Will my Canadian phone allow me to order US uber?

[lakelivin2]

Will my Canadian phone and phone number work if I want to order an Uber ride to/from port?  Or do I have to purchase an American sim card?  Thanks!

[LHT28]

check if you provider has roaming

Rogers  I believe  have a package  for  US & other countries

[Fouremco]

Rogers ($12+tax per day), Bell ($13+tax per day), Telus ($14+tax) and other Canadian carriers have daily US roaming packages. If you only need to use your phone twice, a roaming package on each day might be cheaper than buying a SIM card.

 

Depending on your airport, it might be cheaper to take a taxi than to pay for a roaming package (or SIM card) plus the cost of the uber.

 

 

[lx200gps]

We have Bell roaming and have ordered Ubers many times in Fort Lauderdale and LA. No issues at all.  Just make sure your credit card info is in order and you should have no problems.

[Middleager]

It doesn't matter where the phone or phone number is from.  If you have data/wifi, you can use your uber app to order.

 

If you don't use roaming (at high cost), you can buy eSIM or physical SIM for US.  eSIM can be much cheaper.

[neeuqdrazil]

You can also frequently find free wifi - airports and hotels generally have wifi available, and I think many ports do as well, which mean you don't need your phone data at all. 

[Keata]

Exactly what @neeuqdrazil said.  I have used my Uber account throughout Europe and the US without any roaming fees using the available wifi.

Edited July 21, 2023 by Keata

[Tango99]

6 hours ago, lakelivin2 said:

Will my Canadian phone and phone number work if I want to order an Uber ride to/from port?  Or do I have to purchase an American sim card?  Thanks!

You may not be able to connect even with a US daily rate plan if your phone is 3G.

Att and t mobile are not supporting 3G technology on cell service. So if you can set your cell service choice to another US cell phone carrier with LTE you may be okay. 5G phone no problem. 

[Tango99]

3 hours ago, neeuqdrazil said:

You can also frequently find free wifi - airports and hotels generally have wifi available, and I think many ports do as well, which mean you don't need your phone data at all. 

That’s best way. 

[gumpster]

9 hours ago, lakelivin2 said:

Will my Canadian phone and phone number work if I want to order an Uber ride to/from port?  Or do I have to purchase an American sim card?  Thanks!

We had no problem using the Uber app in Vegas using hotel wifi so you should be fine 

[lakelivin2]

Thanks for all the info everyone!

[Sprocket]

I have a Canada/US plan but had trouble in San Diego one cruise trying to order an Uber.  Finally shut off my phone and had no problem once it restarted.

 

If you travel to the US frequently you may want to check with your provider as plans now can be as little as $50 per month with tons of data.

[Middleager]

Public Mobile now has a Cad$50/month, with 40G of Canada and US data.  Freedom Mobile also has a similar plan.

[SoloAlaska]

Not an issue as mentioned already. I just started getting a US phone plan since I cross the border so much. With Roger’s it was cheaper to just skip the charges and have two phone numbers on my phone. My phone has an Esim option which makes it a lot easier. When I’m in Europe I do the same thing. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

A friend got a promo from Telus corporate rate 

$45 a month , includes roaming in US, Mexico and EU , with about 20 gigs of data a month 

I wonder if I can a line under his plan 

[CDNPolar]

26 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

Not an issue as mentioned already. I just started getting a US phone plan since I cross the border so much. With Roger’s it was cheaper to just skip the charges and have two phone numbers on my phone. My phone has an Esim option which makes it a lot easier. When I’m in Europe I do the same thing. 

 

Sorry - not sure how this works...  do you have to "switch" the active number on your phone or does it still operate with both numbers?

 

If both numbers still operate then do you know which number a call, text, or email, is coming through?

[SoloAlaska]

Just now, CDNPolar said:

 

Sorry - not sure how this works...  do you have to "switch" the active number on your phone or does it still operate with both numbers?

 

If both numbers still operate then do you know which number a call, text, or email, is coming through?

I’ve set it up that I switch it when I cross the border. It can operate with both numbers but i haven’t tried that yet.

[CDNPolar]

18 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

I’ve set it up that I switch it when I cross the border. It can operate with both numbers but i haven’t tried that yet.

 

Being Canadian, we hate the cost of roaming, BUT, feel it necessary to keep in touch with family and friends.  We are with "R" and that cost is $15 per day per person, so it becomes more expensive to be away for a couple of weeks than the monthly plan including home internet and TV.

 

We have looked at e-sims but don't like the fact that you are then "abandoning" the phone number that everyone has and you are essentially out of communication with home.

 

I know that we should shut off on a vacation, but we don't feel comfortable doing this.

 

We generally now use WiFi where we can and if someone texts (not an iMessage) then we email them back while on WiFi.  We will put our phone on data roam if we need to but try not to.

 

This more or less works for us because we can go on to roaming when and if we need to and reduce the cost.

 

The problem with that is that "R" roaming is based on a 24 hour period in your home time zone.  Depending on where you are in the world you could turn on roaming at 11:30pm Home Time but day where you are and then go past midnight and get charged for 2 days and you have only needed the roaming for a couple of hours.  You have to calculate time and it just gets complicated.

