Going to Philippines in a week, best prepaid card to get there?

[SirithX]

I'm heading to the Philippines in a week and there's no way I'll be paying AT&T's outrageous roaming or international rates. I'd love to continue using my iPhone however, so what's the best way to do this? I'll only be there a few weeks so I just want a solution that'll last me over there then come back to my AT&T plan once I come back.

1) I gotta jailbreak and honestly because I like to update and I buy all my apps I haven't really done it before, can I just use "blackra1n" and this will unlock it and allow me to pop in any prepaid SIM cards I get over there? If not what is the best way to jailbreak and unlock for my purposes?

2) I looked up some info on SIMs over there, but I'm confused on what exactly a "load" is. All I want is a SIM that can let me talk locally, text (can I text my friends here in the US btw? I know there is no such thing as "long-distance" texting but I'm not sure how this works), and use data. What SIM card am I looking for here, some sort of prepaid card I guess?

Here's some links others have shown me:
http://www.freephilippinesimcard.com/globe_telecom_sim_card.php

and http://www.globe.com.ph/ for the wireless carrier that I'll be using over there.

And since it's a prepaid SIM I'm also assuming it'll just give me a random phone number over there for calling/texting? I'm a complete novice at all this haha.

 

[Applejuiced]

1 yes you have to jailbreak and unlock with blackrain and then blacksnow.
Without a JB you wont be able to use a non AT&T sim.

2 You have to find more info/details on the prepaid simcard plans sold over there locally.
Some might include texts and data while others only minutes depending how much you want to spend. About international texting not sure but will obviously cost more. And yes you would get a random phone number with a local area code.

 

[porka]

http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/operators.html

 

[outz]

2) I looked up some info on SIMs over there, but I'm confused on what exactly a "load" is.

load is just another word for the minutes/time on the prepaid sim card.

oh, and just search globe sim card on ebay and get one there. you can refill the load at https://www.aryty.com or by visiting a store once you're there.

 

[wRek]

I'm sure you already know this but..... Be VERY careful walking around there with your iPhone out.

If people are getting mugged over it in the U.S., I can guarantee someone would kill you over there to take it.

 

[SirithX]

Thanks for the help guys.

So, I have to use blackra1n AND blacksn0w to unlock? And once I do this I can still use AT&T while my AT&T SIM card is in but I can just swap out a Globe SIM over there anytime or do I have to do anything special in the phone to switch carriers?

Then basically I just get a SIM there and I can reload it however I wish. Alright should be easy enough, sounds like Globe is the way to go, but I still need to figure out international texting and how data works with prepaid SIMs.

Thanks for the heads up wRek, yeah I've heard stories too, I'll definitely be discreet. I'm not trying to do this to show off or anything haha.

 

[wRek]

Thanks for the heads up wRek, yeah I've heard stories too, I'll definitely be discreet. I'm not trying to do this to show off or anything haha.

Definitely not trying to scare you or anything, just speaking from personal experiences and the experiences of friends who are no longer with us because of such situations.. Keep an eye out and avoid shady neighborhoods if you have anything of value on you.