what happens to my American phone number when I get a European SIM card?
January 23, 2018 7:11 AM
I'm going to live in Denmark for six months. My phone (Samsung Galaxy) is unlocked. Current carrier is Verizon. I've been told that getting a European SIM card and putting it into my phone is a good idea. I am an utter neophyte to world travel, so I have noob questions:
1. Do I wait to arrive in Europe to buy a SIM card? Does it matter?
2. Does a European cell carrier come baked into that European SIM card? In other words, when I put the new SIM card into my phone and boot it up, is it automatically on some other carrier's plan? Or do I have to install the new SIM card and then separately set up an account and payment plan with a company?
3. What happens to my American phone number? If someone calls that number, is it totally out of commission? Is there a voicemail account? Do I need to give everyone I know a new phone number?
4. What carriers are good in Denmark or that corner of Europe? Someone on AskMe recommended Ting, but I'm confused because their site only includes America in the company's covered areas.
1. Do I wait to arrive in Europe to buy a SIM card? Does it matter?
2. Does a European cell carrier come baked into that European SIM card? In other words, when I put the new SIM card into my phone and boot it up, is it automatically on some other carrier's plan? Or do I have to install the new SIM card and then separately set up an account and payment plan with a company?
3. What happens to my American phone number? If someone calls that number, is it totally out of commission? Is there a voicemail account? Do I need to give everyone I know a new phone number?
4. What carriers are good in Denmark or that corner of Europe? Someone on AskMe recommended Ting, but I'm confused because their site only includes America in the company's covered areas.
3. If you keep paying for your American phone plan, the number will just go to voicemail. You should probably port your US number to the cheapest pay-as-you-go plan (like Ting or another MVNO) where you pay a very small amount per month and then would pay extra for usage. Then you can port it back to the plan of your choice when you return.
If you stop paying for any American phone plan, the number will eventually be released back into the pool of assignable phone numbers.
posted by muddgirl at 7:25 AM on January 23, 2018
If you stop paying for any American phone plan, the number will eventually be released back into the pool of assignable phone numbers.
posted by muddgirl at 7:25 AM on January 23, 2018
You should definitely get a European SIM if you plan to use your phone in Denmark for that long. Verizon's international roaming fees are very high.
If you want to keep your US phone number the simplest thing is to get a second cheap phone and transplant your Verizon SIM into that phone when you get to Denmark. Then only use it when you are answering a call. Other options are to set a voicemail message on your US phone with your Denmark number or have Verizon forward all the calls to another US number, like maybe a Google Voice mailbox.
Frequent travellers often have phones that can use two SIM cards at once to make this easier. iPhones can't do that but there are many Android phones that can.
You probably want to buy the SIM in Denmark. But do a bit of research; this wiki is helpful and not too spammy. When I was in Germany in September 2017 it was remarkably hard to buy a SIM card because the new European regulations around mobile roaming included new requirements about tracking who owns what SIM card. Deutsche Telekom wanted proof of identity and a local address, not just a hotel, making it impossible for an American to buy a SIM from them. O2 was less strict and sold me a SIM with just my passport.
posted by Nelson at 7:30 AM on January 23, 2018
If you want to keep your US phone number the simplest thing is to get a second cheap phone and transplant your Verizon SIM into that phone when you get to Denmark. Then only use it when you are answering a call. Other options are to set a voicemail message on your US phone with your Denmark number or have Verizon forward all the calls to another US number, like maybe a Google Voice mailbox.
Frequent travellers often have phones that can use two SIM cards at once to make this easier. iPhones can't do that but there are many Android phones that can.
You probably want to buy the SIM in Denmark. But do a bit of research; this wiki is helpful and not too spammy. When I was in Germany in September 2017 it was remarkably hard to buy a SIM card because the new European regulations around mobile roaming included new requirements about tracking who owns what SIM card. Deutsche Telekom wanted proof of identity and a local address, not just a hotel, making it impossible for an American to buy a SIM from them. O2 was less strict and sold me a SIM with just my passport.
posted by Nelson at 7:30 AM on January 23, 2018
TMobile has cheap or free international roaming (might be different for data vs voice), so you could port your American number to them if you want to keep it. That way you don't have to change your number with any stateside contacts. Then, when you get to Denmark, you can install a local SIM and give that number to anyone in Europe who needs to contact you. Switch SIM cards regularly to check texts and voicemail. Either way, I don't think you need an expensive monthly plan in both countries, so go prepaid on the one you think you will use less often.
posted by soelo at 7:44 AM on January 23, 2018
posted by soelo at 7:44 AM on January 23, 2018
"1. Do I wait to arrive in Europe to buy a SIM card? Does it matter?"
Yes. Buy there. Or: Google Project Fi
"2. Does a European cell carrier come baked into that European SIM card? In other words, when I put the new SIM card into my phone and boot it up, is it automatically on some other carrier's plan? "
Yes. But make sure your phone is
a) unlocked
b) supports the EU frequencies.
