Question for Techies

[Iamthesea]

Just be careful what WIFI host you find. It could be a phishing site that collects user names and passwords

 

How can you tell what host you have?

 

 

iMessage, the text app on an iPhone, defaults to using data when it connects to another Apple device. Just change the setting to send as sms and you will not need data to send texts and receive texts.

 

You lost me here. :o:(

 

If you put your iPhone in airplane mode you can not get text messages even if you put wifi back on. As long as you make sure data roaming is turned off you will not get out of area data roaming charges.

 

Note that the only way to have text messages on results in general phone service being on as well so you will incur charges if someone calls you even if the call goes to voicemail. We don't get many calls on our cell phones so it isn't an issue for us.

 

It really is not hard to find and set the data roaming switch. Here is the screen on an iPhone 5 running IOS7. You will find this screen by opening the "Settings" app and then clicking on "Cellular". The red arrow I added is pointing to the Data Roaming switch wich is in the off position in this screen shot.

 

 

 

Now I am completely lost! :eek: I think I am returning my iPhone 5s that I received for Christmas. It has not been activated. :rolleyes:

[Lsimon]

...I am getting ready to activate my new iPhone. I have no business getting one, but thought the texting would be easier than my flip phone. :D :o So do I need Data ON to text? I do not want to get Voice or calls....

 

...Now I am completely lost! :eek: I think I am returning my iPhone 5s that I received for Christmas. It has not been activated. :rolleyes:...

 

There is no way that I know of to be able to get text messages on any phone and at the same time disable the phones ability to make or receive calls. The text messages do not use DATA so the DATA roaming settings do not impact the ability of the phones to make or receive text messages either way. Rather the text messages are sent along with the same signal that is used to make and receive calls so the "cellular" radio that sends and receives these calls must be on. This is true whether you are using a brand new iPhone, a different brand of smart phone or a 10 year old dumb phone.

 

The only way I know of to send or receive text messages and not use the basic cellular phone signals would be the use of a special app which would require DATA access and also require the party you are exchanging text messages with to use the same app. This approach would add to the complexity and difficulty of texting and I'm guessing you'd like to avoid difficult and complex options.

 

One thing that might work would be if you had your incoming calls forwarded to another number, like your home number, so they don't ring through to your cell phone. Otherwise just don't answer the phone or make calls. You can also call your cell phone company and tell them you want to be able to exchange text messages on your phone during a cruise but want regular phone calls to be disabled and ask if they know a way to do it.

 

Good luck. And I would suggest that you use your iPhone. I know plenty of people who thought they'd never really have a use for them or be able to figure them out and love them once they gave it a try.

[Iamthesea]

Thank you again, Larry. I feel better reading the above. I am going today to get the phone activated and will ask some questions about the phone and cruising. If all else fails, I will disable DATA, turn the phone off, and lock in the safe. I can use my iPad which has worked well for me (although I still don't understand what ghstudio was talking about in his post) on past cruises.

 

One more question...Can I still use my iPhone to take photos without worrying about any charges? :o

[SixOneTwo]

For those of you who are continuing the conversation about foreign phone use, I've learned from our company's help desk that Verizon does not offer texting in or out while the phone is in South America.

[MarkBearSF]

Thank you for these tips, but I am confused about some of them.

I have an iPad, and have traveled on 3-4 cruises with it. I don't remember having to do steps 1 or 2. I am a fairly knew user.

 

Auto Update is a new feature that was recently added to iOS.

You can find it in Settings, General (Background App Refresh)

 

I have never put my iPad on airplane mode, or again, perhaps it was already on. So, I went to check it out. It was set to off. My WiFi is always on at home, which it was when I checked. However, when I turned on to airplane mode, my WiFi went off. I have an option to turn it on with airplane mode on. Why is that? :o:confused:

 

You have many different antennas and types of wireless communication on the phone. Among them: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Voice, and cellular data. Airplane mode turns them ALL off when activated. (Recall that until a couple of months ago, cell phone usage was banned in the air, but WiFi was OK over a certain altitude - that's why you can turn it back on in airplane mode but enabling airplane mode will initially disconnect it with the other types ...and cellular service [voice and data] remain off in that mode)

 

You can turn airplane mode and WiFi on and off under Settings on your iPad.

