When I upgraded to the iPhone 4s (AT&T), I kept my iPhone 3g. I have heard that I could "unlock" it, take it to Europe, and buy a new SIM card and sign up for a local plan for a short period and this would be a lot cheaper than paying AT&T international rates with my new phone. I will be arriving in Rome, proceeding to Naples and the Amalfi Coast, then making my way to Belgium and Germany.
Is this really possible with one card and one plan for multiple countries?
I am also concerned that since I don't speak Italian or German, I will sign up for a long term plan that I won't be able to get out of.
Any advice from someone who has done this?
old iPhone in Europe
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I haven't done it myself as last trip to France was 2009 and I still had a dumb phone. ;^( But I can answer some of your questions:
- Yes.. you can have your phone unlocked. It might even be possible to unlock your new phone. Apparently Verizon will do it if you've been with them for 60 days. Check with AT&T... maybe they'll unlock your old one for you. Check Kijiji.com, craigslist.com or just Google for unlock services for the 3G if AT&T won't play ball. Near where I live it costs 25 dollars.
- You can then use any SIM. I hear TIM is a good bet in Italy.
If you make your intentions clear I'm sure nobody is going to sign you up to some long term deal. Never heard of it happening.
You can get a new SIM for each country. But in Europe, roaming rates are capped at about 40 euro cents a minute. That's not such a bad deal so you could continue to use the Italian SIM in Belgium and Germany.
You can have a look here for other phone companies:
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/operators.php
BTW... Lebara.com is an excellent low cost option in many countries... http://www.lebara.be They aren't in Italy but check them out for Germany and Belgium.
tag
Yes,You can unlock your phone and it with other GSM network SIM card. Remote Unlock method is used to unlock Apple iPhones. You can get the Remote Unlock Service from http://www.superunlockcodes.com/ to unlock your Phone.
I don't have any idea about One SIM for many countries. But,Getting a new local SIM for each country and using it will cost less.