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 1537018 times)

Online shmooz

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5820 on: December 29, 2022, 06:14:34 PM »
Need a phone for long term, with free calls to Usa, and Usa number, some data also

like https://cellularisrael.com/data has for $27.99

Does it work well? What is the Widely network they use?

Any good recommendations for similar?

Thanks


Offline mark da man

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5821 on: December 29, 2022, 06:40:19 PM »
I use them great cs,

Offline Darth1

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5822 on: December 30, 2022, 05:10:41 AM »
Need a phone for long term, with free calls to Usa, and Usa number, some data also

like https://cellularisrael.com/data has for $27.99

Does it work well? What is the Widely network they use?

Any good recommendations for similar?
I know a bunch of people who had issues with Cellular Israel over the summer, the caller ID for calls from USA and to USA didn't work.

An alternative:
TripleTel Is very good. A little cheaper then Cellular Israel. Mainly runs on Hot but roams on other networks also. Includes texting to USA and your USA number shows up on caller ID when calling USA.

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5823 on: December 30, 2022, 10:27:03 AM »
I know a bunch of people who had issues with Cellular Israel over the summer, the caller ID for calls from USA and to USA didn't work.

An alternative:
TripleTel Is very good. A little cheaper then Cellular Israel. Mainly runs on Hot but roams on other networks also. Includes texting to USA and your USA number shows up on caller ID when calling USA.

definitely will check it out
the issues with cellular israel were on kosher or non-kosher plans?

Offline Cellular Israel

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5824 on: January 01, 2023, 04:38:39 AM »
I know a bunch of people who had issues with Cellular Israel over the summer, the caller ID for calls from USA and to USA didn't work.

An alternative:
TripleTel Is very good. A little cheaper then Cellular Israel. Mainly runs on Hot but roams on other networks also. Includes texting to USA and your USA number shows up on caller ID when calling USA.


Widely is actually the same provider that tripeltel uses. It is a great network with lots of great features, including caller ID from out of Israel.

The issue with the caller ID is due to ​The Israeli government passing a law that allows Israeli phone providers to charge for incoming calls from abroad as much as they wish. As a result, many companies raised their prices as high as 18 cents a minute​ (!).​​ ​Rather than raising the price on our customers up to $75 a month, we immediately created a quick fix that ​prevents US numbers from showing up on caller ID when going through a virtual number, thus preventing the ​higher incoming international calls fee.
This only applies to regular Israeli providers such as HOT mobile for example. However, with widely you wouldn't have this issue.

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5825 on: February 06, 2023, 10:53:11 PM »
What’s my best option to get phone service when visiting Israel for a week?
I can pay $3 a day per line per phone but I’d rather not.
I do not have an active T-Mobile line.

Offline Willie

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5826 on: February 06, 2023, 11:08:50 PM »
What’s my best option to get phone service when visiting Israel for a week?
I can pay $3 a day per line per phone but I’d rather not.
I do not have an active T-Mobile line.

$3 a day sounds like a pretty good deal, i usually get sim card at hadavidka stop off of light rail in yerushalayim, usually $50 shek or so for the month...

Offline drosenberg88429

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5827 on: February 06, 2023, 11:17:45 PM »
$3 a day sounds like a pretty good deal, i usually get sim card at hadavidka stop off of light rail in yerushalayim, usually $50 shek or so for the month...

+1

$3 a day isn't bad at all, especially for only a week. I spend 79 shekel for prepaid month and sim with pelephone service.

Offline jose34

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5828 on: February 19, 2023, 10:43:24 AM »
Anyone looking to "rent out" their phone or sim card during Purim time?

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5829 on: February 19, 2023, 10:57:07 AM »
I had a good experience with freedomhot.com
Works on hot mobile.
49 shekel sim fee. Then 59 for one month.
You can keep the sim for reactivation.

Adding to wiki
My Tapatalk notifications don't always work.

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5830 on: February 19, 2023, 02:13:16 PM »
I had a good experience with freedomhot.com
Works on hot mobile.
49 shekel sim fee. Then 59 for one month.
You can keep the sim for reactivation.

Adding to wiki

Thanks will try them, cheaper than what I've been using, globusim.com

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5831 on: February 20, 2023, 04:42:10 AM »
I had a good experience with freedomhot.com
Works on hot mobile.
49 shekel sim fee. Then 59 for one month.
You can keep the sim for reactivation.

Adding to wiki
I got 49 for sim (which you can keep for reactivation) and 50 for a prepaid package with some data (not sure, maybe 30GB?), 1000 texts and 5000 minutes to anywhere. It doesn't expire and can be reloaded for the same 50 shekel. Runs on hot. This is similar to the above - but for light users or several short trips, it can come out cheaper.
Picked this up at Cellular Israel but I assume anyone can do it.
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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5832 on: February 23, 2023, 11:53:29 PM »
I had a good experience with freedomhot.com
Works on hot mobile.
49 shekel sim fee. Then 59 for one month.
You can keep the sim for reactivation.

Adding to wiki

Thanks this is what I was looking for.
As I knew regular monthly plans if you keep for more then 4 months cost 35 shekel, trying to figure out in a yashurus way how to take advantage for short term.

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5833 on: February 26, 2023, 11:26:39 AM »
freedomhot you activate immediately when you signup and need to manually deactivate when done, if you forget you'd continue to be charged.
Globusim you set the beginning and ending dates when you sign up.

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5834 on: February 26, 2023, 12:05:17 PM »
freedomhot you activate immediately when you signup and need to manually deactivate when done, if you forget you'd continue to be charged.
Globusim you set the beginning and ending dates when you sign up.
For under 30 days, FreedomHot is a drop cheaper.

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5835 on: February 27, 2023, 06:35:25 AM »
For under 30 days, FreedomHot is a drop cheaper.

Right the savings is for future months since you keep the SIM card.

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5836 on: March 30, 2023, 10:55:43 AM »
Will freedomhot still keep my us number?

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5837 on: March 30, 2023, 11:04:40 AM »
freedomhot you activate immediately when you signup and need to manually deactivate when done, if you forget you'd continue to be charged.
Globusim you set the beginning and ending dates when you sign up.

I used Freedomhot and I was satisfied, the phone calls/internet were actually better than what I had with Globusim. There were some startup issues but he fixed it, that can happen with anyone.

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5838 on: April 18, 2023, 08:49:52 PM »
Being in Israel for almost 2 weeks. Whats the best option to get 4 sim cards (will prob also need an american number)?

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5839 on: April 18, 2023, 09:50:42 PM »
Being in Israel for almost 2 weeks. Whats the best option to get 4 sim cards (will prob also need an american number)?
With Freedomhot 4 sims with American numbers for all 4 phones would cost a total of ~$180 plus you get to keep the s card for future use.
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