Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsInconsistent connectivity
Reviewed in Canada on November 2, 2022
I decided to buy a SIM card for my unlocked Samsung Galaxy S9 before leaving Canada for an 11 day trip to Palm Springs, California and Sedona, Arizona. The intention was to have a cell phone with a US SIM card to make any necessary phone calls, text messages, look up info and use Google Maps while travelling so as to not incur roaming costs on my regular cell phone.
Before I bought this SIM card, I checked the website and confirmed that my Samsung S9 could be used with the SIM and that T-Mobile had coverage in the areas that I was planning to travel. I followed all the instructions and registered the SIM card 48 hours in advance. Inserting the SIM card and registering it online was easy and I received the phone number the day before activation (day of travel).
It was upon arriving at my friend's place in Palm Springs that the problems began. Signal strength was weak to non-existent despite my friend having excellent coverage with her cell. Texting was severely delayed and I could not access any websites using data. I was only able to get online via WiFi which wouldn't help me if I were somewhere without free WiFi and needed to use data.
I emailed Giant Tree with my regular cell phone and they responded immediately. We texted back and forth on my S9 throughout the day to troubleshoot but couldn't get it to work properly at my friend's place but it worked properly in the city. The determination was that the signal strength where I was staying was poor because it worked fine elsewhere.
I figured that as long as it worked outside of my friend's place for the last half of my trip, it would be fine and would not be a waste of money. For the most part that was true. I was able to text, call and go online with this SIM card outside of my friend's place in Palm Springs and while in Sedona and Phoenix but for some reason, Google Maps would not work anywhere with data. It would just stall, which was frustrating when trying to drive around in an unfamiliar city and which was a major reason for getting the SIM card.
This was my first time buying a SIM card for an unlocked phone and though my experience with it was iffy, I would buy another SIM card when travelling in the future, however, I'm on the fence on whether I would go with this company again. I do not fault them if there is poor signal strength in an area, however, their website stated that T-Mobile had coverage which was one of my prerequisites for choosing their SIM card. With that said, Tech Support was absolutely fantastic. They replied right away; were polite; and made numerous attempts to rectify the problem. When the SIM card worked, it worked well - except for Google Maps.