JAN BERÁNEK from what I know, US law made companies remove this. They're still "locked" to a company, but all you have to do to unlock, is a simple call to a toll free number when you switch. I think iPhones are made to accept many sims for international use.
Locked phones are mostly locked to a company till phone is paid off. Here in America you can pay a little bit a month till your new phone is paid off, once it’s paid you can take it anywhere as you own the phone now.
in Poland we don't have lock phones for many years. what is the purpose to have lock phone for one company, US providers stay in the past. Now 70% phones are dual sim maybe not Apple phones good lack and buy iPhone
In the U.S. Cell Phones are locked until they are paid off. Most people don't buy their phones outright so they are put on a monthly payment plan (usually up to 2 years) Once the phone is paid off they can be unlocked. EDIT: Oh and I forgot to mention that in the U.S. you can lease the phone so they are locked to the company the phone is being leased from. Some people choose the lease option because it's a cheaper way to get a new phone every 1 to 2 years.
The EU last month got rid of roaming within EU countries. That means a SIM from one EU country (lets say Italy) wouldn't cost you extra for roaming in Sweden. No need to buy SIMs for each country. Even though you might find USB ports in airplanes, airports, etc., bring your regular adapter too. I find many of those USB ports are extremely low amperage. It could take you all day to charge your phone. When traveling outside the country, I usually leave my phone on airplane mode. That way it's on to take pictures, the battery charge lasts longer, and I'm not charged for any junk calls or excess data. When I get back to my hotel, or a WiFi hotspot (better to save data), I turn off airplane mode to do quick email checking, Facebook, etc.
I was very lucky last month when I went to Europe. A family friend in the UK gave me a cheap SIM card and let me top it up with inexpensive data plans that lasted me most of my 3-week trip across 6 countries. Before, I planned to use Verizon's $10/day international charge.
Can you make a step-by-step updated video for 2022. Maybe compare some plans like Metro PCS and T-Mobile for going from USA to Great Britain. I am concerned with calling the people in my travel party, uber and directions to sightseeing spots. Thank you!
just use the free Wi-Fi in your hotel and in malls, cafes or restaurants. I turn my data and service off every time I go overseas. No unexpected bills and I can still use Facebook. no worries.
I am late to the party, buy I used Instagram to call my family (when I had free wifi) while in London. I got a sim card at the airport and still had minutes left when I got back after using it for 10 days .
When I went to Italy last summer, I was able to use the exact same plan I have with Verizon in the states for $10 a day. It was definitely worth it for me!
Before I moved to Berlin, I switched to T-mobile to keep my US number, and it's free data/text internationally. Of course I have a German SIM, but I've used the T-mobile SIM in times of emergency and didn't cost me any extra.
Regarding "Free WiFi" be careful not to login to sensitive accounts on public WiFi networks. People setup WiFi pineapples and sniffer devices to man-in-the -middle attack you. Among other types of pen attacks. Just be careful, this goes for hotel WiFi too. Plus it's always a good idea to have a VPN.
Thanks for the informative video. For topics like this, you should make updated videos every few years since phone plans and technology in general changes.
Getting your phone set up with a global plan is serious because when I worked for Verizon as a customer service representative I would handle the issues when people would travel without these plans and one day I remember a co-worker of mine had a customer who had a $4,000 bill because he traveled around Europe for six months with no global plan. He was responsible for those charges because he made no effort to get a global plan.
For citizens of the European Union Roaming fees will be abolished by June 2017. That means if you're traveling to other countries of the EU you will be able to call, text and use your data just as if you were at home, no additional costs whatsoever.
Will this work for travellers with who put in a sim card? For example, if you start your trip in Portugal, will this work as well in Spain, France, Italy, etc.?