...and if you have iOS 7, you can also swipe from the bottom of the screen to access the "control center" which gives you quick access to these settings (as well as your camera, clock and on iPhones, a flashlight) - even from the lock screen.

 

I remember my brother using one last year to text and make/receive calls when my sister was ill. He DID NOT buy a plan from the ship. He bought something from Verizon, but instead of his smartphone, they gave him a loaner. Not sure why.

 

There are basically two different formats or flavors of cell phone technology. The most common, GSM, is used throughout most of the world and in the US by ATT and T-Mobile. The other, CDMA, is used by Verizon and Sprint. Some phones have antennas for both formats (although because the frequency bands may vary, still may not be able to communicate on a certain carrier even if it's the same flavor). iPhones prior to iPhone 4 were GSM (AT&T) only. iPhone 4 had different models for the two carriers and it was an either/or situation. On iPhone 4s and later, both formats are supported on the same phone. Verizon has a program where, if your phone is incapable of communicating with foreign carriers (because it's CDMA only) - they will loan you a GSM phone for travel.

 

...and the various formats for texting is way beyond this discussion

 

Long answers - hope this helps.

Edited January 15, 2014 by MarkBearSF

[Bosjoe]

Thank you for these tips, but I am confused about some of them.

I have an iPad, and have traveled on 3-4 cruises with it. I don't remember having to do steps 1 or 2. I am a fairly knew user.

 

Auto Update is a new feature that was recently added to iOS.

You can find it in Settings, General (Background App Refresh)

 

I have never put my iPad on airplane mode, or again, perhaps it was already on. So, I went to check it out. It was set to off. My WiFi is always on at home, which it was when I checked. However, when I turned on to airplane mode, my WiFi went off. I have an option to turn it on with airplane mode on. Why is that? :o:confused:

.

 

Some iPads have cellular data, this is the reason to put it in airplane mode, better yet just shut of roaming data, just like the phone. Same type of settings.

[MarkBearSF]

Some iPads have cellular data, this is the reason to put it in airplane mode, better yet just shut of roaming data, just like the phone. Same type of settings.

 

Thanks for the clarification. Both my iPads have mobile data support and I forgot that some models have WiFi only.

[Iamthesea]

Some iPads have cellular data, this is the reason to put it in airplane mode, better yet just shut of roaming data, just like the phone. Same type of settings.

 

Ah...that's the reason. My iPad is WiFi only. My friend tried to talk me into the cellular, but I didn't think I needed it. So far in the last year, I have only wished for it once while in a car. :D Now that I have the iPhone, I don't need it. ;)

 

MarkBearSF - Your post was very helpful and everything explained well.

 

I found the setting to turn off auto update. Also, I have been wondering what that gray box was at the bottom of the screen when you swipe. It's driving me crazy on my iPad because I am always hitting it accidently. Now that I know what it does, it will be more useful to me. However, I wish I could disable it. :D

 

I went to Verizon and had my phone activated. The guy helping me was not very helpful when I asked about International service. he just told me to come in or go online and activate a Global package when I got ready to travel. Thanks for whoever linked to that website on Verizon. ;)

 

For those of you who are continuing the conversation about foreign phone use, I've learned from our company's help desk that Verizon does not offer texting in or out while the phone is in South America.

 

That's too bad for you. I'm sorry. :(

 

 

OK, off to figure out this new phone.

 

Thank you again, everybody! :)

Edited January 15, 2014 by Iamthesea

[ghstudio]

For those of you who are continuing the conversation about foreign phone use, I've learned from our company's help desk that Verizon does not offer texting in or out while the phone is in South America.

 

Valid point if you are trying to use the phone while wandering around at a port, but if you are on a ship, Verizon has no clue where you are :)

[MarkBearSF]

MarkBearSF - Your post was very helpful and everything explained well.

 

... Now that I know what it does, it will be more useful to me. However, I wish I could disable it. :D

 

Thanks. ...and you can turn off the Control Center (that's the quick shortcut box that appears when you swipe up from the bottom). Go back to Settings and select "Control Center." You can turn it off on the lock screen and/or from within applications. Personally, I love being able to take photos on the fly without going through all the steps to enter my password, and opening the camera app.

