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What to do when traveling overseas?

M

mbbye

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 5, 2009
4
0
Hi,

I am going to be in London all summer for an internship. I will be using skype to contact friends and family back in the states, but I really want to take my iPhone with me for use as an iPod, calendar, games, etc. I don't need it for any of the cellular data. I was thinking that if I turn the phone to airplane mode and turn on wi-fi I won't incur any charges but would still be able to surf the net, listen to music, call on skype. Can anyone confirm this? I don't want to rack up a four digit bill while I'm there.

Thanks
--Beau
 
If you are worried about a high bill, then you should just remove the sim card from the phone before you leave so you can use it as a faux iPod touch without incurring international roaming charges, or if you want, you can easily unlock it and use a pay-as-you-go sim card in Europe. :D
 
If I remove the sim I'll still be able to use the wi-fi and such?
 
mbbye said:
Hi,
I was thinking that if I turn the phone to airplane mode and turn on wi-fi I won't incur any charges but would still be able to surf the net, listen to music, call on skype. Can anyone confirm this?
--Beau
Click to expand...

That's true, you won't be charged since you'll never be connected to any network, and it's less hassle than removing (and possibly losing) your SIM card.
A much better plan would be to unlock and use a local pay as you go SIM card though, I assume you'll need a phone anyway and they are very cheap.
 
mbbye said:
Hi,

I am going to be in London all summer for an internship. I will be using skype to contact friends and family back in the states, but I really want to take my iPhone with me for use as an iPod, calendar, games, etc. I don't need it for any of the cellular data. I was thinking that if I turn the phone to airplane mode and turn on wi-fi I won't incur any charges but would still be able to surf the net, listen to music, call on skype. Can anyone confirm this? I don't want to rack up a four digit bill while I'm there.

Thanks
--Beau
Click to expand...

If you actually want to make a call here and there, maybe an occasional text, look into AT&T's Internat'l Roaming plan. I only spent a week in Ireland last yr and signed up and had them terminate a month from start date. It cost me $24.99 (monthly charge) and received discounted per min voice, discounted per SMS and 20MB of data. If you don't want to pay anything additional or want to look at different plans, check out AT*T's iPhone Roaming page:
http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/iphone-travel-tips.jsp

Have a good trip. :)
 
mbbye said:
I was thinking that if I turn the phone to airplane mode and turn on wi-fi
Click to expand...

The only thing about this is that if you put the iPhone in airplane mode, that cuts off ALL wireless signals including wi-fi so this idea as you wrote it would not work.
 
iphonetechguy said:
The only thing about this is that if you put the iPhone in airplane mode, that cuts off ALL wireless signals including wi-fi so this idea as you wrote it would not work.
Click to expand...

Wow, you are one uninformed "iphonetechguy". :) This is simply not true with firmware greater than 2.0. You CAN put the device in airplane mode and then go and turn WiFi on. This will simply disable your 3G/EDGE radio. :)
 
iphonetechguy said:
The only thing about this is that if you put the iPhone in airplane mode, that cuts off ALL wireless signals including wi-fi so this idea as you wrote it would not work.
Click to expand...

Not on the iPhone 3G, I think. I believe only the original doesn't let you use Wi-Fi while in airplane mode.
 
I have lived and worked in Iraq for several years. I have been using my iPhone for the past year by turning on airplane mode then switching WIFI on. It works like a charm! I have never had any erroneous charges and I always have my phone in case of an emergency. I haven't jailbroke my iPhone cause I have seen several guys brick their phone over here. I might try it if and when a new version comes out this summer.

And you don't need to pay for any kind of international roaming plans either. All you need to do is ask them to enable Expanded International Roaming. They will try to get you to sign up for the World Connect feature but all that does is drop the price per minute for the call. Which is great if you plan on using the phone a lot. If you want to have it in airplane mode most of the time but still have it available in an emergency then it is not worth it. Here in the middle east the World Connect doesn't drop the price at all so it is not worth me getting it.
 
Skype

I travel to Europe every month. Got the 20mb from ATT but found you eat it up quite quickly. I have iphone Skype which I use at wi fi locations and it's really great. Turn off data roaming, push, leave 3g on if you want to get incoming calls (you still get charged) and only out call from Wi Fi locations. Also get your mail, and anything else you want at that time. I always check my usage and find I use "nothing" sending or receiving. You just need to stay on top of it a few times and it all will work out and you will not get dinged for big charges. It's really a great device and I USE it I don't let ATTnt USE me!
 
Just to verify, I am in London now. I put the phone on airplane mode and turned on wi-fi and have been using skype. I reset my usage stats on the plane and haven't had any usage recorded and skype has been working flawlessly.
 
mbbye said:
Just to verify, I am in London now. I put the phone on airplane mode and turned on wi-fi and have been using skype. I reset my usage stats on the plane and haven't had any usage recorded and skype has been working flawlessly.
Click to expand...

Yes, if you see the airplane symbol, you aren't connected to a network there. If you were connected to a network, you would see the name of a mobile provider up top like Vodafone, O2, Orange, etc.
 
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