As promised earlier, I will go over each phone carrier in Canada (at least for the time being), and see whether they are worth it to have when traveling abroad and what alternatives or options do we have instead of taking our plan with us abroad. With this said, In this post, we will see whether Roam like home Fido is actually worth it or not.
Does Fido have roam like home?
To answer this question, YES. Fido has roam like home which is simply a service that lets you use your data, talk and text from your existing Fido postpaid mobile plan in the U.S for $7 a day or internationally in over 125 destinations for $12 a day.
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Which Countries Can You Use Roam Like Home Fido In?
As mentioned earlier, you can use Fido Roam in over125 destinations around the world. It covers all of the U.S. (including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) for $7/day when roaming.
It also includes the following eligible destinations in Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, South and Central America, Asia, South Africa, Oceania and the Middle East for only $12/day when roaming:
Europe:
Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madeira, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Scotland, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Vatican City, Wales
Excludes: Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Kosovo, Latvia, Moldova, St. Pierre and Miquelon
The Caribbean and Mexico:
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Galapagos Islands, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Saba, St. Barts, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos
Excludes: Cuba.
South America:
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela
Excludes: Falkland Islands
Central America:
Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
Africa:
South Africa.
Excludes: all other countries.
Asia:
Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
Excludes: all other countries.
The Middle East:
Palestine, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.
Excludes: all other countries.
Oceania:
Australia, New Zealand.
And please note, you CANNOT use Roam Like Home on Cruiseships, you will be charged the standard rates once you board.
How do you turn on roaming on Fido?
A couple of ways which you can turn on roaming on Fido. For instance, you can text Roam to 222, or you can visit fido.ca/m/roam (link is free to access). Follow the links and then select ‘subscribe’.
Is Fido Roam Automatic?
Yes. So if you are on a Fido monthly post paid plan, you are then automatically enrolled in Fido roam like home. Wit this said, if you travel to a destinations that is eligible for Fido roam like home, you simply have to turn on data roaming in your phone’s settings and start using your phone.
Does Fido have roaming charges?
If you travel within Canada on the Fido network and make calls, you will not be charged roaming charges. So roaming charges are only in countries outside of Canada. And for this reason, Fido has implemented the Roam Like Home Fido so you won’t have to pay lots of roaming fees while traveling abroad. But please keep reading to find out whether Roam Like Home Fido is actually worth it or not.
When will You be charged for Fido Roam?
You will be charged once every 24 hours on the days you use your device to make or receive a call, send a text message or use data while abroad. With this said, you will only pay for up to 15 days per billing cycle only, per zone. So if you use Fido Roam for more than 15 days in a billing cycle, you will only be charged for 15 days for that billing cycle and the rest of the days will appear on the next bill.
How Do You Opt Out Of Roam Like Home Fido?
You call customer care at 1 (888) 481-3436. And please note that if you opt out of Roam Like Home Fido and you travel abroad and use your phone while abroad, you will be charged the pay per use rates.
If you are on an unlimited evenings and weekends plan that starts at 5 p.m? How does that work while abroad?
Your plan will simply travel with you. So with this said, you can still make unlimited evening and weekend calls while using Fido Roam. The unlimited calling window is determined by the time zone of the eligible destination in which you are currently roaming. For example, if you are in Los Angeles, your unlimited evenings will start at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
Now that we’ve covered pretty much everything you need to know about Roam Like Home Fido and how it works. Let’s look at whether it is worth it or not. We will look at several different scenarios below:
Scenario #1.
Let’s say you are traveling to Mexico and you want to stay in Mexico for 7 days and you want to be able to use your phone while in Mexico using Roam Like Home Fido. How much will it cost you?
7 days * $12(Mexico is an eligible Roam Like Home Fido country, and they will charge you $12 per day). So with this said, it will cost you $84 for using your phone for 7 days in Mexico. That is in addition to your monthly plan fees.
Scenario #2.
If let’s say, you are traveling to the US for 7 days and you want to see how much it would cost you with Roam Like Home Fido:
7days*$7 per day = $49 for using your phone for only 7 days while in the US. That is in addition to your monthly plan fees.
Scenario #3.
If you are headed to Cuba for a week and you want to use your phone there for 7 days. Unfortunately, you cannot use Roam Like Home Fido, as Cuba is not an eligible country. Therefore, you will be charged the Pay per use rates rather. With this said, Fido charges:
So as you can see, depending on the type of plan you are enrolled in (post paid plan, or Prepaid Plan), you will be charged 2 different rates. But let’s assume, you are on a post paid plan, and so you will be charged $2.50 per minute, $0.75 per text, and $1.50 per 1 MB. Let’s hope you don’t use this as a way to use your Fido phone abroad. As you can see it’s ridiculously expensive.
In conclusion, now we know how much it would cost us if we were to use Roam Like home Fido in an eligible destination and in a non eligible destination. Let’s compare it to what I usually recommend you do and see which one is better and most importantly is less expensive.
Scenario #1.
So if you are headed to Mexico and your stay is 7 days, you have a few options which you can use. For instance, you could use a local SIM card which you could purchase from Mexico. Or the option that I prefer and usually recommend to friends and family traveling to Mexico – Use an International SIM card which you could purchase online through Amazon before you leave to Mexico.
