Using a U.S.-bought iPhone in the Netherlands...

[daihard]

Hi.

I am travelling to the Netherlands in a few days. I have set up international data and call roaming options with AT&T, so I'm good to go. My only remaining questions are:

1. Can someone in the U.S. just call my number to reach me as if I were in the U.S.?
2. Can I call someone in the U.S. as if I were in the U.S., too?
3. How should I call someone who is in Europe?

My feeling is that the answers to (1) and (2) are simple - dialling the number as if I were in the U.S. would probably work. I have no clue how (3) works, though. I will need to call a friend who lives in Belgium while I'm over there. Can anyone help me out?

 

[pol0001]

1. Yes they can dial your regular US number.
2. If you want to call someone in the US you have to use the prefix. It's 001 for the US. e.g. (575) 437 8642 = 001 575 437 8642
3. When you want to call someone in the Netherlands, dial their regular number w/o int. prefixes. If you want to call someone in another country, you have to use the respective prefix. e.g. 0049 = Germany, 0041 = Switzerland etc. IMPORTANT: If you dial a number WITH the int. prefix, always leave out the first 0. e.g. 0176 24994567 = 0049 176 24994567

 

[daihard]

1. Yes they can dial your regular US number.
2. If you want to call someone in the US you have to use the prefix. It's 001 for the US. e.g. (575) 437 8642 = 001 575 437 8642
3. When you want to call someone in the Netherlands, dial their regular number w/o int. prefixes. If you want to call someone in another country, you have to use the respective prefix. e.g. 0049 = Germany, 0041 = Switzerland etc. IMPORTANT: If you dial a number WITH the int. prefix, always leave out the first 0. e.g. 0176 24994567 = 0049 176 24994567

Thanks for the advice. I've spent ten days in Amsterdam and Utrecht. I am flying back to the U.S. tomorrow. During my stay here, I've NEVER had a single problem with my iPhone in any way. Calling local folks in Europe was no issue. I had their full phone numbers listed in the Contacts, and the International Assist feature worked perfect for me - the iPhone automatically adjusted their phone numbers when I called them from the Netherlands (or in Belgium for that matter). I never had to enter a phone number manually.

The call quality was excellent. I've switched among 2-3 carriers in the two countries - Vodafone NL, Mobistar and one other. I never once had a dropped call. The data roaming, when enabled, worked flawlessly too. Whether I was walking downtown Brussels, on the tram in Antwerp or in the NS InterCity train headed for Amsterdam, I was always able to use my iPhone just like I was in the U.S.

Great job, Apple!