Sim advice? [iPhone+Europe]
Jan 11, 2009 | 6:41 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Deep in the heart of Texas, but Yankee by birth...
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Posts: 62
Sim advice? [iPhone+Europe]
Ok--I've read through some posts and couldn't find this answer....
Hubby & I have Iphone 3g's. we're headed to London, Edinburgh, and Dublin in a few weeks and we'd like to have a way to get in touch with the folks at home.
We're now confused about what we can do/not do, etc. Thoughts? Opinions? Tea leaves?
Realllly appreciate any and all help!
Hubby & I have Iphone 3g's. we're headed to London, Edinburgh, and Dublin in a few weeks and we'd like to have a way to get in touch with the folks at home.
We're now confused about what we can do/not do, etc. Thoughts? Opinions? Tea leaves?
Realllly appreciate any and all help!
Jan 11, 2009 | 7:18 pm
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
Have you unlocked the phones? If not then your only choice is to use the ATT SIM that you have and pay the roaming rates they charge you. If you've unlocked the phones then you can get a prepaid SIM in the UK and use that there.
How much do you plan to use the phones on the trip? Voice, data or both? Inbound or outbound? If outbound, to where? All those things contribute to the decision process.
How much do you plan to use the phones on the trip? Voice, data or both? Inbound or outbound? If outbound, to where? All those things contribute to the decision process.
Jan 11, 2009 | 7:54 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Mainland Europe somewhere
Posts: 60
If you have an unlocked iPhone, then you can buy a prepaid sim from one of the many UK mobile operators. It should automatically roam in Dublin as well (although you will incur a roaming charge in Dublin).
It would probably be cheaper to do that than to pay the roaming charges with your existing provider, unless you have a very well-priced roaming arrangement.
It would probably be cheaper to do that than to pay the roaming charges with your existing provider, unless you have a very well-priced roaming arrangement.
Jan 12, 2009 | 12:43 am
#5
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 4,061
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3G: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20)
Considering bringing an older unlocked phone if you have one so you can buy a SIM.
Or add the Fring app to your iPhone and use a Skype or another VOIP account.
Considering bringing an older unlocked phone if you have one so you can buy a SIM.
Or add the Fring app to your iPhone and use a Skype or another VOIP account.
Jan 12, 2009 | 4:09 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Deep in the heart of Texas, but Yankee by birth...
Programs: CO Silver, BMI Gold
Posts: 62
Thanks for all the replies. We don't plan on using the phones much at all. We'll be there for about 2 weeks and maybe plan on making a few calls home. I'll look into the tips--thanks for the insights!
Jan 12, 2009 | 4:13 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Deep in the heart of Texas, but Yankee by birth...
Programs: CO Silver, BMI Gold
Posts: 62
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3G: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20)
Considering bringing an older unlocked phone if you have one so you can buy a SIM.
Or add the Fring app to your iPhone and use a Skype or another VOIP account.
Considering bringing an older unlocked phone if you have one so you can buy a SIM.
Or add the Fring app to your iPhone and use a Skype or another VOIP account.
Jan 12, 2009 | 4:37 am
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,337
But I have another question. Does the iPhone 3G require 3G SIM's? Or if you unlock it can you pop in any old 2G SIM? I know you would need a 3G SIM to use 3G data, but can you use an ordinary SIM for phone calls?
Jan 12, 2009 | 5:47 am
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Not if you use 3 (Hutchinson), who also happen to have the best 3G pay-as-you-go internet plan!
Jan 12, 2009 | 6:11 am
#10
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Mainland Europe somewhere
Posts: 60
That's good to know, because I do use 3 (
<= embarrassed about not knowing that I won't incur roaming charges in Dublin despite being on their network).
Jan 12, 2009 | 8:48 am
#12
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Detroit; Formerly Dubai
Posts: 3,676
I second the vote for 3 from Hutchison. They will roam in the Republic at no extra charge if you enable "Three Like Home." They also (at least used) to sell a bucket of a 1,000 minutes to the US for something like US$15.
Jan 12, 2009 | 9:06 am
#13
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Central Texas
Programs: Many, slipping beneath the horizon
Posts: 9,859
Obviously, your basic AT&T Phone Store won't unlock a cell phone. I've got a relatively new LS model sitting unused which would come in handy for an upcoming trip to Europe (Hungarry, Austria, Czech Republic), perhaps requiring multiple "SIM"s. Any clues for a convenient "unlocker"?
Jan 12, 2009 | 10:03 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Deep in the heart of Texas, but Yankee by birth...
Programs: CO Silver, BMI Gold
Posts: 62
Obviously, your basic AT&T Phone Store won't unlock a cell phone. I've got a relatively new LS model sitting unused which would come in handy for an upcoming trip to Europe (Hungarry, Austria, Czech Republic), perhaps requiring multiple "SIM"s. Any clues for a convenient "unlocker"?
Jan 12, 2009 | 10:26 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Deep in the heart of Texas, but Yankee by birth...
Programs: CO Silver, BMI Gold
Posts: 62
Just went on the 3 site. Found this:
Sim Only Web Exclusive Price
Get a 3 SIM and get on the biggest 3G network in the UK with 99.5% of the population covered for calls and texts. Plus you can Top-up and double your texts and minutes with a Stretch Option. Nice.
Here's the link
I don't mean to be completely dense, but if we unlock our Iphones and get these sims, are we hopefully going to avoid the huge roaming charges?
I just hear the Iphone/Int'l horror stories and I want to be sure....Hubby is counting on me to be tech support!
Thanks again!
Sim Only Web Exclusive Price
Get a 3 SIM and get on the biggest 3G network in the UK with 99.5% of the population covered for calls and texts. Plus you can Top-up and double your texts and minutes with a Stretch Option. Nice.
Here's the link
I don't mean to be completely dense, but if we unlock our Iphones and get these sims, are we hopefully going to avoid the huge roaming charges?
I just hear the Iphone/Int'l horror stories and I want to be sure....Hubby is counting on me to be tech support!
Thanks again!