May I please ask for some help? I figured this might be unique enough for a separate thread.

Starting from scratch, I want to buy a new or used dumb phone just for calling and texting in Eastern Europe. I might visit the region for a week or so, once per year, or even less often. The phone will get its own number, and I don't care too much which country the number comes from. No data required -- again, just calling and texting. An eSIM is fine (as long as it doesn't require an app that in turn requires Google or Apple).

My primary phone will stay at home in USA. It's not a problem to go somewhere in London, for example, to buy a SIM card and complete the process in English. I'm also open to buying service from an American company if it's a better option.

Any suggestions on what kind of dumb phone to get and how to get service for it?

Depending upon the countries you'll visit, a service like Roamless could be an inexpensive plan, and for text and calling, any iPhone from the past 6 years or so should have the proper bands for connections.

If you list the countries you might visit I can check my plan for service and per minute costs with Roamless. Their account balance never expires so whatever small amount you deposit is available until you need it in the future. In Estonia for instance, calls are charged at $.02-$.09 a minute, data at $.2.45 Gb. The Ukraine is $0.18-$0.34 a minute, data is pricey at $12.95 Gb however. Most Euro countries are pretty low, but as you can see, there are some that are expensive.

Edited to ask: I am unsure what you want when you say you wish to avoid Google and Apple devices. Does that mean no Android or Apple operating systems?

What's your rationale for insisting on obsolete models? How will you handle communicating with people who dislike both voice and SMS?

Thanks for your replies. I really welcome your ideas.

moondog is making me realize I need to change my question: I need Android after all. I will look for a used Pixel phone. My main usage is still texting and calling, but some data allowance may be required. Perhaps I should first identify service and then find an Android phone that works well with that service.

In order of importance, these are the countries I'm interested in. The top five are Eastern Europe.

1. Hungary
2. Czech Republic
3. Estonia
4. Latvia
5. Lithuania
6. Spain (probably)
7. Portugal (probably)
8. Netherlands (possibly)

Thanks for sharing the information about Roamless. I will look at it.
I don't have a good answer to the second question. For decades I've done nothing more than calling and texting. I would regret limiting myself if it turns out that some app is obligatory. So Android it is. (There are many reasons why I dislike Android and iOS for a secondary travel phone, but I will force myself to accept it.)
I was aiming for the most basic phone with a number pad (excluding iOS and Android). As stated, such a basic phone is too restrictive.

I've found that just calling and texting is really insufficient these days in much of the world. At a minimum, WhatsApp is a very useful app that lots of people - and firms / institutions - use for messaging these days. E.g., traveling in India, many people, including cab drivers and such, are reluctant to text or call and only use WhatsApp. Also so many things today have information conveniently available on their web sites, e.g., opening hours for a museum, that's extremely inconvenient to retrieve (even if possible) via text messages, voice menus, or calling. This is all quite apart from the "convenience" aspect of simply being able to use online maps and directions, booking apps for trains or hotels, etc. Yeah, one could spend a lot of time on the phone during business hours to get all the information and make bookings, etc., and carry along paper maps, but at least to me it's unthinkable today to not travel with a smartphone with plenty of data access at all times. It's all doable, but just seems very awkward to me. Obviously, YMMV. Good luck! My only recommendation would be to sign up for at least a minimal data plan to be able to use a few apps like Google Maps, WhatsApp, and a browser like Chrome.

It is possible to get an Android phone and not sign in with a Google id, although it's tricky and not that easy. Alternatively you can sign in with a throwaway Google id that you don't care about.

These are the rates from the Roamless app.

1. Hungary, Calls $0.02-$0.06 per minute, Data $2.45Gb
2. Czech Republic, Calls $0.03-$0.09 per minute, Data $2.45Gb
3. Estonia, Calls $0.02-$0.09 per minute, Data $2.45Gb
4. Latvia, Calls $0.02-$0.65 per minute, Data $2.45Gb
5. Lithuania, Calls $0.03-$0.09 per minute, Data $2.45Gb
6. Spain, Calls $0.02-$0.04 per minute, Data $2.45Gb
7. Portugal, Calls $0.02-$0.04 per minute, Data $2.45Gb
8. Netherlands, Calls $0.02-$0.04 per minute, Data $2.45Gb


These calling rates vary by the network of the called party. There are some listed as "Premium" with higher rates per minute, but with no explanation what that may be. An important call caveat is that you can only make outgoing calls, you do not have a phone number where others may call you over their service. This generally can be worked around by texting, and has never been an issue for me. Worst case, a caller can reach me at my $0.25 a minute US cellular line. My limited tests of data access and speeds were outstanding, with some of the highest download speeds I have ever recorded in Europe.

