SIM card international travel

[FL..NC]

One SIM card for Apple phone. How good? Going to Australia, Hong Kong, and Africa.

[kazu]

One SIM card for Apple phone. How good? Going to Australia, Hong Kong, and Africa.

 

I was able to check on line/with a phone call with my cell for the different places we were going to. Apple should have a website to let you know - or, I would call your cell phone provider (who might be more important) and ask.

 

They should be available to advise:)

 

sorry edited to say you might want to look at a package depending upon how much you think you will need it.

[Hlitner]

A big problem is that a majority of folks who have cell phones get them with contracts with a single provider. Those providers normally "lock" the phones so they cannot be used with other providers (of SIMS) unless you get the unlock code (which they do not normally provide until the contract terms have been fully met). One advantage to buying an "unlocked" phone (including iPhones) is that you can use them with SIMs sold by various service providers. For example, in the US you can buy an International SIM from companies such as MOBAL that will work in nearly very country of the world. It is also possible to purchase SIMs in many countries that will work only in that country of perhaps throughout the EU. But if you have a "locked" phone then your best bet will be to check with your provider about expanding your service during your trip.

 

I should mention that it gets really interesting when one decides to live in a foreign country for part of the year. We live in Mexico at least 2 months a year and have found that the best deal for calling back to the USA is to simply have a prepaid ATT GoPhone which costs us 25 cents a minute with no monthly or roaming fees. But we also have bought a Mexican cell phone (it cost us about $25 with nearly $20 of included minutes) for use within Mexico so others can call us without having to use a US number. Sometimes it seems like you need a PhD in communications to figure out the best options.

 

Hank

[bxny]

One SIM card for Apple phone. How good? Going to Australia, Hong Kong, and Africa.

 

Hi Cuz,

Thought I'd jump over here to say hi on this rainy day.:D

[Randyk47]

We used our iPhones in Europe without any problems. Our service provider is AT&T and I called a service rep before we went. She talked me through how to sign up for International service, the settings to use to avoid excessive roaming charges, and how to cancel when we got back. Typically we don't bother but my mother was in and out of nursing home care last year and I needed to stay in touch with her. Mom passed away last December so it's not such an issue now and we may not sign up next year but maybe as it really wasn't all that expensive for what turned out to be basically two months of International service. The two months was because we started our travel in one month and finished in the next and the package at the time was month by month.

[3rdGenCunarder]

A big problem is that a majority of folks who have cell phones get them with contracts with a single provider. Those providers normally "lock" the phones so they cannot be used with other providers (of SIMS) unless you get the unlock code (which they do not normally provide until the contract terms have been fully met). One advantage to buying an "unlocked" phone (including iPhones) is that you can use them with SIMs sold by various service providers. For example, in the US you can buy an International SIM from companies such as MOBAL that will work in nearly very country of the world. It is also possible to purchase SIMs in many countries that will work only in that country of perhaps throughout the EU. But if you have a "locked" phone then your best bet will be to check with your provider about expanding your service during your trip.

 

I should mention that it gets really interesting when one decides to live in a foreign country for part of the year. We live in Mexico at least 2 months a year and have found that the best deal for calling back to the USA is to simply have a prepaid ATT GoPhone which costs us 25 cents a minute with no monthly or roaming fees. But we also have bought a Mexican cell phone (it cost us about $25 with nearly $20 of included minutes) for use within Mexico so others can call us without having to use a US number. Sometimes it seems like you need a PhD in communications to figure out the best options.

 

Hank

 

We've always used the GoPhone at home because we don't need to use a cell a lot. As you said, it's locked to ATT.

 

So, for travel outside the US, I bought a refurbed unlocked cell to use with an international sim card I bought online. From the listing online, it seems to be good anywhere in the world, although prices vary. Service has been good and reasonably priced. all over Europe. We used it in several places in Australia with no problem. It works in the Caribbean, too, but calls there are very expensive. goggle ekit. I don't know if it works with the iphone.

[TexasSooner]

My husband and I recently bought new iPhones through Verizon. My contract for my old iPhone 4 had expired with AT&T and I was able to have the old phone unlocked by AT&T for free. I simply called them and they gave me a code and instructions to unlock the phone. I then purchased a global SIM card and prepaid for minutes. I took it overseas in July and it worked well on our Baltic cruise when we were on land. I have the ability to add additional minutes online. There are several companies that sell these cards so do your research to see which one meets your particular needs. The SIM cards do come in different sizes depending on the iPhone you have.