# Buying iphone in Canada, but moving to the US



## khaines44 (Jun 11, 2008)

Hey guys and girls. Just wondering if you could help me out here. I currently live in Saskatchewan right now, and I am planning on buyin an iphone on July 11th through Rogers Wireless. The concern I have is that I am moving to Sault Ste Marie, Michigan at the end of August. So will everything transfer ok or will I be charged roaming fees or what? Please give me any information you may know. I wanna have everything figured out by July 11th. 

Thanks


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## cap10subtext (Oct 13, 2005)

khaines44 said:


> Hey guys and girls. Just wondering if you could help me out here. I currently live in Saskatchewan right now, and I am planning on buyin an iphone on July 11th through Rogers Wireless. The concern I have is that I am moving to Sault Ste Marie, Michigan at the end of August. So will everything transfer ok or will I be charged roaming fees or what? Please give me any information you may know. I wanna have everything figured out by July 11th.
> 
> Thanks


I'd imagine it'd make far more sense to buy in the states once you move there. If you have a contract with rogers to buy the phone you'll have to break the contract early (expensive) or keep it and roam (expensive). Besides, the cell service/data plan in the states is probably going to be cheaper than it'd be in Canada.

Recommend you wait for my 2¢.


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## ruffdeezy (Mar 17, 2008)

Just wait until you move to buy it. You will have to sign a 3 year contract when you buy the phone from Rogers, then you will have to pay the early cancellation fee of 400.


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## khaines44 (Jun 11, 2008)

if i was to buy an iphone in the states though, I would have to go through AT&T, and if I wanted to text back to Canada, it would be like 25 cents a message or something outrageous like that. so thats why I would rather go through rogers so texting is cheap, because thats primarly what i will be using mostly


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## Garry (Jan 27, 2002)

khaines44 said:


> if i was to buy an iphone in the states though, I would have to go through AT&T, and if I wanted to text back to Canada, it would be like 25 cents a message or something outrageous like that. * so thats why I would rather go through rogers so texting is cheap, because thats primarly what i will be using mostly*


Why would you buy an iPhone primarily for texting? Roaming charges would kill you if you bought the phone in Canada and used it down in the states. Texting from the US to Canada on a Rogers phone is 60 cents a message. Where did you get 25 cents?


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## Majin-Vegeta (Jun 4, 2008)

Buddy, if your moving to the States just get a iphone there, and have a cheep pay as you go phone for txt back to Canada. If you get a iPhone here, and bring it down there, you are truly a moron. srry

Dont give Ted Rogers anymore money then the bastard already has. plz

I think that buddy just wants to sounds cool for some reason, saying that he wants to bring a CNDiphone to USA, whoooooooooho man thats sooooooo coooool.

Gezz

Your best bet would be to buy my unlocked iphone off me and slam a rogers chip in it. :lmao:


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## khaines44 (Jun 11, 2008)

thanks for the kind reply. i am just trying to figure out my best option. would a sim card work in this scenario at all or what?


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## Majin-Vegeta (Jun 4, 2008)

im srry im just trying to save you some money, 

Im pritty sure if you have any rogers phone in the states on a pay as you go plan you will be able to txt back to canada no problem, jsut be hard finding minute cards when your down there lol.

OR!

sigh up for a basic rogers plan for 3 years, toss the free phone they give you out the window and keep the chip. Put the chip in an unlocked iphone and voila. 

You now have a iphone (if you bring it to the States) thats only good for txting to canada, or super expencive local and long distance calls.

Oh and how to do you plan to pay for this phone if your in the states, you would have to have someone in Canada to have your bill mailed to each month.

If your going to the States for the next 3 years or more, jsut buy one down there and save your pennies for txt's back home lol

your move


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## khaines44 (Jun 11, 2008)

when I was down in Michigan this spring I took my Sasktel cell phone with me, and it never once roamed and I didnt have to pay any extra for texting or roaming charges or anything. so i was maybe thinking rogers network would be the same, and just pick up ontario towers.


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## khaines44 (Jun 11, 2008)

well other then the 75,000 dollar scholarship I am getting to play hockey, its kinda pricy haha, considering i dont have to pay for anything


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## Majin-Vegeta (Jun 4, 2008)

Now i see the problem, your a student, dude the last thing your gunna need at College is an iPhone.

What State are you going to?

I will look into the whole, "use a Rogers phone in the States for txting" thing for you. I have alot of friends/coworkers in the industry. I should have a solid answer to your issues tomorrow.

Keep Posted.


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## jamesB (Jan 28, 2007)

Majin-Vegeta said:


> What State are you going to?


Just exactly what part of 

"_The concern I have is that I am moving to Sault Ste Marie, Michigan at the end of August._"

is it you do not understand?

jb.


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## Majin-Vegeta (Jun 4, 2008)

Opps my mistake, in replying to so many posts tonight i seem to have lost track. I had forgoet that he mentioned where he was moiving to. 
tptptptp 
srry



BTW: Goodeye on the whole "where was he moving to" thing. :clap:


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## ruffdeezy (Mar 17, 2008)

Garry said:


> Why would you buy an iPhone primarily for texting? Roaming charges would kill you if you bought the phone in Canada and used it down in the states. Texting from the US to Canada on a Rogers phone is 60 cents a message. Where did you get 25 cents?


it's 25 cents for AT&T customers to send texts here, much like it will be for us to send texts to them starting in july. Roaming texts are 60 cents.


