Having a phone number/SIM from your home country

[TJKansai]

Many services these days require two factor ID, based on you having a phone with a phone number. Some require the phone number to have a country code matching the location of the business.

I thought I could get around this by getting a Skype number based in the USA. That worked for getting texts from my sister, but I still could not receive the "short text" from banks. After researching this a bit I found a lot of people had the same issue. Skype is pretty vague in their T&C and only says it can't be used for emergencies. In the end I got the number cancelled and a refund.

We also had an issue with her Australian bank. Last year my wife could receive the code via her Japanese number, but this year she couldn't. We ended up having to wait for two weeks for a token to show up.

So, the question is, do any of you keep a SIM from your home country? If so, how much are you paying and which service are you using?

I am thinking about keeping my son's H20 plan going even after he returns from the US, but $15/month looks like the cheapest possible.

[getsugasin]

Hi,

I hope I can contribute here.

I have been holding on to my home country's SIM card for over 3 years now.

The main reason is because of 2FA, since everything related to government websites require an SMS confirmation, thus I had gotten the cheapest plan.

It cost around 1600 yen I think for 2gb per month.

It's a monthly subscription plan since my carrier doesn't have a permanent overseas plan.

I consider it expensive since for that price I can get 20GB usage but get cut down to 1/10 of that while overseas.

[TJKansai]

Hi,

I hope I can contribute here.

I have been holding on to my home country's SIM card for over 3 years now.

The main reason is because of 2FA, since everything related to government websites require an SMS confirmation, thus I had gotten the cheapest plan.

It cost around 1600 yen I think for 2gb per month.

It's a monthly subscription plan since my carrier doesn't have a permanent overseas plan.

I consider it expensive since for that price I can get 20GB usage but get cut down to 1/10 of that while overseas.

Thanks for the input. That price is pretty close to what my son's plan is, and I haven't found cheaper. The US prices are a good bit more than the recent Japan pricing. The question is whether to pay the $15x12 a year or keep asking my sister to be my go-between...

The Skype number was just around $25/yr, but that was not a viable solution unfortunately.

[Teflon]

Sounds like we're in the same boat. I had already purchased a US address in Florida (no income tax) and a Florida phone number through Skype using the same $25 plan that you had. Then I discovered that 2FA doesn't work with VOIP phones. Searched around and found Truphone which offers a SIM for $30 and it has a $15 credit toward your initial balance. Incoming SMS and incoming calls are free so as long as you aren't making outgoing calls/texts then you'll never pay again. There is no monthly fee. For this to work in Japan you'll need an unlocked dual-SIM GSM phone. In the States you'll need an address to ship the SIM, then have it forwarded to Japan. Your phone number area code will be allocated based on this shipping address.

I just signed up today. I'll report back once I get the SIM shipped over and setup.

Check it out: https://www.truphone.com/us/consumer/sim/

[TJKansai]

Sounds like we're in the same boat. I had already purchased a US address in Florida (no income tax) and a Florida phone number through Skype using the same $25 plan that you had. Then I discovered that 2FA doesn't work with VOIP phones. Searched around and found Truphone which offers a SIM for $30 and it has a $15 credit toward your initial balance. Incoming SMS and incoming calls are free so as long as you aren't making outgoing calls/texts then you'll never pay again. There is no monthly fee. For this to work in Japan you'll need an unlocked dual-SIM GSM phone. In the States you'll need an address to ship the SIM, then have it forwarded to Japan. Your phone number area code will be allocated based on this shipping address.

I just signed up today. I'll report back once I get the SIM shipped over and setup.

Check it out: https://www.truphone.com/us/consumer/sim/

Sounds like the perfect solution.

[TokyoWart]

Very interested in this discussion because I also find I need a US phone number. I am pretty naive about how this works because for the last decade or so I do everything with a smartphone issued by my company. I was going to just get an extra phone (like a whole phone ) and plan in the US (linked to a bank account I have there) and then only actually use the phone within my home here in Japan where I could connect via my wifi network when I needed the 2-factor authentication. How does this work with just getting a SIM card? (Explain it to me like you would to your tech-challenged grandmother.)

[fools_gold]

Is Google voice not an option? I got a number when I was in the US and can receive SMS messages.

[TJKansai]

Is Google voice not an option? I got a number when I was in the US and can receive SMS messages.

I suspect that while it can receive SMS, it might be similar to Skype and not work for the verification codes. Something about how the bank sends "short" SMS that is different from regular (I am not tech wiz, as you can tell).

[TJKansai]

One more info point. Before my son left for the US I bought him an H2O wireless SIM card on Amazon.jp. There a many out there targeting Japanese planning to travel to the USA.

I think we paid ¥3,000 and it came with $30 credit. There is the up to 30 day, and the over 30 day, but then you need to pay monthly to keep it going.

All the instructions were in Japanese, and the Japanese proficient people in my household still found it a pain to get up and running, but we did.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/Wireless-MONTH ... T4JK6&th=1

[Tony]

I have a shitty android phone with an Australian SIM card in it for 2FA. I signed up for it prepaid, and it has a 1 year expiration on the credit, so I just top it up with 30AUD every year to keep it going.