Best choice for Brazilian cell service

[topjohn5]

Hi everyone,

Sorry for all the questions, lol...but what is the best choice for cell service when I'm there. Also, I want to keep the number to use later so maybe that changes things a little.

Thanks.

[SolaceSoul]

Some people prefer Claro. I prefer TIM. 

[topjohn5]

2 hours ago, SolaceSoul said:

Some people prefer Claro. I prefer TIM. 

Do either of them have a long term hold on the number if you pay something...maybe quarterly?

[SolaceSoul]

5 hours ago, topjohn5 said:

Do either of them have a long term hold on the number if you pay something...maybe quarterly?

Not sure about that, but if you keep your bill current, you won’t lose the number. 

[Badboy81]

On 1/31/2022 at 5:14 PM, topjohn5 said:

Hi everyone,

Sorry for all the questions, lol...but what is the best choice for cell service when I'm there. Also, I want to keep the number to use later so maybe that changes things a little.

Thanks.

https://coveragecritic.com/coverage-model/best-cell-phone-coverage-plans-in-brazil-in/

Amazing the things you can find on your own by taking 30 seconds to just do some basic research

[topjohn5]

16 minutes ago, Badboy81 said:

https://coveragecritic.com/coverage-model/best-cell-phone-coverage-plans-in-brazil-in/

Amazing the things you can find on your own by taking 30 seconds to just do some basic research

This is research, lol!

[topjohn5]

17 minutes ago, Badboy81 said:

https://coveragecritic.com/coverage-model/best-cell-phone-coverage-plans-in-brazil-in/

Amazing the things you can find on your own by taking 30 seconds to just do some basic research

LOL, That's Brazil Indiana USA!

[Zackbr1952]

The simplest thing, I find, top John is to just buy a prepaid chip at a newspaper kiosk , activate with your cpf, and have a friend there top it up periodically at a pharmacy. I leave my Brazil phone with him, but that is not even necessary.  Now, I don't live in the USA and any international plan available to me sucks.

[scott456]

1 hour ago, Zackbr1952 said:

The simplest thing, I find, top John is to just buy a prepaid chip at a newspaper kiosk , activate with your cpf, and have a friend there top it up periodically at a pharmacy. I leave my Brazil phone with him, but that is not even necessary.  Now, I don't live in the USA and any international plan available to me sucks.

I am curious why you want to maintain (top up) a Brazillian cell phone number when you are not in Brazil.

[topjohn5]

10 hours ago, Zackbr1952 said:

The simplest thing, I find, top John is to just buy a prepaid chip at a newspaper kiosk , activate with your cpf, and have a friend there top it up periodically at a pharmacy. I leave my Brazil phone with him, but that is not even necessary.  Now, I don't live in the USA and any international plan available to me sucks.

I read that you need a cpf number to buy a sim card in Brazil. Is that true?

[Zackbr1952]

22 hours ago, scott456 said:

I am curious why you want to maintain (top up) a Brazillian cell phone number when you are not in Brazil.

Oh, I am there frequently,  or was, until the world went south. Very little $R to maintain it.

Yes, cpf for a pre-pago. I think there are ways to get an activated chip with foreign passport at the TIM or other dealers, not sure.

Easy to get a cpf, you can Google the procedure

[belkinDC]

On my last trip (Nov 2021) I purchased a one year eSIM package from 3HK. 8 GB + 5 GB social (WhatsApp/FB etc) for about $34 USD. The plan is data-only but I was able to use my regular US cellular plan that has WiFi calling/texting to make/receive calls etc using the data from the plan as a WiFi network essentially.

I used ~2GB during my 10 day trip (being somewhat conscientious to conserve data and be on WiFi whenever possible). 

It’s certainly cheaper to get a Brazilian SIM but I just wanted something that I knew would work right away without needing to visit a mall or navigate using a fake CPF number and Portuguese phone menu to activate. Plus, I still have 6 GB for future trips to Brazil or really any conceivable place I might travel in South America or elsewhere. Activation was super easy and I was up and running within 5 mins of landing at GRU.

Note that traffic is routed through Hong Kong - I used a VPN to encrypt my data out of extra precaution.

https://www.three.com.hk/prepaid/DIY/en/offer/travel (note that prices on the site are in Hong Kong Dollars - the 365 day global plan for 268 HKD is what I bought and came to ~$34 USD. Use a CC with no foreign transaction fees if possible)

 

[topjohn5]

1 hour ago, belkinDC said:

On my last trip (Nov 2021) I purchased a one year eSIM package from 3HK. 8 GB + 5 GB social (WhatsApp/FB etc) for about $34 USD. The plan is data-only but I was able to use my regular US cellular plan that has WiFi calling/texting to make/receive calls etc using the data from the plan as a WiFi network essentially.

I used ~2GB during my 10 day trip (being somewhat conscientious to conserve data and be on WiFi whenever possible). 

It’s certainly cheaper to get a Brazilian SIM but I just wanted something that I knew would work right away without needing to visit a mall or navigate using a fake CPF number and Portuguese phone menu to activate. Plus, I still have 6 GB for future trips to Brazil or really any conceivable place I might travel in South America or elsewhere. Activation was super easy and I was up and running within 5 mins of landing at GRU.

Note that traffic is routed through Hong Kong - I used a VPN to encrypt my data out of extra precaution.

https://www.three.com.hk/prepaid/DIY/en/offer/travel (note that prices on the site are in Hong Kong Dollars - the 365 day global plan for 268 HKD is what I bought and came to ~$34 USD. Use a CC with no foreign transaction fees if possible)

 

That is perfect, Thanks!