Telcel service in US

I overheard Ana, at the Telcel store opposite Chopsticks, tell someone that "roaming" had to be turned on for a Telcel phone to work out of Mexico. Can anyone confirm or deny this information?

You do not need to turn on roaming when in Canada for calling or texting. I think it's the same for the US. It has to be turned on for internet data, though, unless you are somewhere you have a local Wifi connection. So when you do, make sure to turn off the data roaming if you have turned it on and turn on the Wifi connection. Only turn on roaming when you need to use it, then turn it off again, or it will continue to upload things and use up your data.

Pretty much everywhere you go up north has Wifi you can connect to- your friends and family, hotels, Airbnbs, so you really only need to use the roaming data if you're out and about and need an internet connection, like for whatsapp.  Because it doesn't incur any charges for friends or family to receive a call or text from me in Canada, but it does to call or text me, sometimes when I'm not connected to Wifi I will text or call them, but they will whatsapp me back, so I need to turn on the roaming to receive it.

I bought a 30 day SinLimites paquete when I left Mexico last month for Canada. I don't know how they calculate when your data runs out on roaming, but mine ran out after I'd used about 500 MB. Had I been using it in Mexico, I would have had 2GB.

However, since the calling and texting will last for as long as the Sin Limites paquete is good for, you can additionally purchase just Amigo Internet, (there are various choices of GBs and time it lasts) which just gives you data.

FYI, although I was able to buy another Sin Limites paquete when it ran out (I was in Canada more than a month) last summer by dialing *133# and charging it to my Canadian credit card, that didn't work this summer. I kept getting the message that my card was invalid, which it definitely isn't. Maybe they don't accept non-Mexican credit cards anymore. I had to get my friend in Mexico to go to OXO and put another 200 peso paquete on my number. Of course if you have a plan rather than pay-as-you-go paquetes, it will just automatically keep working.

P.S. You have to make sure to use +1 in front of the area code when you're in Canada to dial or text Canadian numbers, just like you do when calling them from Mexico. I couldn't figure out why some of my texts weren't going through to some of my Canadian friends, but went through to others. I finally realized it was because their number I had entered in my contact list didn't contain the +1.

And you can just leave the Wifi connection turned on. If you are out and about when not connected to Wifi, and turn on roaming, it will use your roaming data. Then turn roaming off when done using data. When you get back in range of a Wifi connection you have entered in your phone, it will automatically connect to that, just like it does with your own Wifi connection in Mexico.