[Iamthesea]

Very cool, thank you for the tip. And I agree about the photo app, I left the Control Center on the lock screen. :D The CC was really becoming a bother when reading on my Kindle App.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Iamthesea

[Lsimon]

For those of you who are continuing the conversation about foreign phone use, I've learned from our company's help desk that Verizon does not offer texting in or out while the phone is in South America.

 

Are you sure? Did that apply just to one type of phone they use?

 

I checked 5 countries (Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela) on Verizon's International Trip Planner at http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/tripplanner/tripplannercontroller

And it gave texting information for all countries and said you can talk and text in all of these countries

 

[goofysmom99]

In the FWIW department, I'm with t-mobile and have taken two European trips since they went to that unlimited worldwide phone, text, and data program. I signed up for it in August (raised my monthly rate from $49.99 to $50.00, no kidding). During my stays in London and Rome, and whenever I was in port, I used my phone to send/receive texts to the tour operators, download emails, check the internet, and occasionally GPS. My bill never increased. Well, actually, I did have a charge for 20¢ for a voice mail in France, but that was it (international calls are 20¢/minute). When I'd get back on the ship, I'd just set my phone to airplane mode until the next port.

 

When onboard, I use my tablet to go into webmail through my browser rather than downloading. I can see the titles and quickly read the ones that matter. If I need to respond, I can do that offline and reconnect to send. If I have minutes to burn (I usually do now with Elite+), I can take the time to delete the junk titles. Anyway, this leaves everything on the server until I get home to download.

[Fouremco]

In the FWIW department, I'm with t-mobile and have taken two European trips since they went to that unlimited worldwide phone, text, and data program. I signed up for it in August (raised my monthly rate from $49.99 to $50.00, no kidding). During my stays in London and Rome, and whenever I was in port, I used my phone to send/receive texts to the tour operators, download emails, check the internet, and occasionally GPS. My bill never increased. Well, actually, I did have a charge for 20¢ for a voice mail in France, but that was it (international calls are 20¢/minute). When I'd get back on the ship, I'd just set my phone to airplane mode until the next port.

 

When onboard, I use my tablet to go into webmail through my browser rather than downloading. I can see the titles and quickly read the ones that matter. If I need to respond, I can do that offline and reconnect to send. If I have minutes to burn (I usually do now with Elite+), I can take the time to delete the junk titles. Anyway, this leaves everything on the server until I get home to download.

The sound you can hear is the weeping of Canadians suffering from sky-high monthly rates for even domestic use who have now read your post.

[TravelerThom]

Others have addressed your question better than I could, but I will comment on

... since the ships are based in the US...

It sort of depends on what "based" means.:confused: Celebrity's executive offices are in the US, but the ships are owned by a Corporation chartered in Liberia, and Celebrity ships are registered in Malta (except for Xpedition which is registered in Ecuador) and the master of the vessel and the vast majority of the crew will not be from any of those countries.

 

Some years ago I boarded a Norwegian Cruise Line vessel in Buenos Aires, Argentina heading via the Falkland Islands to Valparaiso, Chile. There was one price for "domestic beer", and a higher price for "imported beer". Soooo - what was the domestic beer? Budweiser from Jacksonville, FL. So, okay, based in the US:cool:

[ghstudio]

Just be careful what WIFI host you find. It could be a phishing site that collects user names and passwords. No No to financial transactions overseas.

 

It's quite a bit safer if you use Schwab for financial transactions since they will, on request, give you a secureID fob that changes security numbers every minute. Even if someone "steals" your encrypted password and tries to log in with it (very difficult to do, by the way), it won't allow them to log on since it has a useful life of one minute in which you have to sign on. (example given)

 

The next best sites, from a security standpoint, are those that ask you to enter your id on one page, then present a second page with a pre-agreed upon picture where you enter your password. (example: Bank of America)

 

Finally, the least safe, but still very safe sites are those that ask for userid and password on the same page....just make sure that at the top of the web page where it shows the URL, that URL starts with https (the s is the important part). (example: Fidelity)

 

If you are concerned about the US Government seeing your transaction...that's a whole different issue. Apparently the answer here is don't use the internet.

 

Personally, I check my accounts daily using quicken, so I am reasonably protected by the institutions.

