Cheapest way to use your smartphone internationally

[-Lew-]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Public WiFi however is something that I would never use to go into my bank accounts or anything sensitive.

 

It almost goes without saying that public Wi-Fi begs for the use of a VPN.

[JJK2008]

The wifi route is of course the cheapest way. Apps like WhatsApp work very well. The only downside to WhatsApp is the person you call must also have the app downloaded. Conversely, Google Voice is also a wifi phone service that is free, and the best part is you can call ANY other phone. The person you call does not have to have the app. I called my Drs., office in the USA from a hotel room in Australia using Google Voice. It was as if I was talking to them in the same room. I do not know if Google Voice is available to persons outside the USA. Might be worth checking.      

[-Lew-]

27 minutes ago, JJK2008 said:

Google Voice is also a wifi phone service that is free, and the best part is you can call ANY other phone.

 

I had Google Voice installed on my iPhone for awhile, but I never used it.  With T-Mobile, and before that AT&T, Wi-Fi calls to the USA from Europe are free.  Wi-Fi calling needs to be setup while you're in the USA on your home cellular network, but once it's setup you're good to go for calling back to the USA just like you would at home.

[CDNPolar]

36 minutes ago, JJK2008 said:

The wifi route is of course the cheapest way. Apps like WhatsApp work very well. The only downside to WhatsApp is the person you call must also have the app downloaded. Conversely, Google Voice is also a wifi phone service that is free, and the best part is you can call ANY other phone. The person you call does not have to have the app. I called my Drs., office in the USA from a hotel room in Australia using Google Voice. It was as if I was talking to them in the same room. I do not know if Google Voice is available to persons outside the USA. Might be worth checking.      

 

Never heard of this but going to look into it.  (Google Voice)

 

WhatsApp is very common most countries but not as common in the USA.  

I work in 6 different countries around the world and WhatsApp is a daily use both in business and personal.

[JJK2008]

5 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Never heard of this but going to look into it.  (Google Voice)

 

WhatsApp is very common most countries but not as common in the USA.  

I work in 6 different countries around the world and WhatsApp is a daily use both in business and personal.

I could be wrong, but I don't know if Google Voice can be gotten from outside the US. I hope it works for you. I have WhatsApp as well but unless the person I'm calling has it, it's of no use. 

[CDNPolar]

17 minutes ago, JJK2008 said:

I could be wrong, but I don't know if Google Voice can be gotten from outside the US. I hope it works for you. I have WhatsApp as well but unless the person I'm calling has it, it's of no use. 

 

Everyone we know - family and friends  - in Canada have WhatsApp so we are not that concerned.  But, it would be nice to be able to call a Doctor at home as we would not be able to do that on WhatsApp.

[farmecologist]

I thought I'd throw in my two cents. 

 

On our Rhine river cruise last year, we extended on both sides for a few days in Basel and Amsterdam.

 

We used the "MobiMatter" app to purchase multi-country eSIMs for both of our phones.  Very affordable and it worked out very well.

 

BTW, most iPhones have dual SIM capability.  We have older phones ( iphone 11 pro and iphone 12 mini), so we have one physical USA SIM, and were able to easily add the additional eSIM without touching the physical SIM.  

 

We plan on doing the same thing for our upcoming Danube cruise November.

 

Edited May 24 by farmecologist

[Mike07]

On 5/24/2024 at 5:01 AM, CDNPolar said:

 

Public WiFi however is something that I would never use to go into my bank accounts or anything sensitive.  I agree that this is the cheapest route and might be the best for many that don't need a "phone" to receive or make calls and are good with intermittent access.

 

 

I've seen in Norway or Denmark where with the Public Wifi -- they want you to download and install an app at the port to use it. I would never install anything on my phone to get free wifi. However, if it's a truly free Wifi Access point, you have nothing to worry about.

 

Encryption is built on the assumption that an evil actor is capturing all of the data between your smartphone and the bank website. Therefore, you honestly have nothing to worry about. The YT personalities that advertise VPN providers, said personalities are in the business of selling trips... not tech.

 

There are benefits of VPNs, but nearly all of the talking points the VPN providers use to sell the service can be debunked.

