SusieKay

We have a new model A T and T quad band cell phone with international coverage.. Hoping to be able to use it during our September trip to Ireland. The A T and T folks have assured me it will work. We will be driving from Dublin, taking a south western route to Dingle, Galway,and back to Dublin during a two week period. Has anyone had experience using an A T and T cell phone in this area. How is the reception? Are there any "dead' areas??

jent103

I haven't used AT&T in Ireland, but did have a T-Mobile UK SIM card that got decent reception in Kerry and Clare. Just wanted to point out - if you're planning to use it a lot, the charges will likely be very high.

Marycang

Go to this website and check coverage for your Particular phone in Ireland

http://www.wireless.att.com/travelgu...ming/step1.jsp

xyz123

It will work.....but you'll pay rip off rates to use it....almost $1/minute both to make and receive calls...

A much better idea, which could you save you hundreds depending on how much you use the phone is....

1. Get the phone unlocked.

2. Purchase an Irish sim card...take out your AT&T sim card and put the Irish sim card into the phone (keep the AT&T sim card in a safe place)....now you'll receive calls for free (you will have to let people know what you're local Irish number is) and pay €0,35/minute to call home (much less to call local Irish numbers).

I have read many sad sad cases of people becoming addicted to their American mobile phone and paying the rip off rates AT&T and T Mobile charge for international roaming and end up with bills for $300 or more!

SiobhanP

God yes a ssim card is about 10 euro and i paid 15 euro to have my phone unblocked. Dont use the expensive one! You can top up the card easily and to make it cheapeer get an int calling card in any shop and you call a local number from the mobile and punch in the int Number costing much less. thats what i do with my own mobile when making international calls.

As for coverage. I never have a problem here in Irleand. You may have 1-2 bad patches in Dingle but really we are attached to our phones here!

tod

SusieKay - The way to go is as xyz123 & SiobhanP explained.
I will add this: The name of the Cellphone/Mobile company
is O2Mobile. Go to any O2 shop and the assistants there will do everything for you including changing the SimCard and testing it to see it is working properly.
One tip however, start thinking about where you are going to keep your 'American SimCard' so that you can re-insert it when leaving Ireland. These little things are so easy to misplace or loose!

hetismij

It all depends really on how much SusieKay is planning on using the phone doesn't it? If it is for emergency use only then there is no point in going to the expense and trouble of unlocking the phone and getting a new SIM. if she is intending to use it a lot then yes it makes sense. You can get a double SIM holder for your phone btw, so you can keep the US SIM safe in the phone.

rvflyer

With all the hoops you have to jump through with your US cell phone, has anyone compared the price, to just rent or lease a cell phone for the 2 weeks you are there, and then load it up with 30-60 prepaid minutes? It may cost a little more, but is it really worth all the hassle? Just a thought....

SusieKay

Thanks everybody. I don't plan to use the phone a lot, except for an emergency. Perhaps to give our family a "safe arrival" call, and to have a way for someone to reach us, since we will be moving around a lot. My kids have been instructed not to phone us while on holiday unless someone is dying and we need to come home!!! I had already determined from AT&T that the cost would be around $1.50 plus per minute. I also have an international calling card from MCI that is cheap to use, (if one has access to a land line phone) and has worked well for us in Europe except from Italy.
It sounds like the phone I have will work fine in most places. I really don't want to bother with switching sim cards or renting a phone. Thanks for your help.

travelgourmet

If you are only using it for emergencies, then don't bother with getting a new SIM card. Even at the "rip-off" rates, I wouldn't bother with anything less than 30 minutes of planned time.

SusieKay

Though this is a very late reply, I would like to advise that our US A T & T LG cell phone worked great in Ireland last year. We had good coverage everywhere we went-since I really only wanted it for emergencies (and thankfully we didn't have any), the high cost per minute wasn't an issue. I just wanted the comfort of a reliable phone that I knew how to use, and had all my numbers already programmed. In fact, it worked far better in Ireland than on a recent trip to the SW mountains of Virginia!!

rfische1

I have researched this issue fairly thoroughly and have come up with three prong approach that suits my need.
1. Bring a cell phone over with my local U.S. number for emergency use only. Seeing how we use Verizon (CDMA) we will have to borrow one of their international phones.
2. Purchase a cheap pre-pay cell from Vodaphone for use within Ireland. This too can be used for emergencies as the incoming calls are free. I've noticed that calls to the States are a reasonable rate. I figure I can use this phone on return trips to Ireland or to the UK.
3. For checkin calls to family (son in college), I'll use Skype loaded on my IPOD Touch (I have the microphone/earpiece combo) or my laptop.
I know this sounds complicated, but I figure it's the most economical way to stay in touch. I like the peace of mind of being reachable.

Rich