Living in this day and age, its hard to spend a moment without our phones. They wake us up in the morning, we check all our social media, look up local eateries and heaven forbid anything happen, we have a way to call for help. So what happens when you travel abroad and no longer have means to your Verizon plan which is all you know?? Look no further, I am here to give you the insiders scoop on how to get up and running with ‘menutos’ and ‘datos’.
Lets start with your phone.
1.) Phone needs to be ‘unlocked’-
I didn’t know what this meant at first so I googled it, but basically some phones have software restrictions that have a ‘SIM lock’ meaning it can only be used with a single network or carrier. GSM phones that use a SIM card tend to be locked phones. A simple google search of your phone will tell you whether your phone is ‘Locked / Unlocked’. If you have a phone that is ‘Locked’ it will not work to interchange SIM cards with a different carrier here in Colombia.
2.) Your phone needs to be registered with Colombian Government.
What the heck does that mean?? Simple- your phone needs to be registered with the Colombian Government 😉 In efforts to cut back on theft and re-sale of stolen phones, Colombia requires you to register the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) Code, unique to every device, (its like a VIN number for your car, but for your phone). You generally have about 30 days to register your phone before they shut down the phone and it is no longer usable in the country. This is kind of a cool thing Colombia does. I am by no means saying this will stop someone from stealing your phone, however maybe it does deter thieves, as the phone may be of little use to them. I’ve connected a link with the Bogota Post to help with this process. https://thebogotapost.com/register-mobile-phone/17409/
3.) Pick a Provider
There are 3 main service providers in Medellin- Tigo, Moviestar, and Claro. Phone stores are found in abundance here so it is easy to find a place to sell you a SIM card.
4.) Pick a plan
There are usually 2 routes to go when buying a SIM card; you can get a monthly plan or go the prepaid route. I did not have my cedula (Colombian Identification Card) when I went to buy my SIM card and Moviestar did not allow me to buy a monthly plan without it, so I went the prepaid route. The basic prepaid rout starts at about 25,000 mil for 1.1GB data and about 600 minutes. The prepaid amount is usable for 1 month or until it runs out.
5.) Ways to make a phone call
I would like to point out that I am still trying to get this right!! I’m not the most tech savvy -as some of you know. First off, there are 2 primary ways to make phone calls here. First, is the normal minutes you purchase from your provider to make a call. The second way is ‘WhatsApp’
Ok, you may be asking, ‘what the heck is ‘WhatsApp’?? If you travel a lot, then you know, but if you are used to a mainstream service provider, this is a new app for you. WhatsApp allows you to make calls and texts by using WiFi or data. It is big in Colombia. About every person, and every business use it because if you have WIFI it is basically a free way of communicating. I have friends here that never recharge their phone, they just hop from WiFi to WiFi and communicate with people through WhatsApp.
6.) How to make a phone call -Using your ‘minutes’
If you are in Medellin and someone gives you their 7-digit number, chances are, you will type it in and it won’t work. AREA CODE IS KEY. If you are in Medellin, typing 034 before the 7-digit number will usually work for landlines, and 317 is a common area code for cell phones.
6.) How to make a phone call – Using ‘WhatsApp’
Interestingly enough, when I inserted my Colombian SIM card, I was able to opt to create a ‘new’ user for my WhatsApp account which allowed me to use my WhatsApp phone number from the states. So I have a Colombian number when I use my minutes and my USA number with WhatsApp. When going this route, WhatsApp recognizes my American number and requires me to add the country code for all WhatsApp numbers (there is a possibility if you use your Colombian number for WhatsApp then you can skip this step). So in order to make any call or text with WhatsApp I need to add +57 before the area code and 7-digit number. To get the + sign you simply hold down the zero button until the zero changes into a +. For example if I wanted to call Jane at 123 4567, I would type +57 317 123 4567. For whatever reason, this can be so easy that its hard …
7.) How do I recharge my plan??
Good question! Running out of minutes/datos is pretty standard for me here in Colombia. It usually happens when I am lost, hungry, its raining outside or I’m late. At first I tried going to the booth of my service provider in the mall but they told me they were not able to do that… SO if I can recommend the EASIER ways, you can recharge almost anywhere!! Grocery stores like Carulla, drug stores, and bill paying stations are the most common ones, but you can also recharge online at mobilerecharge.com. If you are using the online route to recharge, most shopping malls have WiFi you can connect to.