Topic Wiki

*=More info below
Company  Price  Sim  Talk/SMS  Web  Free Int'l  Signup Bonus  Israeli CC  Real TZBlackerry
Hot99₪49₪Unlimited3GB31 countries49₪/6 months*  Yes*Yes*
Golan99₪49₪UnlimitedUnlimited  53 countries  ₪59 /1st yearYesNoNo
01292₪Unlimited3GB42 countries*44₪/6 months  YesYes29₪
Rami Levy89₪59₪Unlimited1GB  No1₪/3 monthsYesYesNo
PelephoneYes*Yes*Free
Partner129/135₪*0₪*Unlimited  1GB/3GBAdd'l 20₪NoNoNo*39₪
CellcomA lot of $180₪  NoNo75₪

Rule #1- The Israeli cell phone service market is difficult. But cheap.
Rule #2- It is illegal for a company to "lock you in" a contract. ALL plans may be cancelled at any time with no penalty. Though, they do prevent you from opening and closing plans by charging a sim card "fee". This fee must always be paid even if paid for once before, and ranges from 39₪ to 180₪.
Rule #3- For those places that need an Israeli credit card, you may need to get one from an Israeli bank with a passport and income information although YMMV.
Rule #4- It is rarely, if ever, worthwhile to rent a "vacation plan" or prepaid, as the price for a regular unlimted plan for a month is less that a vacation plan for a week. Get a GSM phone that covers 900/1800 bands and save your money
Rule #5- All Israeli plans, whether regular or prepaid, include free incoming calls/texts.

Hot- 99₪ a month - includes unlimited calls, text and data (3 gb, then slow) and unlimited to 32 countries. Free home internet supply included. They currently have an offer if you port a number from a different network, to get the first six months for just 49₪ a month. You can move your package to a 10₪ a month plan, which includes 50 minutes and texts. You can also freeze the line once a year for up to 3 months. Regarding signup- you can use an American CC and fake TZ over the phone as one user has done.

Golan - Service is passable, but can be subpar in certain areas. There are two plans with Golan. There's the 99₪ unlimited talk/text/internet/international calling plan, which also gives you up to 2 virtual foreign numbers. This plan also includes for many countries unlimited global data roaming (6GB high-speed), incoming calls & texts, and calls & texts to Israel. They also offer a ₪29 per day data-roaming plan which gives 100MB a day in these countries. These roaming options can be very useful for foreigners regardless of whether they need Golan for Israel. See their website for details.There's a promo deal to get the 99 plan for ₪59 /month for the 1st year. There's also a ₪10 a month plan, which includes 60 min for domestic/US & CA and landlines in many countries, unlimited SMS and 10 MB of Internet, with add'l mins ₪.18 domestic, ₪.08 to US/CA and landlines in many countries, and data ₪.09 /MB. Its great for those short trips here. SIM should work in an iPad for data; you can also order a car SIM which will allow you to have 2 SIMs which draw from same plan.
[To get the sim in the USA before your trip:  golanusa.net will ship it to you for $14 (more for rush) and the 49 nis for the sim. Golan bills on the 25th of the month.  The days before the first 25th are freeprorated.(So for a trip between the 26th and the 24th of the month, you don't pay the 59 nis or 99 nis plan fee.)]

012mobile - Runs on Partner service, you will get an 054 number (unless you ported). Unlimited - 49₪ for the first 6 months and 92₪ from thereon after for unlimited everything too. Includes 3GB Data and 500 minutes to US/CA (any phone) and 40 other countries (landlines only). 9₪ plan includes 60 minutes, 60 SMS, and 100MB data. Additional domestic minutes/SMS are ₪ .09, Int'l calls to to US/CA (any phone) and 40 other countries (landlines only) are ₪ .25 per min. Add'l data bundles are available starting from ₪ 19 for 1 GB. 5GB Laptop/Tablet (data only) is 98₪.

Pelephone - Online, they accept fake TZ and US CC.

Partner - 129₪ a month for unlimited talk, text, and 1GB. 135₪ for 3GB. Family plans are cheaper.Free sim for online orders. Extra 20₪/mo. for 500 min. int'l calling. Extra 39₪ for Blackberry. May need to give 500₪ deposit that you (may) get back when you cancel the plan.  One can freeze line without charges for up to 3 months when not needed (not sure if allowed more than once per 12 months).