Edited May 25 by Mike07

[Mike07]

On 5/24/2024 at 8:35 AM, -Lew- said:

 

It almost goes without saying that public Wi-Fi begs for the use of a VPN.

 

 

No, not at all despite what the VPN talking points are.

 

Think about it.. if you're saying that a malicious actor can capture and decrypt all of the "secure" data between your phone and your bank, why is the same actor not able to capture and decrypt all of the data between the session between your smart phone and the VPN server? VPN servers are not magical devices they stop hackers.

Edited May 25 by Mike07

[Mike07]

From Kitboga... a YTer with 3.44 million subscribers. High-level, his channel focuses on calling in and trolling the scam call centers that steal from vulnerable Americans through bank, medicare, and other frauds.

 

Usually, VPN providers are a few dollars a month with multi-year subscriptions, and everybody on this website can afford a few dollars per year. But, most of the VPN claims, talking points, and arguments are flat out bunk at the end of the day. VPNs are useful for hiding the websites and providers you're using from Viking or whomever's access point you're connected to. VPNs largely do nothing to protect you from actors stealing passwords, or viewing your banking details.

 

Also to be perfectly honest, when a cashier or car finance manager tries to sell you an extended warranty or Viking (or other cruise line sells travel insurance), I would consider those sales tactics talking points and claims to be a lot more valid and reasonable than VPN sellers. Don Terris on youtube has been pushing a certain VPN provider more recently, and Don makes himself look like an idiot because of it. But hey, it provides income supplement.

 

VPN Companies are Lying To You....

 

 

 

 

Edited May 25 by Mike07

[CDNPolar]

12 hours ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

I've seen in Norway or Denmark where with the Public Wifi -- they want you to download and install an app at the port to use it. I would never install anything on my phone to get free wifi. However, if it's a truly free Wifi Access point, you have nothing to worry about.

 

Encryption is built on the assumption that an evil actor is capturing all of the data between your smartphone and the bank website. Therefore, you honestly have nothing to worry about. The YT personalities that advertise VPN providers, said personalities are in the business of selling trips... not tech.

 

There are benefits of VPNs, but nearly all of the talking points the VPN providers use to sell the service can be debunked.

 

@Mike07 are you saying here that I should not be concerned (or have more concerns) connecting to my bank - In Canada - on a Wifi network rather than through my data plan?

 

Am I reading your words correctly here that the level of encryption between my iPhone and my bank is sufficient that a bad actor could not easily get my details through a Wifi connection?

 

There is so much disinformation about this.

 

Next question.  eSIMs.  I buy an eSIM for a data package when travelling.  How do I know that the data exchange from that eSIM company is safe?  Is my banking information safe through the eSIM?

 

I am not a techno wiz, but I am pretty competent in general and I am cautious when and where I access what I consider sensitive sites.  My password security that I have created has many levels depending on the "value" of the site that I am protecting the data of, and my passwords are updated and change frequently.

 

If I am reading you correctly, you are debunking some of the potential myths that I have had.

[Mike07]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

@Mike07 are you saying here that I should not be concerned (or have more concerns) connecting to my bank - In Canada - on a Wifi network rather than through my data plan?

 

Am I reading your words correctly here that the level of encryption between my iPhone and my bank is sufficient that a bad actor could not easily get my details through a Wifi connection?

 

There is so much disinformation about this.

 

Next question.  eSIMs.  I buy an eSIM for a data package when travelling.  How do I know that the data exchange from that eSIM company is safe?  Is my banking information safe through the eSIM?

 

I am not a techno wiz, but I am pretty competent in general and I am cautious when and where I access what I consider sensitive sites.  My password security that I have created has many levels depending on the "value" of the site that I am protecting the data of, and my passwords are updated and change frequently.

 

If I am reading you correctly, you are debunking some of the potential myths that I have had.

 

 

Your data is safe through public WiFi hotspots. If it were really this simple to steal usernames and passwords,thieves would go to the tourist destinations in Europe, setup a free public wifi access point, record all the traffic through it, and then steal peoples usernames and passwords. Except, we do not hear those stories but we do hear stories about pickpockets all of the time.

