T-Mobile USA prepaid mobile phone SIM card with USD$3.34 credit

The T-Mobile USA SIM card costs $29, regardless of which rate plan you choose.
Some of T-Mobile's prepaid plans have a monthly charge, paid for by adding credit to your SIM. The cost of calls depends on which rate plan you choose.
You can add credit either by buying top-up vouchers (available from the bottom of the page), by calling us on 03 5678 7343 or by buying T-Mobile refill vouchers from convenience stores, supermarkets, pharmacies and electronics stores in the USA

The T-Mobile USA SIM card offers:

• Your choice of prepaid plan (all the plans listed here are prepaid plans with no contract)
• Includes $3.34 credit
• Includes a US mobile phone number that you can give to friends and family or use to divert your home phone to before you travel
• Pre-activated on a T-Mobile prepaid plan of your choice
  

This SIM card is preactivated so all you need to do is add credit and put it in an unlocked tri-band or quad-band phone.

Please read all the information on this page as it is important to understand how the T-Mobile service works.

The pricing structure for mobile plans in the USA is different to what you are used to in Australia and there are many different rate plans to choose from.

Please pay attention to the grey text boxes (like this one), as these highlight important points about the T-Mobile service that many customers have questions about.

T-Mobile USA has a choice of prepaid rate plans. The cost of your calls will depend on which rate plan you choose.

Please note that all the T-Mobile rate plans on this page are prepaid plans. There are no contracts to sign and no minimum term to commit to. All of these plans are suitable if you're visiting the USA for a few days or if you are staying long term.

There are three types of prepaid rate plans:

Following is more information about the different rate plans:

Monthly prepaid plans

T-Mobile's Monthly plans include a minimum monthly charge, however these plans feature a lot of included value and can be the best option if you are travelling for three weeks or longer and need to make a lot of international calls.

Important note about 3G/4G data: T-Mobile's 3G/4G data network operates on the non-standard AWS 1700MHz band and very few phones sold in Australia are compatible with this band. All your data will be at the slower EDGE speed on T-Mobile's 2G network if your phone is not compatible with this band.

T-Mobile also has several monthly prepaid rate plans that give you a larger allowance of faster data on T-Mobile's 3G/4G network, however you need to have a compatible phone such as the Nokia N8, Nokia N9, Nokia E6, Nokia E7 or Samsung Google Nexus S to take advantage faster internet on your phone. Please call us to enquire about having your service set up on one of these plans if you have one of these phones.

More information about mobile phones that are compatible with T-Mobile's 3G/4G AWS 1700 MHz network.

It is pointless to pay for a High Speed data plan if your phone is not compatible with this band as non-compatible phones will only download data at EDGE speeds on T-Mobile's 2G network. The Apple iPhone will NOT work at 3G/4G speeds on T-Mobile's network. If you have an Apple iPhone you should go on either the Unlimited Talk, Text & Web plan or one of the Pay By The Day plans as it is a waste of money to pay for one of the higher plans when you phone will not support the faster data speeds that these plans offer.

Add-on features

These plans allow you to add on features that include BlackBerry data and unlimited calls to landlines in 56 countries (including Australia) and discounted calls to mobile phones outside the USA.

Important note about add-on features:. These features can only be added to T-Mobile's monthly Unlimited Talk, Text & Web and Unlimited Talk, Text & High Speed Internet plans. They can not be added to Pay As You Go or Pay By The Day plans or monthly plans with a monthly cost of USD $30 or less.

How to pay for your monthly rate plan

These T-Mobile rate plans are prepaid plans with a minimum monthly fee. This fee is paid by adding prepaid credit to your T-Mobile service by buying refill cards at convenience stores (like 7-Eleven), discount department stores (like Target and Walmart), electronics shops (like Best Buy and RadioShack), pharmacies (like CVS and Walgreens), by buying top-up credit from us (see the bottom of this page) or by topping up online at www.buymobilecredit.com. So you buy your SIM card from us for $29, then you add enough credit to cover the cost of your plan.

