iPhone X Moving to Ireland / Keeping US Number

[tedwill]

Hello.

I am moving from the US to Ireland in February of next year semi permantly. I have an iPhone X and an older retired iPhone 6s Plus.

I would like to keep my US number which is on AT&T. I have had that number for 15 years and would like be accessible on that number. I have two family members staying in the US. I'll keep my AT&T account to pay for their phones. I was thinking about moving my US number to my iPhone 6s Plus and keeping it on a minimum plan while in Ireland and leaving it off primarily, but checking for voice mail from time to time. My iPhone X would then have a new Irish 353 phone number.

I was hoping there might be a better way in which my iPhone X handles calls for both the US and the Irish numbers using Vonage, Google Voice, etc.

Does anyone have any experience doing this? Is it even possible? In the US, there is "number portability", which allows one to switch from AT&T to Verizon (for example) and keep the phone number. I'm not sure if number portability applies to a virtual phone service. I'd rather not carry two phones around. Again, I'll still have an active AT&T account to pay for two other phones for my family members back home.

Looking for the best advice on this.

Thanks!

-Ted

 

[Caesars]

Very interested in recommendations for this also.

 

[janeauburn]

Does anyone have any experience doing this?

Yeah. My advice: Port your number to Google Fi before you go. You'll get much better performance overseas with Fi--and for a heck of a lot less money. You'll need a Fi phone to activate the SIM. But once activated, the SIM works fine in an iPhone. Don't leave home without Fi. Best of all, you can "pause" Fi service, without incurring fees, when you're not using it.

AT&T and Verizon will both bilk you for parsimoniously meting out their mediocre overseas service. They're the worst.

 

[spacemnspiff]

You could use ATT WiFi calling to make/receive calls while on any WiFi overseas. You can usually turn off cellular service and connect to WiFi, that usually connects the phone to ATT WiFi calling.

 

[tedwill]

You could use ATT WiFi calling to make/receive calls while on any WiFi overseas. You can usually turn off cellular service and connect to WiFi, that usually connects the phone to ATT WiFi calling.

I thought about that. The problem is the my company doesn't have a guest wifi and the corporate wifi is used for mobile devices provisioned by the company. Thanks.
[doublepost=1513626516][/doublepost]

Yeah. My advice: Port your number to Google Fi before you go. You'll get much better performance overseas with Fi--and for a heck of a lot less money. You'll need a Fi phone to activate the SIM. But once activated, the SIM works fine in an iPhone. Don't leave home without Fi. Best of all, you can "pause" Fi service, without incurring fees, when you're not using it.

AT&T and Verizon will both bilk you for parsimoniously meting out their mediocre overseas service. They're the worst.

Cool. Thanks. I'll check it out.

 

[riverfreak]

Yeah. My advice: Port your number to Google Fi before you go. You'll get much better performance overseas with Fi--and for a heck of a lot less money. You'll need a Fi phone to activate the SIM. But once activated, the SIM works fine in an iPhone. Don't leave home without Fi. Best of all, you can "pause" Fi service, without incurring fees, when you're not using it.

AT&T and Verizon will both bilk you for parsimoniously meting out their mediocre overseas service. They're the worst.

I don’t know what rock I have been living under, but this is the first I have HEARD of Fi. Go figure.

Sounds like a good deal for overseas use if you just want to have a phone where remote people can reach you with a number local to them.

I have a GV attached to my domestic number. Thats the only number I distribute. It works pretty well for being reachable overseas, if not in real time then shortly thereafter.

 

[janeauburn]

I don’t know what rock I have been living under, but this is the first I have HEARD of Fi. Go figure.

Sounds like a good deal for overseas use if you just want to have a phone where remote people can reach you with a number local to them.

I have a GV attached to my domestic number. Thats the only number I distribute. It works pretty well for being reachable overseas, if not in real time then shortly thereafter.

I travel overseas several times a year. Fi is a godsend, not to mention money-saver. I walk out of the airplane, and voila, high speed service wherever I've gone (so far). No local SIM hassle. No worry about the extortionist rates that the big American carriers charge for a piddly amount of high speed data. Even the "uncarrier" T-mobile, which touts international service, disappoints with its speed throttling. To get service you want, you have to pay.

 

[gpoop]

That's quite interesting. Hope they are paying you well.

 

[noobinator]

That's quite interesting. Hope they are paying you well.

I'm sure he took it on a whim without any foresight.

 

[lordhamster]

Similar to Google FI, you can port your number to Google Voice... from there, you can simply "forward" it to any number you want. Checking voicemails can be done easily over the web.


Fi however is the best thing since sliced bread for travelers.