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## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

Everyone seems to have missed the fact that he is moving to *Sault Ste Marie, Michigan*, which is literally on the other side of the International Bridge from Sault Ste Marie, Ontario!! By all rights you should pick up the Rogers signal FINE in Michigan!!! You may want to consider changing your number to a Sault Ste Marie, Ontario number for receiving "local" calls and not paying long distance fees when people from back home call you!

Sault Ste Marie, Michigan/Ontario


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## khaines44 (Jun 11, 2008)

ruffdeezy said:


> it's 25 cents for AT&T customers to send texts here, much like it will be for us to send texts to them starting in july. Roaming texts are 60 cents.


so does that mean if i have a canadian number and want to send a text to my friend in the states, i have to pay 25 cents a text?


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

There's no guarantee that the 25 cents per text and non-roaming fees will continue to work in the US.

Not only that, but it is likely at some point that you'll be on a bus to somewhere, or staying elsewhere than Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

There's no point burning through your scholarship with 60 cent texts or $2.00 per minute roaming fees. Try leaving your cell phone on as you travel in the US and have someone leave you a voicemail. You'll pay roaming just for receiving the message as long as the phone is turned on--that is, as if you picked it up and answered it. Let's hope it isn't a 10 minute message.

Keep using whatever you're using for now. Get a US iPhone in July or August. Enjoy.


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## khaines44 (Jun 11, 2008)

alright, so my options now are:

1.) buy an iphone through rogers wireless and pay roaming charges when i am in the states

2.) buy an iphone throught at&t wirelss and pay 25 cents a text.


Also, how does it work when i move back to saskatchewan for the summer and have an american phone? wat would be the cheaper and smarter route? another question...do you get charged when your phone is roaming but you do not answer calls or make any calls?


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## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

khaines44 said:


> alright, so my options now are:
> 
> 1.) buy an iphone through rogers wireless and pay roaming charges when i am in the states
> 
> ...


It depends... you will most likely have no problem picking up a Rogers signal in Michigan... I have a cousin who frequently goes to Michigan and they get Rogers signal no problem... There is lots to consider... How long are you planning on staying at school in the US? (Are they gonna Draft you to the NHL next June??)

9 months out of the year you are going to be in Michigan, 3 months of the year in Saskatchewan... Those 3 months at home are going to be expensive paying Canadian Roaming rates back to AT&T...

Texts from AT&T (US) back to Canada would be more expensive than 25c...

(Personally, I would get the Canadian iPhone now, park the Sask number when you go to school, get a "local" Ontario number, and park that one in the summers when you go home and just make sure you keep your eyes on the network coverage...)


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

How do you "park" a Saskatchewan phone number?

If he does switch to an Ontario phone number, and back, both switches are free with Rogers.

Best bet is to get the US iPhone, unlock it, use while in the US; get a Canadian Pay as you Go SIM card for the 3 months/year when in Canada to use in the US iPhone.




G-Mo said:


> It depends... you will most likely have no problem picking up a Rogers signal in Michigan... I have a cousin who frequently goes to Michigan and they get Rogers signal no problem... There is lots to consider... How long are you planning on staying at school in the US? (Are they gonna Draft you to the NHL next June??)
> 
> 9 months out of the year you are going to be in Michigan, 3 months of the year in Saskatchewan... Those 3 months at home are going to be expensive paying Canadian Roaming rates back to AT&T...
> 
> ...


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## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

HowEver said:


> How do you "park" a Saskatchewan phone number?
> 
> If he does switch to an Ontario phone number, and back, both switches are free with Rogers.


Parking a number is keeping/maintaining a phone number but disabling service too it...


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## cap10subtext (Oct 13, 2005)

khaines44 said:


> alright, so my options now are:
> 
> 1.) buy an iphone through rogers wireless and pay roaming charges when i am in the states
> 
> ...


Option 3.) 



> Save with an International Long Distance Texting package! Send text messages from the U.S. to more than 140 countries at a savings of up to 50%. With an AT&T MEdia bundle or Messaging package, messages received from abroad are applied towards that package’s messaging allowance.


International Text, Picture & Video Messaging | Wireless from AT&T, formerly Cingular


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

G-Mo said:


> Parking a number is keeping/maintaining a phone number but disabling service too it...


I don't think this is possible.


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## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

HowEver said:


> I don't think this is possible.


It is!! -- My sister does it every year! She works half the year in Canada and half in New Zealand and "parks" her Canadian number while she is away... has done it for 3 or 4 years now (Roger, btw!)...

(She has an NZ pay as you go, because you have 12 months from the time you last top up to use the credit before it expires, unlike the 1 month here... so, she just keeps the SIM and puts it back in when she gets back to NZ.)


