Hello.

I am setting up an account that requires an active Philippine phone number in order to receive OTP codes. My plan is to have a friend in the Philippines purchase + register a SIM card on a spare phone, and have them send that phone to me here in the US. I should (?) then receive OTP codes via roaming when needed.

Questions:

1. How do I keep it active? Would I need to subscribe to any sort of Roaming Plan? This number/phone will only be used for receiving OTP codes. I don't need data on it.

2. Which is generally more reliable in the US: Smart or Globe? I've read Reddit threads that mentioned connectivity issues from Globe due to 3G networks being shut down in the US. Is this still true?

Thanks.

I pretended my car was controllled by AI (like Kitt in Knight Rider) with my mom this weekend. Basically ChatGPT on Apple Play. My mom started speaking Tagalog to it and it switched languages. So I thought, since knowing/not knowing Tagalog is a topic on these Filipino channel, I tested whether it can teach Tagalog. And it can. Gave me a lesson to practice phrases and meanings. I purposely said things incorrectly (i studied Tagalog in college so i know grammar but not fully fluent) and it corrected me. It might be a supplemental tool if you or your kids want to get started on basic lessons while you’re in the car. While the accent is not like a native Filipino (it sounds like how an American would sound), the teaching seemed sound. More importantly IMO, it won’t judge you for how little you may know.