Sprint HTC One – Calls / Txt / Data in the Bahamas
Our Story…
Did a trip to Abaco this summer 2014 and finally managed to get my Sprint HTC One working in the Bahamas. Thought this may help others that are heading over but may be a little late as we saw many more active smart phones in the Abacos than we ever have in the past.
We’ve been taking the boat over to the Abaco in the summer for the last decade or so and about 6-7 years ago we bought a simple little unlocked Samsung GT-E1086L GSM phone that we could put a BTC SIM card in and use while we were there. It was great for calls and text messages but no data.
We managed to keep the same number/SIM active during the time we were back in Florida by using the phone about once a month and adding 5.00 the the account using the BTC online topup website every 90 days which was required to keep the account active. We like to have the phone available a soon as we hit the Islands without have to going get a new SIM each time. AT&T appears to be a BTC partner as the phone connects to AT&T here in Florida and could be used just as in the Bahamas.
This year was different… The SIM we have been using stopped working when we came back last year. The girl at the BTC office said it was due to the system upgrades they have been making and maybe lack of use.
New Plan —- Unlocked – Sprint HTC ONE – Cell/Text/Data
Late 2013 we upgraded our Sprint phones to the HTC One which we really like as a day to day smart phone. One reason we did was it was an international GSM GSM 850 and 1900 MHz capable phone with a SIM card slot. Before we headed for the Abacos this summer we got the phones unlocked thru Sprint. We contacted Sprint Worldwide at 888-226-7212. It took a few hours then we got and email that said to restart the phones and they would be unlocked. Of course we wouldn’t know for sure until we got to the Abacos.
Success!
7/24/2014 – After we cleared customs in Walkers Cay, we headed for the Rosies Marina in Grand Cay to relax and get our communications situation for the next month squared away. The little BTC office is just up the hill from the marina. The girl in the BTC office, Nicola is great and i have to say she knows her stuff. She got the HTC One setup with BTC SIM, a new number, adjusted a couple settings and Calls/Txt & Data were cranking in no time. Have to say having data on the boat in the Abacos was a nice change even though i resist the notion of always being connected.
To top up the account, they used to use phone cards 5/20/50 but it seems they are getting away from that. We still got some 5.00 cards in Foxtown for back up but it appears that phone topup places like, the grocery store at Rosies, the BTC office and the BTC Website are the ways to get more time and or data for your account.
2014 Cost:
- SIM 15.00
- US calls still .68/.80 TXT still.25 in/out
- Data 2 GIGs or 30days – 30.00
Extra Notes:
- The BTC SIM does not work in the Sprint HTC One back in Florida.
- Had to insert SIM Samsung before it would connect to BTC partner AT&T (to keep account active).
- The Sprint HTC One knows and automatically connected to Sprint.
- Did have to change mobile networks setting back to “Automatic”.
- HotSpot – HTC One worked as a hotspot but BTC appeared to only allow one additional connection.
