Before you start

An unlocked, band-compatible handset
Passport, or resident card once issued
A CURP — residents get one automatically, and non-residents can pull a temporary one from RENAPO
A Mexican payment method for postpaid plans

Step-by-step

1
Buy prepaid on arrival
Telcel Amigo has the broadest coverage in the country and is the safe default if you will travel around Jalisco or Mexico. Bait, on the Altan network, and weex are cheaper but thinner outside cities. SIMs are sold at OXXO, Walmart, carrier stores and the airport.
In personWho: YouUnder 30 minutesMXN 50–150 for the SIM
2
Register the line to your CURP and ID
Link the number to your CURP and a passport, INE or resident card through the carrier's portal or app. It is free, takes minutes, and is now the difference between a working line and a dead one. An individual may hold up to ten lines under one CURP. Postpaid contracts were already registered when you signed them; it is prepaid that needs doing.
OnlineWho: Every prepaid line holderSame dayFree
3
Keep the number alive with recharges
Prepaid packages expire, typically after 30 days, and an unrecharged number can eventually be recycled. Dial *133# to check balance, data and expiry without using data. Losing a number that receives your bank's one-time codes is a slow, avoidable disaster.
Mobile appWho: YouAround MXN 200 for a 30-day bundle
4
Switch to postpaid once you have a bank account
Postpaid plans cost less per gigabyte but require a credit check, a Mexican address and usually a local card or direct debit. Most newcomers qualify after a few months of a Mexican salary. Number portability lets you keep your number; never cancel the old plan before the transfer completes.
OnlineWho: You≈MXN 200–600 a month
5
Order fibre and ask what actually reaches the flat
Telmex, Totalplay and Izzi all cover the metro area and symmetric fibre is cheap by international standards. In new Zapopan and Providencia towers it is straightforward. In Americana, Lafayette and Centro, where the building may be a hundred years old with thick masonry and an internal patio, ask whether fibre reaches the unit and expect to need mesh access points rather than one router.
OnlineWho: YouOne to three weeks including an engineer visit
6
Have a backup for storm season
The June-to-October storms take down power and sometimes local networks for hours at a time. A prepaid SIM on a second network, or a phone plan with generous hotspot data, is the cheap insurance for anyone whose income depends on being online in the afternoons.
Mobile appWho: Remote workers

Documents you’ll need

Passport or resident card
CURP, definitive or temporary
Mexican bank card or account for postpaid billing
Proof of address for fixed-line installation

Things most newcomers don’t know

The registry that came back is CURP-based, not biometric — and it will suspend your line.

The Supreme Court struck down PANAUT, which would have collected fingerprints and iris scans, and many arrivals still believe Mexican prepaid is anonymous. Linking a line to a CURP became compulsory on 9 January 2026, and unregistered prepaid numbers are being suspended on a rolling calendar that runs from 15 August to 31 December 2026 by the last digit of the number. No biometrics are taken, but a suspended SIM stops receiving your bank codes.

Source: CRT — registro de líneas móviles

You do not need residency to register a line — a temporary CURP is enough.

People on a tourist entry assume the registration rule locks them out of a Mexican number entirely. RENAPO issues a temporary CURP to foreigners against a passport, free and online, and that satisfies the requirement. It is a five-minute fix that saves paying roaming charges or relying on a travel eSIM for the weeks between arriving and holding a resident card.

Source: RENAPO / gob.mx

In Americana and Centro, the flat's age matters more than the ISP you choose.

Guadalajara's most desirable central colonias are full of pre-1940 houses with thick brick and adobe walls, internal patios and later subdivisions into flats. Fibre reaches the street everywhere, but signal inside these buildings dies through the walls, and installers will happily leave you a single router in the front room. If you work from home, budget for mesh nodes and ask where the ONT can be sited before signing.

Source: community-reported

Bait is genuinely cheap but rides a different network from Telcel.

Walmart's MVNO runs on Altan's shared wholesale network rather than Telcel's towers, which is why it costs a fraction as much. Inside the metro area the difference is modest. Drive to Chapala, Tequila or the sierra and it becomes obvious. If your phone is your only connection and your work depends on it, the extra pesos for Telcel buy the coverage you will actually miss.

Source: IFT/CRT cobertura data

Common mistakes to avoid

Never registering the line to a CURP and losing the number and your two-factor codes.
Assuming a tourist cannot register a line — a free temporary CURP solves it.
Letting prepaid credit lapse until the number is recycled.
Choosing an MVNO on price and then discovering the coverage outside the metro area.
Signing a lease on a beautiful old Americana flat without checking what internet reaches the room you will work in.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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