is based on GSM. So this means you can use the Verizon iPhone on AT&T, but you won't get the fastest Internet speeds on it.
The same is true if you take the Verizon iPhone 5 to Europe. You can swap out the SIM card and put in another carrier's SIM card, but the device will operate only on a GSM-based 3G network. And it won't operate on a faster LTE network.
And even though the phone is unlocked and uses the same CDMA technology and some of the same radio frequency channels as Sprint, an unlocked iPhone 5 won't operate on Sprint
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rudyn1
4/6/2017 10:08 EST
namawi7:
I'm the fellow who'd initiated the inquiry about cell phones in Panama to which you replied on 4/4/2017 3:52 PM. You wrote, in part, "GOING DOWN IN MAY TO LOOK ABOUT HOUSING...RETIRING IN DECEMBER AND MAKING MY WAY BACK TO PANAMA BY MARCH 2018. Regret my private email to you caused concern about my identity. Please ignore my message. It was merely curiosity. Rudy Neufeld [rudyn1] from California.
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