Cheapest way to use your smartphone internationally

[longterm]

It used to be that the cheapest and simplest way to use your smartphone internationally was to buy a SIM for the country that you're visiting. 

 

However, I've been researching and testing something that is going to save us hundreds of dollars.

 

It's called an eSIM. A little background: cell phones all have SIM cards, which talk to your cell provider. The SIM identifies your phone to the cell provider so that they can validate your account, etc. Without getting into the weeds, it's sort of an ID card for your cell phone. A SIM card is a tiny wafer of cardboard, about 1/2" x 1/3", and about as thin as a piece of cardboard. It's in your phone somewhere; on an iPhone, there's a small oblong slot on the bottom right where it's stored.

 

These days, modern smartphones can use what is called an eSIM, which is software that essentially does the same thing as a SIM card. 

 

An eSIM, just like a SIM, needs a cell tower to work; it's not going to work out in the open ocean away from land.

 

PROS: An eSIM is very inexpensive; for our upcoming Italy trip, I'm buying a 30-day eSIM, good only in Italy, with 10GB of data usage, for only $24. That will give me the ability to sync my iPhone photos to the cloud, check email, even browse the Internet or watch videos if I wanted. If I use up my data (I take a LOT of photos), I can top off the card with more data for about the same price as the original eSIM (so in my case, if I want another 10GB of data, it's another $24).

 

The eSIM does NOT do phone calls; it's JUST for data (but there's a workaround there too, more on that in a minute).

 

HOW DID I SET THIS UP?

I set my phone so that it makes calls using my AT&T SIM card; I set it to use the eSIM for cellular data. Not to worry, the app I use explains how to do this, and it takes about 5 minutes.

 

WHAT IS THE APP CALLED?

I'm using an app called Airalo, which is free on the App Store (available on Android too); you can easily buy your eSIM there, by selecting the country (or region) you are visiting. There are lots of pricing plans with shorter durations or larger data plans.

 

CONS: So far, I haven't found one.

 

Yesterday, I set up an inexpensive eSIM for here in the US for 7 days, for $4.95, to see if it works; I use my existing SIM (which is providing me service from AT&T) for phone calls and texts, and I use the eSIM for web browsing, email, iCloud photo syncing. Works perfectly, and I can't tell any difference. Of course, it's relying on a local cell provider (for this one, it uses T-Mobile) so I get the speed that T-Mobile can provide in our location. Phone calls work just like normal.

 

BUT WHAT ABOUT MAKING PHONE CALLS OVERSEAS?

You can download an app called "Hushed;" I assume it's on the Android platform too. For $5/month, you can buy a phone number, and then make phone calls using that number. The phone calls go out on the Internet, NOT through your cell provider--this is the key. So, here's how you do it: you use Hushed to make the phone call; it goes out onto your eSIM, NOT on your primary cell provider (AT&T in my case). So you can make and receive calls on that alternate number, without using a bit of your cell phone service or incurring a fee.

 

You can do the same thing using Skype or Google Voice, but Google uses any information it gleans from your phone calls (that doesn't float with me), and I don't have a Skype account, but I suppose it would work really well.

 

WHAT IF I'M GOING TO MULTIPLE COUNTRIES?

Next year, we're visiting about 7 countries on the British Isles Explorer cruise; I'll buy a regional eSIM that will work in all the countries that I'm visiting.

 

I know this is long-winded, but if you got this far, you're probably interested; check it out, it's really cool technology and my wife and I will definitely be using it on our trips this year.

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

They work great. In fact new phones no longer have a physical SIM. I bought one for our European trip last January. I purchased 3 gigabytes for 30 days for $13. I used only half the data in 2 weeks. I turned off photo synching unless we were on Wi-Fi. I also bought a data stick to save photos and video to. Can never have too many backups.

 

My wife’s older phone did not support eSims and she sent a text and got a notice from Verizon that she has just been charged $10 for 24 hours of international calling. After that she disabled her cellular and I set up a hot spot on my phone for her use, and, yes, she has since bought a new phone for our upcoming trip.

Edited March 26, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[Nippy Sweetie]

Why not just use WhatsApp calling using the ship's free WiFi? 

Edited March 26, 2023 by Nippy Sweetie

[Vineyard View]

We will use WhatsApp as well. Just need to make sure that those you want to communicate with also have it. Free and easy to use. 

