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Hi. I'm soon returning to Central America on a trip When I was last there we bought a cheap pay as you go phone and left it with family. It cost less than 60 bucks!  
 
My smartphone is starting to cause me issues and will in time, I will need a new one.  
 
If I buy a phone out there, will it work here with my Sim card? Will mts need to be contacted ? (I'm no longer on a contract, just use their plan)  
 
Anything I should look for or avoid?  
 
Im just not good at phone stuff.  
Thanks in advance.

Not to sure where you are going but google phone sales in that country and find out what's being used, probably Samsung. Then find a cell provider down there to see if they sell SIM cards for out of country people or if they have eSIM's. eSIM would be the easiest as it's just loaded onto your phone and no physical card is used. Then get your phone in Canada, bring it down and have them install the sim.  
 
I'm in the Caribbean right now with an iPhone. It was super easy and inexpensive.  
 
You may come home with a good idea about how much cell companies are ripping us off here in Canada.  
 
FYI 2 things, WhatsApp is used widely in the Caribbean and probably where you're going. If you don't know about WhatsApp, do some research. #2, Rogers has a WiFi calling plan where you can phone back to Canada with no charge as long as you are in WiFi range. Just in case you want to switch providers.

Thanks for the reply.  
 
I will indeed be using an esim on the phone I currently have while I am out there. (El Salvador)  
 
But I need a new phone soon. I want to buy one there if it's a much better price. I just want to make sure I can use the new phone here. I have seen Samsung and Motorola out there through Claro which is likely who we would use again.  
 
I use WhatsApp all the time. Out there businesses even use it too. We just need some form of data for Waze which is the commonly used GPS app out there.

Just make sure to buy a phone that is unlocked for all carriers and you should be fine using it everywhere,.

I'm not sure what the prices are like in El Salvador but buy the phone here, that way you'll have some warranty left when you return. Get a middle of the road phone from Best Buy and bring it down. Once you're there have a cell provider load your eSim with what ever service they have there. Most plans abroad come with data but if you get a cell service only plan then try data app called "Saily" for your data. I have a phone in the Caribbean with data but when I head to the States or even back to Canada I can't use data. I've used Saily a few times and it works well. It is country specific and El Salvador is on the list of countries it servers. For just a few dollars you can pick how much data to buy. You just can't travel to another country unless you get another Saily plan for that specific country. Check Saily out.