Going to Europe for 2 weeks - what are my options with AT&T?

J

johnbro23

macrumors 6502a
I'm going to Europe this summer for 2 weeks, and have an iPhone. It'd be great to be able to use some Google Maps while I'm over there, but from what I understand it can cost me an arm and a leg.

I'm currently on a family voice plan, and the standard $20/month iPhone data plan. I talked to the AT&T store today, and they said I could get a $25/month plan for just one month to get 20mb of data internationally. Is this a good plan? From what I've read on the internet about using the iPhone internationally, it can't possibly be just $25.
 
i dunno how it works with att but living in europe if i was going to states and set international roaming on calls alone its like £1.80 per minute plus i would get charge for incoming calls and texts also, internet would be ridiculously high around £2-£3 a megabyte as it is on mobile broadband right now. if att are offering such a package it sounds like a good deal
 
Well I don't know what rate plans are available but I do warn you not to use data at all!! I made the mistake of using my iPhone to look up my flight information thinking it would just cost me 5 bucks or something (better than the 10 pounds for wifi at the hotel which would have been about 20 something dollars) Well, when I got my phone bill this month I spent 75 dollars for the 5 minutes of data I used! I wish I would have just paid for the damn wifi!
 
A friend with an iPhone just got back from a couple weeks in Europe and here is what he told me:

* Get the 20MB Data plan (and the international voice plan if applicable)

* Turn off data roaming. He actually turn off auto everything -- I haven't looked at all the settings yet (my iPhone being very new) but I gather there may be some other setting regarding auto updates and what not.

* When you want to check email, turn data roaming on, download your emails and then turn it back off.

* Research any websites you might want to use and see if they have mobile/text only versions and bookmark those.

* Reset your usage counters before you leave and play close attention to your data usage.

* Keep your eyes open for free hotspots :)

* He was able to keep in within the 20MB limit for the most part. He said he had to do some online banking and that blew his limit, but without that he would have been OK.

I'm going to Germany in May and plan to give his approach a try.
 
Jailbreak & Unlock - ZIphone
put in a local sim
get back - virginize
re-activate on same sim

difficult?
 
zainjetha said:
Jailbreak & Unlock - ZIphone
put in a local sim
get back - virginize
re-activate on same sim

difficult?
Click to expand...

Probably the best option. It really isn't that cheap to travel if you don't unlock and buy a local sim. My sister went to France for a while and she got the international calling plan and it costed an arm and a leg to call from overseas.
 
Thanks to all the responses!

fart said:
it is. I just got back. It was the best $25 i spent!
Click to expand...

I'm curious, have you checked your bill lately? I have read in the forums that some people get charged after the fact, and have to fight with AT&T to get the charges removed. Even the guy at my local AT&T store said I careful of that happening to me.
 
I spend about half of every month in Europe and Asia and for most carriers data from pre-paid sim cards are a RIP OFF. :mad:
Most places your gonna pay somewhere around $5-20 just to get a sim card and then you still have to add credits to it.
I was just in Dubai and did not realize that that city was not part of the data roaming plan with AT&T. Boy did I get a shocker of a bill. :eek:

The $25 for 20 mb of data is the best roaming data plan that I know of. As long as you don't view to many web sites you should stay well within you allotment. Just reset the data counter and watch you usage by keeping roaming data turned off until you need it. Keep in mind that most hotels in the EU UK charge about $20-$35 for a 24 hr internet connection.
Don't listen to all the neophytes that don't spend plenty of time overseas. Follow the advice Themadbrewer gave.

Better yet, do you really need the data roaming plan? If your there in vacation, don't take your phone....its supposed to be a vacation....not work....or school.

Also, if you think your gonna use some airtime and you need your same cell number. Pay the extra $5 and get the voice int'l roaming plan. It brings most of Europe down to $.99/min.
 
I don't know why, but my AT&T iPhone had FREE wifi access to the O2 cloud while I was in the UK!
 
johnbro23 said:
I'm curious, have you checked your bill lately? I have read in the forums that some people get charged after the fact, and have to fight with AT&T to get the charges removed. Even the guy at my local AT&T store said I careful of that happening to me.
Click to expand...

This happened and is happening to me. I signed up for the $25 roaming package, but was charged full roaming on two separate occasions. They refunded the money both times and promised to make sure it didn't happen again. Both times. Then it happened again. For the third time.

I am currently waiting for my $300 rebate for 17megs of data roaming. I've been waiting longer than one billing cycle. AT&T suck.

BTW, I think you have to sign up for a minimum of a year to get the data roaming. I don't think they let you opt in and out of the program.

They also offer 50 megs for $60 now.
 
When I went to Europe back in '06 calls cost $1.50/minute....... Long story short, I came home to a $750 bill. lol
 
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