Before coming to Buenos Aires I did a lot of research on how I was going to get my Iphone4 hooked up and working with a pre paid micro-sim card. I found a few really helpful blogs (thanks Dave!) that talked about the Movistar Prepago packages and how to get that working with an iphone4.
I was certain that the prepaid cards Movistar would give me would be the full size sim card and that I would have to cut it down to fit in my iphone4 (which is a microsim).
After arriving in the city and hunting around for a few days I found the Movistar Mothership at Av. Santa Fe 1844 (corner of Callao and Santa Fe). Luckily it was only a 10 minute walk from our rented apartment. It is also close to the Subte (metro).
The process was quite simple:
- Walk in the door
- Someone will greet you once you enter. They will have a phone/pda thing. They will ask you your name and what you are looking to do. Give your name to them and thell them you are looking to buy a prepago chip. They will enter in your name into their little device.
- You'll go up an escalator where you'll see an LCD screen with your name. There will be two numbers associated with your name. A No. 0XX and a Caja/Box. Don't worry about the No. Just the Box/Caja number. There will be a series of desks around the floor. They all have numbers on them. Find the number that correlates to your box/caja number on the screen. The lower numbers are located back down the escalator on the main floor.
- Ask for a pre-paid chip and show them your phone. They will know which phone takes which chip (at least they knew an iphone4 takes a micro-sim). I just said "Chip prepago" and they knew what I was looking for.
- There will be a series of questions thrown at you. Most of them you won't understand unless your spanish is MUCH better than mine. You will need your passport, a credit card, and your address in Buenos Aires.
- They will write all of that down in their computer, they will probably dissapear once or twice to a printer and to get the chip.
- They will insert the chip into your phone and ensure it is activated and working.
- You will need to sign the document they print out.
- Cost: For me in December of 2010 it cost ~12,00 pesos to get the microsim and have it activated.
- There is one person in the entire place that speaks english. She is very nice and very helpful. Ask for her (don't know her name, sorry) if you get stuck.
- In about 15 minutes I was back on the streat with a working microsim pre-paid plan.
Recharging
Your phone won't have any credit on it when you walk out of the Movistar office. You'll need to add credit to it. I buy pre-paid Movistar cards that I can add to my account. There is a Kiosko just a minute away from our apartment. Typically you buy an amount and get a bonus when you add it to your account. Dave has summed this up better at DiscoverBuenosAires.com. I bought 30 pesos worth but was given 60 pesos when I added it to my account as it ws a 2 for 1 day.
To add the credits you bought at the Kiosko simply:
- call *444 and wait for the nice voice
- press 2 and wait for the nice voice
- press 1 and wait for the nice voice
- Enter the number that was under the scratch away section of the credit you bought
- Enter #
- Hang up
You can also recharge without having to go through the voice commands.
- Go to your phone application
- Dial *444*The number that was under the scratch away section of the credit you bought#
- Hit call.
- You will receive an instant confirmation that your credit was added.
An other, and often easier way to add credit is to simply go into any Locoturiou (you'll see them everywhere) and ask to recharge your moviestar phone. They will ask you what your number is and how much you'd like to add to your account. They will type that information into a machine and you will receive a text telling you the amount has been added. You pay the clerk in cash.
You should almost immediately receive a text saying that the credit was added to your account.
Buying Data Access
There are a ton of pre-paid packages you can buy. The only one I was really interested in was the data package. It is 1GB (gigabyte) of data to use over the next 2 days. That is a LOT of data for that period of time. It costs 9 or 10 pesos.
To activate it simply text "Datos" (without the quotes) to 2345. You'll get a text back saying it will be activated shortly. Then a text a moment after that saying that it is activated. You're now all set.
So the long and the short of it: Yes, you can now get pre-paid (prepago) micro sim cards from Movistar in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Comments
Ernest - December 28, 2010 12:59 AM
Hi. First of all, excellent article!, just what I needed. Just one question: did you have to unlock your iPhone 4?. If so, where did you do it? (Argentina or the U.S.). Thanks!
Dan James - December 28, 2010 11:00 AM
Hi Ernest,
I have a factory unlocked iphone4. Search google/YouTube to find out how to unlock your phone.
Cheers!
Maciej - January 26, 2011 8:15 AM
Excelent article! Im going to BA next week and will follow your steps :)
Tks Man!
