www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I've had a TDMA line from ICE and they're finally getting around to changing it over.

From my question, it's obvious I am technologically challenged.

Can I buy a phone in USA and use it on the ICE system? Do I just bring them the actual phone and they install the chip?

I have tried that and it did not work. They told me that I had to unlock the phone in the US and then do some kind of programming here, then put in the chip and then it would work.

I know a guy who did it but I wasn't able to do it. The technical stuff is way over my head it was easier and less time consuming to just purchase one here.

You can purchase a phone in the US and use it in CR. You will have to take to one of many cell repair shops in CR and for $20.00 or less they will unlock and install the necessary software. I have done this twice without a problem.

All you need to do is buy an UNLOCKED GSM phone (make sure it works on 1800Mhz band), and just put the chip in and you are set. There is no programming needed. I brought an UNLOCKED phone from the US last year, I put the chip in, and it worked perfectly.

A good place to buy one is on Ebay. Just make sure it's brand new, and not refurbished. And it has to be UNLOCKED. The cell phone stores in CR can unlock a phone for less than $20 if it's not unlocked for some reason.

In ICE they always ask for a receipt. The serial# on the receipt needs to match the one of the phone and it needs to be from a store in Costa Rica. You can get around this by either bribing the people at the ICE office (not likely) or bribing the store owner to give you a fake receipt (more likely). The latter shouldn't cost much more than $20.

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Perhaps I just went to the wrong cell phone repari shops but the two that I took my US cell phone to and asked them to unlock it said that they couldn't do it. It could only be unlocked by the previous service provider in the US.

This is actually not true.

I got my GSM line in the latest batch that was released (about 8 months ago), and all I brought in to the ICE office was a printed out amazon.com receipt.

My friend has done the same thing.

There may be some ICE regulation about it, but it is not enforced strictly at all, at least in my experience.

Cheers

"unlocking" a cell phone is not something that is really common in the states (unless you are talking about the first generation apple iphone)."

It is much more common in Europe, thus stores in the states are not that experienced with the concept.

In most cases, it is simply a code that you need to enter on the phone to unlock it. I believe this code is set by the cell phone carrier you got your phone from, and you should be able to call them to unlock it.

An alternative is simply buying an unlocked gsm phone. Just go to amazon.com and search for "unlocked gsm phone" and you will see plenty there.

cheers

Thanks for the info.

First of all I know nothing about Sim card chips, nor do i care to. Since there has been discussion about them I thought that this site might be of some interest:

http://www.handhelditems.com/gevey-card-chip-unlock-iphone-p-18665.html

It has a video for installing, and a link to Sims for other phones. I hope that it helps.

Happy Holidays....

Steve - Santas Bro

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It's not the size of the wand that put the rabbit in the hat, it's the magic in it!!!

That chip is only for iPhones. It's not going to work on a regular phone.

I am an electronic illiterate so I went to Best Buy to ask questions. I found a truly nerd looking guy at the cell phones. He told me that a GSM unlocked phone can be used in CR with my ICE SIM card and used in the US with my T-Mobile SIM card. One phone; different SIM cards.

Has anyone tried this and does it work?

T-Mobile are probably the best source for GSM phones in the US. Unless you want to pay full price for the phone or take out a 2-year contract you can buy a "Pay-as You Go" phone and SIM. There are some other carriers who sell some GSM capable phones that will work on 1800 MHz GSM but their US networks are not GSM. The key is to buy a "Tri-Band" or "Quad-Band" phone that can operate at 1800MHz GSM. 1800 GSM is not a frequency that is commonly used in the US you you MUST be certain to buy a phone that has that capability.


After acquiring your GSM phone it will need to be unlocked in order to be able to work on networks other than the one run by the provider from whom you purchased the phone. There are services in the US that can do this. Do a Google search. Many Nokia phones can be unlocked with a code. Others may need to be reprogrammed. Your unlocking service should be able to advise you.

Once your phone is unlocked you will need to acquire a SIM for the network(s) you wish to use. In most countries you can buy a SIM with no questions asked. You will have to pre-purchase air time if you have a Pay-as-You -Go SIM. I guess that in CR it is not quite that simple.

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Women are like beers. I've never had one that I didn't like. Just some that I like more than others! --Western

I use the prepay T-Mobile service in the US because I am generally only in the US for a few days at time and sometimes go a couple of months without being in the US. A prepaid account is perfect.

Will an ICE Sim card work in my T-Mobile phone which I use in the US?

As I stated above, if your T-Mobile GSM phone supports 1800Mhz GSM it will work in CR. Unless you opted for one of T-Mobiles "better" phones and not one of the $20 phones, your phone is not likely to work at 1800Mhz. Check your owners manual.

In order to utilize a SIM from another provider your phone will need to be unlocked. I you put an ICE SIM in your locked T-Mobile phone it will just play dead!

I have a tri-band T-Mobile GSM phone that I bought in the UK. It works (international roams) in CR and in the US. I'm planning on having it unlocked and buying a US T-Mobile SIM for it. I travel to the UK a lot (too!) and this way I can have one phone and multiple SIMs.

Now, if ICE ever implements pay-as-you go in CR I'll see about obtaining an ICE SIM.

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Women are like beers. I've never had one that I didn't like. Just some that I like more than others! --Western