International travel with iPad

[rdstoll]

Well went on my first "international" trip this week, all the way to Canada. First off, it's ridiculous that AT&T considers Canada an "international" market on par with say, Bolivia. But that's neither here nor there.

So I was only going for a one-day trip and decided to get a 20MB plan. Yikes! I will caveat my comments to say I get corporate email on my device, so that certainly skewed the results, but I whipped through that 20MB in only 8 hours! Once I got down to 3MB left I turned off my corporate email, but then made the mistake of using Google maps for a few minutes and a FlightTracker app, and when I got done using just those two things I found myself 5MB over!

Unlike their domestic plans, AT&T gave me ZERO notification that I was approaching or going over my data allotment. WTF?

Moral of the story: the iPad uses a TON of data, even if you use just basic things like Maps. If you're going on anything more than a 4 day trip I doubt even the max 100MB plan would be enough.

 

[pelicanflip]

Well went on my first "international" trip this week, all the way to Canada. First off, it's ridiculous that AT&T considers Canada an "international" market on par with say, Bolivia. But that's neither here nor there.

So I was only going for a one-day trip and decided to get a 20MB plan. Yikes! I will caveat my comments to say I get corporate email on my device, so that certainly skewed the results, but I whipped through that 20MB in only 8 hours! Once I got down to 3MB left I turned off my corporate email, but then made the mistake of using Google maps for a few minutes and a FlightTracker app, and when I got done using just those two things I found myself 5MB over!

Unlike their domestic plans, AT&T gave me ZERO notification that I was approaching or going over my data allotment. WTF?

Moral of the story: the iPad uses a TON of data, even if you use just basic things like Maps. If you're going on anything more than a 4 day trip I doubt even the max 100MB plan would be enough.

What 20MB plan were you using?

I thought Apple only offered two plans: 2GB and 250 MB? No wonder you "burned through the data".

20MB is nothing, especially if you're getting consistent emails pushed to your iPad. Not to mention, you were aware that you only had 3MB left, but you used Google Maps and Flighttracker regardless.

They didn't give you a notification because...honestly, I don't even know what data plan you were using for your iPad.

 

[rdstoll]

What 20MB plan were you using?

I thought Apple only offered two plans: 2GB and 250 MB? No wonder you "burned through the data".

20MB is nothing, especially if you're getting consistent emails pushed to your iPad. Not to mention, you were aware that you only had 3MB left, but you used Google Maps and Flighttracker regardless.

They didn't give you a notification because...honestly, I don't even know what data plan you were using for your iPad.

They have international plans you can purchase, starting at 20MB and going up to 100MB.

 

[pelicanflip]

They have international plans you can purchase, starting at 20MB and going up to 100MB.

Huh, didn't know that.

Regardless, think of the 20MB plan as an absolute emergency only use plan, or if you're only going to be checking your mail once a week.

Like I said before, 20MB really isn't a lot of data...it's not that the iPad uses a ton of data, it's that you didn't have a big enough data plan.

Unfortunately, international data plans are really pricey, so you're kinda out of luck on that deal.

 

[Perihelion]

All of the iPad plans in Canada are prepaid so you could just treat it like a European trip and get a local microsim. $15 CAD gets you 250mb of data on Rogers or Bell or $20 CAD gets you 500mb of data on Telus. I do the same when I'm abroad...

 

[rdstoll]

All of the iPad plans in Canada are prepaid so you could just treat it like a European trip and get a local microsim. $15 CAD gets you 250mb of data on Rogers or Bell or $20 CAD gets you 500mb of data on Telus. I do the same when I'm abroad...

Thanks for the tip. Where can you buy these microsims? Do you have to go to a Rogers or Bell store?

 

[maestrokev]

Thanks for the tip. Where can you buy these microsims? Do you have to go to a Rogers or Bell store?

Apple Stores in Canada give out Rogers and Bell microSIMS for free or you can pay $15 at a retail outlet.

 

[GVWR]

Activation fees?

Do Rogers or Bell charge an activation fee?
I'll be traveling through Canada several times in the next month and want a Canadian data plan to avoid AT&T's pricey data roaming.

 

[KevinC867]

Huh, didn't know that.

Regardless, think of the 20MB plan as an absolute emergency only use plan, or if you're only going to be checking your mail once a week.

Like I said before, 20MB really isn't a lot of data...it's not that the iPad uses a ton of data, it's that you didn't have a big enough data plan.

Unfortunately, international data plans are really pricey, so you're kinda out of luck on that deal.

I just got back from a trip to Norway. Before I left, I bought 20MB ATT international plans for both my iPhone and iPad. On the iPad it was a joke. I burned through the 20 MB in less than a day doing some web browsing. The plan is stupidly expensive at more than $1 per MB. On the iPhone, the 20MB plan actually worked out OK. There, I used it mostly for email (checked manually, not automatically) and it lasted for my whole trip.

Fortunately, I was able to buy a local unlimited mobile broadband plan for the iPad for about $40. I burned through about 2GB in 3 weeks.