So what do I do with my cell phone?

Firstly, make sure your phone is unlocked.  Check with Verizon.

Secondly, cancel the plan with Verizon just before you leave the States.  US providers are waay too expensive and not at all effective in VN.

Thirdly, buy a SIM when you arrive for your existing phone.  It'll be a Vietnamese number.  Go to a reputable store such as The Gioi Di Dong (very large yellow coloured electronic chain) to have it done.  There are 4 main providers, if you tell the staff how you plan to use your phone and in which area of Saigon you'll be living, they'll will help you with a plan and provider that suit your needs.

The best value plans allow you to use first, pay after, but you'll need to register the number in a local person's name.  To pay as you go (more expensive), you can have it in your name.

Install WhatsApp, Viber, etc. so you can keep in touch with family and friends in the States without cost.

A Google search will yield more info and better explanations than what I just did.

Check your charger as well.
I gather many electronic devices sold in the US are stuck on 110v rather than the universal chargers sold in most of the rest of the world.

Google have a service that allows free calls to most US landline numbers, and WA, Skype, or whatever look after the rest.
Skype also have a local number service that allows US callers to call a US number but the call is routed to your phone or computer. I have a local UK number and it's very handy.

Ciambella wrote:

Firstly, make sure your phone is unlocked.  Check with Verizon.

Secondly, cancel the plan with Verizon just before you leave the States.  US providers are waay too expensive and not at all effective in VN.

Thirdly, buy a SIM when you arrive for your existing phone.  It'll be a Vietnamese number.  Go to a reputable store such as The Gioi Di Dong (very large yellow coloured electronic chain) to have it done.  There are 4 main providers, if you tell the staff how you plan to use your phone and in which area of Saigon you'll be living, they'll will help you with a plan and provider that suit your needs.

The best value plans allow you to use first, pay after, but you'll need to register the number in a local person's name.  To pay as you go (more expensive), you can have it in your name.

Install WhatsApp, Viber, etc. so you can keep in touch with family and friends in the States without cost.

A Google search will yield more info and better explanations than what I just did.

BEFORE cancelling the current phone plan, "port" that phone number into 'Google Voice':

PORTING PHONE NUMBER TO GOOGLE VOICE (click to read Google FAQ on subject)

You will be able to continue to use your old number for texting, which can be done through a computer browser OR the "Google Hangouts" app.

"Google Voice" app will allow you to use that same number for VOIP WiFi calling, including Voice Mail with transcriptions sent to Gmail, if you choose.

There are some instances where there is a small charge for calls, similar to Skype.

You can also get a Skype number as Fred mentioned, but you can only port a number into Skype "business", which costs $'s. For regular Skyping, it will mean a new number for your contacts.

If you port your number to Google (cost 1 time $20.00) no one will be able to tell you've made the change.

A detailed explanation of the Google Voice phone number porting process:

https://www.howtogeek.com/92075/how-to- … gle-voice/

A T-Mobile SIM used to work in Vietnam for texts and voice.  Need to check if that is still true as these kind of things often change.  Of course that is only useful on a short trip as it must be either cumbersome to impossible to make local calls within Vietnam.

THIGV wrote:

A T-Mobile SIM used to work in Vietnam for texts and voice.  Need to check if that is still true as these kind of things often change.  Of course that is only useful on a short trip as it must be either cumbersome to impossible to make local calls within Vietnam.

I'm noticing that, as I add more Vietnamese citizens as contacts, I'm asked if I use "WhatsApp" about 95% of the time.

When I counter-offer to connect via Skype (my preference internationally) virtually everyone says they don't use it.

I envision I'll be using Skype for video calls back to the U.S. - Google and other apps have video capabilities, but Skype seems to excel with this function.

Google Voice & Hangouts will keep me connected via my old phone number in The States.

I'll use the new Vietnam phone number I get (with a Sim card) to link to 'WhatsApp'.

With a good WiFi connection, I should be able to stream video live to Facebook...but why would I? 

I used Skype for years but WA has all but killed it for mobile to mobile. It's still very handy for landlines and mobiles when I don't know the person personally.
The local number is especially handy at the moment as I'm conducting a little business in the UK and it allows people there to call a Sheffield number

We were with T-Mobile and it cost money for texts. 

Actually, we're still with T-Mobile even though we haven't used it since we moved here.  It's a family plan that's no longer offered by T-Mobile except for a handful of old timers who refused to let it go.  Daughter was/is one of those stubborn ones, fought tooth and nail with T-Mobile for weeks citing precedents and promising to see them in court (she's in the legal profession) until they gave in.  David 1, Goliath 0.  But, as T-Mobile kept the plan intact for our family, there could not be any change on her part -- she has to keep all numbers (7 in total).  So, husband's and my US numbers are ours for perpetuity. 