Your SIM card comes with $3.34 starter credit. You will need to add enough credit to cover the monthly cost of your plan before you can start using your service. For any of the above plans to become active you will need to have enough credit on your account to cover the monthly cost of that plan. You will also need to ensure that you have additional credit in your account to cover any calls to text messages not included in the monthly plan. For example, if you are on the $50/month Unlimited Talk, Text and Web plan and top-up with $50 credit you will have $53.44 credit (the $50 plus the $3.44 that came with the SIM) which will cover the occasional international text message (not included in this plan). T-Mobile will deduct the $50 to pay for 30 days access on this plan at the beginning, leaving you with only $3.44 credit in your account.

You will need to add additional credit (over and above the monthly cost of your rate plan) if you want to make any calls that are not included as a free call in your plan.

How long is my monthly service valid for?

Your monthly rate plan is good for 30 days starting from when you add credit to your account. You will remain on this plan as long as you have sufficient credit to pay for another month's service. If there is not enough credit remaining in your prepaid balance your plan will change to the Pay As You Go plan and your account will be terminated 90 days from when you last added credit.

What's the most popular of T-Mobile's monthly plans?

The most popular of T-Mobile's monthly plans is the Unlimited Talk, Text & Web plan with the Unlimited International feature. Choosing this option will give you unlimited calls to mobile phones and landlines in the USA, unlimited text messages to phones in the USA, unlimited calls to landlines in 56 other countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK and unlimited data at EDGE speeds on T-Mobile's 2G network. The monthly fee for Unlimited Talk, Text & Web plan with the Unlimited International feature is USD $60. To get started it will cost you $98 ($29 for the SIM card, plus $69 for USD $60 credit if you want to buy the credit from us).

Pay By The Day plans

T-Mobile's Pay By The Day plans are easy-to-understand plans that offer great value. There is a monthly charge of $1-3 on the days you use your phone, which gives you generous included value with unlimited data on the $2/day and $3/day plans.

The $2/day plan is highly recommended for most travellers, however you are advised to also sign up for the Rebtel service to get cheaper international calls from your mobile.

Important note about 3G/4G data: T-Mobile's 3G/4G data network operates on the non-standard AWS 1700MHz band and very few phones sold in Australia are compatible with this band. All your data will be at the slower EDGE speed on T-Mobile's 2G network if your phone is not compatible with this band.

T-Mobile's $3/day Unlimited Talk, Text & Web Pay By The Day rate plan gives you faster data on T-Mobile's 3G/4G network, however you need to have a compatible phone such as the Nokia N8, Nokia N9, Nokia E6, Nokia E7 or Samsung Google Nexus S to take advantage faster internet on your phone.

More information about mobile phones that are compatible with T-Mobile's 3G/4G AWS 1700 MHz network.

It is pointless to pay for the $3/day plan if your phone is not compatible with this band as non-compatible phones will only download data at EDGE speeds on T-Mobile's 2G network. The Apple iPhone will NOT work at 3G/4G speeds on T-Mobile's network. If you have an Apple iPhone you should go on $2/day plan as it is a waste of money to pay for the higher plans when you phone will not support the faster data speeds that this plan offers.

Text messages sent to phones outside the USA cost 10c to send and 10c to receive. MMS picture messages sent to phones outside the USA cost 25c to send and 25c to receive.

SMS and MMS messages sent to non-US phones that are roaming in the US are treated as international text/picture messages.

Cheaper international calls on the Pay By The Day plan

Important note about international calls on T-Mobile's Pay By The Day plans. International calls can be expensive on T-Mobile's Pay By The Day plans (for instance it costs up to $1.59/minute to phone home to Australia). However, you can still make cheap calls home by combining the Pay By The Day plan with the Rebtel service. See the information further down this page for more information about the Rebtel service.

How long is my Pay By The Day service valid for?

Your Pay By The Day rate plan is good for 90 days from the date that credit was last added to your account (it is valid for 365 days if your last top-up was $100 or more).

Pay As You Go plans

T-Mobile's Pay As You Go plans are not as good value as their monthly or Pay By The Day prepaid plans, but they have a long credit validity period of 90 days (365 days if you last topped up with $100). These plans are ideal for an extra phone that you don't plan on using very often and the longer expiry date is ideal for frequent travellers who visit the United States once or twice a year. Calls costs on this plan vary according to the value of your credit top-up. It is generally an expensive option if your last refill was $10 or $30, but becomes more affordable when you top up $50 or more.

Please note T-Mobile uses the name Pay As You Go to refer to their traditional prepaid plans that don't require any minimum monthly spend. All T-Mobile's rate plans on this page: T-Mobile's monthly prepaid plans, Pay By The Day and Pay As You Go plans are prepaid plans with no contract, no credit check and minimum commitment.

