Melissa5

We live in the USA, and wish to use our AT&T I-Phone 5S in Paris this summer for a reasonable cost..we will be in Paris for a week. We want to use the I-Phone for texting, and for using apps such as fodors, tripadvisor, and other useful travel apps such as maps and translators. For phone calls, 60 minutes would probably be enough for our week in Paris.

My husband and I each have an AT&T I-Phone 5S. Does anyone know whether these I-Phones need to be unlocked, or if they are already unlocked by default? If we need to unlock them, how is this done? Do we need to buy a Sim-Card in Paris, and where do they have Sim-Cards for this phone?

Thanks for any info. After our week in Paris, we will be in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland for about a week. We usually travel internationally every year, and we'd love to be able to use our I-Phones for a reasonable cost while traveling internationally.

Dukey1

The big thing is going to be what YOU consider a "reasonable cost" and I'll let others fill in the details. When I had AT+T i also had their so-called international calling plan which gave a discount. It was not NEARLY as cheap as using a local SIM card.

And for maps and GPS, etc., that's data use.

This is the reason I switched to T-Mobil which gives me unlimited data and texting in Europe but you don't need to change carriers.

What you DO need to do is understand what your phone that you paid plenty for is capable of IMO.

china_cat

Yes, your iPhone is locked, and needs to be unlocked. AT&T will unlock the phone under some circumstances, which you need to check their website for the current rules. I know if you have paid off the phone, or have been under contract long enough, they will do it. There is an online request, or you can call them and simply ask. Once they have agreed to unlock it, there is some stuff you have to do...basically resetting the phone to factory defaults and restoring it. Make sure to back up the phone on your computer first,

You can try to poke around to get the best prices, but I know you can get a sim card from Orange. Just go to an Orange store in Paris, or possibly some more generic Mobile Zone type of place. You'll want to get a pay-as-you-go plan. Typically they will charge you something up front, like $20 euro or so, and then give you that much as a credit. You start with some amount of data, and relatively low cost calling, and you use that until your credit runs out, then you can add more with your credit card. The exact terms will depend ont he store.

I think the roaming rates for calling while you are in Switzerland will not be bad. You will again have to ch Eck with the provider about roaming rates for data. It will definitely cost more, I'm just not sure how much. This is a detail I've had a very hard time finding out. Maybe someone here will have some recent price information.

You can, of course, buy an international plan for a month from AT&T. If you cannot unlock the phone, this is not actually that bad of an option. It will cost more than a local sim, but the prices have come down enough that it's not quite as outrageous as it once was. If I recall it was going to cost me somewhere around $70 for a limited amount of data and a small calling package. Again, check their rates, but it's not the worst option.

bvlenci

AT&T has rather expensive rates for both talk and data. Their cheapest plan costs $30 PLUS $1.00 per minute for calls. It includes 120 mb of data, which is a very small amount.

Lebara is probably the best option for visitors to France, and they have low rates for international calls, for instance €0.09 to the US. Their SIM cards are free. I've never used them, but I know a lot of people are using Lebara here in Italy.

http://www.lebara.fr/

A lot of mapping and other travel apps allow you to download the maps in advance over wifi, so that you can use them on the go without data services. (The GPS service doesn't use cellular data.) Try to do as much as you can using wifi to keep your data use to a reasonable minimum.

If you plan to call the US when you're in Paris, ask about international calls when you buy the SIM card. Providers usually have international options that greatly reduce the cost of overseas calls. Lebara lets you turn on the international option with a text message.

greg

You can find out the AT&T unlocking terms at their web site: www.att.com/deviceunlock.
also what AT&T offers for international roaming - quite expensive:
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/int...l/roaming.html

The local SIM path works well for an extensive usage in one country. But for multiple countries, you have to repeat the SIM acquisition step in each country if you want to use a lot of data. I used to do this but not anymore.

Like anoother poster, this was the reason why I switched to the t-mobile Simple Choice plan. The data roaming is free in practically every country in Europe. I can now start connecting my phone to the local network while my plane is taxing to the gate. No more having to wait for the phone store business hour (In Switzerland they are usually closed from Sat 4pm to Mon 9am), wait in line, wait to get complete the purchase and change the SIM card in each country. On top of this, with t-mobile branded smartphones, I can use WiFi calling to make and receive unlimited free voice calls to the US when connected to my hotel room Wifi using the exactly same dialing sequence as if my phone never left home. My wife gets her usual one-hour-long phone calls from her mother, but I don't care anymore when we are connected to Wifi.

china_cat

Greg, or anyone, do you know the general rates for data roaming? Like Melissa, I'm going to 2 countries this summer, Spain and Italy, and because we will be getting to Italy via cruise ship, picking up a second sim just isn't practical. I realize roaming data rates will be higher, but I'd really like to know what to expect, and haven't been able to find it on any of the websites.