I maintain Roamless primarily for the in country calling and the no expiration features. They have good customer service and an efficient, streamlined app that is easy to navigate. They can also connect with either T-Mobile or AT&T in the US if your primary carrier has a dead spot. Rates in the US are, Calls $0.01 per minute, Data $2.45Gb. I have T-Mobile USA as my primary cellular service with free, high speed data roaming around the world. Roamless supplements that and provides for typically lower calling rates and the option for better, faster data speeds at many locations.

I can't thank you guys enough for the helpful ideas.

It looks like just one person suggested Roamless and T-Mobile. Any other good options?

Do you mean texting through an app? How would someone text you if there's no phone number to send to? Does your T-Mobile number serve as the backup if someone needs to call you while abroad?

When you make an outgoing call with Roamless, what number do people see when they receive the call?

I really appreciate this information about Roamless. While I dislike not having a number to use for texting, I might have to consider it.

Every chat app I've used (pretty long list because different countries have different preferences) works fine, regardless of how you connect to the internet. In other words, even though your WhatsApp account is affiliated with a specific phone number (registration requirement), you can use it independent of that number (e.g. wifi, Ethernet, different mobile provider).

I found a list of phones supported by Roamless (which strangely excluded Pixel 8a) and ordered one of the phones they listed. Then I asked Perplexity when Roamless will offer local numbers. The answer was a year ago, which suggests vaporware for now. To be fair, the company itself appears to be less than two years old. After considering the importance of a local number, I cancelled my phone order at Amazon. I am okay with waiting until the local numbers become real, even if it means making at least one trip with no phone.

Maybe I was naive to believe I can simply land in London or Budapest, find a store, anonymously hand over cash, and receive a SIM card that brings to life a used phone I brought with me, complete with a number that sends and receives SMS across Eastern Europe.

My SOP is to attempt to buy local SIMs wherever I go, unless i already have a sim with good rates/coverage in that country or the registration requirements are too annoying to bother with. In those cases, I use a HK sim that has decent (but, not spectacular) roaming rates and go light on the data front (i.e. make a more concerted effort to be on wifi when doing data intensive stuff).

You may find it much more convenient to buy a plan with an esim prior to your arrival when traveling. The ease of purchase and setup can offset the cost, and frequently the roaming carriers are eager to enlist new customers, so they may have free trials or discounts for new users. You save the time and effort spent hunting for a shop, dealing with the language barrier, currency issues, deceptive salespersons, etc. Many roaming carriers esims will work in the US, so you can work through the setup while home, and deal with support before it's an issue while on vacation. I frequently can connect with a carrier while the plane taxis to the gate upon touchdown.

My experience and opinion is, find a service that is pretty much a sure thing for your trip. Companies like Airalo suit many users with their rates, experience and reliability for most. Don't waste time trying to deal with a company with poor or limited support, because until you are successful with your mobile connections, you are at their mercy. As I have also mentioned, Roamless has it's place with "A Particular Set Of Skills" for many traveler needs, but I am a believer in always having a fallback, or Plan "B". Mine is the US carrier, T-Mobile with data & reasonable calling rates.

You can, but most roaming providers would have a monthly cost plus fair usage, so you may not be able to roam more than a few months.

3UK has payg but u need to check how long it can roam

Esimplus.me previously had an estonia number +372 , can receive text but no send for some reason, can call out, all chargeable.$5 for you to try, current faq says no number

O2 UK still includes EU roaming at no additional cost in all their plans. That is easy enough to buy in a shop or even the machines in the baggage areas at Heathrow. I always buy a local SIM when going outside the UK/EU, but for EU I just use my O2 UK number.