Traveling to Germany - How to use iPhone?

[sportsfrk214]

Okay so my girlfriend is traveling to Germany with her family in a few months. Neither of us have been overseas before, and so we have no idea whatsoever how that works with phones. We both have iPhone 4S's on Verizon so I know they're world phones, but how does it work when traveling overseas? How does 3G voice and data work? Can she just use her Verizon service but be charged extra fees? And I've heard you can get SIM cards but I've only ever had Verizon so I don't know how SIM cards work.

Just hoping someone can give me an idea of how she can use her phone in another country. I know it costs more to call someone further away...but I don't know how data works. We'd mostly be communicating via iMessage, with some phone calls and Facetime calls. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[BiggAW]

If you've been a good customer for a couple of months, you can get them to unlock the SIM slot for overseas use, and get a local SIM with a local number and plan for minutes, texts, and data. Do not use Verizon's roaming, as it, like the other carriers, is a total rip-off.

 

[SporkLover]

You can use Verizon, roaming, but those charges are somewhat outrageous.

I personally use a Lidl prepaid sim. Lidl is a reseller of MNVO Fonic, which is on the O2 network. Good coverage.

I use it for my calls in country and back to the states.

 

[olup]

there are a whole lot of providers to choose from, all using one of the four provider's network. d1 netz is t-mobile, which has the best coverage, but is also the most expensive. 3g voice and data coverage can be spotty, especially in dense population areas. you might want to take a look at this provider comparison link and pick the one that suits your needs best....http://www.prepaidvergleich.com/

 

[DroidRules]

When I lived there I didn't know any one that was on a plan of any type as they are uber expensive (from what I was told). I used a prepaid card in my cell the entire time I lived there. You can pick em up all over the place. Have fun and IMHO Germany is the most awesome place on earth.

 

[vietalogy]

To call back to the states she could use nettalk app which uses wifi and can call back for free.

 

[Jordan921]

Just ask Verizon to unlock the phone and buy a pre paid sim

 

[Agent-P]

If you've been a good customer for a couple of months, you can get them to unlock the SIM slot for overseas use, and get a local SIM with a local number and plan for minutes, texts, and data. Do not use Verizon's roaming, as it, like the other carriers, is a total rip-off.

This would be your best option. Verizon's policy is that after 60 days if you've been a customer in good standing, then you can ask them to unlock the phone for use with a local sim from overseas. Just grab a prepaid sim from whichever German phone carrier strikes your fancy. That'll be much cheaper than Verizon's roaming charges abroad (as others in this thread have noted).

 

[eastercat]

Sims are super easy to use. Want to change your number? Pop in a new sim. Going to another country and want to use a local carrier? Pop in a new sim. Since Verizon will unlock for international use, this'll be super easy.
The only issue might be having to change the apn, so she can use data. That's easy to google.
Research the german carriers and see which has the best coverage for where she'll be.
I suggest buying a cutter from amazon or someplace like that, just in case the carriers don't have micro sims.

 

[Constantine1337]

Here is a useful tip: do not buy BASE/ePlus Sim cards, no matter how cheap they are. They have the worst network for data and talks - this is not my personal opinion - studies have shown their network as the worst one in germany year over yeat.

Just get a prepaid one from t-mobile, vodafone or O2. Those three are fine for the iphone. It is more or less personal preferance which one from those 3 you pick. T-mobile and vodafone have slightly better network than o2, but o2 is little more affordable. Any one of those 3 networks will serve you fine.

 

[olup]

fonic,as someone already mentioned, lets you make calls for 9 cents a minute to an us landline, same rate as if you would call or text someone in Germany, service is ok, not great. o2 has had a lot of problems expanding their network due to the rapid increase of smartphones, so voice/data coverage can be crappy at times.