I'm planning on traveling to the US from Canada and I was wondering if it is possible for me to buy a iPad data plan while I am there. Specifically, is there a restriction on using a Canadian credit card to buy the card & activate the service or would I need to purchase a pre-paid visa or something?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
AT&T data plan for non-residents
- Thread starter mrbash
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yes it is possible with the acquisition of an AT&T Micro-sim, yes there is a problem using a Canadian card.
There are a couple of threads that cover it all pretty well - search them out and you can see what others have done.
I'm in the US right now from Canada. To get it to work, the easiest way is to go to an At&T store (not an apple store or AT&T authorized reseller) and get a micro SIM for $15 + Tax, then buy a prepaid visa card and use your hotel address as the biling address. You can't use a Canadian credit card, unfortunately. But it does work nicely...
There are a lot of prepaid VISA cards. What type do you recommend ?
- Gift card
- Prepaid debit card
- Incentive Card
Thank you!
- Gift card
- Prepaid debit card
- Incentive Card
Thank you!
Will a VISA gift card purchased in Canada work?
http://www.visa.ca/en/personal/prepaidcards/giftcards_faq.jsp
http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/visagiftcard/purchase.html
Thx,
Sabesh.
It would depend on att and what they are checking for on verification. It would be a 50/50 shot probably. The point of using one you buy in the US is that it would then for sure have a US billing address.
It's not like you couldn't use it for anything if it did not work though, so it might be worth a shot.
matthewr,
Thanks for your suggestion! I went to an AT&T store and then to CVS/Pharmacy to get a VISA Gift Card. There was some confusion on how to set it up, but finally we figured out that the setup is on the device itself, not via a web-browser or anything.
We used the address of the AT&T store to register the device, and used the name on the VISA gift card (A GIFT FOR YOU).
Total cost was 15+25 + tax, but it was still cheaper than having to pay for WiFi in the hotel and a lot more convenient because it worked in every city and while we were driving.
Thanks Matt!
Thanks for your suggestion! I went to an AT&T store and then to CVS/Pharmacy to get a VISA Gift Card. There was some confusion on how to set it up, but finally we figured out that the setup is on the device itself, not via a web-browser or anything.
We used the address of the AT&T store to register the device, and used the name on the VISA gift card (A GIFT FOR YOU).
Total cost was 15+25 + tax, but it was still cheaper than having to pay for WiFi in the hotel and a lot more convenient because it worked in every city and while we were driving.
Thanks Matt!
Rumor has it you can actually use your own Canadian credit card for this, it just has to be AMEX...
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/960076/
Perhaps someone else can try this and confirm?
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/960076/
Perhaps someone else can try this and confirm?
I was wondering why not get the SIM from an Apple store. I was under the impression you can get the SIM for free from any apple store. That was certainly my experience in both Toronto and London, England. The only question asked was which carrier?
I believe all 3G iPads sold in the US already have AT&T sims inside, and so Apple stores don't need to give them out, like they do in Canada (or UK). In fact, I read it somewhere that some Apple stores in the US don't even have any spare micro sims to give out or sell.