Steve_Dallas

Hello, I am visiting the UK next month and would like to know the best options for local cell phone and cellular data use. I will be spending 10 days there.
Getting an overseas plan for my current phone from my carrier here is very expensive and I am not sure Verizon even works in the UK.

I have heard the best thing to do is get a cheap pre-paid cellphone while I am there for making local calls. Do these generally work all over the country? We are visiting southern England and Wales.

For cellular data, so we can search the internet and check email, do the pre-paid phones work well for this? Or should I rent a mobile hot-spot device?

Also, would it be a fair guess to say that I should not get these from the airport? Where would be a good place?

Thanks for any help!

lauramsgarden

We have verizon, and did get the overseas plan - it worked well. we had no problem with cell reception. Have a great trip

tuscanlifeedit

I'm afraid I don't have good advice to offer you, but I love your screen name.

In May, we took an International phone, quite old, from Mobal with us to England. Using it only for phone calls, it was incredibly cheap. However, that isn't what you're asking about.

We also had an Iphone, with no service or data plan, as well as an Ipad, also with no cellular or data plan. Where there was Wifi, these worked well. We spent some days in the Peak District, on a farm and had no Wifi. We were limited to phone calls at that point.

No one uses Mobal.com any longer, it seems, but me. But if you travel internationally, it's a great thing. Cheap calls and a phone that works in many countries.

Sorry to not be of more help, but I'm a huge Bloom Country fan and had to compliment you on your screen name.

Andrew

If your current phone is a fairly new smart phone, chances are it will work fine in the UK, and you would be able to roam on GSM networks on a Verizon partner, if you pay for their international plan. I think it costs $10 per day and you get charged only on the days you use it. If you don't want to use roaming that day, put the phone in airplane mode then turn on WiFi to use it without mobile data.

Phones will work as GPS devices without mobile internet data or paid cell sevice, if you've already downloaded the map (e.g. Google Maps). So you can still use your phone somewhat as a GPS even if you don't have Verizon roaming that day.

If you want to make free calls to the US, even to landlines, install Google Hangouts Dialer on your phone (Android and iPhone, anyway). That way, you can make calls for free to the US on WiFi on days when you aren't using your Verizon international roaming.

Or - buy a local SIM card in the UK when you arrive and use it in your phone while in the UK. Verizon is not allowed by FCC agreement to lock their 4GLTE phones, though they aren't required to make it easy to roam on GSM networks like those used in the UK.

goddesstogo

Hi Steve,
I recently posted a similar question and here are the responses I got which may be of some help to you:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-questions.cfm

As it turned out, my SO just found an inexpensive package which included enough data for us with his regular server which is Bell. It only cost $30 for (I think) a month.

Steve_Dallas

Thanks, all!

willit

You can pick up a very basic Android smartphone in Supermarkets from about £25. The Shop Argos has several models from £20 (plus a £10 top up)

Obviously they are not going to be up to the quality of a Galaxy or an iPhone, but for a spare or holiday phone they will work fine.