Edited January 16, 2014 by ghstudio

[SixOneTwo]

GhStudio and LSimon, regarding texting in South Am:

 

I do believe GhStudio is correct that you could text from the ship using the ship's technology.

 

As for on land, here's what our Help Desk said. " You will be able to use the phone while in South America and all the countries you visit are covered by Verizon. However, there is no discounted plans through Verizon for voice at all, and there is absolutely zero option for texting. This means you will not have text access and that whatever phone calls you make or receive will be billed at the international roaming rates, frequently over $2.00 per minute in South America. Long story short, you can use voice, it’s just going to run up a bill which we don’t want to come as a surprise. "

Again, I'm not tech-oriented, and we all know what an oxymoron the term "Help Desk" is. It is especially confusing when you look at the Verizon reference LSimon provided, which seems very clear. But I also thought I saw something on the Verizon website (that I can't replicate) that said it WASN'T available. So, folks should maybe just be prepared for the possibility of not being able to text. Or of it being more expensive than it's worth.

Hopefully someone will join in the conversation here who has been successful IN SOUTH AMERICA and can tell about the reliability and cost.

This has been a great educational thread. Everyone's questions and answers are helpful to many.

Edited January 16, 2014 by SixOneTwo

[Fouremco]

It's quite a bit safer if you use Schwab for financial transactions since they will, on request, give you a secureID fob that changes security numbers every minute. Even if someone "steals" your encrypted password and tries to log in with it (very difficult to do, by the way), it won't allow them to log on since it has a useful life of one minute in which you have to sign on. (example given)

 

The next best sites, from a security standpoint, are those that ask you to enter your id on one page, then present a second page with a pre-agreed upon picture where you enter your password. (example: Bank of America)

 

Finally, the least safe, but still very safe sites are those that ask for userid and password on the same page....just make sure that at the top of the web page where it shows the URL, that URL starts with https (the s is the important part). (example: Fidelity)

 

If you are concerned about the US Government seeing your transaction...that's a whole different issue. Apparently the answer here is don't use the internet.

 

Personally, I check my accounts daily using quicken, so I am reasonably protected by the institutions.

Anyone using public wifi should also consider using VPN. Everything you do online is hidden from hackers, snoops and anyone monitoring the network. I personally use SurfEasy, as it's a good product and I like to support Canadian companies when I can, but there are many other good choices out there. SurfEasy has an app that allows me to protect my iPad and iPhone as well offering USB-based protection for laptops and desktops.

[Iamthesea]

When onboard, I use my tablet to go into webmail through my browser rather than downloading. I can see the titles and quickly read the ones that matter. If I need to respond, I can do that offline and reconnect to send. If I have minutes to burn (I usually do now with Elite+), I can take the time to delete the junk titles. Anyway, this leaves everything on the server until I get home to download.

 

So what you are saying is that instead of looking at your email through the email app on your tablet, you are using Safari, Chrome, etc. to go to your email provider, such as Hotmail? Doesn't it take just as long to go through the steps to your provider than it does to have emails downloading in your app's mailbox? Perhaps I am not understanding. :o

 

Getting to know my iPhone a little better today. :)

[goofysmom99]

So what you are saying is that instead of looking at your email through the email app on your tablet, you are using Safari, Chrome, etc. to go to your email provider, such as Hotmail? Doesn't it take just as long to go through the steps to your provider than it does to have emails downloading in your app's mailbox? Perhaps I am not understanding. :o

 

Getting to know my iPhone a little better today. :)

 

It's faster for me to go in through a browser so I don't run the risk of receiving a whole boatload of unwanted emails. Plus, my relatives never remember when I'm out of the country and regularly send humongous email attachments (usually photos). I wait to see them when I get home or ashore. When I go in through a browser, I only look at the email subject lines. I do it twice/day and it usually takes 1-2 minutes each time, max. I'd have no way of knowing how big/long downloads would be without previewing.

[Iamthesea]

Thinking back to other cruises, I can see what you mean. I remember trying to open certain emails from my daughter, who at the time had a new baby...the emails would take forever to open. It never occurred to me that was eating up my minutes. Luckily we had two free internet packages. I think I will take your advice and set up a quick link to my email provider and tell my children not to send pictures or videos (which I was asking for.) :D