Using i phone in Europe

I know this is not a river cruise question but so many of you are much more experienced travelers than us and hope you will share your knowledge. I have an i phone whIch I believe I can buy a sim card for in Europe. I have had a bit of a look what to buy but it is difficult to get clear answers.! Can anyone recommend a plan which we can use in Europe. We will also have our i pad.

Thanks

Is your iphone unlocked? Most phones are tied to whatever carrier you are with in the USA and other SIM cards will not work unless the phone is "unlocked".

Yes, you need to unlock it. There are good suggestions in the Fodors chats regarding European cards. If you don't need it to talk, only for email, then I suggest you leave it on "airplane mode" and wait to use your phone in wifi areas, like McDonald's and many cafes. You don't need a card then. Also, if texting is what you want, carriers have pretty good plans for texting abroad.

I have SKYPE mobile on both my iPad and iPhone. I use it to make phone calls whenever I am in a wifi hotspot. I use both devices with very good results from hotels and rive boats and calls home are about 6 cents a minute.

Is your iphone unlocked? Most phones are tied to whatever carrier you are with in the USA and other SIM cards will not work unless the phone is "unlocked".

You could have a look at this option

http://worldsim.com/

I will ask my friend in Brisbane what she uses when she travels

I have an iphone with Verizon as my carrier. I called Verizon and had them unlock my phone.

I bought a micro Sim chip from telestial and when I get overseas, I change out the Verizon sim for the telestial sim. Works great. I have been using telestial for years without any problems.

You could have a look at this option

http://worldsim.com/

 

I will ask my friend in Brisbane what she uses when she travels

Thanks that would be great. In the meantime I will look into world sim. :)

I did just what Fred said. Called my carrier, Verizon, and my cell phone worked as if I was in the US. I only had to add a "+" and "1" before the US number. The charge without adding any plan was $1.28 a minute.

Thanks that would be great. In the meantime I will look into world sim. :)

Sorry for the delay I have not heard back from my friend

There is a forum for Aussies you may want to ask there http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=712

This may depend on which iPhone you have. If you have an iPhone 4 (not 4S) from Verizon, it uses the CDMA technology and is not compatible with the GSM in Europe. You can however, use it with WiFi for Skype and use the AGPS with offline maps.

If you have a Verizon 4S it is a simple matter of calling VZW Global Services to set up Global Roaming. I think their World Traveler option @ $4.99/month is a good deal as it lowers the per minute rates. All of this is prorated, so turn it on when you leave & off when you return.

As far as unlocking your iPhone, you will only need to do that if you plan to insert a foreign SIM card. That will give you a foreign phone # & cheaper in country rates, However, you will not be accessible via your US number unless you put your US SIM back in the phone.

My advice is to call your carrier to dicuss your options as they vary by carrier & iPhone model.

Best Regards - Tom

On the 4S, Telestial gives you a UK number but you get an 800 number that people in the US can call. It is free to them (really convenient). I believe the call per minute is either .79 or .99 per minute. I know it is not any higher.

Swapping out SIM chips is very easy.

I know this is not a river cruise question but so many of you are much more experienced travelers than us and hope you will share your knowledge. I have an i phone whIch I believe I can buy a sim card for in Europe. I have had a bit of a look what to buy but it is difficult to get clear answers.! Can anyone recommend a plan which we can use in Europe. We will also have our i pad.

Thanks

I have an older iPhone which, as posted, does not work in Europe. We need to keep tabs on elderly family members back home. On our last two European cruises I got a phone fron Verizon as part of their Global Traveler program, it is fairly easy to activate the replacement phone and you keep your own phone number and contacts. the best thing is text messages only cost 50 cents each. If you activate the data capabilities there is an additional charge (beyond the $19.99). I only used my iPad briefly to download mail using free wifi in port, or purchased time onboard.

Here's another idea if you don't mind extending your contract. Get a "no cost" global phone from Verizon and use it on your trip. You can go back to your old Iphone when you return. Saves you the $20.

This may depend on which iPhone you have. If you have an iPhone 4 (not 4S) from Verizon, it uses the CDMA technology and is not compatible with the GSM in Europe. You can however, use it with WiFi for Skype and use the AGPS with offline maps.

As far as I know, AGPS (Assisted GPS) combines information from your GPS chip and enhances it with triangulation from your carrier. That means if you put your iPhone in Airplane mode it uses only GPS, A-GPS is used as soon as you have connected to your carrier. So you do not even need a data plan (Edge, 3G). The differences are:

- AGPS is accurate down to 5m / 15ft, while GPS on my iPhone may vary up to 20m in some cities. That depends on how many satellites are visible..

-The TTFF (time to first fix). It takes much longer without AGPS to get your new position after an intercontinental flight - the 'cold fix' at the airport..

BTW, also the european GSM network differes from the US: The US uses GSM 850 / 1900 frequency while Europe uses GSM 900 / 1800 & EGSM 900. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_frequency_bands . In theory.. Did anyone ever experience problems with that?

It is quite possible that Verizon is not in Australia where the OP is from

I have an iphone with Verizon as my carrier. I called Verizon and had them unlock my phone.

 

I bought a micro Sim chip from telestial and when I get overseas, I change out the Verizon sim for the telestial sim. Works great. I have been using telestial for years without any problems.

Thanks for all your answers . I can unlock my phone from my Austalian carrier with 72 hours notice. When we visited USA we had an older phone and bought a pre paid sim on arrival at a booth in a shopping mall. I would like to use all the applications on my i phone so would like to purchase a micro sim when we arrive in Prague. Are these available and where? Any suggestions on a carrier anyone thought was a reasonable deal for pre paid sim. I presume we could use it in all the countries we visit I Europe? Thanks. :p

I did just what Fred said. Called my carrier, Verizon, and my cell phone worked as if I was in the US. I only had to add a "+" and "1" before the US number. The charge without adding any plan was $1.28 a minute.

To call the US from Europe,

did you add +1 and the 10 digit number

or did you have to add +1, then another 1 and the 10 digit number?

Thanks, cb