[CurlerRob]

56 minutes ago, longterm said:

I know this is long-winded, but if you got this far, you're probably interested; check it out, it's really cool technology and my wife and I will definitely be using it on our trips this year.

 

@longterm, you alerted me to the eSIM route some months ago, and I used one on a Caribbean trip to test the multiple country functioning. It worked flawlessly - much appreciated!

 

One thing I did was to keep a printout of the various "allowed" networks in each location - that let me double check that my phone was only connecting to the proper network (it did) and not to a different one. 🍺🥌

[CurlerRob]

16 minutes ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

Why not just use WhatsApp calling using the ship's free WiFi? 

 

That's perfectly viable, as would be other WiFi calling methods that LT mentions - he just happened to pick on a different app to illustrate how to connect via data when not near a WiFi hotspot such as on the ship. Nearly any "call over the internet" app will work over a cellular data network if given access. 🍺🥌

Edited March 26, 2023 by CurlerRob
typo

[longterm]

34 minutes ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

Why not just use WhatsApp calling using the ship's free WiFi? 

Because that only works when you're in a wifi network; yes, onboard the ship I can use FaceTime audio, which doesn't cost anything because it's using the Internet. But, when in a town, you can use Apple Maps (or Google Maps), sync your photos to the cloud, browse a website to buy tickets or whatever, all using the eSIM, for a very low price.

Also, unless Viking's upgraded all their wi-fi since our last cruise, the wifi on board can be horrible--too slow for what I need (I own an IT company and have to do certain maintenance tasks every morning). So what I ended up doing was using my phone as a hotspot each morning in port, and that cost me $10/day. Over a 24-day trip, it ended up costing me $240. 

 

In comparison, this trip I'll probably not make any phone calls, so I'll spend $24 for 17 days in Europe, and I'll be able to do everything I need.

[longterm]

23 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

That's perfectly viable, as would be other WiFi calling methods that LT mentions - he just happened to pick on a different app to illustrate how to connect via data when not near a WiFi hotspot such as on the ship. Nearly any "call over the internet" app will work over a cellular data network if given access. 🍺🥌

Yes, you're absolutely correct; Google Voice or Skype would work fine as well. I probably won't fool with making any phone calls, or if I absolutely have to, I might buy a phone number for the trip for $5, and make calls that way. 

[donaldsc]

I may have this wrong but here goes.  We are w AT&T.  They have a $10 per 24 hour overseas plan.  My understanding is that your 24 hour usage period starts when you 1st use it and ends 24 hours later.  This may sound like a lot of money but you can turn it on only on days that you need it.  In addition your maximum charge for the plan is $100 so if you are on a cruise that is more than 10 days long and you use the phone every day your bill will be $10.  This would certainly be useful for an extended cruise.  As I said - I could be wrong about the plan.  We have it but have never used it.

 

Basically my attitude on the whole question about smart phones on trip is that the best way it to leave the phone in your room and don't use it.  

 

DON

Edited March 26, 2023 by donaldsc

[longterm]

1 minute ago, donaldsc said:

I may have this wrong but here goes.  We are w AT&T.  They have a $10 per 24 hour overseas plan.  My understanding is that your 24 hour usage period starts when you 1st use it and ends 24 hours later.  This may sound like a lot of money but you can turn it on only on days that you need it.  In addition your maximum charge for the plan is $100 so if you are on a cruise that is more than 10 days long and you use the phone every day your bill will be $10.  This would certainly be useful for an extended cruise.  As I said - I could be wrong about the plan.  We have it but have never used it.

 

DON

I didn't know about the $100 ceiling; that's a lot better than $240! 

But you're correct; if you do anything that uses a cell signal--make a call, a text, use cellular to sync to iCloud, browse a website--and you're NOT on a wi-fi network--then it's $10 for that 24 hours.

 

If someone texts you, and you see it on your phone, that means you used cellular that day. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm guessing that's the case. So, if you get a spam text on your phone, and you don't have wifi enabled or aren't in a wi-fi network, that would mean you just spent $10. So the solution is to turn off cellular unless you absolutely have to use it.
 

[springtravel]

Unfortunately, our phones don't have eSims capability.  We have installed What's App, but can only use it when we have WiFi.  But we refuse to pay $20/day (both phones) to an already outrageous Verizon bill.  We were hoping to use our phones if we get separated while in port.  Our plan is to go to each go somewhere that has WiFi, and try to call the other.  That's a last resort, of course, but you never know.