T-Mobile do not have your credit card details and prepaid credit can only be added to your T-Mobile service by buying refill cards at convenience stores (like 7-Eleven), discount department stores (like Target and Walmart), electronics shops (like Best Buy and RadioShack), pharmacies (like CVS and Walgreens); by buying top-up credit from us (see the bottom of this page) or by topping up online at www.buymobilecredit.com.

This sounds too confusing. Can I just choose from your two most popular rate plans?

Sure. Our two most popular rate plans are the monthly Unlimited Talk, Text & Web plan with the Unlimited International feature (monthly cost USD $60) and the Pay By The Day Unlimited Talk, Text & 2G Web plan (daily cost USD $2). 95% of our customers find that one of these two rate plans is the best option for them.

Here's a quick overview of these two plans. We have also included call costs for the Pay By The Day plan combined with the Rebtel international service to illustrate that you can still make cheap international calls on the Pay By The Day plan.

You will need to sign up for the Rebtel service to qualify for the cheaper international calls shown in the last column of the above table. Keep on reading and you'll find more information about how the Rebtel service can save you money on your international calls.

What is my total cost to get started?

When you buy a T-Mobile USA SIM card from us, you pay $29 for the SIM card which includes USD $3.44 credit.

If you are on a monthly plan you will then need to pay for more credit so there is enough credit to cover the cost of your monthly plan before you are able to use your service. For instance if you choose the Unlimited Talk, Text & Web plan with the International Unlimited Talk & Text add-on feature (total cost $60 for 30 days), you will need to add $60 credit before your service becomes active. This means that it will cost you around $98 (AUD $29 for the SIM plus AUD $69 for USD $60 credit to cover the cost of the $60 monthly plan).

If you are on the Pay By The Day or the Pay As You Go plan, the included $3.34 will be enough to get you started. however you won't be able to talk for very long with this starter credt and you will need to by a refill card from a convenience store during your first day in the USA so you can add more credit to continue using your service. If you are on one of these plans you only need to pay us the $29 for the SIM card and then you can sort out your credit when you arrive in the United States.

Please note: that sales tax is added to the cost of a refill voucher in many parts of the USA and some websites charge a small service fee (usually $2-5 per refill).

Switching plans

Changing plans is very easy using the T-Mobile customer service number, on 611 from your mobile or 1 877 778 2106 from any other phone. You can do this via an automated service, or even speak to a real customer representative! If you prefer, we can do this for you. Simply call us in Australia on 03 5678 7343 or in the USA on 310 933 6222.

You can switch plans as often as you like, as long as there is enough credit on your phone to change to the plan you wish to. However you may forfeit unused value if you switch from one of T-Mobile's monthly plans during the 30 days that your plan is valid for.

Is there a way to get cheaper international calls when using my T-Mobile USA SIM?

If you're on one of T-Mobile's monthly plans with a monthly charge of $50 or higher, then simply add the Unlimited International feature to your plan to take advantage of free calls to landlines in 56 countries plus discounted calls to mobile phones outside the USA. This is the easiest option, however it doesn't suit everyone particularly if you're only visiting the US for a week or so and don't want to pay for a whole month.

Using Rebtel to make cheaper international calls from any T-Mobile prepaid plan

If most of your international calls are to a handful of numbers, you can significantly reduce the cost of international calls with the Rebtel service. Rebtel works by assigning a local US number to each of the regular international numbers you call, then you simply call this local number and your call is diverted to the international number. You are charged for a national call by T-Mobile and the international portion of the call is paid to Rebtel at USD 2’ per minute to Australian landlines and USD 16’ per minute to Australian mobiles. Check the Rebtel website for rates to other countries.

It only takes around five to 10 minutes to set up a Rebtel account online, however you need to access the internet as soon as you arrive in the US to complete the set up process as Rebtel sends you a text message with your activation code before asigning local US numbers to your international phone numbers. Once it is set up, however, it is a very easy system especially if you save your Rebtel numbers to your phone's address book.

To get these special Rebtel international rates, click here to sign up for a Rebtel account

If you have a smart phone that can run the Rebtel app (such as Android phones, BlackBerry devices and the Apple iPhone), then this is another way that you can use Rebtel to make cheap international calls. The advantage of making international calls using the Rebtel app is that you can dial directly from the app without first setting up your contacts.

