How to iPhone in UK for 10 days
January 23, 2018 12:46 PM Subscribe
Will be traveling for leisure to the UK for 10 days in July. I have an unlocked CDMA iPhone 7 plus that i'd like to use while there for interwebs (browsing, maps, texts, apps, emails, etc.) and maybe calls. What are my options?
I've seen this previous thread from 2013 and wanted to know if the same holds true now? My current provider (Verizon) says I can take my current plan with me and get charged $10/day only on the days I use my phone. So that's $100 (on top of my monthly bill). Questions:
I've seen this previous thread from 2013 and wanted to know if the same holds true now? My current provider (Verizon) says I can take my current plan with me and get charged $10/day only on the days I use my phone. So that's $100 (on top of my monthly bill). Questions:
- Is it cheaper to get a SIM there to swap into my phone and go with a Pay As You Go plan?
- Can I get a SIM at the airport or will I have to find a mobile shop in the city?
- Can (should) I order and ship the SIM card ahead of time to have it with me when I arrive?
- Is any UK carrier preferred over the other?
- Are there any gotchas to look out for?
Are you sure your CDMA phone will work in Europe?
In any case: You can get SIMs even at corner groceries. You buy one, usually with an amount of money already on it, and start using it. I use Three and their rates - 1p/Mb - are decent, or buy one of their plans.
If you do decide to hop over to Paris while there, keep in mind you can use the same phone and pay the same rates. No roaming charges.
posted by vacapinta at 1:12 PM on January 23, 2018
In any case: You can get SIMs even at corner groceries. You buy one, usually with an amount of money already on it, and start using it. I use Three and their rates - 1p/Mb - are decent, or buy one of their plans.
If you do decide to hop over to Paris while there, keep in mind you can use the same phone and pay the same rates. No roaming charges.
posted by vacapinta at 1:12 PM on January 23, 2018
Best answer: I have an unlocked iPhone 6s with Verizon and traveled to the UK within the past year, so I feel qualified to answer this! Also, you say CDMA phone but your phone is almost certainly a hybrid CDMA/GSM phone -- on Verizon's CDMA network in the US but able to use global GSM networks in Europe.
1. It is much cheaper to get a PAYG SIM in the UK than to use Verizon's plan (which is not completely useless -- it's good for "bridging" the gap, see #2 and #3 below). I used Three when I was there, and while I can't remember exactly how much I paid you can see on their website that you can get 1 GB of data (+3000 min/text) good for 30 days for £10/$14 or anything up to unlimited data for £35/$49.
2. I actually personally prefer to get a SIM card in the city vs. at Heathrow -- at a mobile phone shop in the city, if you run into any trouble getting the card activated you can get help there and then (and it's easier to return if you have problems later), plus there's often more options at the official stores.
If you feel uncomfortable leaving Heathrow without a working phone, you could always use the Verizon $10 roaming plan for your first 24 hours in the UK, which should be plenty of time to get you to an actual store to get a card.
3. I wouldn't do this. Given the price, just take care of it in the UK. Again, if you feel uncomfortable leaving LHR without a phone, use Verizon's plan for 1 day.
4. Can't comment, I was very happy with Three.
5. Don't lose your original Verizon SIM card and bring a paper clip or safety pin with you (assuming you don't have a SIM card removal tool) so you can swap your Verizon card back in on the plane on the way back to the US. At the Three store in Islington I went to they were happy to install the card for me so I didn't worry about the nano SIM issue.
posted by andrewesque at 1:14 PM on January 23, 2018
1. It is much cheaper to get a PAYG SIM in the UK than to use Verizon's plan (which is not completely useless -- it's good for "bridging" the gap, see #2 and #3 below). I used Three when I was there, and while I can't remember exactly how much I paid you can see on their website that you can get 1 GB of data (+3000 min/text) good for 30 days for £10/$14 or anything up to unlimited data for £35/$49.
2. I actually personally prefer to get a SIM card in the city vs. at Heathrow -- at a mobile phone shop in the city, if you run into any trouble getting the card activated you can get help there and then (and it's easier to return if you have problems later), plus there's often more options at the official stores.