[Selion]

I use T-Mobile.  They offer international passes at $35 (10 days, 5 GB 5G data, unlimited talk and text) and $50 (30 days, 10 GB 5G data, unlimited talk & text), and these passes are good in 210+ countries.  For lazy bones like me that's one & done instead of dealing with other apps & swapping sims, electronic or not.

[CurlerRob]

6 minutes ago, longterm said:

But you're correct; if you do anything that uses a cell signal--make a call, a text, use cellular to sync to iCloud, browse a website--and you're NOT on a wi-fi network--then it's $10 for that 24 hours.

 

If someone texts you, and you see it on your phone, that means you used cellular that day. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm guessing that's the case. So, if you get a spam text on your phone, and you don't have wifi enabled or aren't in a wi-fi network, that would mean you just spent $10. So the solution is to turn off cellular unless you absolutely have to use it.
 

 

Some of these issues can be provider dependent. Normally, incoming texts do not trigger the daily charge (otherwise the providers would be inundating us with messages to pump up the top line!). Sending a text, making or answering a call will trigger the charge (and perhaps hidden gremlins in the operating system as well ...). 🍺🥌

[CurlerRob]

7 minutes ago, Selion said:

I use T-Mobile.  They offer international passes at $35 (10 days, 5 GB 5G data, unlimited talk and text) and $50 (30 days, 10 GB 5G data, unlimited talk & text), and these passes are good in 210+ countries.  For lazy bones like me that's one & done instead of dealing with other apps & swapping sims, electronic or not.

 

Americans are extremely fortunate to have a diverse and competitive set of quality providers. That leads to the availability of numerous options for connecting while travelling - including the ones you cite.

 

Other countries, such as mine, suffer from extremely high cell phone prices and do not have the level of flexibility that exists in the US. For example, my provider offers the $xx per day option, but not an international pass such as you describe.

 

Wish it were otherwise ... 🍺🥌

[MSEm]

We use WhatsApp when traveling overseas.  Make sure you invite people to join you on WhatsApp before you leave.  We find it to be very fast for text and voice calls.  We also used it to sent some pics to family. 

We keep phones in Airplane mode.  Usually no problem when off the ship conneting to WiFi.  Most of the tour buses have had wifi.  I have successfully connected with WhatsApp to send text & pics while on tour bus.

[Nippy Sweetie]

I'm in UK and have free roaming for my phone so can use my data anywhere in Europe for no extra charge. I'm with EE.

[Squawkman]

51 minutes ago, longterm said:

 

If someone texts you, and you see it on your phone, that means you used cellular that day. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm guessing that's the case. So, if you get a spam text on your phone, and you don't have wifi enabled or aren't in a wi-fi network, that would mean you just spent $10. So the solution is to turn off cellular unless you absolutely have to use it.
 

I have ATT and exclusively used WiFi Calling for at least half a dozen Viking ocean and river cruises. Trick is keeping the iPhone in airplane mode the minute you land in a foreign airport. We get SMS texts from friends who use android phones in Europe just like we are home. One time I was making a call and the phone switched off airplane mode by itself. The call never connected, but I was charged $10 for one day. I just called ATT and they immediately removed the charge

 

[springtravel]

1 hour ago, Squawkman said:

Trick is keeping the iPhone in airplane mode the minute you land in a foreign airport.

I will have mine on airplane mode the minute we board the plane, so that won't be hard to remember.  

 

1 hour ago, Squawkman said:

e get SMS texts from friends who use android phones in Europe just like we are home

[springtravel]

What is SMS text and how do you use it?

 

[TayanaLorna]

3 hours ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

Why not just use WhatsApp calling using the ship's free WiFi? 

It is only free if you call your someone in your home country.  Like for us living in the US making a call to a friend in the US.  If you make calls to a number in the country you are visiting it is not.  Like we are in Italy and call a guide to confirm a time.  

[TayanaLorna]

4 hours ago, longterm said:

It used to be that the cheapest and simplest way to use your smartphone internationally was to buy a SIM for the country that you're visiting. 

 

However, I've been researching and testing something that is going to save us hundreds of dollars.

 

It's called an eSIM. A little background: cell phones all have SIM cards, which talk to your cell provider. The SIM identifies your phone to the cell provider so that they can validate your account, etc. Without getting into the weeds, it's sort of an ID card for your cell phone. A SIM card is a tiny wafer of cardboard, about 1/2" x 1/3", and about as thin as a piece of cardboard. It's in your phone somewhere; on an iPhone, there's a small oblong slot on the bottom right where it's stored.