The Telcel Mexico Prepaid SIM Card.
The Telcel is a 3 in 1 SIM Card. It comes registered and activated. Once you get the card, all you have to do is enter the arrival date in the activation portal.
With the Telcel SIM card, you will get a Mexican phone number from Mexico City (+55). You can reuse the SIM as long as you refill it every 6 months. So if you travel to Mexico often, this is a great card to have.
What You’ll Love About The Telcel SIM card?
- You will get great coverage and fast speed when you use this card in Mexico, since Telcel is the largest operator in Mexico.
- If you want to refill the SIM, you can refill it through their website. You can find these instructions in the welcome package you receive when you receive the SIM card.
- The Telcel SIM card works on unlocked iPhone, Android device or any other unlocked GSM phone or device. So if you don’t have an unlocked phone, go to Amazon and check out a list of affordable unlocked phones.
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- Telcel has great customer support in the case if you have questions about the SIM.
- The cellular data is valid for 33 days starting at your arrival in Mexico. Moreover, you get unlimited calls and SMS for 33 days. Not to mention, you can use the data, calls and SMS while in Mexico, USA and Canada.
- Furthermore, you get unlimited Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat usage. And as mentioned earlier, you can refill it anywhere and reuse it for future trips.
- There are different data plans which you can choose from. So if you don’t use a lot of data, you can purchase the 1.5 GB SIM card.
- The Telcel SIM card is affordable. Still better than having to use your local carrier plan while in Mexico.
- If you are an Amazon Prime Member, you can get the Telcel SIM card with free shipping. If you are not sure what Amazon prime is, please click here to read more on it.
What I Didn’t Like About The Telcel SIM Card?
- Because you will get a Mexican phone number, you are better off using it while in Mexico. I mean you don’t want to be calling your friends while in Canada from a Mexican number. But again, that’s just my take on that.
In conclusion, if you use Roam Like Home Fido for 7 days in mexico, you will pay $84 plus the cost of your normal monthly bill. With the Telcel SIM card, you pay much less. Not to mention, it would cost you much less with Telcel SIM to use for more than 7 days!!! You can click here to check its current pricing on Amazon.
Scenario #2.
If you want to use your phone in the US for 7 days, you could look into using this SIM card called:
T-Mobile Prepaid SIM Card with Unlimited Talk, Text, and Data in USA with 5GB data in Canada and Mexico for 20 days.
The T-Mobile prepaid SIM card comes with unlimited talk, text, and data in the US. You CANNOT use this card for talk and text while in Canada and Mexico. Furthermore, you can only use this card in Mexico and Canada for data usage only (for 20 days).
Furthermore, you can purchase the T-Mobile Prepaid SIM with more or less data if you want. They have a variety of data plans.
How It Works:
When you purchase this card, you need to actually send the company an email in order for them to activate it for you. Some people miss out on that, and complain about the card not being activated. Again, this is all mentioned when you purchase the card.
The Good
- It is a great deal considering what you get for the price. So even if you plan to use this card while in Mexico for data only, it is still a great price.
- The T-Mobile Prepaid SIM works on unlocked GSM phone without having any issues. So if you don’t have an unlocked phone, you could check out Amazon for cheap unlocked GSM phones.
- If you encounter problems while getting the SIM to work, they have great support. They usually get back to you within 24 hours.
- It is a great option if you travel often to the US. It is much cheaper to use than to actually use your Canadian local cell carrier.
- You can actually use this card while in Canada, but you would need to check with T-mobile first, as you cannot use it in some rural areas in Canada. It worked in Canada when I used it for voice and text as well. It could be the device that you use, so if it’s a newer phone, then you probably can still use the talk, text and data while in Canada.
- If you are an Amazon Prime Member, you can get the T-Mobile SIM card with free shipping. If you are not sure what Amazon prime is, please click here to read more on it.
What I Didn’t Like About the T-Mobile SIM Card?
- The T-Mobile Prepaid SIM Card will not work on Mobile WiFi Hotspot (Pocket WiFi).
- If you want to use this card on an iPhone, the iPhone must be an iPhone 6 or newer.
- On the other hand, if you own an Android and wish to use this SIM card, certain brand and dual SIM card phones might not work. You might have to do APN settings, click here for more information on how to do that.
In conclusion, if you use Roam Like Home Fido for 7 days in the US, you are looking at paying $49 plus the cost of your normal monthly bill. With the T-Mobile SIM Card, you can use it for more than 7 days and still pay way lesser than the Roam Like Home Fido for 7 days. To check its current pricing on Amazon, simply click here.
As for Scenario #3, I wouldn’t even try that option. Do not ever use your phone using pay per use rates – they are pretty expensive, trust me.
Is Roam Like Home Fido Worth It?
The answer is NO. I would look at the options I have listed for you instead of having to use Roam Like Home Fido the next time you are traveling. It is way too expensive to use your phone through your local carrier.
And please note: If you will be using Local SIMs or purchasing international SIMs, I recommend you use a SIM Card Wallet Holder so you won’t lose your SIM card while traveling. Also, don’t forget to take with you an international Adapter so you can charge your devices to always keep connected with your friends and family when abroad.
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