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Going on vacation with iPhones

A

asaeta

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 20, 2009
48
0
San Francisco, CA
Hi, in a few days, my family (we have our iphones) is going on vacation from the US to Europe (Paris, Rome, Venice, Sicily, Croatia and Montenegro). I was wondering if we could still use our iPhones on vacation, specifically...can we call people at home? can we call each other in Europe if we are lost or something? does data roaming apply to this and if so how much does it cost? can we check our email and use all of our apps etc...? (sepcifically the maps app). So basically all the stuff one would need to use while on vacation/sight seeing. I couldn't really find any information on this site about it (I searched through the forums), so I apologize if this is repetitive.
thanks,
andrew
 
Yeah i was going to ask the same question, :D

When I go to El Salvador in Central America, I receive the same bars when I took my Verizon Wireless phone and AT&T phone, (not iphone's btw)

I wonder if you need an international plan?:confused:
 
leomac08 said:
Yeah i was going to ask the same question, :D

When I go to El Salvador in Central America, I receive the same bars when I took my Verizon Wireless phone and AT&T phone, (not iphone's btw)

I wonder if you need an international plan?:confused:
Click to expand...


See my text below. Yes, you will be roaming internationally. And the searching a little harder applies to you too. :)

asaeta said:
Hi, in a few days, my family (we have our iphones) is going on vacation from the US to Europe (Paris, Rome, Venice, Sicily, Croatia and Montenegro). I was wondering if we could still use our iPhones on vacation, specifically...can we call people at home? can we call each other in Europe if we are lost or something? does data roaming apply to this and if so how much does it cost? can we check our email and use all of our apps etc...? (sepcifically the maps app). So basically all the stuff one would need to use while on vacation/sight seeing. I couldn't really find any information on this site about it (I searched through the forums), so I apologize if this is repetitive.
thanks,
andrew
Click to expand...

Search a little harder next time. :)

Try these threads:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/737197/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/742198/

Basically, you'll be roaming while overseas and would incur huge charges for data and large bills for making calls. There are a number of different options for you.

You can turn off roaming and take out your sim card and thus you'll only be able to use your phone near wifi hotspots. Your gps will work, but you won't have maps. You, of course won't be able to call or be called.

You can call AT&T and see what options you want to add for your trip. You can get an international plan (I don't recommend, since you just keep your calls short, versus paying for a plan you're not going to use often) for calling and you can get an internation data plan. AT&T has more details.

Or, you can jailbreak and unlock and be able to use an international sim card when you're over there.

Anyway, that was just a brief summary from what I remember from us talking about these issues in the past. Read the threads and post new questions if needed.
 
You can turn off roaming and take out your sim card and thus you'll only be able to use your phone near wifi hotspots. Your gps will work, but you won't have maps. You, of course won't be able to call or be called.

QUOTE]


wait!, so if i go to el salvador, and i want to take my blackberry 8310, but i want to use the google maps app, (my blackberry has GPS btw) i won't be able to see any maps of the country? or will i see a blinking blue dot in my screen with a full map?
Click to expand...
 
leomac08 said:
You can turn off roaming and take out your sim card and thus you'll only be able to use your phone near wifi hotspots. Your gps will work, but you won't have maps. You, of course won't be able to call or be called.

QUOTE]


wait!, so if i go to el salvador, and i want to take my blackberry 8310, but i want to use the google maps app, (my blackberry has GPS btw) i won't be able to see any maps of the country? or will i see a blinking blue dot in my screen with a full map?
Click to expand...

You'll see the map of where you were in the U.S. the last time you used it. And why are you asking about Crackberry in an iPhone site. :) I only know about the iPhone. I assume it's the same. You need navigon or tom tom or something similar that has maps preloaded to only use GPS. Google maps DL's the maps from the internet via EDGE or 3G.
Click to expand...
 
iphone.aggie said:
leomac08 said:
You'll see the map of where you were in the U.S. the last time you used it. And why are you asking about Crackberry in an iPhone site. I only know about the iPhone. I assume it's the same. You need navigon or tom tom or something similar that has maps preloaded to only use GPS. Google maps DL's the maps from the internet via EDGE or 3G.
Click to expand...

hey u never know, people might use this information, and i might look into the blackberry app store for any GPS servics apps.:D

Thanks 4 ur valuable info! (u just helped a blackberry user!) lol
Click to expand...
 
One solution you could consider would be to install Skype on your phones and buy some Skype credit. That way you if you have wi-fi access you can call anyone anywhere. Having relied on Skype for this in the past (using my laptop, before I had an iPhone), it is a really good alternative to dealing with international roaming.
 
I think the best advice I can give is call your carrier and ask all those questions, then ask them how to remedy those problems if any. It's worth it to pay 10-20 bucks extra for a month or two instead of incuring huge charges like did, and I wasn't even using my iPhone at the time, I left it at home and used a dumb phone. I wish I had called them in the first place.
 
Cancel your data plan as you leave the US

I did just this when Iphone was first introduced. People were returning to find huge bills from AT&T.

I carried a second phone (Blackberry) on that trip with the Blackerry's international data plan, which was much less expensive than the Iphone roaming charges.

When I landed back in the US, I called AT&T and immediately restored the data plan to the Iphone.
 
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