how well does switching sim cards work for signal?

[miyanc]

I currently have a verizon pixel xl. Which I may not have by the time I need the answer to this question.

I will be traveling to New Mexico in June of 2019 to accompany my sons crew on a trek in Philmont scout camp. From what I read and see on coverage maps. Verizon coverage in poor at best. But t-mobile is surprisingly good. I am sure spotty but it definitely covers more area. While I don't plan in making many calls, or using the spotty service to drain the battery, I will most likely be using my phone as a gps(airplane mode) and camera(also airplane mode).

The phone or service part would be for emergencies and I did plan on surprising the boys by being able to make calls home on top of baldy(tallest peak).

So without carrying 2 phones, or switching, I figured (as long as it was the right sim card) I would get a pay as you go phone (or sim card if that is possible) and just switch to tmobile when needed.

I have never had more then one sim. My real question is just how good will it be? I know this pixel (and other phones) are swap-able, but would it work better if I did just by a burner from tmobile instead of sim swap? Thanks in advance.

 

[hallux]

First - congrats on going to Philmont, that's an experience I never had but I heard some stories!

As for the phone - if you get a T-Mobile SIM it will work just as well any other T-Mobile device would. Even better - sign up for Project Fi for the month and use that SIM. $20 for voice and texts and data is billed at $10/GB, you only pay for what is used. Fi runs on T-Mobile, Sprint and USCC so it has some options for connectivity.