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 1371530 times)

Offline sky121

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3300 on: April 10, 2014, 02:00:11 PM »
Anyone have any kosher phone that works with Golan they would like to sell?
"Not all who wander are lost"

Offline plainbachur

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3301 on: April 10, 2014, 05:55:36 PM »
I need help anybody in Israel that has a iPhone to rent?

Offline sky121

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3302 on: April 13, 2014, 09:06:31 AM »
Are there any issues getting the internet to worked on the unlocked (for international) Sprint Galaxy s4 devices?
"Not all who wander are lost"

Offline Joe4007

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3303 on: April 13, 2014, 11:13:46 AM »
Are there any issues getting the internet to worked on the unlocked (for international) Sprint Galaxy s4 devices?
If you're confident that's it's unlocked, then no issues. Thing is, Sprint often tells you they've unlocked it when in fact they didn't or they only unlocked talk & text.

Offline sky121

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3304 on: April 13, 2014, 11:15:21 AM »
If you're confident that's it's unlocked, then no issues. Thing is, Sprint often tells you they've unlocked it when in fact they didn't or they only unlocked talk & text.
]
Can they do that?! Only unlock the talk and text part?!

 I know there were problems with Galaxy phones not being able to change their APN.

I use an HTC One myself from Sprint and have never had a problem with unlocking. Looking to get the S5 for my mother and don't want her to have issues using it abroad.
"Not all who wander are lost"

Offline Joe4007

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3305 on: April 13, 2014, 11:38:23 AM »
]
Can they do that?! Only unlock the talk and text part?!

 I know there were problems with Galaxy phones not being able to change their APN.
You're right. Just double checked with a relative that had issues with his S4 and the problem was not being able to change the APN settings even after Sprint unlocked it.

Sprint blamed Samsung and Samsung blamed Sprint...

Offline sky121

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3306 on: April 13, 2014, 11:42:14 AM »
You're right. Just double checked with a relative that had issues with his S4 and the problem was not being able to change the APN settings even after Sprint unlocked it.

Sprint blamed Samsung and Samsung blamed Sprint...

So the issue never got resolved? Does anyone here have success using a Sprint Galalxy s4 with data in Israel?
"Not all who wander are lost"

Offline Flying Fish

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3307 on: April 13, 2014, 01:20:51 PM »
What's the best option for data SIM for iPad? Will Golan SIM work?

Offline chucksterace

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3308 on: April 13, 2014, 01:23:26 PM »

What's the best option for data SIM for iPad? Will Golan SIM work?

Yes. I currently use them. I actually got a sim for the car and that works for data in the iPad. So technically i am only paying for one line but use the same number on my cell and my ipad.
You may not hold me responsible for any actions taken that were recommended from my account or username.

Offline sky121

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3309 on: April 14, 2014, 08:40:27 AM »
So the issue never got resolved? Does anyone here have success using a Sprint Galalxy s4 with data in Israel?
Bump
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Offline real-brisker

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3310 on: April 14, 2014, 10:39:45 AM »
Bump
Is there any reason to suppose there will be an issue?


Offline moish

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3311 on: April 14, 2014, 10:56:35 AM »
Yes. I currently use them. I actually got a sim for the car and that works for data in the iPad. So technically i am only paying for one line but use the same number on my cell and my ipad.
the car sim gives data? with cellcom it only gives calls

Offline sky121

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3312 on: April 14, 2014, 10:59:42 AM »
Is there any reason to suppose there will be an issue?

There were issues. People couldn't get data to work on the Sprint versions. I believe it's because the APN settings couldn't be accessed. I want to know if anyone had it fixed. And I'm wondering if the Sprint Galaxy s5 will have the same problem.
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Online Jkhein

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3313 on: April 14, 2014, 12:22:08 PM »
the car sim gives data? with cellcom it only gives calls
you guys have been through this already, looks like it's YMMV, just like other things with Golan
So I just got the Golan sim cards. I got two, one for my Q10 and one for the car.

Q10 works perfectly.  The car sim I put in my iPad and works perfectly as well.

Is there anything I need to know about using a car sim in a tablet?
the car sim gives data? i was under the impression the second sim only works for calls
Seems like it. At least it is working for me.

Offline moish

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3314 on: April 14, 2014, 02:47:18 PM »
good memory, a lot has happened since 2/26

Offline Joe4007

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3315 on: April 20, 2014, 07:16:58 PM »
You're right. Just double checked with a relative that had issues with his S4 and the problem was not being able to change the APN settings even after Sprint unlocked it.

Sprint blamed Samsung and Samsung blamed Sprint...
So the issue never got resolved? Does anyone here have success using a Sprint Galalxy s4 with data in Israel?
Can't vouch for it, but Sprint told him that the S5 doesn't have the issue and once unlocked it will allow to change the APN settings (they also said the S4 issue has been resolved as well about 3-4 months ago and it now works for data after being unlocked).

Offline sky121

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3316 on: April 20, 2014, 07:20:38 PM »
Can't vouch for it, but Sprint told him that the S5 doesn't have the issue and once unlocked it will allow to change the APN settings (they also said the S4 issue has been resolved as well about 3-4 months ago and it now works for data after being unlocked).

Thanks!
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Online shmooz

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3317 on: April 23, 2014, 11:48:20 PM »
i got a golan sim card online  but i dont need it till the summer, do i need to activate within a certain amount of time?

Offline plainbachur

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Offline sky121

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #3319 on: May 04, 2014, 02:37:05 PM »
Does the kosher Golan 35 shek plan allow for a US number ? It's letting me choose one but the number isn't working.  Does it take a couple hours to work?
"Not all who wander are lost"