Do you bring your cell to Europe?
Apr 20th, 2007, 07:51 AM
#1
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Do you bring your cell to Europe?
Do any of you bring your cell phone to Europe and actually use it?
I've brought my cell everywhere with me, and called TMobile and they assured me that Rome has great coverage. It is expensive, .99 a min., which can add up fast!
And if you do bring it...is it easy enough to understand how to call oher local numbers there? We would only use it to call friends that are traveling the same time we are, as well as some ppl. in the U.S.
Any opinions?
Thanks in advance,
Samantha
I've brought my cell everywhere with me, and called TMobile and they assured me that Rome has great coverage. It is expensive, .99 a min., which can add up fast!
And if you do bring it...is it easy enough to understand how to call oher local numbers there? We would only use it to call friends that are traveling the same time we are, as well as some ppl. in the U.S.
Any opinions?
Thanks in advance,
Samantha
Apr 20th, 2007, 07:53 AM
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If all you want is an emergency contact phone, then the T-Mobile International Roaming option is economical.
If you want to yak, do this:
Call T-Mobile at least a month before you leave, and ask for the code that unlocks your phone (allowing it to be used on another carrier). They will email you the code and how to use it. Pack the instructions with your travel documents.
When you get to Italy, go into a TIM store and buy a SIM. Insert it in the phone, and follow the unlock routine.
They will show you how to make local calls.
If you want to yak, do this:
Call T-Mobile at least a month before you leave, and ask for the code that unlocks your phone (allowing it to be used on another carrier). They will email you the code and how to use it. Pack the instructions with your travel documents.
When you get to Italy, go into a TIM store and buy a SIM. Insert it in the phone, and follow the unlock routine.
They will show you how to make local calls.
Apr 20th, 2007, 08:08 AM
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I have a Blackberry phone through work (Cingular service). When I'm ready to go on a trip, they sign me up for one month of international service...I think it costs $19. I really don't use the phone-just the email. I'm mentioning this because earlier this month, my phone and email service just stopped all of the sudden. It turns out that my one month international service had expired, but instead of just turning that off, they shut off all service. So keep that in the back of your mind should you have a similar issue.
Apr 20th, 2007, 08:13 AM
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Good to know...
What is yak?? Sorry..not farmiliar.
And we're living in less than 2 weeks...already called Tmobile and they said I'm all set, but they didn't offer me any option of changing to an International plan. Should I ask?
What is yak?? Sorry..not farmiliar.
And we're living in less than 2 weeks...already called Tmobile and they said I'm all set, but they didn't offer me any option of changing to an International plan. Should I ask?
Apr 20th, 2007, 08:13 AM
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I used my t-mobile phone everywhere...the only thing I didn't know is that to call back to the US you have to put a + sign in front of the 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX by holding down the 0 key for a few seconds. It was 99cents per minute but it worked great. I did buy a T-mobile sim card in Hungary and it worked great on my phone and it gave me a local number but I don't know if they have a presence in Italy. Hope that this info is helpful, have a great trip.
Apr 20th, 2007, 08:42 AM
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Yak - chat; discourse at length.
To turn on International Roaming, go to T-mobile.com and check the box. It's free.
<i>p.s.</i> Note that "International Long Distance" is for calling <u>out</u> from the U.S. You want the other one.
To turn on International Roaming, go to T-mobile.com and check the box. It's free.
<i>p.s.</i> Note that "International Long Distance" is for calling <u>out</u> from the U.S. You want the other one.
Apr 20th, 2007, 08:53 AM
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Yes, I just bring my T-Mobile USA phone to Europe as I don't yak either.
And I usually just use text messaging when traveling abroad unless there's complicated matter or emergency. T-Mobile USA charges $0.35 when sending a text message when abroad, and $0.15 when receiving. Quite reasonable.
And I usually just use text messaging when traveling abroad unless there's complicated matter or emergency. T-Mobile USA charges $0.35 when sending a text message when abroad, and $0.15 when receiving. Quite reasonable.
Apr 20th, 2007, 09:05 AM
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So do you dial the full Euro number with country and city code if you're still using your American SIM?
Also, when people call you, they have to make an international call to you right?
I would think some locals would be reluctant to do that.
A lot of people go the universal SIM route like United Mobile but they would have to dial a number in Lichtenstein or something like that right?
How much would it cost someone to dial a Lichtenstein mobile number from a landline or mobile phone in Italy or France?
Also, when people call you, they have to make an international call to you right?
