An Observation about ekit SIM cards if you plan on using them in the USA. - Page 3

frenchfry · 01-03-2010, 16:17

I have only had my sim card for 2 and half weeks. On day one I activated the US number and setup the 50 cents a month deal. I have not had to reactivate the US but that one time. I would rather pay the 50 cent a month than have to log on or call a certain number to activate. It seems that the 50 cents a month does the trick. I will post if it does not.

GadgetKen · 03-03-2010, 01:44

Using the ekit sim in Nevis right now on Cable and Wireless LIME. Cheaper to call US then my Digicel Bermuda chip but Digicel is cheaper for local calls and Sms(both chips active in a dual sim phone). Both are a bargain compared to hotel room phone. Haven't decided yet whether ekit 50 cent/month charge worth it or not to keep US number and possibly active all the time. ekit sim worked all days but in transit at SXM and yesterday for some reason; used Digicel chip when that happened. Not good enough hotel wifi quality for SkypeOut but gmail and web surfing are fine on my Sony Mylo. Will use Digicel in ANU en route back to US because ekit rates there are too high. Pluses on ekit over defunct um/um+ are no failed callback charges, decent audio quality, and no noticeable voice latency.

rfranzq · **Short code for USA & Canada 'activation' -** 01-03-2010, 06:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by MATHA531

BTW while you're inb Europe (or elsewhere outside USA or Canada) there is a code number you can call to activbate US service....it's on the sim and should be listed in your phone book.

From ekit:
"If outside the United States or Canada (and about to enter the United States or Canada), dial the Easy Dial number 870 "
Please note:
* Your ability to make outbound calls in the US and Canada is hibernated 7 days after your last call in the US or Canada, however the +1 number remains active and will receive calls and text messages for up to four months after the last use of the service. You can reactivate the ability to make calls in the United States and Canada in three ways: online at www.rechargeminutes.com, over the phone using our self-service menu, or over the phone with a Customer service representative.

GadgetKen · 24-02-2011, 05:32

Can you be more specific on which countries/carriers in South America it did not work in so other travelers are aware? Also did you try the alternate dial method from the sim card menu or by dialing "*126* followed by the country code (1 in the United States), area code and phone number, followed by #"? That worked for me in Grand Cayman the first 2 weeks of January when direct dial didn't generate a callback reliably (I just stored commonly dialed numbers in auto dial with the *126*number# codes.

schuster · **Google Voice? -** 25-02-2011, 23:46

Has anyone had experience with using the USA side of the eKit SIM on Google Voice? I'm trying to "add" my eKit US number to my list of linked phones, and I'm running into a technical issue. The verification procedure sends a callback to the phone you'd like to link, and gives you a 2-digit number to enter on the phone's keypad. Well ... I've tried 3 different phones and several locations (all with good signal strength) and the touch tones just don't go through. After 2 tries, Google Voice says "I can see you're having trouble" and hangs up. The SIM is operating on AT&T.

schuster · 01-03-2011, 16:55

Well, I just opened a trouble ticket with eKit on this.

It appears that the MVNO they use in US/Canada (Immix?) is swallowing
touch tones at least in my area. I can call myself on another phone and
listen in; if I speak the voice comes through; if I press a number of
the keypad it does not come out on the other side.

I've tried roaming on both AT&T and T-Mobile. If I make same call on the
same phone, camped on the same cellular tower using a different SIM card,
everything works.

Why would they do this?

kenair · **Ekit a pain -** 20-07-2011, 14:47

I have foudn that E kit is deactivating my US number after a week, what a pain.

Also I find that text messages sent via my Ekit sim and not received by any one who is on the MTS network in Manitoba Canada, E kit said they can't fix this.

cheers - ken

GadgetKen · 23-07-2011, 21:31

A way to get around the ekit/MTS SMS text message block would be to send an email to 10digitphonenumber@text.mtsmobility.com from the handset. Have sent MMS messages to email addresses from my ekit sim so this should work (at least in theory...).

Another way would be to send a text message from the MTS webpage from a browser enabled phone: Send a Text Message - MTS Mobility

Of the two methods, a flat text email would likely be cheaper because the web browsing function of ekit has to be in the UK number mode rather than the US/Canada number mode.

PhotoJim · 02-03-2011, 04:34

VoIP can do that, if it's being used somewhere in the loop, which is quite possible. The ability to pass touch tones can be configured; usually the tones are transmitted electronically and created at the other end, rather than transmitted as digitized audio.

FBlack_111 · 11-05-2011, 15:35

Just a quick comment again about EKIT. I have not been out of the U.S. for a long while so I have not needed or used my EKIT Passport SIM. So they sent me a reminder e-mail yesterday to use it (make a call or send an SMS) soon or it will be deactivated. I don't know if other SIM companies do this, but it's a great service from EKIT.

	(#1)
frenchfry (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 27 Join Date: 12 Mar 2009 Country:	01-03-2010, 16:17 I have only had my sim card for 2 and half weeks. On day one I activated the US number and setup the 50 cents a month deal. I have not had to reactivate the US but that one time. I would rather pay the 50 cent a month than have to log on or call a certain number to activate. It seems that the 50 cents a month does the trick. I will post if it does not.

