will my boost mobile phone ?

gilbert1234

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Apr 2, 2016
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will my boost mobile phone ? will it still work when I get to the DR or will I have to buy a new phone & plan ?
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
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will my boost mobile phone ? will it still work when I get to the DR or will I have to buy a new phone & plan ?

Most carriers will roam then you will get like a $500 USD bill, or buy a lightly used UNLOCKED QUAD BAND phone on eBay and buy a SIM card/ add minutes as you go.
***Many cell phone threads on dr1 BTW!
 
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wuarhat

I am a out of touch hippie.
Nov 13, 2006
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will my boost mobile phone ? will it still work when I get to the DR or will I have to buy a new phone & plan ?
Mine didn't. It might have been the roaming settings, but it was what I wanted anyway so I didn't investigate. Do what Tamborista said.
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
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To go one further on this. I would take out the Sim card before you get there, or at the very least make sure your Data is on OFF. I know people that did
not make one call and got an enormous bill for data roaming.
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
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To go one further on this. I would take out the Sim card before you get there, or at the very least make sure your Data is on OFF. I know people that did
not make one call and got an enormous bill for data roaming.

Wouldn't simply "Powering Off" prior to take off solve this problem?
 

Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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Turning off the phone would prevent incurring charges upon arrival in the DR but most people can't resist turning the phone on at least once to check the time or to retrieve their hotel confirmation email. If the data option is not toggled off, as soon as the phone boots every app on the device begins to update itself in the background.

Removing the sim card is a good preventative measure against unintentional charges.
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
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... most people can't resist turning the phone on at least once

I love making fun of "The Smart Phone Zombies" that line the sidewalks of NYC, nobody looks at the sky, sun or beautiful sites of the city any longer.
No different in RD, except nobody has minutes, LOL!
 

Meemselle

Just A Few Words
Oct 27, 2014
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My Dominican phone(s) over the years have never worked in the US, so I just buy a burner at CVS, throw about $50 worth of minutes on it (I am usually only in the US when there is some kind of an emergency), and I can get through a week. Then I come back, put the burners in a box, and then two days before the next time I go, I charge the burner, and I'm good to go.
 

La Profe_1

Moderator: Daily Headline News, Travel & Tourism
Oct 15, 2003
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I keep my "good" phone in airplane mode when in the DR. No calls, no messaging and data roaming is turned off. It works on WiFi only, which allows me to use the Magic Jack app, the Hangouts app and internet access.

My Dominican number is on my old smartphone and has calling, texting, WiFi, but no data. IMO it is safer to use the "not so good" phone here while reserving the use of the good one to my residence or office. Not going to display a Galaxy Note phone in public here - and run the risk of getting mugged for it! As the saying goes, "My mother didn't raise any fools."
 

SKY

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Apr 11, 2004
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Wouldn't simply "Powering Off" prior to take off solve this problem?

As long as the phone is not turned on the whole time you are there. But if you want to use the WiFi in a free zone you have
to turn it on. Then the problem starts. No Sim, no problem.
 

D.R.JT007

New member
Apr 16, 2016
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will my boost mobile phone ? will it still work when I get to the DR or will I have to buy a new phone & plan ?
I would buy pay as you go phone here. I have Sprint which I can't use except wi-fi but I have to pay anyway because of contract and I want to save my phone number. So I have two phones, Dominican for local calls. Everyone uses Whatsapp for everything. I am also into photography, would love to collaborate with expat Bro with same interest. James imnomopo@gmail.com

Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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South Coast
I would buy pay as you go phone here. I have Sprint which I can't use except wi-fi but I have to pay anyway because of contract and I want to save my phone number. So I have two phones, Dominican for local calls. Everyone uses Whatsapp for everything. I am also into photography, would love to collaborate with expat Bro with same interest. James imnomopo@gmail.com

Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk

A bit off topic, but our phones are on contract with AT&T. Before we leave to DR (4 month stays), I call customer service and have our account frozen/phones disabled as of the date after we leave. There is a $10 a month "hold" charge. Check with Sprint, they may have something similar.

Back to the OP, a prepaid phone is the way to go. Pay as you go. We've been doing that forever
 

El Mayimbe

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Jan 25, 2015
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Boost mobile will not work. There's no signal or tower in DR. Also boost phones doesn't have SIM cards, they operate off the Sprint network.
 

Koreano

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Jan 18, 2012
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Boost mobile will not work. There's no signal or tower in DR. Also boost phones doesn't have SIM cards, they operate off the Sprint network.
Time has changed. They all have sim now.
Couple of years old Verizon or newer phones will work flawlessly on Claro since its all unlocked and I saw on this site sprint Galaxy S6 was working better then other carrier phones on Claro the other day.
I am going to get a sprint version when I go back to states since most Sprint phones are cheaper.