traveling to europe with a smart phone...how exactly?

[::: :::]

it sounds like "get a sim card" is the advice i see most often -- what exactly is involved with that? any pitfalls to consider?
expecting to use mapping, phone, texting & web browser...

how to you install it & adjust settings for travel?

how do you uninstall it & adjust settings when back home?

i've got an iphone, if that affects the answers...

thanks!

[toast2266]

I am not an expert on this, but the couple times I've done it, I just used my regular phone without changing anything. Assuming yours is a newer phone, it'll work fine. It's just a matter of sorting out your phone plan with your provider; figure out how much it's gonna cost you to use the phone on roaming. Maybe switch plans as needed. I (with Verizon) would pay a daily fee that was slightly outrageous, but not outrageous enough for me to not do it for a 10 day trip. Also keep in mind that wifi is everywhere now and it doesn't cost anything extra to use it.

I had friends that got sim cards, and while it's cheaper, it's also not super useful for a lot of things because now you have a new phone number. So anyone texting you or calling you isn't getting through unless they know your number. And if you text or call someone, you're doing so from a random new phone number, so they usually think it's spam. And that means you'll end up switching your sim card back and forth in your phone a lot. New sim card when you're out and about, and then when you get to wifi, you'll switch your "home" sim card back in so you can talk / text like normal. That all seemed like a huge pain the ass for me, so I didn't bother.

[::: :::]

gonna be gone 3wks, all in UK
wifi only will not be useful for navigating by car or calling folks

verizon says $100 for a month of service in Europe

i see things like: EE UK with an unlimited data SIM for £35 (+/-$40) for a month + per min charge for outgoing calls

[skaredshtles]

<snip>
I had friends that got sim cards, and while it's cheaper, it's also not super useful for a lot of things because now you have a new phone number. So anyone texting you or calling you isn't getting through unless they know your number. And if you text or call someone, you're doing so from a random new phone number, so they usually think it's spam. And that means you'll end up switching your sim card back and forth in your phone a lot. New sim card when you're out and about, and then when you get to wifi, you'll switch your "home" sim card back in so you can talk / text like normal. That all seemed like a huge pain the ass for me, so I didn't bother.

I believe if you use a Google Voice number, you can simply forward your Google Voice number to your temp sim card number and it'll work. But I've not tried this myself... so you may want to confirm, if you find this idea of interest.

[PowderPig]

I’ve got an iPhone with dual SIM support (iPhone XS and newer have that, iirc). What I do is
- Use the eSIM for my US mobile provider
- Use the physical SIM for my European provider
- When arriving, set the “Cellular Data” and “Default Voice Line” to whichever plan matches where I am
Regarding what’s involved - not much in my experience - make sure the plan that comes with the SIM card you’re purchasing has the features you want, like amount of data, etc.
My Swedish SIM card is “registered”, so I can, as an additional bonus, use it in any EU/EES country with the same terms as in Sweden. Not sure if that applies elsewhere…
One potential pitfall might be to make sure you’re using the right SIM card/plan when messaging your contacts, as I think it defaults to the one you used previously in your message history?

[zion zig zag]

gonna be gone 3wks, all in UK
wifi only will not be useful for navigating by car

Download google maps for the areas you are visiting and navigation works fine.

[Meadow Skipper]

I am not an expert on this, but the couple times I've done it, I just used my regular phone without changing anything. Assuming yours is a newer phone, it'll work fine. It's just a matter of sorting out your phone plan with your provider; figure out how much it's gonna cost you to use the phone on roaming. Maybe switch plans as needed. I (with Verizon) would pay a daily fee that was slightly outrageous, but not outrageous enough for me to not do it for a 10 day trip. Also keep in mind that wifi is everywhere now and it doesn't cost anything extra to use it.

I had friends that got sim cards, and while it's cheaper, it's also not super useful for a lot of things because now you have a new phone number. So anyone texting you or calling you isn't getting through unless they know your number. And if you text or call someone, you're doing so from a random new phone number, so they usually think it's spam. And that means you'll end up switching your sim card back and forth in your phone a lot. New sim card when you're out and about, and then when you get to wifi, you'll switch your "home" sim card back in so you can talk / text like normal. That all seemed like a huge pain the ass for me, so I didn't bother.

I’ve got an iPhone, on Verizon. Verizon charges either $10 a day (that you use it) or $100 for a month for foreign service. I go with the $10/day unless I’m gonna be there for more than 10 days. It isn’t particularly cheap, but the convenience of the same number and texting is pretty significant. And the call quality is great.

FWIW, a lot of people in Europe use WhatsApp for texting and video and calls etc.

[XavierD]

How ever did people navigate Europe before smart phones?

If you’re not there for work it can be great to unplug. If you’re there for work, expense it.



Downloading google maps works though, and most rental cars have navigation these days

[::: :::]

Download google maps for the areas you are visiting and navigation works fine.

i have google maps on my phone -- how do i "download" a given area? [sorry for being obtuse...i don't see an offline mode or a download map function]

How ever did people navigate Europe before smart phones?

