Your phone in Mexico: keep your plan from home, or get a Mexican number?
US plans that include Mexico are built for trips, not for living here. When a Mexican prepaid line makes sense, what it costs, how to buy and register one with a passport, and how to keep your home number alive for bank codes.
The short answer: for a trip of a few weeks, use your plan from home. For a winter or longer, get a Mexican prepaid line too, and keep your home number alive on the cheapest plan you can.
US plans that include Mexico are written for travel. Verizon, for example, may limit Mexico and Canada use if more than half of your usage in 60 days happens there, and T-Mobile caps high-speed data in Mexico. A Mexican prepaid line costs roughly 200 to 300 pesos a month, works with WhatsApp and local apps, and must be linked to your passport when you activate it.
Your phone is the first thing that has to work when you arrive: maps, rides, WhatsApp with the landlord, your bank's security codes. This guide compares the two ways to do it, what each costs, and the one trap people discover too late: losing the home number their bank texts. For the rest of your first weeks, see what to set up after you move.
Option 1: keep your plan from home
Most big US postpaid plans now include Mexico: calls, texts and some data at no extra charge. That's ideal for a trip. For living here, read the small print, because the plans assume you live in the US:
- Verizon says that if more than 50% of your talk, text or data use in a 60-day period is in Canada or Mexico, it may remove or limit service there.
- T-Mobile includes Mexico on most plans, but only a set amount of high-speed data, which depends on the plan. After that, data slows to a crawl (128 kbps on most plans).
- AT&T includes Mexico on its unlimited plans; its terms allow it to act on excessive roaming.
- Canadian plans usually charge a daily fee for roaming in Mexico, which adds up fast over a winter.
The rules change often and differ by plan, so check yours before you count on it. Roaming also has practical limits: some Mexican apps and businesses want a Mexican number, and calls from a US number to Mexican landlines or businesses may not be included.
Option 2: a Mexican prepaid line
Prepaid (prepago, or Amigo on Telcel) is what most foreigners use. No contract and no credit check: you buy a SIM or eSIM, then top up (recarga) a package every month.
- Telcel has the widest coverage, especially outside the big cities. Its prepaid packages include calls, texts and data in the US and Canada too, which is useful if you go back and forth.
- AT&T México and Movistar are the other national carriers, often with more data for the money in cities.
- Low-cost brands resell other networks' capacity. Bait, sold at Walmart, is the best known. They give the most data per peso, but check coverage where you'll live.
What it cost in October 2026 (examples; prices and packages change often):
| Package | Data | Valid for |
|---|---|---|
| Telcel Amigo Sin Límite, 200 pesos | 3.5 GB | 30 days |
| Telcel Amigo Sin Límite, 300 pesos | 5.5 GB | 30 days |
| Telcel Amigo Sin Límite, 2,400 pesos (one payment) | 7 GB a month | 12 months |
| Bait, 200 pesos | 12 GB | 30 days |
Telcel's packages also let WhatsApp and the main social apps run without using up your data in Mexico. If you work from your phone or use it as a hotspot, look at postpaid plans or a carrier's larger packages; the prepaid data runs out quickly.
Buying and registering a Mexican line
- Check your phone is unlocked. A phone bought on a US or Canadian contract may only accept its carrier's SIM. Ask the carrier to unlock it before you leave. Most recent phones also take an eSIM, so you can keep your home line in the same phone.
- Buy the SIM or eSIM in a carrier store, where staff will set it up, or online. Convenience stores and supermarkets sell SIM kits too.
- Link it to your ID. Since January 9, 2026, every Mexican mobile line has to be linked (vinculada) to the person who uses it. New lines are linked at activation. Foreigners use a valid passport, or the CURP on a resident card. Online it takes a photo of the ID and a selfie; in a store, they do it with you. Use only your carrier's site or app, or the regulator's portal registratulinea.crt.gob.mx.
- Top up in the carrier's app, online with a card, or in cash at OXXO and most shops. Set a reminder: when a package expires, data stops.
Already have a prepaid line from before 2026? It has its own deadline, by the last digit of the number, between August 15 and December 31, 2026. A line that misses it is suspended within 72 hours, except for emergency calls, until you link it. The details are in just moved to Mexico.
Keep your home number: your bank needs it
Banks, card issuers, brokers, tax agencies and pension services back home send security codes by text. Cancel the number and you can lock yourself out of your own money from another country. Before you change anything:
- Keep the number on the cheapest plan that still receives texts in Mexico. With a dual-SIM or eSIM phone, it can sit in the second slot.
- Move each account you can to an authenticator app instead of text messages, and save the backup codes somewhere safe.
- Be careful with internet phone numbers. Porting your number to a VoIP service is cheaper, but some banks won't send codes to VoIP numbers. Test each important account before you rely on it.
Numbers, dialing and WhatsApp
- Every Mexican number has 10 digits, mobile or landline. The old 044, 045 and 01 prefixes were abolished in 2019.
- From abroad, dial the country code +52 and then the 10 digits. Save Mexican contacts as +52 and 10 digits, and WhatsApp will find them.
- Most businesses, doctors and landlords prefer WhatsApp to calls. Many list a WhatsApp number instead of a phone number.
Changing carrier and keeping your Mexican number
Mexico has number portability. Text NIP to 051 from the line to get a portability PIN, then give it to the new carrier with your ID. Porting is free and is meant to be done within 24 hours.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I use my US phone plan in Mexico long-term?
For trips, yes: most big US plans include Mexico. For living here, it's risky. The plans are written for travel: Verizon, for example, may limit or remove Mexico and Canada use if more than half of your usage in a 60-day period is there, and T-Mobile caps high-speed data in Mexico by plan.
Can a foreigner get a Mexican SIM card?
Yes. Buy a prepaid SIM or eSIM from Telcel, AT&T, Movistar or a low-cost brand, and link the line to your identity with your valid passport (or the CURP on your resident card). Since January 2026 every Mexican mobile line must be linked to its user's ID.
How much is a prepaid phone plan in Mexico?
Roughly 200 to 300 pesos a month for normal use. In October 2026, Telcel's 200-peso package gave 3.5 GB for 30 days, with use in the US and Canada included, and Bait's 200-peso recharge gave 12 GB for 30 days. Prices change; check the carrier.
How do I keep my Mexican number if I change carrier?
Request a portability PIN by texting NIP to 051, then give it to the new carrier with your ID. Porting is free and is meant to be completed within 24 hours.
Sources
- Verizon, important plan information: the 50% / 60-day rule for Canada and Mexico.
- T-Mobile, Canada & Mexico included: high-speed data by plan and reduced speeds after.
- AT&T, using your phone internationally and the unlimited plan terms (excessive roaming).
- Telcel, Amigo Sin Límite packages: use in the US and Canada, and the apps that don't count against data. Package prices and data for October 2026 as compiled by Selectra; Bait recharges from Selectra.
- Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones, mobile line identification rules as amended in June 2026 (DOF) and the Registra tu línea portal.
- IFT, 10-digit dialing, questions and answers (PDF), and 10 things about number portability (PDF).
Last checked October 19, 2026. Carriers change packages and roaming terms often; if something here no longer matches, please tell me.
