d_claude_bear

I got conflicting info from two Verizon reps. Has anyone had hands on experience with this?

When in France, using an iPhone 5 with international use enabled through Verizon, how do I call a French phone number, lets say 01 xx xx xx xx?

Is it + 33 and all 10 digits; + 33 and drop the initial 0; or what?

And how do I call my wife's iPhone when we are both in France? + 1 area code and phone #?

Thanks for the help.

Robert2533

You have to dial the international number (from where you are in France to home and then back to France) , just as you would if dialing from home.

Sign up for Skype and call your wife for free if you need to.

StCirq

No, it's not 33 - that's the country code, which you need to call only if calling from abroad.

Where will your wife be when you're calling her from France? In France? Just call her French cell phone number. There are no codes to deal with, unless you have one of those silly US contracted WAY expensive roaming international service thingies.

You should have a cheap, unlocked quad-band GSM phone, each of you, with a Lebara sim to make no-cost calls to each other while in France.

Verizon doesn't know jack about international calling. They'll give your terrible,conflicting information and when you get home you'll have an $800 phone bill for a few calls.

Get yourselves cheap GMS phones on amazon.com or ebay, get lebara sims, and you can probably get by for a few weeks in France for under $20.

Rumseydog

Just returned from France, where I used my AT&T iPhone to make frequent local calls. When in France, the phone assumes the operating characteristics of a local phone. We dialed all our numbers in Paris, for instance, using <B>01 xx xx xx xx</B>. Here's what the AT&T website states:

The country code for France is 33. The first two digits of French numbers are a prefix determined by zone: Paris and Ile-de-France, 01; the northwest, 02; the northeast, 03; the southeast, 04; and the southwest, 05. Note that when dialing France from abroad, drop the initial 0 from the telephone number (which is used for calling numbers from within France).

For example, the local number for the Louvre is 01-40-20-51-51.

• To call this number from New York City, dial 011-33-1-40-20-51-51
• To call this number from within Paris, dial 01-40-20-51-51.

Hope this helps.

hetismij2

I use the + sign at the start of all phone numbers along with the international dialling code and drop the initial 0 on all phone numbers in my mobile's address book.
It doesn't matter if I am calling my son in the same town or calling my brother in the UK. So much easier than trying to remember to add the international code when travelling.
If I call a number in say France, whilst on holiday there, one not in the memory, then I just dial the number as it is given. Never needed the international code.

d_claude_bear

Thank you for the four replies. The advice is as inconsistent as the confusing info from Verizon.

I am seeking very specific hands-on advice.

Has anyone from the US used an iPhone5 with Verizon's international service while in France to (1) call French phone numbers and/or (2) to call another US-phone-numbered Verizon iPhone whose owner is also in France? How do you "dial" in each situation?

Kenstee

@bear...

To call another US registered iPhone in France while you are in France you need to treat it like an international call: +1 (xxx) xxx-xxxx. That is...

- punch the "+" sign....then
- the number "1"....then the
- Area Code....then the
- 7 digit phone number

Cowboy1968

The GSM mobile network does not care about iPhone series or calling plans.
The dialing syntax is always the same.

Once you are logged into any French GSM network you can call any French number by dialing the full 10 digits , for example, the Louvre:
01 40 20 51 51

OR with the intl prefix for France and omitting the leading "0":
+33 1 40 20 51 51
There is no difference in pricing of the call whether you dial it with or without the intl prefix for France.

To call your wife's phone, do as Kenstee described.

apersuader65

I know the previous advice on dialing above applies generally, but I guess I don't understand the OP. Do iPhone's dial differently than other phones? I'm confused as to why an iPhone 5 would have different instructions than a 6 plus, or another android system? Or is the issue with Verizon?

Am I missing something? I'm concerned because I'm bringing my 6 plus from Verizon to France in March-April, and I would like to know too, if there are different ways to call with apple products, as I've never had an iPhone while in Paris.

My understanding was with an iphone that I just needed to buy a local SIM, and switch it out for local calls, as all Verizon iPhone 6 plus phones are supposed to be unlocked and have the full range of European GSM's.

bvlenci

I also enter all numbers, local and international, in my phone's address book in their international form. Wherever I am, I can call them with one touch, instead of fiddling around to enter an international code in front of the number (as my husband does).

Hetismij, for Italian numbers you can never drop the initial 0, which is an integral part of the phone number here.

crosscheck

<Has anyone from the US used an iPhone5 with Verizon's international service while in France to (1) call French phone numbers and/or (2) to call another US-phone-numbered Verizon iPhone whose owner is also in France? How do you "dial" in each situation?>

Yes - I often use my 5 in France and in the rest of Europe. (I also always get Verizon's $25 data plan. I never change SIMs in my iPhone, but if I'm going for an extended period of time, I put a French SIM in an old Blackberry and use that as a supplemental phone.)

Cowboy's advice was spot on. Here's what to do:
If the number you're calling (US or domestic) is stored in your phone, you just used your saved contact to dial. The + sign will magically appear and take care of the country code.

If you're calling a French number that you don't have in your contacts, press + then 33 (the country code), then the phone number, eliminating the initial zero.

If you're calling a US number that you don't have saved, press + then the area code and the number. (No need for the 00 because the + takes care of that for you.)

crosscheck

bvlenci, Both 5s and 6s are unlocked. You can switch SIMs but then you won't have your US number, which most business travelers need to have. If you don't care about missing calls from your regular contacts, it's easy to swap SIMs.

But I have found that with the Verizon data plan, whatsapp, Facetime and viber, it's not really necessary to get new SIMs any more, unless you're anticipating many lengthy voice calls.

crosscheck

^^Oops! I meant to address apersuader65, not bvlenci.

crosscheck

And, Robert, I haven't had enough coffee this morning. I left out the 1 in my last instruction. It should have read:

If you're calling a US number that you don't have saved, press + then 1, then the area code and the number. (No need for the 00 because the + takes care of that for you.)

kerouac

When you use the +33 you drop the 0 from the 10-digit French phone number.

mamamia2

Have you considered swapping your SIM card for a local one? It would surely save you a lot of money... We travelled in Spain this summer and that's what I've done with my Verizon iPhone 5....