One tip that I would suggest is also looking into renting pocket WiFi wherever you are traveling to. When I went to Japan for 10 days I used japanwireless to rent a pocket WiFi. It only cost me a total of like $55 (6,100 yen). I simply went on their website and ordered it then they give you the option to have it delivered to your hotel, airport post office, or a residence. I had mine delivered to my hotel but I would suggest the airport post office. The reason I say this is I arrived in Japan and had no idea where I was going and it took me longer than I would have liked to get to my first hotel since I couldn't use google maps without data haha. Anyway, had I had it delivered to the airport post office there would have been no issue at all. Lesson learned. That price got me unlimited data for 10 days at 75mbps. With that WiFi I could use all my apps, get online with my browser, send text messages, and even make phone calls. I don't know the options in other countries but in Japan I know this is very common. Hope this helps someone :)
sprint isn't the best network domestically but they have a spectacular international plan included with just about every plan i believe. anytime you travel internationally, you get free texts, pay $0.25 per minute for calls, and free 2g data. if you want high speed data, you either pay $5/day or $25/week. it's worked pretty well while i've traveled in london and paris, and i never had to worry about data limits. sometimes phones don't connect well to networks but that's more to do with which bands your phone supports than any problem on their end.
If you own your phone you can easily contact ur carrier to get ur phone unlocked... At&t for example will email u w/a code like less than few hrs... adding a sim card is easier than ppl think.. just keep ur original sim in a safe place 😅 Tip... save $ and have ur family/friends use u as a wifi hotspot
What I did in England is that I called home to have my phone unlocked, and then just swapped the SIM cards, was the cheapest option as buying the plan from home (I’m from Canada where our rates are already insane) was way cheaper
I don't live in an American state or territory, although anyone living in Canada will be pleased to know that Telus and Rogers allow customers to roam (in some countries, among them a lot of European ones) as if they were in Canada, for a small daily fee. Bell has gotten in on the action (sort of), but not yet for data.
I went on a 7 day cruise in the Caribbean, Tmobile had me covered everywhere I went as part of my regular plan. Even in the middle of the ocean, with all my data! Love tmob!
If you are going to travel within the EU, best to get an unlocked phone, but put a ridiculous amount of money (like 70$ worth of coupons) on the phone. The EU recently scraped roaming charges so you can go to any of the countries using one number without added tarrifs. Also if you go at high season, some providers will offer you a fantastic deal, like 10GB of data for 20$.
You can rent a phone at the airport in Japan. I have no idea if that can be done anywhere else though. Keep in mind too that, when going through Customs, they can demand your phone/laptop/etc... and your passwords. It's unlikely, but it has happened.
I have at&t and I chose the International Day Pass for $10 per day. I basically get to use my plan (unlimited talk/text/data). I’m going to be in Paris for one week so I thought this was my best option. Not too expensive. Talked to phone company twice so it should activate when I land in France
Effective recently, Bell Mobility in Canada has started to offer the possibility of using data the same way abroad for a small daily fee. Rogers and Telus did (and still do) offer data roaming that is similar to what Bell now offers, although Bell use to only offer data travel passes with puny allowances. That said, not all mobile phone carriers will offer data packages that are generous enough to be used abroad.
Just don't use the cellular services abroad, but use free WiFi networks. We really don't need to be every single minute online do we? Also you can make free phone calls over the internet!
Kurosaki0Ichigo Sometimes you need to book a hotel or find directions or look up closing times or buy tickets online. But Yeah I suppose you can do all that before hand while on wifi.
Data is useful just in case we get lost! It definitely helped me when I accidentally went outside of Paris. This is really helpful thank you! Much more than the teacher I had that went to the trip with me.
Another way I helped my fiance when he visited the US, is that I bought him a tracfone from a store, and loaded minutes on it, set it up and gave it to him when he arrived. He used that to call or text myself (or my family). We had wi-fi so he just communicated with friends and family overseas that way.
Go to your Google Maps app, type in the city where you're going, and then click 'More info". You can download a whole city map to your phone there for offline use. Also, you can put in directions to a place and download the map offline so you don't have to use your data. :)
Michelle Henderson do directions work for public transit, walking , biking routes? I just finished downloading the map of the city I am visiting and it only shows me directions with a car :/
So much information lol. Could you explain the cost involved. You mention buying phones at kiosks. How much in general are they. I’m planning on a trip to England for 4-6 weeks and maybe Rome for 3-4 days. I have an iPhone from Verizon and they don’t have an international plan.