I would think some locals would be reluctant to do that.
A lot of people go the universal SIM route like United Mobile but they would have to dial a number in Lichtenstein or something like that right?
How much would it cost someone to dial a Lichtenstein mobile number from a landline or mobile phone in Italy or France?
Apr 20th, 2007, 09:40 AM
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My T-Mobile worked find all over the Caribbean last fall - expect it do the same in Italy this fall. It is tri-band and once "unlocked" worked like a charm and it was not overly expensive IMO.
Apr 20th, 2007, 09:59 AM
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I do take it with me and I have used it, but only to call home and say something like, "Hi, made it safely, love you, bye." I also have T-Mobile, so a call like this would cost me 99c. But the main reason I take it with me in case someone from home needs to call w/an emergency. Thankfully that hasn't happened. <knock wood>
Apr 20th, 2007, 10:25 AM
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Ok so heres a question.....
If ppl from the US call our US cell phone while in Italy...do they have to dial internationally?
And if we were to call Italy and US, is all we have to do is put the little + sign first? As is +1888-999-9999?
I guess we can figure it out while we're there...lol
If ppl from the US call our US cell phone while in Italy...do they have to dial internationally?
And if we were to call Italy and US, is all we have to do is put the little + sign first? As is +1888-999-9999?
I guess we can figure it out while we're there...lol
Apr 20th, 2007, 10:27 AM
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If you haven't changed to a local SIM then no - they dial your area code+number just as if you were at home.
You do the same from Italy, since you're calling from your home number - even though you're walking through beautiful downtown Ercolano at the time.
You do the same from Italy, since you're calling from your home number - even though you're walking through beautiful downtown Ercolano at the time.
Apr 20th, 2007, 10:43 AM
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I took my phone and loved the convenience. I didn't talk a lot, but liked having it, and I knew my SO could reach me with no problems. I think I had about 65.00 in calls so it was well worth it to me.
Apr 20th, 2007, 11:52 AM
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If you're using T Mobile US intrnational roaming then
1. Upon arrival in Italy, the phone will search for a network which T Mobile US has a roaming agreement with and which has your frequency (US tri bands recently are sold without 900 mhz so the phone will search for a carrier operating on 1800; no such problem with quad bands or true tri bands sold outside North America)...when it finds such a carrier, the phone registers and you see the name of the carrier you are roaming on (say TIM) but it really makes no difference.
2. On GSM phones, the + key is the international key replacing 011 when in North America and 00 in Europe. Therefore to call the US number 1 917 555 1212 you would dial +1 917 555 1212. To call a number in the UK from Italy you would dial +44 followed by the number leaving out the 0. to call a local Italian number, you can go one of two ways...you can dial it as an international call with the + sign followed by 39 and the local Italian number without the lead zero + 39 number....or since you are roaming on an Italian network you can dial as if it is a local Italian number 0 followed by the number. Call will go through either way at the same price.
3. People calling you from North America while you are roaming simply dial the number without the + although adding the + will do no harm (assuming they're calling on a cell phone...on a landline they simply dial the number)...the call goes through and they will hear a European ring tone which is slightly different from a North American ring tone which will be their first indication you are roaming; not that it affects what they are paying. they pay for a domestic call to you (unless they're calling from Canada or other parts of the NANP)...only you pay the exhorbitant 99¢/minute...bear in mind this is always rounded up and the timing might start from the time the phone rings. also be aware of the double charge for a call bouncing back to voice mail which has been described elsewhere. (I know Robespierre it's good old American capitalism at work!)
4. As far as charges to Liechtenstein mobile lines such as United Mobile, well it's a hodge podge. Many ld carriers stick it to you big time to call Liechtenstein mobiles...you have to check out the individual rates. However, for example at least as of now, AT&T ld on its $1 a month ld plan only charges 11¢/minute (calls to Liechtenstein are listed at 10¢/minute with a 1¢ surcharge to a Liechtenstein mobile...other carriers are much much higher as the telcoms try to stop people from calling Liechtenstein mobiles AKA United Mobile....you can also open up a free account with Callbackworld which is what you should do anyway to make the calls on United Mobile back to North America as cheap as 14¢/minute timed in 6 second intervals (talk for 30 second and pay 7¢...talk for 62 seconds and pay 15¢ not $1.98...callback world for free will give you something called a pin2dest...what this is is a US toll free number (866 area code or 877 or something like that)...the way it works is a caller dials the number toll free (although some public phones now charge for calls to toll free numbers) they will hear a request to enter the pin...if you provide your pin to this person, the call goes through to your designated United Mobile number (or whatever number you set) and you pay 14¢/minute again timed in 6 second intervals....down side is there have been some glitches from time to time with callbackworld...some claim voice quality stinks but I haven't run into that problem (BTW most of the cheap calling cards operate on VOIP set ups and their voice quality will be no different than cbw...that is the way you get oodles of minutes on calling cards)..for an extra $1 or $2 a month, cbw will provide you with you own dedicated toll free (US) number which you can use as your contact number to people to reach you on your mobile phone while roaming in Eu rope and again all you will pay will be the 14¢/minute.