"3. What happens to my American phone number? "
Phone will be off. A DID forwarding to your EU number (www.voip.ms) or Google Number may be an option.
"4. "
Don't know.
posted by yoyo_nyc at 7:54 AM on January 23, 2018
Yes. Buy there. Or: Google Project Fi
"2. Does a European cell carrier come baked into that European SIM card? In other words, when I put the new SIM card into my phone and boot it up, is it automatically on some other carrier's plan? "
Yes. But make sure your phone is
a) unlocked
b) supports the EU frequencies.
"3. What happens to my American phone number? "
Phone will be off. A DID forwarding to your EU number (www.voip.ms) or Google Number may be an option.
"4. "
Don't know.
posted by yoyo_nyc at 7:54 AM on January 23, 2018
When I lived overseas for a while, I closed my US cell account and ported the number over to Google Voice. It looks like you can still do it for a $20 fee. It was a pretty good option and I was able to forward calls from GV directly to an IP phone service that I set up later.
Once I returned, I ported the number from GV to my new US cell provider. The whole process was pretty straightforward and I never had to let go of my original number.
posted by Joe Schlabotnik at 8:00 AM on January 23, 2018
Once I returned, I ported the number from GV to my new US cell provider. The whole process was pretty straightforward and I never had to let go of my original number.
posted by Joe Schlabotnik at 8:00 AM on January 23, 2018
Lebra prepaid was what I used when I lived in Norway several years ago. They were great and have coverage throughout Scandinavia. All I needed at the time was my passport. Here is a list of current companies that offer prepaid sims.
You will need to check to make sure your phone will work in Europe. There are two types of signals, GSM and CDMA. Unfortunately Verizon uses CDMA, which is not available in Europe. Most newer Verizon phones will have both antennas, what kind of Samsung galaxy do you have? Here are some of the ways you can check to see. If your current phone does not support GSM, it will not work in Denmark and you will need to find/buy another GSM supported phone.
posted by snowysoul at 8:10 AM on January 23, 2018
You will need to check to make sure your phone will work in Europe. There are two types of signals, GSM and CDMA. Unfortunately Verizon uses CDMA, which is not available in Europe. Most newer Verizon phones will have both antennas, what kind of Samsung galaxy do you have? Here are some of the ways you can check to see. If your current phone does not support GSM, it will not work in Denmark and you will need to find/buy another GSM supported phone.
posted by snowysoul at 8:10 AM on January 23, 2018
When I moved to Denmark for 3 years, I ported my US cell to google voice.
By the time I came back, I decided just to get a new cell (and keep the old one as google voice).
Do compare plans; if you won’t have a residence permit your options may be limited though.
posted by nat at 8:21 AM on January 23, 2018
By the time I came back, I decided just to get a new cell (and keep the old one as google voice).
Do compare plans; if you won’t have a residence permit your options may be limited though.
posted by nat at 8:21 AM on January 23, 2018
Also if your phone can be unlocked (is out of contract), then be sure to unlock it before you go; I think a few friends of mine had trouble because they wanted to unlock while abroad.
posted by nat at 8:23 AM on January 23, 2018
posted by nat at 8:23 AM on January 23, 2018
Seconding porting it to GV (I used Vonage when I spent four years living abroad - was handy to have a 'land line' phone to talk to relatives and clients in the US when I was freelancing). But the dead simplest thing is definitely just porting it to a prepaid carrier in the US and keeping that SIM carefully stored away while you're overseas.
posted by olinerd at 9:04 AM on January 23, 2018
posted by olinerd at 9:04 AM on January 23, 2018
Porting it to a prepaid carrier in the US: T-Mobile offers a $3/month plan with very limited voice/text and no data. Easily the cheapest way to keep a number while you're away.
posted by kindall at 11:52 AM on January 23, 2018
posted by kindall at 11:52 AM on January 23, 2018
I live in Europe for three months every year and I too forward my US number to a Google Voice number. It works out great.
Keep in mind that, if go with something like T-Moble and keep your US number, friends and colleagues around you in Europe will have to call a US number. Having WhatsApp will help in this case.
posted by humboldt32 at 12:23 PM on January 23, 2018
Keep in mind that, if go with something like T-Moble and keep your US number, friends and colleagues around you in Europe will have to call a US number. Having WhatsApp will help in this case.
posted by humboldt32 at 12:23 PM on January 23, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
It depends - will you keep paying your Verizon plan while you're gone? If yes, then it should go to voicemail until that fills up.
If not, after a period of inactivity in which they hope you'll reactivate service, you will lose the phone number. If you wish to keep this phone number, you should make arrangements with Verizon to put it on a low fee plan or port it to another service.
Your European SIM will have a new phone number.
posted by bluecore at 7:24 AM on January 23, 2018