 

I think that where I am going with this is, if I could still see my main number - on WiFi - while using an e-sim, I would be more inclined to look at this method.

 

If you or anyone can comment on this it would be appreciated.

[SoloAlaska]

1 hour ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Being Canadian, we hate the cost of roaming, BUT, feel it necessary to keep in touch with family and friends.  We are with "R" and that cost is $15 per day per person, so it becomes more expensive to be away for a couple of weeks than the monthly plan including home internet and TV.

 

We have looked at e-sims but don't like the fact that you are then "abandoning" the phone number that everyone has and you are essentially out of communication with home.

 

I know that we should shut off on a vacation, but we don't feel comfortable doing this.

 

We generally now use WiFi where we can and if someone texts (not an iMessage) then we email them back while on WiFi.  We will put our phone on data roam if we need to but try not to.

 

This more or less works for us because we can go on to roaming when and if we need to and reduce the cost.

 

The problem with that is that "R" roaming is based on a 24 hour period in your home time zone.  Depending on where you are in the world you could turn on roaming at 11:30pm Home Time but day where you are and then go past midnight and get charged for 2 days and you have only needed the roaming for a couple of hours.  You have to calculate time and it just gets complicated.

 

I think that where I am going with this is, if I could still see my main number - on WiFi - while using an e-sim, I would be more inclined to look at this method.

 

If you or anyone can comment on this it would be appreciated.

It depends on your phone. For my family and friends we all use WhatsApp when traveling. My ex bf and I always used WhatsApp because we both travelled so much it was easier that way. I am in the US for 4-6 weeks a year and Europe for 1-3 weeks a year so my roaming costs would be brutal.

[CDNPolar]

31 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

It depends on your phone. For my family and friends we all use WhatsApp when traveling. My ex bf and I always used WhatsApp because we both travelled so much it was easier that way. I am in the US for 4-6 weeks a year and Europe for 1-3 weeks a year so my roaming costs would be brutal.

 

So, to be clear, you are using an e-sim, but then utilizing WhatsApp for your calling on that e-sim?

 

Never thought of this.  I could just have family that don't have WhatsApp get it....

[Middleager]

When travelling, we use Line, Signal (more secure than Whatsapp), Facebook Messenger, etc. to make calls.  If the signal is strong enough we can make video calls.  Depending on where we go, I've used eSIM (Airolo, Maya, etc.  for US, Jordan, Israel, Panama, etc.) or bought physical SIM cards (Taiwan, Egypt, Australia, vietnam, Europe, etc.)     If the price is similar, I prefer physical SIM card because you get the stronger signal vs eSIM which usually get weaker signals.

 

I have an older Google phone, so when using eSIM I have to choose one provider (eSIM, or original provider in Canada). 

 

A friend has a newer phone and can have dual SIM, so uses eSIM for data but also receives text on the original Canadian provider's plan.

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

8 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Being Canadian, we hate the cost of roaming, BUT, feel it necessary to keep in touch with family and friends.  We are with "R" and that cost is $15 per day per person, so it becomes more expensive to be away for a couple of weeks than the monthly plan including home internet and TV.

 

We have looked at e-sims but don't like the fact that you are then "abandoning" the phone number that everyone has and you are essentially out of communication with home.

 

I know that we should shut off on a vacation, but we don't feel comfortable doing this.

 

We generally now use WiFi where we can and if someone texts (not an iMessage) then we email them back while on WiFi.  We will put our phone on data roam if we need to but try not to.

 

This more or less works for us because we can go on to roaming when and if we need to and reduce the cost.

 

The problem with that is that "R" roaming is based on a 24 hour period in your home time zone.  Depending on where you are in the world you could turn on roaming at 11:30pm Home Time but day where you are and then go past midnight and get charged for 2 days and you have only needed the roaming for a couple of hours.  You have to calculate time and it just gets complicated.

 

I think that where I am going with this is, if I could still see my main number - on WiFi - while using an e-sim, I would be more inclined to look at this method.

 

If you or anyone can comment on this it would be appreciated.

Get people to call you on Whatapp or messager , than you don’t have worry about a phone number 

[Canada_eh58]

I would never pay the daily rates Tharp Canadian phone companies charge. I am in the US several months a year and have never paid to use my phone. It goes on airplane mode before crossing the border and stays that way until I am back in Canada. iMessages can be sent to iPhones when connected to wifi and you can communicate with Messenger, Skype, WhatsApp, etc while connected to wifi. If you are concerned about security while using public wifi then get a VPN.

[Magicat]

On 7/24/2023 at 2:14 PM, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Get people to call you on Whatapp or messager , than you don’t have worry about a phone number 

Totally agree with using Whatsapp.  Works extremely well when travelling.

[Leens818]

Anyways, if you need the U.S. phone number, you can get a temporary one. In this case, It's the best way I think, cause any time I'm abroad or, just need a phone number for verification, I always do so