To the OP -- Excellent suggestions from Fred and OceanBeach.  Google Voice is a must if you maintain business or professional connections with the States, even if it only means dealing with banks.  Our upstairs neighbour (who is one of the posters on this forum) is using one, and we used it when we lived in Europe.  We don't anymore because daughter represents us in all things in the States.  I use Hangouts daily but it doesn't need a number.

There are various ways you can do it depending on what you want to do. I have a duel sim card phone so i can still use both numbers.

PS:  Our upstairs neighbour told us that because people are calling his US number, the calls often come at 2AM or 3AM here.  It can be a problem to look professional via Skype at those hours. 

Autosparky wrote:

There are various ways you can do it depending on what you want to do. I have a duel sim card phone so i can still use both numbers.

The OP should know this is virtually impossible with most U.S. Carriers.

For instance, every source I've read says T-Mobile simply doesn't work in Vietnam. Not even international roaming.

Unless the second Sim card is from an active U.S. account that allows for service in Vietnam, it's only going to help if your stay in Vietnam is short term, or if @Ciambella's daughter adopts you... 

Yeah sorry mine is Australian

To summarize, do these things in order a couple days before you fly. Unfortunately it will leave you with a phone that can't make/receive calls regular calls and texts until you reach Vietnam.

(As OceanBeach sez) transfer your phone number to Google for $20. Then your friends can still call it, and not be startled when you call them with a new number. This will be your phone number for all your US stuff. Very important you have a US number if you keep bank accounts, web accounts like Amazon, Google, etc. for increasing web security that verifies with a text message. Google Voice has voice mail, can receive calls, and you can make calls to any phone in the states for free. So from your computer or smartphone, back to their mobile or landline.

Payoff "insane Verizon plan", for which you are paying both monthly service, and monthly amortization payments for the expensive smart phone you bought. The pay out makes you the owner of the phone (unlocks you from contract) like paying off a car loan.

Close your Verizon account.

In Vietnam, you can get sims everywhere. Airport, convenience store, phone store... I got setup from the lady at the hotel desk, had to show her my passport. Sim card 100k, monthly voice + data + text for 70k. No contract. (Maybe you can get higher data rates with contracts at phone stores, I didn't do what Ciambella did. You can always change later.)

For me, the best solution is a dual SIM phone, as Autosparky suggested.

In the first slot is always the prepaid card of my home country.
All banks and other finance services have this phone number and send the TANs to this number. The calls are switched directly to the Commbox (voicemail) otherwise high roaming charges apply.
When someone leaves a message, I get an SMS.
I play the commbox back by Skype and then I call the caller back by Skype.
When I go to another country I can load a cheap 30 day data package for this country by the SIM card app .

In the second slot is the Vietnamese data SIM card (only data). For 70k Dong I get a 30 day 5GB data package. I can receive phone calls (e.g. for Lazada) and SMS (e.g. for TANs from Vietnames banks).
For longer stays in Thailand I have also a Thai prepaid SIM card which I can exchange with the Vietnamese SIM card.
You only must top-up sometimes in order to keep the SIM cards alive.
For Thailand e.g. 2 Baht for 30 days (if you top-up via internet service, it's not necessarry to be be connected with the Thai net). For my home country I only have to do one activity (e.g. send a SMS) a year to keep the card alive.

For all calls in Vietnam or my home country I use Zalo or WhatsApp, or for calls to a landline number I use Skype.

In the best case my total telephone costs are 70k Dong per month. And sometimes a few dollars a year for Skype on landlines.

Andy -- The OP is an American, so cell phone options that are available to European expats are not at all helpful to him.

Ciambella wrote:

Andy -- The OP is an American, so cell phone options that are available to European expats are not at all helpful to him.

My fault.
I didn't know America didn't know dual SIM phones, prepaid SIM cards or international mobile roaming.

Maybe I might have had to read this article first.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcwebert … 98d1714042

Make America Great Again! 

Andy Passenger wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

Andy -- The OP is an American, so cell phone options that are available to European expats are not at all helpful to him.

My fault.
I didn't know America didn't know dual SIM phones, prepaid SIM cards or international mobile roaming.

Maybe I might have had to read this article first.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcwebert … 98d1714042

Make America Great Again! 

I see how it could work easily IF the OP already owns a dual-Sim phone compatible with Vietnam network.

Otherwise a new phone purchase would be necessary.

I'm glad you posted this, because I do want a phone with a better camera and more internal storage.

I've already ported my old cell number to Google, and then ported my home landline to my current cell.

If I can find the right pre-paid, dual-Sim, better camera, 64GB phone that works in Vietnam, through a company that allows my current cell number to be ported, I might just do that.

Andy Passenger wrote:

My fault.
I didn't know America didn't know dual SIM phones, prepaid SIM cards or international mobile roaming.

Make America Great Again!

Sarcasm isn't the best way to communicate, Andy.  However you think of America the country or American politic, you cannot seriously think America is in want of advance technology.

