How do I use the same unlocked phone for voice and data in multiple countries on multiple continents?
June 25, 2011 6:18 PM Subscribe
I want to buy a prepaid cell phone to use as a backup/emergency phone and then maybe take it with me for int'l travel.
So far I've decided:
-Quad band is the way to go to ensure maximum versatility around the world
-While in the states, I want to use T-Mobile because if I buy $100 worth of minutes, they are good for one year, and then for the low price of $10/yr, i can keep rolling the minutes forward - in other words, the minutes will not expire which is good because i will likely not use them much at all (since this is a backup phone).
Now for the part i don't understand too well. If I want to get maximum use from this phone, it would be good to use it for some international travel I will be taking in the next few months. Plan to go all over (europe, asia, etc), so I'll be in many countries.
I think the ideal solution is to get off the plane and buy a prepaid phone/sim/minutes in whatever country, but is there a good strategy if i want to bring my unlocked quad band phone?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but i should be able to buy a sim/minutes and pop it right into my own unlocked phone as long as it supports the 'band' of the country I'm in. But how about data plans? When I buy an unlocked phone, is it worth buying a cheap smartphone that supports data, or is it ridiculously expensive to get prepaid data? Can anyone explain how it works overseas and what the best strategy for me is? (given that i'd like to use the phone as a backup in the states and my primary for int'l travel)
Thanks, everyone!
So far I've decided:
-Quad band is the way to go to ensure maximum versatility around the world
-While in the states, I want to use T-Mobile because if I buy $100 worth of minutes, they are good for one year, and then for the low price of $10/yr, i can keep rolling the minutes forward - in other words, the minutes will not expire which is good because i will likely not use them much at all (since this is a backup phone).
Now for the part i don't understand too well. If I want to get maximum use from this phone, it would be good to use it for some international travel I will be taking in the next few months. Plan to go all over (europe, asia, etc), so I'll be in many countries.
I think the ideal solution is to get off the plane and buy a prepaid phone/sim/minutes in whatever country, but is there a good strategy if i want to bring my unlocked quad band phone?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but i should be able to buy a sim/minutes and pop it right into my own unlocked phone as long as it supports the 'band' of the country I'm in. But how about data plans? When I buy an unlocked phone, is it worth buying a cheap smartphone that supports data, or is it ridiculously expensive to get prepaid data? Can anyone explain how it works overseas and what the best strategy for me is? (given that i'd like to use the phone as a backup in the states and my primary for int'l travel)
Thanks, everyone!
This won't be so helpful because I did the inverse of you--I went to the States from Canada with an unlocked phone and just bought a chip (Simple Mobile, which runs on t-mobile). It was $60 and was unlimited national everything (voice/text/data) and unlimited int'l data.
I assume that countries that actually have competitive data rates (like the USA but unlike Canada), you could do the same thing.
You may also want to check into buying a web phone number that stays permanent. That way, you can give one number out and then just forward it to whatever number you get in the foreign countries. For instance, I have one for California (though I live in Toronto). When I'm home, I forward it here so my American friends call it. When I'm there, I forward it to my Simple Mobile chip.
posted by dobbs at 7:24 PM on June 25, 2011
I assume that countries that actually have competitive data rates (like the USA but unlike Canada), you could do the same thing.
You may also want to check into buying a web phone number that stays permanent. That way, you can give one number out and then just forward it to whatever number you get in the foreign countries. For instance, I have one for California (though I live in Toronto). When I'm home, I forward it here so my American friends call it. When I'm there, I forward it to my Simple Mobile chip.
posted by dobbs at 7:24 PM on June 25, 2011
Yup, you can totally get cheap prepaid data! At least, in the UK last summer I did -- one month for 5 pound (T Mobile Booster). You can generally check the websites of cell companies in your likely destination countries to see what kinds of plans are offered. I did a lot of poking around to find the company I wanted to go with, precisely because I wanted cheap data. It was great to be able to use my existing phone to keep up with my email and do a bit of websurfing.
In practical terms, I scoped out shops ahead of time to find out where I could get just the SIM pack (SIM card only, no phone -- usually around 5 pounds, in my experience, sometimes includes a bit of airtime). As soon as I landed, I went to a shop (in London, just about any news shop or convenience store has SIMs) and bought the card and 20 pounds credit. Plugged the card into my phone and I was off and running. I had written down what I needed to do to add the data plan (text a code to their customer service number), so I did that et voila, unlimited data too!
So basically, it just takes a little bit of research and planning, but it's definitely the way to go. The quad band smart phone, if it's a reasonable price, sounds like a great choice.
posted by katemonster at 7:59 PM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
In practical terms, I scoped out shops ahead of time to find out where I could get just the SIM pack (SIM card only, no phone -- usually around 5 pounds, in my experience, sometimes includes a bit of airtime). As soon as I landed, I went to a shop (in London, just about any news shop or convenience store has SIMs) and bought the card and 20 pounds credit. Plugged the card into my phone and I was off and running. I had written down what I needed to do to add the data plan (text a code to their customer service number), so I did that et voila, unlimited data too!