Freedomhot.com - 2/19/2023 - They have local pickup in lots of major frum areas and delivery too. They accept US CC. Runs on Hot Mobile. Copying and pasting from their website.
All monthly plans include: Unlimited Calls & Texts to Israeli phone numbers Unlimited outgoing calls to USA and Canada and landlines to 33 additional countries.
Unlimited incoming calls and texts from anywhere in the world. Prices include all taxes.
59 Shekels - 70GB LTE Internet Data
79 shekels - 150GB LTE Internet Data
KOSHER - Voice Only - 64 Shekels
One-time SIM card fee: 49 Shekels
Optional: add a virtual USA number for $15 per month

Misc. Info
APN settings

On Hot Mobile you can check how much data was consumed either by downloading the app or by texting גלישה  to phone number 530 from your hot mobile phone,you can as well try calling this number *6733.

Note by Menucha:
Please note: as of 4/1/13, most carriers reduce period of intro rates and at times increased cost for monthly intro. I suggest we leave the above as is, but please keep in mind new changed, which are not negotiable and based on govt agreements. monthly flat rate is still great and same. (post intro)
Also, while reps wont tell you, typically you will get longer intro rate if you activate account on your own on line, and not via rep (phone or store). confirmed with carrier. Enjoy! flat monthly, even without intro rate is still one of the lowest you will come across in the west!

Israeli cellphone rentals:

1) Talkinisrael.com
Phone: +972587564477
Whatsapp: +972536299365
Email: info@talkinisrael.com 
if you should have any problems feel free to send me a pm and I will try to help you the best I can.
Plans for sale here are primarily for long term rentals.(students and the like.)


2) Israel Rent-a-cell SIM card or eSIM with calling and data. Also you can get SIMs for Israel Kosher phones!
Contact at Israelrentacell@gmail.com or WhatsApp 972-55-333-1234
Overnight or standard delivery in USA/delivery in Israel! Pickup locations in Lakewood and Israel.
* Unlimited calls and texts in Israel
* Unlimited calls to USA, Canada and landlines in 35 countries
* Unlimited incoming calls
* 70 GB of data (can add an extra 80GB of data)
* eSIMs available!
* Free voicemail
Student discount available, $29.97 monthly, including tax! Never surprise charges or hidden fees!

3) Cellular Israel - 072-224-3300 or 718-289-0195 Full Service - short term and long term, rent phones, Kosher phones, SIM cards, mifi devices, Waze by the day or month. American Customer Service!
info@cellularisrael.com

4) Simforisrael@gmail.com free delivery to anywhere

5) UnlimitedIsrael (DansDeals Advertiser with many positive reviews on DDMS & DDF) is the leading provider of SIM card & iPhone rentals for Israel in the US.
  • Unlimited calls & texts within Israel
  • Unlimited calling to the US and Canada
  • Lightning Fast 4G Internet Speeds
  • Unlimited 4G data
  • Sim Cards - $5/day
  • iPhones - $45/week
  • Kosher Phone - $4/day
  • Mifi Hotspot - $6/day
Use code SUAVE10 for 10% off any order
« Last edited by shmuelb on August 06, 2023, 12:48:30 PM »

Author Topic: Cell Phones in Israel  (Read 1512489 times)

Offline ejb123

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5760 on: June 28, 2022, 03:14:24 PM »
Seeing a lot of back and forth and different opinions - what is the best option for seminary student going to Israel for the year that would like to keep their US number and iphone. The program suggests TalkNSave, but I assume there are better options. Thank you

Offline ExGingi

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5761 on: June 28, 2022, 03:56:03 PM »
Didn't work for me. Receiver saw my reg Israel number.

I don't know specifically about Rebtel, but many of the Betamax/Dellmont brands let you setup (through their website) what caller ID will show up (or at least no show the caller ID).

I've been waiting over 5 years with bated breath for someone to say that!
-- Dan

Offline ExGingi

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5762 on: June 28, 2022, 04:02:27 PM »
What's the best option for Israel & Türkiye? (need something for one or two days in each)
I've been waiting over 5 years with bated breath for someone to say that!
-- Dan

Offline Becky8

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5763 on: June 30, 2022, 09:35:40 PM »
I am interested in eSIM, which stands for embedded SIM. Newer phones have a built-in SIM card that can be programmed with the data typically stored on a physical SIM card. This way you don't need the physical SIM card. Alot of phones have "dual SIM" with one slot for a physical SIM card, and one eSIM built into the phone (or some phones can take 2 physical SIM cards).

Anyone try eSIM for an Israeli phone/data plan?

Update: I'm back from Israel. I bought a data-only eSIM plan from Airalo. The specific brand they gave me was Ahava. Paid $15 for 5GB of cellular data (no phone or text access, though it's possible to buy a card that includes those). Anyway it worked well! And I didn't have to mess with shipping and installing a physical SIM card. I'd recommend eSIM to others. I bought one for my teenage daughter's phone too, worked fine.