The EU just put a law into action that means that if you get a SIM card with a data plan anywhere in the EU that you don't pay extra for data roaming within the the EU.
I'm from the UK and roaming is free in Europe so I've never had to pay extra, and my company Three has great greats so you pay the same as home. But when I go abroad outside Europe, I usually just get a prepaid sim. I rented a portable wifi pod when I was in Japan so I didn't need to use data.
I just use a mobile WiFi device that automatically works (an internal smart SIM handles everything) in just about any country I will be traveling to. I turn off my phone's data and cellular service and make/receive all calls, use data, etc through the mobile WiFi device. I have unlimited up to 4g data for up to 5 simultaneous devices for $100/month. If I want to use the WiFi device less frequently, I can buy 'day passes' for $9/day or buy a preset amount of data as needed. To me, it's definitely easier to handle everything this way - and definitely cheaper. There are several mobile WiFi devices to choose from. I use one from SkyRoam.
Google Fi service... $20 per month +$10 per GB of data. You only pay for the data you use, and anything over 6GB is free. Works in most of the countries I have visited and can use various carriers. Data and calls on Wifi are free, two weeks in Ireland cost me (really for the month) less than $40 and I did not have to bother with swapping sim cards
Jesus! Can you get any more complicated? If you are a US citizen, just get the damn Google Fi for the time you're traveling! It will work over 200 countries! No need to find a local sim data card.
Prepperjon you don’t have to pay extra! If you own your phone, meaning your not on a payment plan, you service carrier will unlock the phone for free, or just buy the phone directly from the manufacturer and it comes unlocked.
Basically, if your provider doesn't have international services, make sure your device is unlocked, so that you can put in a SIM card, and even if your provider did have international services, you should still buy your phone unlocked because no carrier has LTE speeds in all countries
two more points, disable data to none essential apps manually and you can save/preload all the maps where you are travelling in google maps and where it will not use the data plan to load the maps because it is pre loaded
What? I have Verizon and for the last few years when I went to Europe I switched out my SIM card and put in one I got there and it was fine, can at&t not do that?
Similar thing happened to me when I went to Mexico. I called and set up an international plan, but apparently it hadn't taken effect. Luckily I called to verify before I left and then they turned it on and I was good to go.
You always have great videos! I have downloaded Viber and also had my husband, my family in the US to do the same. I turn off my data before I step off the plane and Aldo change my email so that it doesn't automatically push new emails.
t- mobile when I went to tokyo and singapore for 2 weeks I took a smart phone and a tablet. no extra charges of any kind on my bill. thanks t-mobile. did use wi-fi for the tablet now and then
I see these videos made by “professional travelers” who use Verizon and AT&T talking about how much they “save” by buying their carriers’ international roaming plans and I just cringe. If you understand how T-Mobile’s international roaming works, it is not necessary to spend one red cent extra to roam overseas. Yes, it is possible to pay more for free calls and a high-speed data bucket but it is not necessary. I find it quite easy to get by with the free low-speed roaming data.
Awesome video! I subscribed. How would you recommend exchanging dollars into euros in Paris, Stuttgart, Munich, etc. if my American ATM card charges fees and foreign transaction fees? I'm leaving next week so unfortunately I don't have time to sign up for an ATM card that doesn't charge foreign fees. Is the next best thing going inside a bank in Paris and asking a teller to exchange my dollars to euros? Thanks.
The EU's ban on roaming charges come in force in 2017. Until then you can pick up many good deals from European carriers; I'm on 3 in the UK and you can get free unlimited data in some countries around the world, and you can buy a Euro Data Pass for £5 a day for countries not covered. When on unlimited datat (check terms as some have limits but call it unlimited) or wifi it's worth trying to make calls through VOIP alternatives such as Skype where rates should be cheaper and free if you just use your Skype to Skype call.
I will be in Buda Pest for 3 months. I have an unlocked ATT Iphone. I expect to buy a chip and service and switch back when I return. Cheaper than paying for ATT's international service.
