iPhone from USA use in UK

It is not the Iphone but rather the plan you have with your mobile provider that matters.

I have a T Mobile plan that includes international text, data, and 50 cents/minute phone calls overseas so my Iphone works fine.

You won't have any problems from the phone. It all comes down to your US cellular provider. Assuming they have international roaming agreements, give them a call and ask how they will handle phone charges. For example, I have an iPhone 17 and have used it without issue in the UK several times this past year. My US carrier is T-Mobile ... unlimited texting and 5 gig of data is free for me in the UK. Phone calls are $.25 per minute. Since most of my communications are texting or via Wifi, I have never had a chargeable phone call.

We upgrade our Verizon for one month to a plan that includes international calls, texts and data. That way we can use our phones as we’re accustomed.

Thank you all. KG

If you want to tell us who your cell phone provider is, we can give you more information that is more specific.

I buy Verizon’s monthly plan when I travel, $100/monthly. Last year I added the daily rate for one day to have coverage on my last day in Ireland. I also occasionally use WhatsApp when in Europe. I almost never call an international number but when I do the cost is negligible.

I have Verizon and since I once signed up for it, it now automatically gives me their international daily plan (I think $10/day) when I first use my phone anywhere in Europe. I don't have to notify them ahead of time. I don't usually stay more than a week or two, so that plan works fine for me and I can send and receive calls using my normal number from the States.

I don’t have any information on prices for sims or e-sims here in the UK but those numbers in the last two posts sound huge to me.

I spent 9 nights in Georgia on a cycling holiday in September and paid £5.25 for an e-sim to cover the whole trip with calls, messages and 10GB of data, way more than I needed. Obviously things might be more expensive coming into here but $100 a month?!

I di have a UK SIM (with Giffgaff) mainly because I need a local number for people to call me on for work, but if I didn't use that, I would just use roaming - I pay the equivalent of £35 a YEAR for roaming, including 100 minutes of normal voice calls. If I do go over the limit, I can buy another pack. USD100 a month sounds very expensive.

I want to answer the question why some of us will pay Verizon’s monthly or daily rate. By doing so we keep our US phone number, nothing changes.
As we age I need to keep things easy for my husband. I travel solo. If he needs to contact me, he knows my cell phone number. I call him every night usually using Google Voice or he calls me on my cell number from the landline. Complaining about his lack of technology knowledge will not change him so after 56 years he is who he is.
There are other people with aging parents or other family issues who need to be readily, easily available for whatever reason. eSIM just adds an international phone number into the mix and can be confusing.

Thank you!
I’m closing the topic now.

Kj5962, you might want to leave the thread open if you think it will help others.
Have a great trip!

Getting the e-sim that I did in Georgia had no effect on my usual phone number. I spoke to my wife every day whilst away using my regular number. I'm 73 and I seemed to cope.

It’s the opposite scenario, using iPhone to call the U.K. Yesterday, I used my free Google Voice phone number to call a hotel in York. The account is free, you set up your own number, and for inter-country-U.S. calls it is free. To call internationally, you have to put any dollar amount on file. You can also look up what the charge per minute will be. When you call, it notifies what the charge per minute is. My charge? $0.01 per minute, which beats the $50 charge ATT nailed me with the last time I called the U.K. from the states.

I've used Google Voice before like that and found it very efficient and inexpensive.

We have iphones (14, ios18 final version, no need or desire for any of the "features" of newer phones/ios, better things to do with the money) and Tmobil Magenta plan. Free text whilst abroad, 5gb data, US$0.5/min talk. We never access the latter apart from rare occasions when the party we need to reach can't be reached via text, Wifi-calling (with a VPN), or whatsapp (my spouse...I personally won't have any Meta app on my phone). Never saw the need for an eSim despite the fervence with which they're shilled by influencers. Or perhaps "because of" moreso than "despite".

GPB, not sure if you're in the US, but if so, mt understanding is US iPhone 14 models are actually eSIM only...

Simon, that is true. That was the first US iPhone to only use eSIMs.

However, I'm fairly certain that GPB is in the UK, based on some other posts I've seen of theirs (and note the use of the word "whilst"). 😊 The European iPhones had one eSIM and one physical SIM slot.

By eSim I meant the various branded ones who serve as paid sponsors for the many travel influencers on Youtube who then insist we all need to purchase for traveling abroad in addition to our native carriers. I had no idea the term eSim is also the generic name for the technology my iPhone uses to connect with Tmobil as well.

It is those independent eSim companies' products I've no use for.

Never saw the need for an eSim despite the fervence with which they're shilled by influencers. Or perhaps "because of" moreso than "despite".