If you’re not there for work it can be great to unplug. If you’re there for work, expense it.



Downloading google maps works though, and most rental cars have navigation these days

i'm guessing they got lost a bunch
i forgot about the potential car satnav system

[::: :::]

I’ve got an iPhone, on Verizon. Verizon charges either $10 a day (that you use it) or $100 for a month for foreign service. I go with the $10/day unless I’m gonna be there for more than 10 days. It isn’t particularly cheap, but the convenience of the same number and texting is pretty significant. And the call quality is great.

thanks for the testimonial -- appreciate that experience
only downside is local folks calling a US number to get me -- which maybe is OK? not sure yet if that's essential

FWIW, a lot of people in Europe use WhatsApp for texting and video and calls etc.

this is a family thing assisting my 82yo dad, I gotta be able to call old people

[NW_SKIER]

this is a family thing assisting my 82yo dad, I gotta be able to call old people

You're gonna need this then...

[Pins and Skins]

I was just in the UK for 2 weeks, I also lived there for 12 years before coming back stateside. Just use your Verizon iPhone and pay the 10 bucks a day - it's by far the easiest. My experience of using local SIM cards is that they can be slow at times. FYI, I'm also on Verizon/iPhone.

Also, confirmed on WhatsApp usage, it's far more popular over there than it is here. For locals calling you, have them call through WhatsApp or Facetime so they are not dialing internationally via the phone network.

Where in the UK will you be? Coverage should be sufficient in the cities, but if you are the countryside, can be sketch.

[Meadow Skipper]

thanks for the testimonial -- appreciate that experience
only downside is local folks calling a US number to get me -- which maybe is OK? not sure yet if that's essential

Just add +1 to your number when you give it to them (ie. +1 (xxx) xxx-xxxx) and it’ll go thru, or have them use WhatsApp. They should be able to return a call to you with no problem if you call them first.

Edit: also WhatsApp works on wifi. Just sayin’

[::: :::]

I was just in the UK for 2 weeks, I also lived there for 12 years before coming back stateside. Just use your Verizon iPhone and pay the 10 bucks a day - it's by far the easiest. My experience of using local SIM cards is that they can be slow at times. FYI, I'm also on Verizon/iPhone.

Also, confirmed on WhatsApp usage, it's far more popular over there than it is here. For locals calling you, have them call through WhatsApp or Facetime so they are not dialing internationally via the phone network.

Where in the UK will you be? Coverage should be sufficient in the cities, but if you are the countryside, can be sketch.

Scotland

Thx for that vote on VZN

[ex-powderbroker]

prepaid. bring a paperclip and put it in when you get there. these guys might even ship it to you before you leave:

https://www.giffgaff.com/

I'm sure there are other prepaid options and whatever you get at the Sainbury’s will be fine. Don't overthink it and definitely do not give Verizon $100.

[::: :::]

Does Apple ID suddenly get bent out of shape if you get a SIM card with anew connection to the web & new number?

[ex-powderbroker]

Kind of. You get a popup that's like "Do you want this number to now be associated to your FaceTime?". It can be a little annoying untangling that stuff but not really a huge deal.

[zion zig zag]

i have google maps on my phone -- how do i "download" a given area? [sorry for being obtuse...i don't see an offline mode or a download map

Click on your profile in the search bar. Then click offline maps. Choose the area you want to download. You won’t get live traffic of course but all other details are there.

[::: :::]

Thx!

[::: :::]

You're gonna need this then...

Need one of those long kitchen cords too

[rideit]

Hey all you euros/furriners, is the situation the same for you in the US (as in $10.00 a day or whatever?). I always wondered how that worked.

But yeah, WhatsApp.

[Flippo]

Hey all you euros/furriners, is the situation the same for you in the US (as in $10.00 a day or whatever?). I always wondered how that worked.

But yeah, WhatsApp.

In France plans are way cheaper than in the US. I had one without contract at 19€ with 210go and 25 go of roaming data. Ifell ripped off since I moved in the US.

For OP, yes buy a local prepaid SIM card if you stay there a significant amount of time (available in most grocery store or even at the airport). If you are there for a week or two you can buy a travel option from your operator. For reference, I have an AT&T prepaid plan and they charge this add-on 35$ for 7days (unlimited talk, message and 5go of data).

[Buster Highmen]

signal works as well as a messaging mechanism and is not owned by Zuckerberg.
https://signal.org/en/

That's what we've used for BBI the last year.

I have verizon and generally do the $10/day deal where I really only need cell service when I'm travelling between places or touring, but on the lifts or in the hotels, I can use signal over wifi to do either voice or text.

You can buy a sim card there in the airport, but I _think_ that some phones, if acquired through your service, will block a sim card other than the service provider's sim card. The applicable term is "locked".

[Cocximus]

If your phone supports esim check out airalo. They offer data esims for most countries that cost less for a few gigs than roaming for a day.

https://ref.airalo.com/fD2c gets both$3 off.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[::: :::]

At the moment, I have a 7…gonna see what makes sense after the 14 releases in a week or so