Dual SIM phones are not a priority in the US because almost all cell phone plans have extensive international coverage that makes dual SIM redundant.  Out of the 61 countries that my husband and I have visited, we didn't need to buy local SIM cards in 54 countries because our phone plan covered them all for no additional cost.  Major cell phone providers in the States offer unlimited text and data in more than 200 countries with low charge for international calls to the States, so why producing dual SIM phones when one SIM phone works almost everywhere?

Prepaid SIM cards are rarely used by Americans because almost everyone has a phone plan.  It's less expensive buying into a plan when one uses one's phone 18 hours a day.  The additional benefit is that cell phone plans allow people to have the most expensive and newest phone for pocket change.  Yes, one has to be locked in for 2 or 3 years, but that's the American way. 

International mobile roaming: see above.

Vietnam, unfortunately, is one of a small number of countries where American cell providers do not pay attention to.  Just because most of the posters on this forum are expats in VN doesn't make this country an important market to American cell phone providers.  Perhaps because out of the top 40 countries that American tourists visited in most recent years, VN was ranked at #33.  Pretty low on the totem pole; not much profits for the efforts.

So dial down your frequent America bashing, would you?  This isn't a political forum, in case you need a reminder.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

Andy Passenger wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

Andy -- The OP is an American, so cell phone options that are available to European expats are not at all helpful to him.

My fault.
I didn't know America didn't know dual SIM phones, prepaid SIM cards or international mobile roaming.

Maybe I might have had to read this article first.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcwebert … 98d1714042

Make America Great Again! 

I see how it could work easily IF the OP already owns a dual-Sim phone compatible with Vietnam network.

Otherwise a new phone purchase would be necessary.

I'm glad you posted this, because I do want a phone with a better camera and more internal storage.

I've already ported my old cell number to Google, and then ported my home landline to my current cell.

If I can find the right pre-paid, dual-Sim, better camera, 64GB phone that works in Vietnam, through a company that allows my current cell number to be ported, I might just do that.

I'm not a friend of expensive iPhone.
I have been using a Huawei Honor 6x with dual SIM for almost 2 years, purchased for about $250.
Huawei has very good (but not so expensive mobile phones) with good cameras.

If you buy a new cell phone you must look that the cell phone supports the right UMTS band. Read the thread https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 56#4091756 about this.

Awesome! Thank you everyone so much for all the different ideas and plans to make this a smooth transition. I really appreciate it!

Andy Passenger wrote:

I'm not a friend of expensive iPhone.
I have been using a Huawei Honor 6x with dual SIM for almost 2 years, purchased for about $250.
Huawei has very good (but not so expensive mobile phones) with good cameras.

If you buy a new cell phone you must look that the cell phone supports the right UMTS band. Read the thread https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 56#4091756 about this.

I'm Android. Ideally I'd get a Galaxy with a super camera, but may put that off till after I've settled into long-term housing.

That thread you shared was helpful, in that I'd heard of the band issue before but hadn't understood how it might affect my phone purchase.

I'd already resigned myself to 3G or even 2G data speeds, and except for Google Maps, I can't imagine many ways I might need data on the fly, vs. stopping to use WiFi.

I don't want to be TOO connected in Vietnam 

Slightly related question: Does Google Maps tend to offer downloads for areas there to use 'offline'?

I take advantage of that feature as much as possible, and I'm hoping that will minimize my need for data.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

I'd already resigned myself to 3G or even 2G data speeds, and except for Google Maps, I can't imagine many ways I might need data on the fly, vs. stopping to use WiFi.

I don't want to be TOO connected in Vietnam 

Both of our phones and also our mobile WiFi hotspot have 4G.

You may need data on the fly if you're out and about when a call comes in from the States, or someone in-country is trying to call you via WhatsApp or Viber, or when you need to order a ride from Grab or other taxi apps.

Our pocket mobile WiFi hotspot cost 1.3M (there are cheaper versions but my nephew recommended this model), plus 400K for one year of data (15GB -- you can shop around for promotions that would give you either more data or lower cost).  We only use it when we're on the go and can't stop for WiFi.  Worth every đồng.

When we're in another SEA country, we would buy a SIM from that country not for our phones but for the mobile WiFi.  The VN SIM and numbers stay the same.

Before purchasing the mobile WiFi, we were in Singapore when we couldn't order Uber because WiFi wasn't available on the streets.  Begging stores to use their WiFi didn't work.  Believe me, it wasn't fun sitting for 1.5 hrs on a bench outside of a closing mall hoping for an empty taxi to drive by.  Same thing happened in KL two weeks later. 

Ciambella wrote:

Sarcasm isn't the best way to communicate, Andy.

But neither is arrogance, Ciambella.
You should restrain yourself a little with your bossy fuss. This isn't school.

Ciambella wrote:

So dial down your frequent America bashing, would you?

America Bashing? Don't make me laugh!
Since the beginning of 2017, the rest of the world has been bashed daily by POTUS via Twitter.

Discussion over!