Offline ad120

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5764 on: July 01, 2022, 01:43:49 AM »
Seeing a lot of back and forth and different opinions - what is the best option for seminary student going to Israel for the year that would like to keep their US number and iphone. The program suggests TalkNSave, but I assume there are better options. Thank you
I really like Tripletel.

Offline shmuelb

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5765 on: July 07, 2022, 02:29:56 PM »
For people moving from USA, what are options to keep their landline number and cell numbers, they want just cell in Israel, no landline.

I suggested switching their landline to google voice. I guess they can do the same with their cell numbers there? Then get calls to their email/voice mail in case anyone is trying to reach them. I posted here.

Any other suggestions, options?

TIA!!
siyag lachachma :-)

Offline Sam Finkelstein

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5766 on: July 15, 2022, 01:03:35 PM »
For people moving from USA, what are options to keep their landline number and cell numbers, they want just cell in Israel, no landline.

I suggested switching their landline to google voice. I guess they can do the same with their cell numbers there? Then get calls to their email/voice mail in case anyone is trying to reach them. I posted here.

Any other suggestions, options?

TIA!!

In the past, I advised my friends to port their cells to Google Voice and have it forward to their US numbers. For those who don't have US numbers, Callcentric is the cheapest service. It's like $1/month for the number and several pennies a minute.
Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil. –J. Paul Getty

Offline Yoko

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5767 on: August 01, 2022, 12:09:47 AM »
Need a phone for 2 weeks. I have an unlocked galaxy phone. Looking to buy a sim card that would give me phone & data. Can I buy it in the airport?
Is that my best option?

Offline myi

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5768 on: August 01, 2022, 12:59:51 AM »
Need a phone for 2 weeks. I have an unlocked galaxy phone. Looking to buy a sim card that would give me phone & data. Can I buy it in the airport?
Is that my best option?
Try cellular Isreal or triple tell or Cellcom
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Need your LG Exalt fixed? Cracked in half? Water damage? Or parts to repair yourself. 347.201.2501

Offline ad120

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5769 on: August 01, 2022, 01:16:39 AM »
Need a phone for 2 weeks. I have an unlocked galaxy phone. Looking to buy a sim card that would give me phone & data. Can I buy it in the airport?
Is that my best option?
Not the Airport
Tripletel

Offline Yoko

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5770 on: August 01, 2022, 09:56:47 AM »
Not the Airport
Tripletel
Is it any different than simtoisrael.com?

Offline Izzzy

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5771 on: August 01, 2022, 08:56:11 PM »
I am looking to buy a decent smartphone ($100 dollar range) that will work in Israel. Any ideas?

Offline ad120

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5772 on: August 01, 2022, 09:05:53 PM »
Is it any different than simtoisrael.com?
It is the same company.
I guess it really depends what you need and how long you are going for.

Offline Yoko

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5773 on: August 01, 2022, 11:13:31 PM »
Is it worth getting eSim like Airalo? Anyone use it in Israel?

Offline ae123

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5774 on: August 02, 2022, 02:39:55 PM »
Can an unlocked Alcatel Smartflip 4052 work in Israel with an Israeli SIM card?
Bump.
Someone's got to know the answer....

Offline ae123

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5775 on: August 02, 2022, 02:40:28 PM »
Anyone here still renting SIM cards for people going to Israel?

Offline Buruch

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5776 on: August 02, 2022, 03:05:11 PM »
For people moving from USA, what are options to keep their landline number and cell numbers, they want just cell in Israel, no landline.

I suggested switching their landline to google voice. I guess they can do the same with their cell numbers there? Then get calls to their email/voice mail in case anyone is trying to reach them. I posted here.

Any other suggestions, options?

TIA!!

That's what I do. What else do you need?

Offline mark da man

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5777 on: August 02, 2022, 03:23:10 PM »
Anyone here still renting SIM cards for people going to Israel?
Cellularisrael.com

Offline shmooz

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5778 on: August 02, 2022, 03:34:21 PM »
Anyone here still renting SIM cards for people going to Israel?

https://www.globusim.com/

Offline yfr bachur

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5779 on: August 03, 2022, 12:31:20 PM »
Seeing a lot of back and forth and different opinions - what is the best option for seminary student going to Israel for the year that would like to keep their US number and iphone. The program suggests TalkNSave, but I assume there are better options. Thank you

any israeli plan that includes a us number, forward her old nimber to the new one