 

The basis of internet cryptography and secure connections between your web browser, your device and your bank, Amazon, and even I see the lock for CruiseCritic.com is built upon the idea that a malicious person is watching your internet traffic session from beginning to end. Without getting too technical, safety preventions have been built in.

 

What a VPN would help out... and this is assuming Viking allows the usage of VPNs onboard, is that a VPN would prevent Viking from seeing what sites you're connecting to like CruiseCritic, Amazon, your bank, etc. If you worked for Emerald or Uniworld and were writing reports back to corporate every evening, you might not want that out there. The VPN provider would see that traffic into their system.

 

In terms of eSims and the data exchange, there are going to only be a handful of telcos out there in Europe as it's $$$$ to buy the hardware and manage the LTE/5G radios to run a national cell phone provider. So, I haven't dived deep, but I would imagine some of the eSIM sellers in Europe are similar to Mint, Cricket, Tracphone, and other providers here that are re-selling Verizon, AT&T, T-Mo, and Sprint service.

 

Your banking information would also be safe through eSIM b/c whether you're connecting to your bank's provider through a physical cable, WiFi, Starlink, eSIM, mobile provider, or maybe another I'm not tracking, it all has to have an encrypted session setup that once again, is built on the premise that a malicious actor is watching the entire exchange.

 

I also pay for Google One, I have Google VPN (sadly being terminated this summer), but I rarely turn it on... most of the time I don't.

[CDNPolar]

1 minute ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

Your data is safe through public WiFi hotspots. If it were really this simple to steal usernames and passwords,thieves would go to the tourist destinations in Europe, setup a free public wifi access point, record all the traffic through it, and then steal peoples usernames and passwords. Except, we do not hear those stories but we do hear stories about pickpockets all of the time.

 

The basis of internet cryptography and secure connections between your web browser, your device and your bank, Amazon, and even I see the lock for CruiseCritic.com is built upon the idea that a malicious person is watching your internet traffic session from beginning to end. Without getting too technical, safety preventions have been built in.

 

What a VPN would help out... and this is assuming Viking allows the usage of VPNs onboard, is that a VPN would prevent Viking from seeing what sites you're connecting to like CruiseCritic, Amazon, your bank, etc. If you worked for Emerald or Uniworld and were writing reports back to corporate every evening, you might not want that out there. The VPN provider would see that traffic into their system.

 

In terms of eSims and the data exchange, there are going to only be a handful of telcos out there in Europe as it's $$$$ to buy the hardware and manage the LTE/5G radios to run a national cell phone provider. So, I haven't dived deep, but I would imagine some of the eSIM sellers in Europe are similar to Mint, Cricket, Tracphone, and other providers here that are re-selling Verizon, AT&T, T-Mo, and Sprint service.

 

Your banking information would also be safe through eSIM b/c whether you're connecting to your bank's provider through a physical cable, WiFi, Starlink, eSIM, mobile provider, or maybe another I'm not tracking, it all has to have an encrypted session setup that once again, is built on the premise that a malicious actor is watching the entire exchange.

 

I also pay for Google One, I have Google VPN (sadly being terminated this summer), but I rarely turn it on... most of the time I don't.

 

Thanks Mike.  Appreciate the explanation.

[Mike07]

10 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Thanks Mike.  Appreciate the explanation.

 

No problem. Like I said in my original post, for a few dollars a month, it's not breaking any of our banks and it's okay to have, but it's also probably not doing anything close to what they're advertising.

 

I would say most of what any of the VPN providers put on their homepage, it's like 98% fear-mongering and gross exaggerations of the truth.

 

[CJANDH]

You might want to check out Google Fi as your service provider. Their service includes 10 cents per minute calling from virtually every country in the world with no upcharge or pre-registration required. When you get to a new country you get a text message from Google saying: "Welcome to XYZ. Calls are 10 cents per minute."

 

Only available on Android phones however.

[rmalbers]

21 hours ago, CJANDH said:

You might want to check out Google Fi as your service provider. Their service includes 10 cents per minute calling from virtually every country in the world with no upcharge or pre-registration required. When you get to a new country you get a text message from Google saying: "Welcome to XYZ. Calls are 10 cents per minute."

 

Only available on Android phones however.

and as someone talked about above with phone networks, google fi uses t-mobiles network