Thank you for this great video. I am lucky to live in Europe and roaming costs are limited in the EU. So although it is more expensive then in my home country, it is affordable to use your phone for a quick phone call home. I am traveling quite a lot, so I have plan that gives me 200 minutes to call from my home country to other countries in the EU (and a few more in Europe) and to call home or any number in the country I am currently in, while I am traveling within the EU. Same goes for text messages. Unfortunately data is not in this package, but my provider has extra packages for traveling. They offer a few different ones (a combination of phone minutes, messages and data, only texts, only calls or only data). They are quite affordable and only last for a couple of days. Therefore they are quite for occasional traveling. I do have two other sim cards (Germany and the UK), because I am there more often and I can reuse them. I mostly use them for data.
I disagree a bit. Having spent most of a decade living and traveling in China and elsewhere there are a few shortcuts to avoid repeating the same mistakes. First, just get an iPhone. Get a much cheaper, say, 6sPlus model for ~$350. Why? Compatibility! Because Google's Android is crippled. Even with a VPN, the Play Store downloads fail in places like China. And note the difference in fdd and tdd LTE protocols... I love my English OS flashed Chinese compatible OnePlus phone - but trust me, just go with an iPhone for a mature established functional set of tools. Second, get a CHEAP local SIM data card. If you have Android, take advantage of the many dual SIM variants for a second data only SIM. Use SKYPE on your phone/computer! Screw the major carriers! With a cheap data SIM, the Skype Out & Skype In programs (note they keep changing the names) that gives you a phone number and allows you to receive and make calls to phones anywhere in NA for a total of about $70 a year is great.
Thanks for your great tips, they are spot on!!!! I tend to use a lot of data wherever I go so I usually keep an old Verizon iPhone 5S to re-chip wherever I go. When Verizon came out with their new travel pass plans about a year ago I decided to start using their daily plan for trips that last a week or less. it kicks on automatically when I use the phone abroad, and costs $2 per 24 hours in Canada and Mexico, and $10 per 24 hour everywhere else and you get to use your regular plans data, text, and minutes to call and text to and from anywhere in the US, and anywhere in the country you are in. It sounds expensive but on short business trips to Europe, I found that the cost was worth it for the convenience. Chris
As a general question, is wifi international? For example i have old phones that are probably locked (because i bought them from my provider) that i no longer have plans for but they still connect to wifi in the US. Wpuld i have to get a special sim card just to use free wifi abroad?
Yes wifi is an international standard. If your wifi works in the US , it will work in Europe or every were else. Normally you don't need a sim card to use wifi. But be aware there are different generation (speeds) of WIFI, also sometimes different frequencies, and different encryption standards. But that's also the case in the US. My advice would to use that phone mainly via wifi and use a local prepaid sim card in case there is no wifi signal available; Sometimes you can have sweet deals for data only plans
US and most of EU have very expensive data and call plans. I live in Romania and for only 5 $ per month i have unlimited national cals 3000 minutes with western civilisation + china and japan including mobile calls , 5 Gb of internet and between 0.02 and 0.05 cents per minute in rooming also internet in rooming is very cheap and even free if i am in Spain or Italy.
What are your thoughts on things like Teppy (personal wifi hotspot you can rent)? Have you ever used one? Would you recommend one? Do you know any others besides Teppy that you could recommend? My sister and I will only be in some countries for 2 days so it seems silly for us to get new sims for each country and our carrier (t-Mobile) said that adding an international plan would cost us triple what we are on now. Her phone is locked so I don't think the international sim would work either. :(
Meghan Butcher there's a sim card called World Sim that is one Chip that works in over 100 countries and automatically connects to the towers in whatever country you are. You can add as much credit as you'd like to it. There are other brands too. Just type in travel sim in Google and search to the one that best suits you need Edit: just saw the part about get phone being locked.... So it won't work if it is but as long as your up to date with your bill TMobile would unlock the phone for you. When I was on TMobile the international plan was included in my plan but it's my understanding the changed their plans again so that sucks cuz it was really the best plan out there as far as big named phone companies
The last time I was in The UK I opted to lease a cellphone because my cell provider in the states (Sprint) had compatibility issues. The cost was reasonable enough. Regretfully the service was unacceptable. A day before I departed for London I received an E Mail from the provider stating that for whatever reason the phone would not be available for pick up at Heathrow Airport. They offered to deliver the phone to my hotel at Canary Wharf. Upon arrival there was no phone sent. I finally got the phone the phone the next day and experienced nothing but problems from the moment it was in my hands. Contacting customer service was a nightmare (Thursday) and since Friday was a bank holiday I did not get any assistance until the following Monday because there offices were closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I think the concept of leasing a cellphone is a good option but the level of service from this provider was seriously lacking. I got nothing but attitude from upper management and they offered nothing to try to make things. right other than a refund for my service plan in addition to a reimbursement for the numerous phone calls I had to make from my hotel room to customer service. it is called TEP wireless. A voice them.
