Frequently Asked Questions

Nope! When power fails, the Wi-Fi will too. iSocket is a cellular solution! You will need a SIM card though, please read below.

Absolutely!

Presently we only sell equipment and we do not offer connectivity (i.e. SIM cards) - nor do we charge for service (e.g. access to our apps). iSocket is not locked into any certain provider. You only pay to your SIM card supplier. For some countries you need to choose your network before purchase. See also: "Why do you ask for my network?". Simple answer: we will not charge you monthly.

If you have a Verizon/Sprint (USA) phone you can manage iSocket, but iSocket itself will only work on non-Verizon networks. The device and your phone are independent of one another. It doesn’t matter if you are a T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint or Verizon customer – iSocket has no agreements with operators. To put it simply: there will be no problems if you are a Verizon or Sprint customer, but you will need a SIM card that is not from Verizon for iSocket. See below.

When you buy a phone or any other device with a cellular connection (e.g. Kindle) in the USA you often do not need to buy an additional SIM card, because connectivity is already uploaded to a SIM card installed inside the device or to a chip in the device such as for old Verizon phones. For these devices you usually pay a monthly service fee. These are sometimes called locked phones. Since iSocket works through the cellular network and is not locked to any operator, it needs connectivity to be able to send and accept text messages, call or send data. To provide connectivity to iSocket you need to insert a SIM card to a special slot for this card. SIM card has a phone number. You can then text or call to this number in the same way that you call or text to another cellular phone.

Most of our US customers use Truphone prepaid SIM because they don't charge monthly fee. You can buy them online with free shipping within US (note, when they ask to select a state, they mean the state for the number of your future SIM card, not for the shipping address). You only pay $15 for the card (for the plastic, one time) and $15 for the airtime which does not expire. When iSocket sends alerts to you, this is considered an outgoing text. Each message costs 9 cents from that pre-paid airtime. You can later top up the credit (airtime) on the SIM card online via your Truphone account. Activation is also very simple. We usually recommend Truphone SIM to our customers in USA, so far we believe it is the best available option for the US that our customers use every day. If you don't like Truphone SIM for some reasons or if they have changed their plans to the moment when you read it, then another options are: H2O, Black Wireless, Airvoice Wireless. These are all Pay-As-You-Go SIM-cards with a minimum plan of about $3 monthly (because you pay $9 or $10 for 90 days). The good difference from Truphone is that there is no initial cost for the SIM card and sometimes cost of each message can be lower (e.g. 5 cents for H2O). Similar Prepaid solution T-Mobile 3-in-1 SIM Starter Kit - available from T-Mobile or AT&T PREPAID SIM Card Kit from AT&T. AT&T will ask you about IMEI number of the device during buying process. You can find it on the back label of the device - 15 digits below a barcode. We can tell you that number already after processing your order. If you buy it in a store, ask agent to help you with activation: they assign IMEI number of the unit to the number of your new SIM Cards. You will need a micro SIM card for iSocket 3G.

Our customers in Canada usually use 7eleven SpeakOut SIM or Petro-Canada prepaid plans when they have network coverage from Rogers. They use these SIM cards, because of the good price, simple activation and long expiration of prepaid airtime. In November 2019 we heard some rumors that NFC enabled SIM cards from Bell will not work, so please ask Bell for non-NFC SIM if you use Bell network. SaskTel confirmed that iSocket works with their SIMs. We have customers from Saskatchewan who use iSocket successfully. If your provider is Telus, contact us for latest information. If you have coverage from Rogers network we recommend SpeakOut or Petro-Canada SIMs as the most cost effective solution regardless of who is your phone provider. Note, these SIMs might not have access to extended network of Rogers (the network that Rogers doesn't own, but roaming with local carriers) - this information we confirmed with SpeakOut. You can identify Rogers' "extended" network from Rogers coverage map. Few words about networks: iSocket will work on any UMTS network in Canada and carries in Canada are NOT going to switch off these networks at least next 6 years.

For Australia we highly recommend ALDImobile prepaid SIM card that you can pick up from your local ALDI store or buy online. We recommend ALDI SIMs for their long lasting for 365 days and because of good prices - see Go $15 or Go $30 plans. Activation process is also quite simple. ALDI SIM will work on Telstra 850Mhz network and iSocket support this network. You can also use Telstra prepaid SIMs, but we don't see good reasons why would you need to use them. You may need some help with activation process for Telstra SIM from Telstra store. If you want use Optus SIMs please choose "Optus" as your network provider on the checkout. Make sure you always insert only micro-SIM to iSocket and NOT nano-SIM to avoid a damage to the holder.