	(#2)
GadgetKen (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 342 Join Date: 14 Dec 2004 Location: Connecticut, USA Country:	03-03-2010, 01:44 Using the ekit sim in Nevis right now on Cable and Wireless LIME. Cheaper to call US then my Digicel Bermuda chip but Digicel is cheaper for local calls and Sms(both chips active in a dual sim phone). Both are a bargain compared to hotel room phone. Haven't decided yet whether ekit 50 cent/month charge worth it or not to keep US number and possibly active all the time. ekit sim worked all days but in transit at SXM and yesterday for some reason; used Digicel chip when that happened. Not good enough hotel wifi quality for SkypeOut but gmail and web surfing are fine on my Sony Mylo. Will use Digicel in ANU en route back to US because ekit rates there are too high. Pluses on ekit over defunct um/um+ are no failed callback charges, decent audio quality, and no noticeable voice latency. Phones/Wireless Devices: Doogee S90, Isatphone Pro, Amazon Kindle 3G, SkyRoam MiFi device, Karma MiFi device, AT&T Liberate MiFi device Sim Cards: T-Mobile (Mint), AT&T (Mifi device or Kindle), Koko Satphone: InMarSat Broadband US Wireless Data: AT&T postpaid, Sprint (Karma Mobility prepaid) Broadband International Data: SkyRoam VOIP: Skype

	(#4)
GadgetKen (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 342 Join Date: 14 Dec 2004 Location: Connecticut, USA Country:	24-02-2011, 05:32 Can you be more specific on which countries/carriers in South America it did not work in so other travelers are aware? Also did you try the alternate dial method from the sim card menu or by dialing "126 followed by the country code (1 in the United States), area code and phone number, followed by #"? That worked for me in Grand Cayman the first 2 weeks of January when direct dial didn't generate a callback reliably (I just stored commonly dialed numbers in auto dial with the 126number# codes. Phones/Wireless Devices: Doogee S90, Isatphone Pro, Amazon Kindle 3G, SkyRoam MiFi device, Karma MiFi device, AT&T Liberate MiFi device Sim Cards: T-Mobile (Mint), AT&T (Mifi device or Kindle), Koko Satphone: InMarSat Broadband US Wireless Data: AT&T postpaid, Sprint (Karma Mobility prepaid) Broadband International Data: SkyRoam VOIP: Skype

	(#5)
schuster (Offline) Member Official Member Posts: 37 Join Date: 28 Feb 2007 Country:	Google Voice? - 25-02-2011, 23:46 Has anyone had experience with using the USA side of the eKit SIM on Google Voice? I'm trying to "add" my eKit US number to my list of linked phones, and I'm running into a technical issue. The verification procedure sends a callback to the phone you'd like to link, and gives you a 2-digit number to enter on the phone's keypad. Well ... I've tried 3 different phones and several locations (all with good signal strength) and the touch tones just don't go through. After 2 tries, Google Voice says "I can see you're having trouble" and hangs up. The SIM is operating on AT&T.

	(#6)
schuster (Offline) Member Official Member Posts: 37 Join Date: 28 Feb 2007 Country:	01-03-2011, 16:55 Well, I just opened a trouble ticket with eKit on this. It appears that the MVNO they use in US/Canada (Immix?) is swallowing touch tones at least in my area. I can call myself on another phone and listen in; if I speak the voice comes through; if I press a number of the keypad it does not come out on the other side. I've tried roaming on both AT&T and T-Mobile. If I make same call on the same phone, camped on the same cellular tower using a different SIM card, everything works. Why would they do this?

	(#7)
kenair (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 2 Join Date: 20 Jul 2011 Country:	Ekit a pain - 20-07-2011, 14:47 I have foudn that E kit is deactivating my US number after a week, what a pain. Also I find that text messages sent via my Ekit sim and not received by any one who is on the MTS network in Manitoba Canada, E kit said they can't fix this. cheers - ken

	(#8)
GadgetKen (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 342 Join Date: 14 Dec 2004 Location: Connecticut, USA Country:	23-07-2011, 21:31 A way to get around the ekit/MTS SMS text message block would be to send an email to 10digitphonenumber@text.mtsmobility.com from the handset. Have sent MMS messages to email addresses from my ekit sim so this should work (at least in theory...). Another way would be to send a text message from the MTS webpage from a browser enabled phone: Send a Text Message - MTS Mobility Of the two methods, a flat text email would likely be cheaper because the web browsing function of ekit has to be in the UK number mode rather than the US/Canada number mode. Phones/Wireless Devices: Doogee S90, Isatphone Pro, Amazon Kindle 3G, SkyRoam MiFi device, Karma MiFi device, AT&T Liberate MiFi device Sim Cards: T-Mobile (Mint), AT&T (Mifi device or Kindle), Koko Satphone: InMarSat Broadband US Wireless Data: AT&T postpaid, Sprint (Karma Mobility prepaid) Broadband International Data: SkyRoam VOIP: Skype

	(#9)
PhotoJim (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 389 Join Date: 10 Dec 2006 Location: Regina, SK, CA Country:	02-03-2011, 04:34 VoIP can do that, if it's being used somewhere in the loop, which is quite possible. The ability to pass touch tones can be configured; usually the tones are transmitted electronically and created at the other end, rather than transmitted as digitized audio. CA: SaskTel, Wind postpaid; Rogers, Bell postpaid iPad flex plans; US: T-Mobile postpaid data, prepaid voice; PureTalk (AT&T MVNO) prepaid voice/data; AT&T prepaid iPad plan Hardware: Too much but notably iPhone 5, iPad Mini Retina LTE, Moto G LTE (N.A. version), iPhone 4. All unlocked.

	(#10)
FBlack_111 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 171 Join Date: 27 Feb 2008 Country:	11-05-2011, 15:35 Just a quick comment again about EKIT. I have not been out of the U.S. for a long while so I have not needed or used my EKIT Passport SIM. So they sent me a reminder e-mail yesterday to use it (make a call or send an SMS) soon or it will be deactivated. I don't know if other SIM companies do this, but it's a great service from EKIT.