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## khaines44 (Jun 11, 2008)

i have talked to a few of my friends from sask, that also play hockey down there, and they said they keep their canadian phone and sign up to a north american plan, and dont get charged roaming fees. so i think my best bet is to get the canadian phone, and sign up for a north american plan and then when i move back to sask in the summer i can just switch back to local plan or whatever. do you think if i called someone at rogers they could give me some answers or what? thanks for all your guys help btw.


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## khaines44 (Jun 11, 2008)

cap10subtext said:


> Option 3.)
> 
> 
> 
> International Text, Picture & Video Messaging | Wireless from AT&T, formerly Cingular



that plan is a rip off. it only allows you like 100 text messages in a month. on average i probably send 50 a day.


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## cap10subtext (Oct 13, 2005)

You're just going to have to figure out how much you use the phone, because that many text messages a day internationally from Rogers will be expensive:



> While roaming in the U.S. text messages are 60¢/ per message sent,


Rogers Communications - Wireless, Digital Cable TV, Hi-Speed Internet, Home Phone

50/day, so with AT&T you'll be paying something like $375 a month @25¢ per message (minus 2 days for the free 100 messages).

Rogers, it'll be $900.

Rogers.com - International Text Messaging

Will you use the phone roaming when you are back enough to rack up $525/month? If so, then go with Rogers.


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## khaines44 (Jun 11, 2008)

hey guys, tell me if this would work. if i bought an iphone from the apple store in the us and pay full price, and did a pay as you go plan through at&t, and then when i moved back home from michigan i could unlock the phone and use a rogers sim card and do pay as you go. also, the lady i talked to from rogers said theres gonna be a 8gb and 40gb version. any other solutions? does anyone know if there is rogers coverage in northern michigan. i know when i went down there in spring with my sasktel phone it didnt roam. thanks


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## beachboy_ce (Jun 25, 2007)

There will be a 8GB and 16GB version. Your best bet is to buy a US iPhone, unlock it and go pay-as-you-go in Canada for the summer. Good luck and congrats...Lake Superior St is a good school.


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## khaines44 (Jun 11, 2008)

okay, so I think I might have a solution here folks. I just called to the Rogers Wireless store in Sault Ste Marie, Canada and asked them a couple questions. The lady said that she picks up a Rogers tower when she is over in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan most of the time. She also said if i get charged any roaming fees they are classed as accidental roaming fees and I will get a credit back to my account. She said as long as I have my bills sent to a canadian address, i can get credit back for the accidental roaming fees. So I guess i can buy an iphone through rogers and take it down there, and still pick up a canadian tower in the SOo, and just have to watch if I enter a roaming area or not. Do you guys think this all makes sense? Oh ya, and I would just sign up with my sasakatchewan address and have a sask number, but when I move down there, I could change my number to a Sault Ste Marie number.


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## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

khaines44 said:


> okay, so I think I might have a solution here folks. I just called to the Rogers Wireless store in Sault Ste Marie, Canada and asked them a couple questions. The lady said that she picks up a Rogers tower when she is over in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan most of the time. She also said if i get charged any roaming fees they are classed as accidental roaming fees and I will get a credit back to my account. She said as long as I have my bills sent to a canadian address, i can get credit back for the accidental roaming fees. So I guess i can buy an iphone through rogers and take it down there, and still pick up a canadian tower in the SOo, and just have to watch if I enter a roaming area or not. Do you guys think this all makes sense? Oh ya, and I would just sign up with my sasakatchewan address and have a sask number, but when I move down there, I could change my number to a Sault Ste Marie number.


Makes sense to me!

(Just make sure that the Canadian address doesn't HAVE to be a Sault Ste Marie address!)


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

beachboy_ce said:


> There will be a 8GB and 16GB version. Your best bet is to buy a US iPhone, unlock it and go pay-as-you-go in Canada for the summer. Good luck and congrats...Lake Superior St is a good school.


I wish I'd said that. Oh, wait,



HowEver said:


> Best bet is to get the US iPhone, unlock it, use while in the US; get a Canadian Pay as you Go SIM card for the 3 months/year when in Canada to use in the US iPhone.


http://www.ehmac.ca/685596-post20.html


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Changing to a Sault Ste. Marie number is possible, if you mean the Soo, Canada, of course. And it's free (see above).

As for the roaming fees always being credited back, that may only work a few times. And what if you travel at all in the US? That's when you really want that phone to work, and not cost $2 per minute/60 cents per text.



khaines44 said:


> okay, so I think I might have a solution here folks. I just called to the Rogers Wireless store in Sault Ste Marie, Canada and asked them a couple questions. The lady said that she picks up a Rogers tower when she is over in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan most of the time. She also said if i get charged any roaming fees they are classed as accidental roaming fees and I will get a credit back to my account. She said as long as I have my bills sent to a canadian address, i can get credit back for the accidental roaming fees. So I guess i can buy an iphone through rogers and take it down there, and still pick up a canadian tower in the SOo, and just have to watch if I enter a roaming area or not. Do you guys think this all makes sense? Oh ya, and I would just sign up with my sasakatchewan address and have a sask number, but when I move down there, I could change my number to a Sault Ste Marie number.


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