 

These days, modern smartphones can use what is called an eSIM, which is software that essentially does the same thing as a SIM card. 

 

An eSIM, just like a SIM, needs a cell tower to work; it's not going to work out in the open ocean away from land.

 

PROS: An eSIM is very inexpensive; for our upcoming Italy trip, I'm buying a 30-day eSIM, good only in Italy, with 10GB of data usage, for only $24. That will give me the ability to sync my iPhone photos to the cloud, check email, even browse the Internet or watch videos if I wanted. If I use up my data (I take a LOT of photos), I can top off the card with more data for about the same price as the original eSIM (so in my case, if I want another 10GB of data, it's another $24).

 

The eSIM does NOT do phone calls; it's JUST for data (but there's a workaround there too, more on that in a minute).

 

HOW DID I SET THIS UP?

I set my phone so that it makes calls using my AT&T SIM card; I set it to use the eSIM for cellular data. Not to worry, the app I use explains how to do this, and it takes about 5 minutes.

 

WHAT IS THE APP CALLED?

I'm using an app called Airalo, which is free on the App Store (available on Android too); you can easily buy your eSIM there, by selecting the country (or region) you are visiting. There are lots of pricing plans with shorter durations or larger data plans.

 

CONS: So far, I haven't found one.

 

Yesterday, I set up an inexpensive eSIM for here in the US for 7 days, for $4.95, to see if it works; I use my existing SIM (which is providing me service from AT&T) for phone calls and texts, and I use the eSIM for web browsing, email, iCloud photo syncing. Works perfectly, and I can't tell any difference. Of course, it's relying on a local cell provider (for this one, it uses T-Mobile) so I get the speed that T-Mobile can provide in our location. Phone calls work just like normal.

 

BUT WHAT ABOUT MAKING PHONE CALLS OVERSEAS?

You can download an app called "Hushed;" I assume it's on the Android platform too. For $5/month, you can buy a phone number, and then make phone calls using that number. The phone calls go out on the Internet, NOT through your cell provider--this is the key. So, here's how you do it: you use Hushed to make the phone call; it goes out onto your eSIM, NOT on your primary cell provider (AT&T in my case). So you can make and receive calls on that alternate number, without using a bit of your cell phone service or incurring a fee.

 

You can do the same thing using Skype or Google Voice, but Google uses any information it gleans from your phone calls (that doesn't float with me), and I don't have a Skype account, but I suppose it would work really well.

 

WHAT IF I'M GOING TO MULTIPLE COUNTRIES?

Next year, we're visiting about 7 countries on the British Isles Explorer cruise; I'll buy a regional eSIM that will work in all the countries that I'm visiting.

 

I know this is long-winded, but if you got this far, you're probably interested; check it out, it's really cool technology and my wife and I will definitely be using it on our trips this year.

 

This is interesting thanks.  We will be in Italy for 4 days before Viking and in Greece 3 days after Viking.  The $24 for a month is sure cheaper then $10 a day with ATT international.  

[Squawkman]

5 minutes ago, springtravel said:

What is SMS text and how do you use it?

 

Technically Short Message Service it’s the most used standard for texting. Apple’s iMessage is the format used for texting one Apple device to another Apple device, but the Apple device will also communicate with non-Apple devices via SMS.

[hbtraveler]

2 hours ago, Selion said:

I use T-Mobile.  They offer international passes at $35 (10 days, 5 GB 5G data, unlimited talk and text) and $50 (30 days, 10 GB 5G data, unlimited talk & text), and these passes are good in 210+ countries.  For lazy bones like me that's one & done instead of dealing with other apps & swapping sims, electronic or not.

Depending on the plan, T-Mobile will include unlimited data (4G or above) and texting plus 20 cents/minute phone in those 210+ countries for no additional cost above your plan cost.  We have 2 lines on Magenta MAX 55+ and have used this feature quite a bit in our international travels with no issues.

[Vineyard View]

This is a great thread. I have learned a lot reading it. Thanks for all the useful information. I was not aware of eSim and will be looking into before we travel. It sounds like a good companion to WhatsApp?  Maybe with eSim WhatsApp isn’t necessary?

[Nippy Sweetie]

@TayanaLornaI'm in UK and I can phone wherever I want according to my phone contract. I won't comment on American systems.