Not sure about Europe but was just in New Zealand and Australia. Verizon charged $10 for days you use your phone only. Pretty much unlimited calls to US and texts. I only used internet when we had wifi and really used my Chromebook for that. I had to call the US in the middle of the night from Australia and amazingly, it didn't seem any different from a local call in the US. I also have an unlocked flip phone I take to Aruba. For 20 or 30 dollars you get something like 35 minutes calling to the US plus a local phone number and unlimited local phone calls. You can also add to it via the internet.
Since 2017, there are no Roaming changes inside the European Economic Area (EEA), which is EU and some other countries. You now can buy a SIM card in one and use it in any other. You have to research a little which those countries are. For instance, Andorra is a tiny country between two big EU states (France and Spain), but it's not in EEA, so the roaming charges are "normal". My carrier blocked my Roaming few minutes in after reaching €50 in charges. I couldn't use it for the remaining of my trip and had to buy a local SIM in Barcelona. Also, Switzerland is not in the EEA, and some other Eastern countries.
just took tmobile to sweden nd spain no need to turn off data roaming lol since they offer free roaming checked email, fb,twitter, driving directions came back home to the US my bill was still the same didnt go up at all
If the wifi box is unticked, ie turned off, will that stop my phone from connecting to any data? I never use my phone for internet or wifi, it is too small and too difficult to connect. I only use it as a phone....and clock, and alarm clock..... not for wifi, and I don't want it accidentally using my credit for connecting with any random wifi.
In the eu, just get 1 card and stock it up, it should be free roaming in the eu in 2017. i have a prepaid sim but i can get unlimited data @128kb/s for €7.50/month (yes its slow but its worth it if you travel around the eu)
I'm traveling to Amsterdam soon and I've enjoyed your videos. I know this video is a little old but Verizon 4G phones have been unlocked since they acquired 4G LTE.
3:00 You can also call your cell provider and get your phone unlocked that way. I know Verizon 4G LTE phones are unlocked out of the box and att has an online portal where you can put in your imei
Absurdicuss Most American carriers will either turn it on immediately or within a month or two of you starting service. Still, they often offer better rates if you sign up for an international package before you travel. If you aren't sure if you have international roaming on your account, just call your carrier.
You must make a new video about Europe. We don't have such thing anymore within the EU. All calls are at the same rates as at home, whenever a person is calling from in the EU.
MWB Gaming yep. I agree local SIMs are the best! I moved from Telstra to Vodafone. I only get charged $5 a day for unlimited use of my phone when abroad. Otherwise I always get a local SIM
@@markjfitt55 I managed to snag Telstra's Ultimate mobile plan about a week before they pulled it, which gives me unlimited calls, unlimited texting, and unlimited data within Australia, and unlimited calls, texts, and 10GB of data while roaming Going to be making full use of that plan when I go to Thailand next month
I know this is an old video ( great channel btw), still, the US prices are shocking: I pay around 2$ (usd) per month for unlimited calls inside the network + 100 mins to other networks + 2.5gigs of data from the Ukrainian Vodafone
I ended up using a lot of internet on my phone looking for routes to get around it would have been so much cheaper to take a taxi everywhere in berlin and faster
AT&T 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻 My last bill $300+ Even with activated Passport. After 4 days of not being able talk to them (and they cut me off, even their App didn’t work and could’t connect on-line) I FIRED them and went with Claro ! Went I got home I went with T-Mobile and a new #. I’d been a customer for over 15 years. They are so bright.
