Nikki

I used TMobile data on my last trip to London and Paris with great success. I agree with Andrew about navigating on foot and public transportation with Google Maps, it was a wonderful upgrade from paper maps. And I have loved maps all my life. I still use paper maps for planning and fantasizing, but once I'm on the ground, Google is much more useful.

On that same trip I used Uber for the first time, for much the same reason as the original poster. And as someone who has used public transportation and taxis all my life, I found the convenience of Uber a terrific option.

I agree that hotel wi-fi is not always reliable in my experience.

Whathello

Actually it is easier with a non IPhone cellphone.
However why not buy a SIM card in France AND a cellphone ?
You have cellphones that cost about 50 €.
That way you keep your own cellphone and use the european one as a modem.
I don't have anything simpler...

Sue4

Nikki, happy to hear about your success with t-mobile data - and with Uber.

Whathello,I don't quite see the rationale in spending $50 to buy another cellphone
In France, and a SIM card. Why would that be simpler than just getting there with my iPhone already set up with T-Mobile, or even Verizon's international travel plan for $10/day?

Andrew

I agree, Sue - I don't see any point in buying another phone in Europe unless your current phone isn't going to work well there. I think your iPhone will work well there, whether you stick with Verizon and pay for roaming, switch to T-Mobile, or buy a local SIM.

(A note about T-Mobile: some of us have great T-Mobile coverage where we live. I do. But some people don't, so it doesn't make a lot of sense for them to switch to T-Mobile for use at home just for a trip to Europe. FYI, you could actually switch for just a short time and switch back when you get home. I actually did that before my last trip. I had T-Mobile for only two months and switched back to a cheaper option after I got home. But my phone(s) are all paid for and unlocked.)

For others reading: I did buy an Android phone just for travel before my last trip. I had/have a cheap Moto E that I like very much (paid only $25 for it, so it's also kind of "disposable"), but I knew from research that it didn't have the frequencies needed to work at 4G or even 3G speeds in Europe. (Unlike most iPhones.) So I simply bought the international unlocked version of the Moto E on Amazon (about $90) before I left. I was already familiar with the phone, and it worked great in all six countries, usually connecting at 4G speeds. My US version of the Moto E would work only at very slow "Edge" data rates, making it frustrating to use there.

So buying a cheap phone in Europe wasn't a great choice for me, because I wanted to know what kind of phone I'd be getting ahead of time.

Whathello

A cell phone for 50€ + 1 sim card for 10€ + one month 5Go for 20 €.
Total = 80 € or about 88$.
So if you spend more than 9 days in Europe you have a cell phone for free and a SIM card that you can reuse later.

Now if you are smart enough to chnage a simcard into a cellphone, you save the 50€ for a cellphone.
Break-even becomes 4 days.
But ok for me if you want to pay 10$ a day, forever if you wish.

Andrew

The only reason to use the iPhone and stay with Verizon is ease of use. There is almost no thinking to do.

But someone used to an iPhone may not want to try to get used to some new phone while on a trip. Yes she could carry two phones - but that's one more thing to carry and fumble with. It's probably less stress buying a local SIM for the iPhone instead.

(Some people may not realize that buying a local SIM in Europe means you get a European phone number and you won't have your US phone number again until you replace the US SIM back in the phone. So people can't call you easily on your US number. Not an issue for me because I use Google Voice and can receive calls via Google Hangouts Dialer.)

As I said above, I didn't want to get used to a new phone, either, so I bought the international version of the one I was already used to. I suspect it was better than a cheap 50 Euro phone I could buy in Europe on demand. We have cheap Android phones for sale in the US, too, and they are very basic phones - I have used them before and they work fine for basic stuff but I much prefer the (still cheap) phone model I have now.

Whathello

And me thinking the Europeans are backwards, with no central heating and no drinking water.
Bah, as long as you have money, why bother.

Sue4

Right, Andrew, I definitely don't want to carry 2 phones. My iPhone 6 is unlocked, paid for, and I like it! I'm sure I can figure out how to buy a SIM in Paris for it, etc. etc., as long as no settings needed to be changed or whatever. However, having the phone ready to go when I leave here is preferable for me.

I've been thinking about getting off of my daughters Verizon plan anyway, and going on the other daughter's T-Mobile, as it's MUCH cheaper, so this might be a good time to try it. Don't know how good the coverage will be where I live, but Verizon isn't always perfect either. A cell phone isn't a big priority for me at home, since I need it infrequently. This is something I just have to decide, and this is a good time to make a change. But I'm going to take my phone to a close by T-mobile store soon, to make SURE it can be used for their service, since Verizon uses CMDA and t-Mobile GSM. Then I'll make up my mind what to do on this Paris trip.

Andrew

Your iPhone 6 can probably roam on GSM even at home, on T-Mobile. For the last year, my primary phone has been a Verizon (CDMA) Moto E Android...but I've never even used it on Verizon or CDMA - it's always roamed on T-Mobile GSM.

So although the folks at the T-Mobile store may wish to sell you a new phone, it's probably not required.

FYI, T-Mobile offers something called Wifi calling, a neat feature to assist when your cell signal is poor (e.g. at home). In that case, you can make/receive calls with your cell phone using WiFi. My old phone had that feature and I did use it; some phones have it, some don't. It works pretty well. If you have that feature, you can use it when traveling too, to make FREE calls from your phone home! (Instead of 20 cents/minute when roaming with T-Mobile.)

Sue4

Thanks so much, Andrew. You've been really helpful, and especially knowledgable.
I also envy all your traveling!

Andrew

Thank you! Glad to help.