I suppose I understand this perspective, and I'm certainly no fan of "influencers." Then again, what else is an influencer but someone who offers their opinion and attempts to monetize the process? The utility of, say, an Airalo or Nomad cell phone data plan is neither enhanced nor diminished if someone yammers about it on TikTok.

I have found short-term local data plans such as these to save me lots of money and to have provided me with smoother and more enjoyable travel experiences. Others are free to demur for whatever reasons.

Not to speculate too much on where anyone is based, but if someone is using T Mobile they're not based here. T Mobile hasn't existed here in over a decade since they merged with Orange and became EE.

I don't understand the complaints about using eSIMs. They are so inexpensive and easy to use! And much better than the "old days" of having to find wifi everywhere you go. I also feel a bit shocked when I see how much people in the US are paying for their monthly mobile bill. For less than £10/month here you can get unlimited minutes/texts (not that anyone uses those since we do most things over WhatsApp), lots of data (like 30 GB) and this often includes roaming as well. My plan includes free roaming across all EU countries and a (somewhat random) selection of other countries, which includes the US.

No objection to those proprietary eSims touted by influencers. We simply already have an extremely-affordable senior plan which when one "crunches the numbers" so-to-say, obviates the additional expense of a proprietary eSim whilst allowing us to keep our home numbers as well. Were that not the case then a proprietary eSim would likely be useful...just as in days of yore (been interested in world-travel since 50 years) we used to purchase proprietary physical sims for our (unlocked) iPhones at a kiosk upon arrival in Europe...and in days of even more yore, purchased cheap phones equipped with Euro-friendly plans prior to our departure.

If you're paying $1000 for a plane ticket, $200 night for a hotel room, $200 for a train ride, $50 for a meal beyond a greasy pile of fish and chips then what does it really matter if you chose to pay an extra $1 per day to upgrade your existing phone plan to an international plan to enjoy the convenience of using your own phone number tethered to life back home? Seems like there's better ways to save money.

More like an extra $120 per month, x2 persons, x2 trips per year = $480. No thanks, I'll use my $41/ month Tmo (total), plus an occasional $5 for some cheap esim data. And use my normal phone number doing it.

And the esim companies like Airalo, are not "influencers" or "shills", they are
very reputable resellers of cell data at more affordable prices. As was just mentioned, it's appalling how much money the big U.S. carriers squeeze out of Americans.

I'm slightly confused by the use of the term "proprietary" above to refer to eSIMs specifically. Isn't the SIM with your local mobile provider also proprietary, just belonging to a different company?

You can absolutely use your own phone number and an eSIM at the same time (if you have an iPhone, at least). When I use an eSIM for travel I also keep my usual SIM turned on, but with the data roaming off. This means if someone were to call or text my number I would still receive it.

Anyway, no one should feel pressured to adopt any specific type of technology but I think it's important to at least understand it so you can make an informed decision.

Cat VH, well said. Learning all this new stuff can be very useful.

Regarding using cheap esim data for wifi calling, that seems to be a great advantage newer iPhones have over my Samsung S24 (US version). I have the latest Android 16, but I can't find a way to do that. Maybe Android will catch up someday. Or someone here can teach me how...

Samsung phones have supported eSims since the S20 was released 6 years ago. The S20 and S21 needed a UI update for US models, but since the S22 they support eSims straight out the box.

https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/how-to-install-nano-sim-card-and-esim-on-the-galaxy-s24-series/

Agreed, my Samsung is eSIM compatible, as are most newer Android phones.

I think travelerguy may be referring specifically to WiFi calling.

acraven is right, I'm referring to wifi calling.
As an example, if I'm in a remote area with no Tmobile coverage, I can't text home. If I use my tablet with a Roamless esim, I can activate a wifi hotspot with Verizon data. Then I can connect my phone to the wifi hotspot, activate wifi calling, and presto, I can now text or call with my normal Tmobile number.

That's a bit of hassle. At the same time, my phone has a Roamless esim, but I can't use it's data as a wifi hotspot.

My understanding is that newer iPhones can do that.

Another example is that someone with a very cheap cellphone plan (with no international roaming), could use wifi calling to call back from Europe with wifi calling. If they had a new iPhone, all they would need is a Roamless, Airalo, or Bcengi esim, and they would not need their hotel's wifi to call.

Cat VH will be interested to know I have a "backup" phone with an "Ultramobile" sim card. It is only sold on Ebay, and it costs all of $ 3.00 per month. It includes 100 texts, 100 minutes, and 100 mb. of data. It does international roaming, on the Tmobile associated networks, but there is a small charge per text or minute. So it's a perfect backup for me.

Many of you are thinking, "big deal, just use Whatsapp or Google Voice". True, but a lot of us want to communicate with the normal number our parents and friends will recognize.