For convenience, I will never put down those who use T Mobile US as long as they understand it should be used sparingly because I have seen and heard of people falling for the ease of its use and coming back with roaming bills of $300 or $400...it's so easy to be seduced.....but if you want to really have a functioning mobile phone, there are certainly lots of better alternatives as desribed above as well as local sims.
1. Upon arrival in Italy, the phone will search for a network which T Mobile US has a roaming agreement with and which has your frequency (US tri bands recently are sold without 900 mhz so the phone will search for a carrier operating on 1800; no such problem with quad bands or true tri bands sold outside North America)...when it finds such a carrier, the phone registers and you see the name of the carrier you are roaming on (say TIM) but it really makes no difference.
2. On GSM phones, the + key is the international key replacing 011 when in North America and 00 in Europe. Therefore to call the US number 1 917 555 1212 you would dial +1 917 555 1212. To call a number in the UK from Italy you would dial +44 followed by the number leaving out the 0. to call a local Italian number, you can go one of two ways...you can dial it as an international call with the + sign followed by 39 and the local Italian number without the lead zero + 39 number....or since you are roaming on an Italian network you can dial as if it is a local Italian number 0 followed by the number. Call will go through either way at the same price.
3. People calling you from North America while you are roaming simply dial the number without the + although adding the + will do no harm (assuming they're calling on a cell phone...on a landline they simply dial the number)...the call goes through and they will hear a European ring tone which is slightly different from a North American ring tone which will be their first indication you are roaming; not that it affects what they are paying. they pay for a domestic call to you (unless they're calling from Canada or other parts of the NANP)...only you pay the exhorbitant 99¢/minute...bear in mind this is always rounded up and the timing might start from the time the phone rings. also be aware of the double charge for a call bouncing back to voice mail which has been described elsewhere. (I know Robespierre it's good old American capitalism at work!)
4. As far as charges to Liechtenstein mobile lines such as United Mobile, well it's a hodge podge. Many ld carriers stick it to you big time to call Liechtenstein mobiles...you have to check out the individual rates. However, for example at least as of now, AT&T ld on its $1 a month ld plan only charges 11¢/minute (calls to Liechtenstein are listed at 10¢/minute with a 1¢ surcharge to a Liechtenstein mobile...other carriers are much much higher as the telcoms try to stop people from calling Liechtenstein mobiles AKA United Mobile....you can also open up a free account with Callbackworld which is what you should do anyway to make the calls on United Mobile back to North America as cheap as 14¢/minute timed in 6 second intervals (talk for 30 second and pay 7¢...talk for 62 seconds and pay 15¢ not $1.98...callback world for free will give you something called a pin2dest...what this is is a US toll free number (866 area code or 877 or something like that)...the way it works is a caller dials the number toll free (although some public phones now charge for calls to toll free numbers) they will hear a request to enter the pin...if you provide your pin to this person, the call goes through to your designated United Mobile number (or whatever number you set) and you pay 14¢/minute again timed in 6 second intervals....down side is there have been some glitches from time to time with callbackworld...some claim voice quality stinks but I haven't run into that problem (BTW most of the cheap calling cards operate on VOIP set ups and their voice quality will be no different than cbw...that is the way you get oodles of minutes on calling cards)..for an extra $1 or $2 a month, cbw will provide you with you own dedicated toll free (US) number which you can use as your contact number to people to reach you on your mobile phone while roaming in Eu rope and again all you will pay will be the 14¢/minute.
For convenience, I will never put down those who use T Mobile US as long as they understand it should be used sparingly because I have seen and heard of people falling for the ease of its use and coming back with roaming bills of $300 or $400...it's so easy to be seduced.....but if you want to really have a functioning mobile phone, there are certainly lots of better alternatives as desribed above as well as local sims.
