ClimberChick

I'm going to be traveling around Europe next year and I'm trying to figure out if I need to get a certain cell phone/plan/service in order to be able to have a working phone while I'm away. I found an online discount where you can buy any phone from Amazon Wireless or Wirefly and this discount website will give you a percentage off your monthly bill. Since I'm trying to save as much as possible this sounds like a good idea to me. I'm just not sure what phone I need to look into or what provider will do best overseas?


Amazon Discounts & WireFly Discounts

mrcamp

What you need is a global dim that will work in several countries st reasonable rates. It has been discussed to death here. Search or check the sticky. In short, you need something like Ekit, maxroam, etc.

weekilter

Did you mean a global SIM? I have never heard of a dim. Be aware though that with international SIMs you can make calls and receive calls in many different countries you will pay more than if you got a country specific SIM.

mrcamp

Yes, I meant a sim. Was typing fast from my smartphone as I was approaching my train stop.

ewrfox

Maxrom charges you for Incoming calls where as the ekit passport sim (and others) gives you free incoming in a good number of European countries. But some of the reviews for passort are pretty bad. I’m also trying to find a good sim for Europe as well.

If you decide on the ekit passport, buy it from Amazon. For 25 you get the sim + $10 in credit, you'll have to pay $29 over at ekit, and probably for shipping, and amazon always has trials for Amazon prime which gives you free two day shipping.

mrcamp

Ekit is even cheaper on eBay. I have this one and have used it in UK, France, Jamaica, Ghana, Nigeria, etc. without any problems. It works and charges are as advertised. I use it mainly for incoming on the US number.

ewrfox

ekit on ebay goes for 19.99 with $10 credit.. Thanks for the find. ^

mrcamp

Here is the one I was referring to. I thought I posted the link. I guess not.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ekit-prepaid-USA...item20adf6cdfe

ClimberChick

What is a Global SIM, like a SIM card you can put in your phone? Do you have to have a certain type of phone? This is all new to me.

ewrfox

You first need a quad band (quad band work both in US and around the world) unlocked phone. This allows you put in a sim card other than the one from the cell provider .A Global sim (gives you a UK number, at least most of them, ekit also gives a US number, but if someone calls you- it might be free to call from the US, but it will cost you to pick up) is like the sim card you have with ATT and T-Mobile, Both works overseas, However the charges are more, so people prefer buying a global sim from any number of companies, such as ekit. The global sims, most of them allows free incoming calls in most countries and a cheaper calling rate.. With ATT in France it’s 99 cent a minute and with ekit passport its 49 cents for outgoing and incoming is free.

If you have a phone here in the US with either ATT or T-Mobile check the model and it will tell you if its a quad band phone. If it is a quad band phone, call up the carrier and they will give you a unlock code which allows you put in other sim cards.

You can also find cheap phones on ebay, just make sure its unlocked and is a quad band phone.

ClimberChick

So getting an unlocked phone and buying a global sim card is a better option than getting a world phone from a US carrier?

ewrfox

You can get a world phone from ATT and T-Mobile and they'll unlock it for you.. I think with ATT you have to be a customer for 6 months before they give you the unlock code. IF you are thinking of the iphone, they won't unlock it. Some of the Androids they will.

The Global Sim really depends on if you are going from one EU country to another, and wants the convenience of having a single number.. OR You can buy a local sim card in each country and you’ll usually get a cheaper calling rate than with the global sim

Dubai Stu

I have a Maxroam SIM with an Ann Arbor, Michigan phone number which has inbound calls throughout the EU for nine cents a minute. Maxroam is great in the EU, the problem is the second you step out of the EU (plus Switzerland, Iceland, and a few other super close partners), the prices go through the ceiling. eKit Passport Plus is the better solution, but higher in the EU.

ewrfox

Got the passport sim today, and decided to try it out. The network it selects is T-Mobile. You have to first enter *126* the number # to dial out. If you try to call customer service with the phone, it’s a call back service and they charge you for it. It’s an annoyance to dial *126* & # to make a call, hopefully its an US thing? The Call Quality is fine…

ewrfox

Thanks to Cordelli (helped me find out about ekit) I switched phones and I can make a call without using *126* first, to check the balance I still have to use *126*___#.. Also I can connect to AT&T but I had to manually do that. Not sure why the Auto Network Selector connects to T-Mobile first.