iPhone traveling abroad

Turn it off when you board your flight (still in the US), and eject the SIM. Once in your destination country, insert your purchased SIM and turn your phone back on.

Just to be safe, I would recommend verifying your phone's unlocked status before you depart. It would be nasty if you figured your phone doesn't work in another country.

 

^ only if you've had it for 2 years. or you bought it off-contract.




as for international, I'm currently in morocco. I think roaming is enabled standard, if not, have ATT enable for emergencies.


NEVER EVER think of using ATT's data, its 20$ / mb.


and make sure you have your phone unlocked. If not, then i advice that you pick up a cheap phone at your destination country. Most will run you around $50. that also includes a sim card alot of times.

 

Get free international roaming turned on. You have to ask AT&T first.

It is NOT $20/Mb if you plan ahead. AT&T sells international data packages for 120 Mb for $30. Or 300Mb for $60,etc. They are for the month. Actually you can bump up your plan while traveling with no extra charges. Start low and see how you do.

If you do get it unlocked, and pop in a foreign sim, there will be settings to change from the foreign carrier. And if you hit multiple counties, the data charged may add up to be more than AT&T rates!!!

AT&T has a good website for traveling with an iPhone. Also there is an International AT&T phone number for service.

Also get AT&T World Travelerfor cheaper voice rates. Only $5.99 a month.

Believe me, I found traveling in 2 european counties for 2 weeks with AT&T cheaper than using local sims. The terms of the data plans were the killer. If it was only one country then it made sense.

Each case is different. Check before you go. if you don't expect using much voice, a local sim may not be worth it

Don't forget that stateside people can call your local number for free, with AT&T. However you need to call or txt everyone with a +1(area code-number). Even to your travel partner

 

^ Each case is deff. different.


Calling the USA from Egypt costs around $0.30/min


Calling the USA from Morocco costs $1.00/min

 

Use hotel WiFi Skype or FaceTime both from your phone.

 

For AT&T the rates are $2.29 & $2.49. If you need voice and skype is not an option then a local sim makes sense.

France is only 0.99. That is less obvious if you only make/receive a few calls.

But you can iMessage/WhatApp and email a lot for 120Mbytes!

 

I recently returned from India and used a local sim card in my iPhone. But it's really time-consuming to get one as their registration criteria are tough due to ongoing security concerns: copies of your passport and other details are needed, and it will take at least 24 hours to activate the card. Best way of getting one quickly is to stay in an upmarket hotel and get their Business Centre to handle all the details for you.

 

India cell phone rates are very cheap and should not be ruled out just because security issues require passport. Wifi is available in many hotels and should be used. Use India Tour Packages to have a tour that can take care of this.

 

You can buy an imei unlock, assuming you're not eligible for an at&t unlock.