Adventures of an iPhone Abroad

Old Jul 12th, 2013, 07:42 AM
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Adventures of an iPhone Abroad

I will be in Paris and London for 10 days starting next week, and have been trying to figure out how to manage my cell phone bill for the time we are away. We want to be able to use apps/maps while exploring the city, but do not want to get charged for every email and phone call that comes through.

I spoke with Verizon and they offer a $5 voice plan which makes calls $0.99/minute (we only want to have the ability to call home in case of emergency). Text messages are $0.50 to send and $0.05 to receive. Data is $25 for 100mb (which means nothing to me).

Our plan is to basically shut off our data unless we are connected to WiFi, and turning off Voice Roaming unless we are need to make a call. This way we won't be charged for emails since they are free over WiFi.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to a better solution/one where we can still use travel convenient apps while exploring the cities? I have done some research on a number of Offline Apps, but none of them with Navigation, which is what I think we will need. Any suggestions would be helpful!
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Old Jul 12th, 2013, 08:02 AM
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You don't need to turn off voice roaming. Just don't answer the phone unless someone really important calls. Then you aren't charged (the person will just leave a voice mail message for which you won't be charged).

When I'm traveling abroad, I just send texts. I have only made twointernational calls, one during Hurricane Sandy to check up on my apartment and dog with our pet-sitter, and another to check voice mail (again to contact our pet-sitter when my cat was sick).

And if you do need to call home, make sure you have installed the Skype app or something like that to make calling infinitely cheaper when used on Wi-Fi.

As for data roaming, it's expensive but not horribly bad if you sign up in advance, and you do need to sign up for a plan in advance, or you will be charged a fortune. If you're lucky, you'll be able to get away with $30 or so of data. But it's very difficult to know in advance how much data you use for certain tasks unless you clear out your data tracking and see how much you use between now and the time you use (that will give you a hint of how much data to pay for in advance ... though you lose what you don't use, so it does require some planning).

Maps can take up a LOT of data, as can surfing the web. But there's no app that I'm aware of that will give you specific travel information on locations without using the mapping function of your phone.

Though you can easily obtain print maps of both Paris and London, and almost all guidebooks have detailed enough maps that will help you find all the major places, and you can map directions to where you're going when you're logged into Wi-Fi. I have never had to use my maps app while traveling. I do hope you are traveling with some type of guidebook to help you plan your trip. Even if you don't use Fodor's, I think it's kind of foolish to travel to a foreign destination without some guidance unless you know the cities intimately already.

FYI: You can limit data use while abroad by turning off the PUSH function of your email (the one that constantly checks on email and sends you the little messages all the time that you have 1 new message). Actually, turn off all PUSH functions on your phone while traveling abroad because when data roaming is off, your apps may still be pushing info to you. That will use up hundreds of mps of data, which is not useful at all and has cost people hundreds of dollars. I agree that you can and should leave the email checking for when you are on Wi-Fi, but people don't always remember that Facebook and other apps keep checking up and sending you little bits and pieces of info, all of which cost you mps of data..

Do be aware that while you are abroad, you cannot use the Voice Mail button to check your voice mail. You have to dial your own number and then press the # and enter your password to hear messages, so it's an international call to check voice mail (and you won't know how many voice mail messages you have, though you still still be able to see your log of missed calls).
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Old Jul 12th, 2013, 09:24 AM
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hello AMT6,

as an iPhone user there are several apps that you'll find useful overseas. I'll list them and give you a brief description

CityMaps2Go- This will be the best $2 you've ever spent. It's a working map complete with points of interest and GPS that doesn't use cellular data (100% offline) The way it works is you download the maps before you leave, in this case Paris and London. Then what you'll do is plot your points of interest on that map, your hotel, train station, restaurants you want to try etc. When you arrive you'll be able to navigate as if you had google maps.

MetrO- notice the spelling. This gives you timetables and which lines you'll need for the metro/subway. completely offline.

hope this helps
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Old Jul 13th, 2013, 09:21 AM
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If you plan on calling on your phone make sure Verizon turns your SIM card on! I got totally bad advice before I went and they put the incorrect plan on my phone and did not activate it for France. Consequently my phone could not get a signal. I did not plan on using it unless I had an emergency but it was a bit annoying that I could not have used it even if I wanted to. Be sure you talk to someone on the Global Team at Verizon. When I got home I got The most helpful women who explained it to me. Wish I had gotten her before I left! Next time maybe my phone will work.
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Old Jul 13th, 2013, 09:31 AM
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I took my iPhone to Germany last year and didn't get any additional data charges. I only used it while I was connected to WiFi though.

I also use Verizon and I have rented their phones on three past trips and was very satisfied with the cost. At that time, I didn't have a phone that could take a SIM card. The cost to rent was low, shipping was free and the plan to call home was reasonable. I also have a PennyTalk account that I can use on my iPhone or from a pay phone. The thing I used most for staying in touch with home while in Germany was Facebook and What's App on WiFi connections.
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Old Jul 13th, 2013, 09:32 AM
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Download maps before you leave home. Free WiFi is often slow, and of limited bandwidth which would mean downloading would take forever and could upset others trying to use the same WiFi point if you hog the bandwidth. Same applies to Skype btw, it can hog the available bandwidth making it impossible for others to get online.
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Old Jul 13th, 2013, 09:34 AM
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DH bought the app MotionX-GPS. You can download all the places where you will be while you are still at home and then when you use it abroad, you are using it OFFline so no data use. (Caveat, it takes a LONG time for the downloading.)

One tip that I have is to turn off cellular data while you are away. This way you cannot inadvertently use data roaming, but you will still have full access to data anywhere that you find wifi.

No help re: Verizon plans, as we have ATT, but we had our phone settings as I stated above and so no possibility for data charges.
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Old Jul 13th, 2013, 10:51 AM
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We recently spent over 2 months in Paris. We did what you mentioned: turned off cellular data (as an aside we purchased secondary phones to make local calls).
We relied on Wi Fi and also prior to arriving, I downloaded Ulmon Paris which is a map with GPS? I don't believe there was a charge. No wifi required.
Also downloaded Paris Metro app which also didn't require wi Fi and was great for metro directions.
Good luck
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Old Jul 13th, 2013, 02:47 PM
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I second tailsock- we used citymaps2go for our UK trip in June and it worked great! I know you're not going to get turn by turn navigation, but we were in an unfamiliar city and still never needed that function. I kept my iphone data off and we used wifi when needed.
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