Noel - February 3, 2011 12:40 AM
Heading to Argentina for two weeks shortly with my unlocked 3GS. Thanks SO much for that information. I found lots of info on prepaid cards but virtually nothing except yours on how to get a prepaid SIM card ("chip" as they call it in Argentina) and activate it.
Thanks again!
Noel - February 3, 2011 12:50 AM
By the way, did you have to change the APN on your iphone? If so what did you change it to. The APN changer from unlockit.co.nz (only accessible from safari on your iPhone) has movistar 1 and movistar 2 as options for Argentina. Or maybe you have the actual APN setting to use?
Dan James - February 3, 2011 11:13 PM
I didn't have to change my APN at all. It all seemed to work automatically. I have a factory unlocked iPhone 4.
David Low - February 7, 2011 1:14 PM
Useful article - I followed it to the letter with my factory unlocked iphone 4
A couple of things:
1) I had to use the unlockit.co.nz site to change my APN to movistar 2 (changes to internet.unifon)
2) I sent the "datos" message to 2345
Noel - February 8, 2011 4:03 PM
It is not supposed to be necessary to use unlockit.co.nz to change the APN as for factory unlocked iPhones, as long as you are using an official carrier as listed on Apple's website, which Movistar is, then the APN is changed automatically. Most people with a factory unlocked iPhone wouldn't even know about this special program. This is why Apple states on its website that you can put a SIM from any official carrier into a factory unlocked iPhone and the phone will simply work. It is only when you are 1) using a factory unlocked iPhone with an unofficial carrier or 2) using a software unlocked (ie not officially unlocked) iPhone with either an official or unofficial carrier that you need to change the APN yourself.
David Low - February 15, 2011 6:59 AM
Another note re Movistar: the promotion 10 pesos for 2 days and 1GB may have expired. I burned through 60 pesos (105 with promotions) in only 3 uses (each 2 days). No usage except mild data.
I go to check my balance, and the automated voice says I don't have enough balance to check my balance! Gotta smile.
David Low - February 15, 2011 7:09 AM
WRT Noel's note above - The APN used by a carrier for its prepaid offering may differ from that for the postpaid service. For instance, in the USA you will need to change the APN if you use a prepaid AT&T SIM.
Noel - February 17, 2011 4:20 PM
As of February 2011, it seems none of the 3 main operators (Movistar, Claro, Personal) have data plans for their prepaid phone cards. Data plans are only available with subscriptions, which require to be a resident in Argentina.
Source: http://paygsimwithdata.wikia.com/wiki/Argentina
Dan James - February 17, 2011 9:41 PM
Noel,
Are you able to confirm that on the ground? When I left Argentina on January 28 I was still able to buy per day data from Movistar.
Dan James - February 17, 2011 9:44 PM
Movistar is still listing the service on their site as well: http://movistar.com.ar/planes/prepago/paquetes/
Luciano - February 18, 2011 8:50 AM
I had the same intent when I went to Buenos Aires to new year's eve, but went to the store on the weekend, and they couldn't activate the account because it was weekend!!
Noel - February 18, 2011 8:48 PM
I bought my SIM chip at Movistar today and had no problem activating a 2GB data plan on it for 10 pesos, but you text Datos to 2345 NOT 444 as mentioned in the article above.
Also, if you have a software unlocked iPhone you need to use unlockit.co.nz to change the APN to movistar 1 or 2 (both work). Email both profiles to yourself using that website so you don't need a WiFi connection to change your APN.
Dan - February 21, 2011 9:32 PM
Noel,
You're absolutely right. I had a typo in my post. You send Datos to 2345, not 444. I've corrected it. Thanks for your help. Glad to hear it's working for you now!
Marceu - March 11, 2011 4:13 PM
Perfect my friend, I'm gonna try it in my Palm Treo Pro. Thanks!
Zanny - June 30, 2011 6:22 PM
I just went to the Movistar office and followed the instructions. All worked fine except it was really busy (Friday afternoon) so I had to wait 30 minutes for my name to show up on screen, then another 30 for the girl to get through the DOS database.
Thanks for the helpful info!
Vicki - September 23, 2011 2:02 PM
Will this prepaid sim card work for data on an ipad 2 to avoid heavy roaming charges?
Emma - October 18, 2011 11:49 AM
I have recently come to Buenos Aires and have the iPhone 4. Is moviestar the only company that will provide the prepaid micro sim card and do I really have to cut it myself? Isn't there any equivalent like in the US, they have a monthly fee, say you pay 50 dollars a month and you get free Internet and free national text and calls? Will be very grateful for any help!!!