Coverage

The T-Mobile GSM mobile network offers good coverage in most areas of the United States including Hawaii and even Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. You can check coverage on the T-Mobile website.

T-Mobile has the largest 1900 Mhz GSM network in the United States and is the best option if you have a tri-band phone, but you will get better coverage if you have a quadband phone that also supports the 850 MHz GSM band.

Please note that there are some areas of the United States where T-Mobile uses the networks of partner networks, which range from AT&T to smaller regional operators. These networks may run on the 850 MHz GSM band. In these cases you would need a quad band phone compatible with both the 850 MHz and 1900 MHz frequencies. This mostly impacts visitors to rural areas including large parts of Alaska as well as Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Please note that data is not available in all of T-Mobile's coverage area and there is no data coverage when roaming onto T-Mobile's partner networks.

How do I top up my credit?

There are several ways to buy refill vouchers and top up your T-Mobile SIM.

• You can buy the T-Mobile credit from us online and add this credit to your T-Mobile account yourself before travelling. Instructions on adding credit are included with your voucher. Go to the bottom of this page to select your refill voucher.
• You can buy online from www.buymobilecredit.com. This is the cheapest option but you can only add $20 on your first transaction and then you have to wait at least 48 hours before buying additional credit (that's because they need to check that your credit card is OK before they will accept further transactions on your card). As long as you add as least $20 credit three days before your trip, you are able to add the remainder online before you travel. This is the cheapest way to buy credit online (they are based in Ireland so they don't need to include GST or sales tax in the price), they add the credit directly to your T-Mobile number and they let you pay online with your Australian credit card.
• You can phone us just before you travel and buy credit over the phone, which will be added directly to your T-Mobile number.
• You can also buy refill cards from 90,000 locations across the United States including T-Mobile retail shops, independent mobile phone dealers, supermarkets, convenience stores like 7-Eleven and discount department stores including Walmart.
• If you have a credit card issued in the USA, you can also top up over the internet at www.t-mobile.com.

Click here for more information from the travelgear.com.au support site about redeeming a T-Mobile refill card.

The 30 days that your monthly prepaid rate plan is valid for starts as soon as credit has been added to your account, so it is best to wait until just before travelling before adding credit. If you buy credit vouchers from us when you buy the SIM card, you can use these vouchers to add credit at a time that suits you. However credit purchased over the phone from us or online from buymobilecredit will be added to your account instantly.

Please note that you need to top-up with T-Mobile USA refill cards. You can not top up with credit vouchers from T-Mobile's networks in Germany, the Netherlands or the UK.

Will the SIM card work in my mobile phone?

The T-Mobile USA SIM card will work in any unlocked GSM mobile phone that operates at the 1900Mhz GSM band. This includes all tri-band and quad-band mobile phones from Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the UK.

We strongly recommend that you check your phone's specifications before you travel to ensure that your mobile phone is compatible with the 1900MHz GSM band. It is also essential that you double check that your phone is unlocked before travelling

What's the deal with unlocking my phone?

When you buy a mobile phone it is usually locked into the network you bought it from; this means that it will only accept a SIM card from that network. If you call your mobile phone company, they should be able to unlock your phone for you so it will accept any SIM card (including the T-Mobile USA SIM).

How do I know if my phone is locked?

Before you travel put any other SIM that's not from your regular mobile network into your phone and turn it on. If your phone shows a network name it is unlocked, if it says something like "Network locked" or "SIM locked" then your phone is locked into your home network.

Occasionally we have customers who have been told by their carrier that their phone is unlocked, whereas the phone was either not unlocked or the unlocking process was not completed successfully. The best way to check that your phone has been unlocked is to pop in a SIM from a different network (for instance an Optus SIM in a Telstra phone) and see whether you get a signal.

Can I unlock my phone?

Most mobile phones sold in Australia are locked to the network that they were originally sold through (all phones sold by Telstra are locked), although a small number of phones are sold already unlocked. If your mobile phone is on a contract there is usually no problem getting your phone unlocked by simply calling your network and asking them to unlock it. Mobile phones on prepaid plans are usually locked to a network but if you have been with the same network for a while it can usually be unlocked by calling your mobile phone company. Pre-paid phones on Boost, Optus and Virgin Mobile can be unlocked after $80 of credit has been added to the phone.

