Vacation to the USA from UK - 4G / LTE?

[f4780y]

OK my American friends. I will be taking my vacation this year in the cities of Boston and Washington DC. This will be my first trip to the States since the iPad3 was released, and as such I am very keen to try out 4G / LTE when I get there. It may be the only chance my iPad3 ever has to use its 4G capabilities! :O

Is it possible to get short term / pay-as-you-go LTE data SIM cards over there?
If so, point me in the direction of a website please?

Any and all feedback much appreciated

 

[KevinJS]

Can't help with the SIM card but I'll offer this piece of advice. Take your original receipt so that you don't wind up doing battle with UK Customs on your return. Same applies, of course, to any expensive equipment you will be temporarily exporting.

Sent from my iPad 4 HD mini

 

[Mickey330]

OK my American friends. I will be taking my vacation this year in the cities of Boston and Washington DC. This will be my first trip to the States since the iPad3 was released, and as such I am very keen to try out 4G / LTE when I get there. It may be the only chance my iPad3 ever has to use its 4G capabilities! :O

Is it possible to get short term / pay-as-you-go LTE data SIM cards over there?
If so, point me in the direction of a website please?

Any and all feedback much appreciated

All we have over here are two carriers that offer a data plan for the iPad: AT&T and Verizon. They are pay-as-you-go plans, which operate on a monthly basis (but will continue unless you cancel them).

The AT&T plans are $14.99 (USD) /month for 250 MB of data and $25/month for 2GB. Verizon is $20 for 1GB, $30 for 2GB and $50 for 5GB. But, aren't the iPads sold overseas the AT&T version - as in, you can't use Verizon in them? In that case, you can only USE AT&T...

Again, once you buy them for the month, you can cancel them right away (the 30 days will be good even if you cancel the plan right after starting it).

As far as I understand it, you can walk into any AT&T store (and, I assume, Verizon) and they will give you a SIM card. You put the card in the iPad, activate via the Settings app and you are off and running.

However.

The thing that is going to catch you (and any other visitor to the USA) up is the requirement to activate the plan using a USA credit card (with a USA billing address). I don't know why, but everything I read states you have to use a USA card with these two carriers. It won't work with a non-USA account.

You might be able to get a per-paid credit card (most drugstores or grocery stores have them - or Walmart, even). However, I believe you have to use a social security number to activate the card.

Please note that I'm typing all this with the sure and certain conviction that I could well be mistaken. Wrong, even! So, please, if anyone has first hand knowledge, please chime in. I won't mind being corrected.

Marilyn

P.S. To add to Kevin's excellent advice, make sure to bring a converter for your electric devices. We have 110 voltage stuff and you'll need adapters. And, they are very hard to find here. So, bring all your adapters with...

 

[MikesTooLz]

You will need to make two stops,
#1 any local shop that sells pre-paid credit cards. any local drug store or super market should sell them.
#2 an ATT shop to get a simcard. The simcard will cost you, i forget the exact price but its somewhere between $10-$20

activate the simcard on your device with your prepaid credit card and use any info for the address. If you are staying at a hotel, just put in the hotel address when activating the simcard.

another thing is that ATT and Verizon really don't have LTE in most places. Here in Miami, FL even where they do have it, its slow. it all depends on your location and when LTE network they have in that area(if they have LTE at all)

 

[Mickey330]

Unfortunately, from what I've read further on this - to activate a U.S. pre-paid credit card you need a U.S. Social Security Number. This is due to Federal laws on money laundering and the passing of the U.S Patriot Act law. No more anonymous credit cards.

So, I guess it's time to pressure the carriers to allow holders of [perfectly good] foreign credit cards to be able to use them to activate 3G/4G in the states...

Marilyn

 

[f4780y]

Thanks y'all. I've got all the info I need. I'm sure I'll be able to work something out with my friends over there so I can get a pre-paid CC and a SIM waiting for me when I arrive!

 

[Kaykaykay]

If you forget your converter, I found several at Best Buy -- had to take a UK friend who forgot hers. I've also seen Apple converter sets (for world travel) at Fry's.

 

[skarpsill]

I had no problems with my Swedish credit card buying a AT&T plan in NYC. But what's with the "starvation plan" of 2GB? I have found unlimited plans in Sweden and the UK for about $25/month (prepaid, no contract needed).

 

[Kaykaykay]

I had no problems with my Swedish credit card buying a AT&T plan in NYC. But what's with the "starvation plan" of 2GB? I have found unlimited plans in Sweden and the UK for about $25/month (prepaid, no contract needed).

I love cheaper unlimited plans, which I use while traveling, but the U.S. is a huge country compared with places like the UK and Sweden, with many vast stretches with low density, and carrier infrastructure costs a great deal more, for starters. That (among other reasons, including political ones that we can't discuss on this forum) limits competition.

I travel a lot, including flights to many U.S. cities, and cross-country road trips, and am pleased by the coverage I get across the U.S. as a whole.

AT&T originally offered a $30 unlimited plan for iPad in the U.S., no contract, but cut it off soon after. Luckily, I signed up for that and have continued it nonstop for two years+, and I'm still on that plan, unthrottled so far.