jerryhung

I keep a cheap ($50) Android phone for travel purpose, unlocked of course, for travel to USA or Europe or other places

PWMTrav

This is why I only buy unlocked phones - Nexus 5 (me) and iPhone 5S (wife) currently, direct from Google/Apple. Then, when I need service somewhere else, I buy a prepaid SIM. There's nothing too good to be true involved. As a bonus, unlocked devices tend to have decent resale value if you're so inclined.

Perche

I agree with you. I was going to do the pass off the iPhone too, but my wife and I keep upping the ante every time a new iPhone is released. We keep buying the new one for each other so it's impossible to do an non contract handoff. We are always under iPhone ATT contract. OP hasn't said anything about what the phone or service is, therefore, IMHO, it's not possible to give advice that can be acted upon.

PWMTrav

Sure you can, and I highly recommend it. You'll just either need to wait 2 years or pay your ETF, but break that cycle. You can buy unlocked iPhones right from Apple. You will pay full retail, but check out what they go for on Ebay - you'll find that they hold their resale value very well. Provided that you can save money with a prepaid or non-contract plan, you'll come out ahead.

FWIW, I switched my wife from ATT to Straight Talk and paid the ETF in the process. Went from $90 to $45/mo instantly, while still using AT&T's towers (the best in our area). As of last year, Straight Talk added LTE as well, so we're using that with no additional costs.

But if OP is locked or has a CDMA phone, his best bet is to just get a cheapie unlocked phone. As someone else said, $50 or so gets you a cheap, lower end android phone that will be absolutely fine for travel. The only tip there is to make sure it supports the frequencies in the countries you'll be in - quad/pentaband phones solve that.

GertIkonomi

AT&T will unlock 1 phone per year if the contract is in good standing. I have unlocked 3 iphones. Current one is iPhone5 unlocked May 2013 just before leaving for our trip to Italy. I did not purchased a italian sim since I had a prepaid sim from another country. Big mistake!! to expensive. It just take about 30min to get a prepaid sim, just enter one authorized store, should not be hard if you are located in a city. For this year I'm going to purchase one from day one. I'm leaning toward 3 since they offer 2GB data right know. However for talk time vodafone or wind might have better deals to call US.

Perche

I don't know how you get AT&T to unlock your phone. They always say, "Let me see if you are eligible to be unlocked. Oh, sorry, you're not eligible."

PWMTrav

If you are splitting time between the US and Italy, you really should think about paying that ETF and buying an unlocked phone the next time you want to upgrade. In the US, get yourself a Straight Talk plan (get the ATT SIM if you're happy with their service, it's the same coverage - if not, they offer T-Mobile coverage too). In Italy, get whatever you think is best, you spend more time there than I do so you probably know better than me.

For me, the $300 Nexus 5 was a no-brainer. You pay almost that with a contract for a flagship phone anyway. The $800 iPhone 5S for my wife was a bit harder to digest, but it will pay for itself over an equivalent ATT contract period ($600 price diff, $45 saved/mo * 24 = 1080). Even if she upgrades every year, it's a $600 price diff ATT vs Unlocked, $540 savings - the $60 will easily be made up in the difference in resale value, or even if we don't do that, its worth the flexibility offered.

In reality, we upgrade about every 18 months and generally don't resell, so unlocked phones come out ahead for us. We don't resell, the phones usually get handed down to whatever family member accidentally shattered theirs

GertIkonomi

https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/cli...msAndCondition

I used online request for my iphone. Last year my iphone was about 6 months in the new contract.

ShopAround

I just returned from ten days in Italy and used TIM. I got a micro SIM for my unlocked Moto G and it worked beautifully in Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome and the countryside. I think I paid 24 euros for data, text and voice and was able to tether my iPad.

Perche

I still say, it all depends. When you buy a SIM card in another country, you get a new phone number. You don't get to keep the phone number you have. That's fine if you are on vacation and don't want to be called, or if you can give people back in the states your new phone number. It's not good if your boss, best friend, or someone else needs to get in touch with you, and doesn't have your new number.

Also, if you do get a SIM from Italy, anyone who calls you is not going to benefit from you having the cheaper rate. They will be charged with making an international phone call at the highest rate. So, even if you give your kids your new italian SIM number, if they call you, they will get an eye-popping phone bill due to having to pay an international call rate.

You really have to individualize this.

Perche

double post deleted.

jerryhung

You double posted :P

Well, ask people to call you on Skype/LINE/Whatsapp/BBM instead
or simply email/text (cheaper than calling Italian phone #)

and personally it's no problem for me, I think many people get the phone for the "data plan" part, not the "phone plan". They aren't so concerned about "missing a call" from unknown people or etc...

Perche

Sorry about the double post. I don't know how to undo it (But I'm willing to learn).

If you are not worried about missing random people who may call you because you will have a different phone number while in Italy, and your regular number will be "dark," then it's not a problem.

However, if your kids try to call you on your new Italian SIM card phone number and they haven't signed up for an international plan to do so while you are away, when they call you they will get slammed with a big phone bill.

If you are on an extended stay and you decide to change SIM you will have to let everyone of your contacts know that you have a new phone number. Otherwise, they won't be able to contact you by phone. If you give people your new Italian phone number they will have to pay unrestricted international rates when they call you. Then when you return to the USA you have to tell people that the Italian phone number is no longer valid, and they should revert to calling you on your original US number.

It will work fine if you are on a straight forward vacation, and no one needs to call you. But it's not that easy. Switching SIM cards means that you will have a new phone number, your regular phone number will not work, and people who do not know your new number will not be able to get in touch with you by phone. If they do know your new italian phone number, they will be able to get in touch with you but will get an eye-popping phone bill.

You have to decide whether getting a new SIM card is worth it. Especially for a short trip.

JMN57

Google Voice for one's US # forwarding voicemails via email works well for me.

For a short trip, TMobile's international roaming (while not fast) is perfectly adequate for email and Google Maps. Certainly convenient compared to getting or recharging an Italian prepaid SIM. If only the Italian telecom companies would allow one to recharge a SIM online from abroad.

ckendall

For the reasons Perche notes, I carry two phones: my US phone with 30 minutes/month for $30 from AT&T, for the odd calls from distant relatives/people who I do not regularly talk to and my cheapo unlocked phone with an Italian sim (the number all my Italian friends know and that I use to call locally).