Originally Posted by
zippy the pinhead
Last time the phone they issued him was pretty good, from what I heard. No idea if it will be the same this time. (Different city, some unknowns right now.) It worked great for him locally but we tried texting it from our end and it never got through. We were good with that, however, because it allowed him to focus and not have to constantly deal with distractions from home. I'm pretty sure he got accustomed to leaving his iPhone in the host family's place when out and about, unless he was taking pictures. He uses a T-Mobile iPhone, which I believe has both CDMA and GSM radios it it, but regardless, it also worked well enough last time with the T-Mobile SIM card. I heard other kids with phones from different carriers had much less success with connectivity in Xi'an.
I guess we could try putting the issue phone's SIM into his iPhone, except for the aforementioned issue (being unable to contact his issue phone from outside China). His iPhone has not been unlocked yet, but I will definitely make sure it is unlocked and ready this time.
Sorry I can't post links yet.
Specifically on the phone point: Apple has published a list of which iPhone models work on Chinese networks: "iPhone models supported by China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom's LTE, 3G, and 2G networks" [HT202909]
You can find the model of your iPhone this way: "Find the model number of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch" [HT208200]
For models after the iPhone X, Apple makes a version that is only for China, Hong Kong, and Macau. If your iPhone's model is not on this list, I would suggest getting one that is. I have an iPhone X model A1865 (I couldn't find much information about the A1903), which I bought on Swappa.
Texting *should* work if you turn on international roaming, but this is always flaky in my opinion. I'd use a messaging app (e.g. WhatsApp) and get a VPN for the iPhone.
Another option that would work for cell service is Google Fi. The reliability is decent, but the speed is not that good. This should work with your existing iPhone.
Are you doing this gap year through a university? The latest I've heard from universities (mid-May) is that they aren't sure if foreign students will be allowed to attend in the fall.