Reliable data for mobiles in US

[Tinkjon]

I know there are lots of threads on this subject but this is a slightly different query - hope that's ok!

I've read the recent thread about not using park wifi to get a ROTR boarding pass so am looking at the most reliable data. I know that several companies have add-ons or similar where you can use your data over there (Three springs to mind) but I'm with Virgin Mobile and they don't have any such deal.

My phone is unlocked so I can use any sim in it - does anyone have any advice over the most reliable data? The only reason I need data is to stand the best chance of getting a boarding pass so reliability/signal is more important than cost. I know I could just use Virgin's data but we never seem to have much luck using our data in the EU so I don't want to risk that.

We did get one of those free sims that you get as a freebie when you buy tickets but I've read that they aren't very reliable...

Any advice greatly appreciated!

[maddo11]

EE was great for me the last time

[Dr.JumbaJookiba]

We usually buy H2O or T-mobile USA sims from amazon or ebay both have great coverage. T mobile shops do a deal on a visitor sim as well if you are able to visit a shop over there. i'm going to try the new Esim this summer to avoid shipping or collecting an actual sim card but your phone needs to have esim capability for this.

[Tinkjon]

Ooooh, stop press! Just discovered that DH is on EE! I thought he was on Virgin, like me, but thankfully not. Great to hear that EE was reliable for you then, Maddo!

He can get a bolt-on of 500MB for £4.80 - will that be enough, does anybody know? (internet tells you how much browsing/dlownloading/streaming etc, that you can do per MB but, unsurprisingly, it doesn't tell you how many goes you can have at getting a boarding pass )
(The rest of the holiday we will just use the free wifi, it's only for that one day of trying for the pass.)

[itz_baseline]

Just said this on another post, but think people are getting confused between UK and US network providers. I have '3' in the UK, but this network doesnt exist in the US so when I go to Florida I connect to AT&T or T Mobile (from memory). It doesnt matter what your UK provider is. Data speed and signal strength is only as good as the US network you decide to connect to.

[mouli1]

I have the 3 contract that you can use free in USA worked very well for me last year , hubby bought a 3 sim card for an unlocked phone and worked well for him ,we loved the fact we could contact home and each other without worrying about wifi and also used google maps which saved a lot of arguments !

[MrsEgg]

I've got the Max Plan on my EE contract so used it for everything, DS was even streaming YouTube in the queues with no problem.

[Sew109]

Used EE and three several times EE been great ended my three contract after the third trip of having retro speed internet

[itz_baseline]

Originally Posted by Sew109

Used EE and three several times EE been great ended my three contract after the third trip of having retro speed internet

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As above, it doesnt matter what your UK carrier is, speed is dictated by whichever US carrier you chose to connect to when you arrived in the US. If you arent happy with the speeds you are getting in the US, just connect to a different US carrier. What UK network you are with has no bearing on your speed in the US

[Sew109]

Originally Posted by itz_baseline

As above, it doesnt matter what your UK carrier is, speed is dictated by whichever US carrier you chose to connect to when you arrived in the US. If you arent happy with the speeds you are getting in the US, just connect to a different US carrier. What UK network you are with has no bearing on your speed in the US

See more...

3's contract (at least when I had it ) with US carriers was for only 3g