It is more difficult if you are already in the United States, as many American mobile phone shops don't know how to unlock phones, especially phones on a foreign network. However there are several websites where you can generate codes to unlock your phone. These sites include Trycktill and Unlock it Free. If you are in the United States you can also try making an international call to your home mobile company to get an unlocking code, but occasionally you need to be calling from within that network's coverage area (depending on your mobile network at home).

Here is more information from travelgear.com.au's support site about unlocking your mobile phone.

What about unlocking my Apple iPhone?

The unlocking process for Apple iPhones is more complex than most other phones and it can take up to a week to unlock an Apple iPhone.

To unlock an iPhone you will need to contact the phone network that you purchased your iPhone through. They will ask for your phone's IMEI number, which you can find out by going into your phone's settings (Settings > General > About) and within a few days you will receive a text message saying that your phone has been unlocked. Please note that this text message doesn't mean that the unlocking process is complete. You will still need to connect to the latest version of iTunes to restore your phone. If you do not restore in iTunes, your unlocking process will not be complete. When you have successfully unlocked your iPhone iyou should see a screen in iTunes that looks like this:

Most iPhones purchased from Apple Stores are sold unlocked and are ready to use with any SIM card, however it is still best to check by inserting a SIM from a different network as some Apple Stores overseas still sell locked iPhones.

Here is some information from the Telstra website about unlocking your iPhone. This link has details about unlocking your iPhone along with the contact details at Telstra for their iPhone unlocking team.

Do I need to activate my SIM card?

The T-Mobile USA SIM card is already activated with either a USA phone number.

Unlike Australian SIM cards, you don't need to give any personal details to activate your American SIM card.

To begin using your phone you will need to add enough credit to cover the cost of your chosen rate plan.

Can I roam with this SIM?

You can also use this SIM to roam outside the USA; however roaming charges apply so it is not recommended to use this SIM outside the United States except for short trips into Canada where roaming charges aren't too bad (59c per minute on top of the regular call charges), but it is very expensive (around $2 per minute on top of the regular call charges) to use it in most other countries.

Text messages in Canada are 10’ to send or receive, but in other countries this will cost 50’ to send and 10’ to receive. MMS picture messages cost 25’ to send or receive.

The T-Mobile SIM is ideal for travellers going to the USA and making side trips to Canada, but if you're spending more than a three to four days in Canada we recommend that you also buy a Fido Canada SIM card.

Data is not available when roaming outside the USA.

Will I get a brand new number?

The T-Mobile SIMs that we have in stock are activated with numbers allocated direct from T-Mobile.

In the United States (as with most other countries) when telephone numbers expire they are put back into circulation. This is basically an issue with all phone numbers, anywhere, but it is more noticable in the USA where there is a shortage of phone numbers per area code (because they still use seven-digit phone numbers). To avoid running out of numbers, they are recycled shortly after being disconnected. All phone companies do this, and it is certainly not an issue that is unique to T-Mobile.

Unfortunately, this means that some people have recieved calls and text messages intended for people who previously had their phone number.

Rest assured that the numbers are direct allocations from T-Mobile, and we have now requested that they come from different area codes to reduce the chance that you get a recycled number.

FAQ

You'll find more information about using the T-Mobile USA prepaid SIM card on our customer support site. Following are links to some of our frequently asked questions:

Unlocking your phone

How can I unlock my phone?

How do I know if my phone is locked?

How do I unlock my Apple iPhone?

Using your phone

Redeeming a T-Mobile USA refill voucher

Using voicemail

I can't get data to work on my phone?

I get a message saying that my balance is low. Do I need to top up?

I have just received an SMS saying that I have used 80MB of my 100MB allowance - what's going on?

My phone can't find the network

How do I check my account balance?

Help! My balance is zero.

Will my credit card be automatically charged or debited?

How do I find out my mobile phone number?

How do I cancel my service?

I can't make any calls

I can send, but not receive email

About T-Mobile

What is T-Mobile's 3G network like?

I’ve seen T-Mobile advertise their service as 4G. Is this the next generation?

What's different about mobile phones in the USA?

How do you make the micro SIM?

Can I use the T-Mobile SIM card in a computer or iPad, or as a personal hotspot?

Will the T-Mobile SIM work in a BlackBerry?