So basically, it just takes a little bit of research and planning, but it's definitely the way to go. The quad band smart phone, if it's a reasonable price, sounds like a great choice.
posted by katemonster at 7:59 PM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
Not sure what phone you currently have or are planning to buy, but T-Mobile are really quite good about unlocking their phones, even for pre- and post-paid customers.
You'll want to check out the PrepaidGSM forums, as they've got a wealth of info on all the various providers for global/international roaming SIMs. The mister and I swap out our US SIMs for Tru when overseas; the prices might be just a bit higher, especially for data, they seem to be making a good effort at providing local rates in more countries.
posted by evoque at 7:02 AM on June 26, 2011
You'll want to check out the PrepaidGSM forums, as they've got a wealth of info on all the various providers for global/international roaming SIMs. The mister and I swap out our US SIMs for Tru when overseas; the prices might be just a bit higher, especially for data, they seem to be making a good effort at providing local rates in more countries.
posted by evoque at 7:02 AM on June 26, 2011
I did what Katemonster did. One really helpful suggestion - print out a map with the places you want to buy a SIM from, because you're jetlagged and suddenly without your data plan and your brain is running at 10% efficiency as you try to remember how to ask strangers for directions.
I wandered all over London looking for a T-Mobile store when I could have stepped into any Carphone Warehouse. On the plus side, I saw plenty of London.
posted by zippy at 8:46 AM on June 26, 2011
I wandered all over London looking for a T-Mobile store when I could have stepped into any Carphone Warehouse. On the plus side, I saw plenty of London.
posted by zippy at 8:46 AM on June 26, 2011
I've had good experiences with very cheap prepaid phones, BUT here's an idea: if you get a smartphone, you can also include foreign language dictionaries and/or phrase book apps. That's exactly why I bought a used iPhone (for less than $300) before going to France a couple of years ago. It was very handy.
Now I'm tutoring some Russian speakers, and bought a Russian-English dictionary too.
I've also enjoyed some French grammar practice quiz apps on the phone, as well as a couple of (downloaded, no connection required) simple maps, and a document I created myself with directions and details about restaurants I wanted to try in Paris. It was really nice being able to fit all that in my pocket, especially since I ended up walking all over the place.
If you decide to try this, do look at the prices for the dictionaries before buying the phone; they cost more than I anticipated, but were still worth it.
posted by amtho at 3:51 PM on June 26, 2011
Now I'm tutoring some Russian speakers, and bought a Russian-English dictionary too.
I've also enjoyed some French grammar practice quiz apps on the phone, as well as a couple of (downloaded, no connection required) simple maps, and a document I created myself with directions and details about restaurants I wanted to try in Paris. It was really nice being able to fit all that in my pocket, especially since I ended up walking all over the place.
If you decide to try this, do look at the prices for the dictionaries before buying the phone; they cost more than I anticipated, but were still worth it.
posted by amtho at 3:51 PM on June 26, 2011
When I buy an unlocked phone, is it worth buying a cheap smartphone that supports data, or is it ridiculously expensive to get prepaid data?
Just got back from a trip to Greece with an unlocked smartphone, and I can say several things:
1) it is really, really, really hard, in Greece, to get a PAYG voice + data plan with a cap suitable for a smartphone. I went to four different cell phone stores, two Vodaphone and two WIND, with one of the four claiming such plans do not exist, and the rest saying that such plans exist but only with very low data allowances (200MB/mo on the high end).
2) it is however, fairly easy, on the fourth try, at the end of a long, hot day and suffering from jetlag, to find a decent PAYG data only plan (from WIND) where you get a week's worth of data with a 12GB cap, but no voice, for €14, and get glorious solid 3.5G coverage everywhere you go.
This was fine for me because: a) I have Skype on my smartphone, b) I use Google Voice for texts and voicemail, so I could still get messages.
Short summary:
In at least one European country, trying to get a PAYG smartphone plan is a royal pain in the butt. Either plan ahead, forgo smartphones, or prepare to live within a very tight data budget.
posted by zippy at 4:06 AM on August 5, 2011
Just got back from a trip to Greece with an unlocked smartphone, and I can say several things:
1) it is really, really, really hard, in Greece, to get a PAYG voice + data plan with a cap suitable for a smartphone. I went to four different cell phone stores, two Vodaphone and two WIND, with one of the four claiming such plans do not exist, and the rest saying that such plans exist but only with very low data allowances (200MB/mo on the high end).
2) it is however, fairly easy, on the fourth try, at the end of a long, hot day and suffering from jetlag, to find a decent PAYG data only plan (from WIND) where you get a week's worth of data with a 12GB cap, but no voice, for €14, and get glorious solid 3.5G coverage everywhere you go.
This was fine for me because: a) I have Skype on my smartphone, b) I use Google Voice for texts and voicemail, so I could still get messages.
Short summary:
In at least one European country, trying to get a PAYG smartphone plan is a royal pain in the butt. Either plan ahead, forgo smartphones, or prepare to live within a very tight data budget.
posted by zippy at 4:06 AM on August 5, 2011
I tracked down the plan. Wind's F2G ADSM Non-Stop 7. You can add voice to it for more Euros, but I didn't try
posted by zippy at 5:16 AM on August 5, 2011
posted by zippy at 5:16 AM on August 5, 2011
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posted by JJ86 at 6:56 PM on June 25, 2011