If you feel uncomfortable leaving Heathrow without a working phone, you could always use the Verizon $10 roaming plan for your first 24 hours in the UK, which should be plenty of time to get you to an actual store to get a card.
3. I wouldn't do this. Given the price, just take care of it in the UK. Again, if you feel uncomfortable leaving LHR without a phone, use Verizon's plan for 1 day.
4. Can't comment, I was very happy with Three.
5. Don't lose your original Verizon SIM card and bring a paper clip or safety pin with you (assuming you don't have a SIM card removal tool) so you can swap your Verizon card back in on the plane on the way back to the US. At the Three store in Islington I went to they were happy to install the card for me so I didn't worry about the nano SIM issue.
posted by andrewesque at 1:14 PM on January 23, 2018
I travel to the UK at least once a year to visit family, and I always buy a Three PAYG (pay as you go) SIM. Flexible plans from £10 for 1GB to £35 for unlimited. You can top up data if you start to run out, but I don't think they accept US credit cards online so you could get credit at a store.
Coverage is pretty good, especially if you plan on just being near cities and not so rural. Three stores are plentiful. I think I've seen a Three vending machine in Heathrow before, but I would rather recommend you going into an official store to get everything set up. Use the wi-fi at Heathrow to map yourself to a store, and even if you get lost most city centres, pubs, coffee shops, etc have wi-fi to get yourself around.
Also the advantage of the Three PAYG is free roaming in the EU, so you can use texts/data/etc like normal within your plan even if you decide to take Eurostar over.
posted by xtine at 6:11 PM on January 23, 2018
Coverage is pretty good, especially if you plan on just being near cities and not so rural. Three stores are plentiful. I think I've seen a Three vending machine in Heathrow before, but I would rather recommend you going into an official store to get everything set up. Use the wi-fi at Heathrow to map yourself to a store, and even if you get lost most city centres, pubs, coffee shops, etc have wi-fi to get yourself around.
Also the advantage of the Three PAYG is free roaming in the EU, so you can use texts/data/etc like normal within your plan even if you decide to take Eurostar over.
posted by xtine at 6:11 PM on January 23, 2018
I used the $10/day Verizon plan for my iPhone 6 when I was in London last year, and it worked great most of the time, although coverage for whatever service Verizon uses there wasn't perfect. I was only there for 3 days though, so any longer and it will definitely add up. Will you need access to sms messages and phone calls to your normal number while you are there? If so, it's probably worth it not to have to fiddle with putting your normal sim back in often to check for messages/calls. If not, then you are definitely better off getting a local plan. My brother used PAYG and was happy with it.
posted by gemmy at 8:29 PM on January 23, 2018
posted by gemmy at 8:29 PM on January 23, 2018
Assuming you’re flying into London Heathrow, there are vending machines at the airport where you can pick up a SIM card. I recommend EE, they have a £15 plan which includes 5GB of data, unlimited SMS and 500 minutes . Make sure you have the tool with you to pop open the SIM card tray (or use a paper clip). Any problems just pop into the nearest EE store when you get into the city (they are everywhere)
posted by hibbersk at 10:25 PM on January 23, 2018
posted by hibbersk at 10:25 PM on January 23, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
Cheaper than $100? Yes.
> "Can I get a SIM at the airport or will I have to find a mobile shop in the city?"
Are you flying into Heathrow? You can probably just do it at the airport.
> "Can (should) I order and ship the SIM card ahead of time to have it with me when I arrive?"
Nah. They're not that hard to find.
> "Is any UK carrier preferred over the other?"
Not sure. I used Three when I was doing the same thing you're doing, then switched to Virgin when I moved here. Didn't do much research. They have comparable coverage. Both are fine. Others might be able to give you better advice on this one.
> "Are there any gotchas to look out for?"
You probably already know this, but for the iPhone 7 make sure you get either a nano-SIM or a universal SIM that has a bit that will fit a nano-SIM slot.
posted by kyrademon at 12:56 PM on January 23, 2018