As for tmobile, sure it sounds good. If I went to Europe a couple times ayear I might do it. But I'm not switching plans to something that gives me worse coverage at home just for a few minutes convenience. Also, getting a sim card in Switzerland took me about 20 minutes and I did not have to wait in line. There was an outlet right at the train station where I went on arrival. Its not all that hard.

Melissa5

Thanks for all the info.

Christina

My friend used that AT&T plan when going to Europe, I thought it was pretty cheap myself. Most tourists aren't using phones in Europe a lot, I wouldn't think, she just had it for emergencies and maybe an occasional call to check something, she wasn't yakking on the phone as she didn't know anyone there. I don't remember the cost, but if it were only $30 for the international plan as a flat fee plus $1 a minute, I wouldn't have thought that so bad for an easy fix because you might need the phone a few times on your vacation.

yoli2013

For calls, you can use FaceTime if calling someone in US with another IPhone, IPad, etc; no charge for voice and no roaming using it. I used FaceTime to keep in touch during my 3 week holiday in Bali and HongKong a few years ago. This year we will be in France and Italy for 3 weeks in June. You should find WiFI readily but if you prefer not worrying about it then get a rate plan with AT&T vs. unlocking your phone which then may result in other problems down the line.

isabel

I just got back from Italy and have ATT. I put the international package on my account for the month (the minimum you can do). It is $30. It includes free texts (incoming and outgoing, unlimited). It also includes "free wi-fi" but wi-fi is free anyway if you are in a wi-fi zone so i don't see how this was much of a benefit. And phone calls (local, phone to phone, or back home) are $1 a minute. Not a terrible plan, but no bargain either.

Every hotel I have stayed in the past several years has free wi-fi so you can use the phone there. Put skype on your phone, and then put some money on your account. Then you can call any phone for about 2 cents a minute. YOU need to be in a wi-fi zone but the person you are calling does not. You need the skype app but the person you are calling does not (it rings on their regular phone - land line or cell phone)

What gets expensive is if you want to be able to use your phone like you do at home to use data (you mentioned travel apps, translators, etc). If you are in a wi-fi zone (like at a cafe or your hotel) then it's free with or without the international plan. If you're not in a wi-fi zone and you are using cellular data that's going to be expensive.

Last year in Italy we knew we needed to use cellular data as we were driving and wanted to use gps and maps and such. That time we did buy a local sim card. But for that you do need the phone to be unlocked, and then of course your regular phone number doesn't work so you need to be sure to give the sim card number to anyone you want to be able to call you. Unlocking the phone was pretty simple and as stated above, the criteria for getting it unlocked is on their website.

Robert2533

With the AT&T data plan for roaming, they automatically add more time and money as needed. It's not cheap if you use it just to check mail on a daily basis outside of a WiFi zone. Their calling plan can also run up cost quickly. You'd be surprised at how quickly the time adds up for only a call or two a day, which is why we switch back to T-Mobile two years ago. No additonal charges or hassels.

bvlenci

I would definitely say that if you want a phone just for emergency calls, you should just use roaming with your own phone (assuming it will work here). I wouldn't even pay $30 for an international plan in that case. However, that wasn't the question.

I had forgotten that the phone would also be used in Switzerland. Lebara's roaming rates for Switzerland (which isn't in the EU) are pretty steep. The EU has capped roaming rates within the EU, but it might be hard to find a French provider that has reasonable roaming rates in Switzerland. You might be better off buying a new SIM card in Switzerland.

KTtravel

topping

Melissa5

Thanks, a lot to think about. We are looking into having our I-phones unlocked

Robert2533

If you can switch to T-Mobile, then do so. I will save you a lot of money and headaches when traveling.

Andrew

For those who don't have good T-Mobile coverage at home, remember that they also offer free WiFi calling if your phone supports it. (Newer iPhones support it; my $30 Android phone does.) In other words: if you have reliable home internet but lousy cell coverage, your phone can use your WiFi to make/receive regular phone calls instead of a cell tower.

I've had T-Mobile for years and love it. I live in a city and have good to great coverage almost everywhere. At home it's usually OK with the occasional weak reception but mostly it works fine.

dwdvagamundo

As an update, ATT says they no longer offer the 3 gb plan. They now want $10.00/day for unlimited text and data---that's for each 24 hour period. We are going for a month so it could potentially cost $300.00 as I've no way to foresee how often I'll use my phone.

Luckily, my phone is unlocked so I'll be able to get a local sim card, and ATT lost $60 or so.

Robert2016

Just switch to T-Mobile and save the headache.