get international SIM in Brazil

[sou1 so1di3r]

I'll be traveling to Brazil in April and want to get a SIM for my iPhone 5S.

I have verizon in the USA currently. Will I be able to walk into any shop and just buy a nano-SIM?

Any recommendation on carriers? I'll be in Sao Paulo and then travelling to Rio.

 

[ml.sail1]

Unfortunately, to even purchase a sim card in Brazil you are required to have a CPF (The equivalent of our social security #). If you know someone there who has one (citizens/legal residents) you could get a prepaid sim card with their help.

I would suggest going the carrier Vivo as they are known to have the best coverage. Note that when going "out of state" you will be charged for roaming in Brazil. I was there for most of August and traveled from Rio de Janeiro to Espiritu Santo, and my $20 balance was depleted nearly instantly.

 

[sou1 so1di3r]

Unfortunately, to even purchase a sim card in Brazil you are required to have a CPF (The equivalent of our social security #). If you know someone there who has one (citizens/legal residents) you could get a prepaid sim card with their help.

I would suggest going the carrier Vivo as they are known to have the best coverage. Note that when going "out of state" you will be charged for roaming in Brazil. I was there for most of August and traveled from Rio de Janeiro to Espiritu Santo, and my $20 balance was depleted nearly instantly.

So I do have a friend in Rio. Would he have to buy it for me or could I just use his CPF number? Reason is I am starting in SAO and won't see him until a week after I arrive in Brazil.

I will be driving along the coast from SAO to RIO... sound sounds like I might be roaming?

 

[ml.sail1]

So I do have a friend in Rio. Would he have to buy it for me or could I just use his CPF number? Reason is I am starting in SAO and won't see him until a week after I arrive in Brazil.

I will be driving along the coast from SAO to RIO... sound sounds like I might be roaming?

I'm thinking he would have to buy it for you, merely by the fact that when I went into the store they actually took my friend's ID/CPF card to run it through a check or something like that.

RJ and SP are in two different states so you could face some roaming charges.

 

[sou1 so1di3r]

I'm thinking he would have to buy it for you, merely by the fact that when I went into the store they actually took my friend's ID/CPF card to run it through a check or something like that.

RJ and SP are in two different states so you could face some roaming charges.

hmm shoot... sounds like I may be totally out of luck then. might have to be off the grid... ****.

 

[ml.sail1]

Just a thought, but I wonder if you were to buy a T-Mobile sim and activate a "new line" for one month for the $50, if you could get the free international data roaming. You wouldn't be able to make calls (or they'd probably cost $$$) but you'd have unlimited 2g data, enough to send iMessages/Whatsapp/facebook message.