Canadian->Indianapolis - iPad 3G Service?

[Pete the Geek]

I'm going to be in Indianapolis from April 12th to the 17th (*). Is there a way for me to get a short-term prepaid data plan for my iPad? Will I even need it for the airport and downtown area or is there free wifi?

I've checked on the Bell Canada website and they only offer U.S. roaming on the big-money monthly contracts. I'm only getting a cheap prepaid plan for those times when I'm traveling in Canada and there is no wifi (or when the "free" airport wifi doesn't work), so I don't qualify for U.S. roaming.

Thank you for your suggestions.

(*) You are a geek if you know what event I'm attending !

 

[blevins321]

You should be able to stop by an AT&T kiosk to get a microsim that you could use; then just sign up for either the 250MB or 2GB ($15/$25) that will auto cancel at the end of a 30-day period.

That said, you should be able to pickup AT&T wifi no problem at Starbucks, Fedex Kinkos copy shops, and McDonalds. Most fast food places have wifi these days in the Midwest.

 

[Pete the Geek]

I just wanted to update this for the benefit of people traveling to the USA. I would also like to get more info on my options. I'm in Indianapolis and went to the AT&T store at the Circle Centre Mall to ask for a pre-paid SIM card for iPad. The woman told me that they don't sell them there and I would have to go the Apple Store in another mall.

So... I didnt bring my laptop, just my iPad 2 and I'm here for six days. The hotel I'm staying at offers wired high speed Internet in the rooms and wireless only here in the lobby. It's a nice lobby, but still .

My questions are:
1) If I trek out to the Apple Store, will I be able to pay for a pre-paid SIM card and use it without having to provide a credit card or US address?

2) Can I get a wireless router and plug it into the wired port in my room and connect my iPad through it? It seems to me it should work and it will solve the problem for future travel. Has anyone tried it? Router recommendations?

Thanks!

P.S. I'm still happy I left the laptop at home. All I had on the plane was a small Tom Bihn messenger bag .

 

[thibaulthalpern]

Keep us updated, whatever you find out!

I'll be doing the opposite of what you'll be doing come the month of May. I'll be travelling home to Canada, carrying my iPad 2 with me (USA model) and will be going to either one of the Apple stores in Vancouver or Bell or Rogers or Fido to get a Micro-SIM card for the iPad 2.

 

[silverblack]

OP, this thread should answer your question:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1003214/

For others planning to travel to the USA, purchase an AT&T microsim from eBay and get a Canadian AMEX. Then you'll be ready to activate your 3G as soon as you walk out of the plane.

For people traveling to Canada, this is your thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/935105/

(It's amazing what that little search button can do)

 

[sasessiontc]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)

Pete,

If you have any other questions regarding Indianapolis you can message me. The Apple Store at the Fashion Mall is pretty awesome. It's constantly busy and if you need any help from any of the employees let me know as I used to work at that location.

Hope you enjoy Indianapolis...it's a pretty neat city.

Tim

 

[Pete the Geek]

OP, this thread should answer your question:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1003214/

That was very helpful, thanks!

If you have any other questions regarding Indianapolis you can message me. The Apple Store at the Fashion Mall is pretty awesome.

Hope you enjoy Indianapolis...it's a pretty neat city.

Tim

I'm enjoying downtown Indianapolis tremendously. Thanks for the offer. If I can find a bus to get out to that mall, I'll go. From the post in the link, my choice would be for an Airport Express to solve the in-room wireless issue. I have decided that the 3G issue is not worth trying to resolve on this trip. Next time I will plan better.

 

[silverblack]

Be aware that you can't set up a new Airport Express with an iPad. The only way to setup or change settings is to use "Airport Utility", which can only be run on a full computer. So people pre-setup their AEs at home, and just plug 'n play at the hotel for connections with their iPad.

 

[mostlynameless]

If you're downtown, Panera Bread and I think Steak and Shake should have free wireless.