mobile service in England (and Scotland) for a U.S. citizen

If you use your phone for voice calls as little as I do when overseas, you may not need an international plan. We use the free texting and free slow 2G speeds for data that comes with our plan. The few dollars we might spend on calls is less than we’d have to pay for a plan. We use WiFi for calls unless it’s essential.

Verizon has another option--$100 for 30 days. That's what i always use.

https://www.verizon.com/plans/international/international-travel/monthly-plan/

I have an iPhone 11, have successfully used an eSim card in Spain last year and New Zealand this year. You can set your phone under “settings/cellular” to keep your primary number for voice/text (and I try to use only when connected to wifi). Then set data to use your new esim card, then you can easily access maps and internet when away from Wi-Fi.

I bought mine over internet. Was maybe $20 some $ for 2 weeks in Spain. Various companies have different combinations of time and amount of data available. Google e-sim plus country to see options. . I received an email with a QR code after I bought it, use the QR code to activate, amazingly easy.

Main thing with Verizon is to make sure your travel pass is OFF, otherwise even when I was on Wi-Fi, my phone would connect with a tower, and I had just bought another travel pass. Trying to straighten out with Verizon was so frustrating. I ended up switching to a T-Mobile Magenta plan, which includes texting when overseas, and a small amount of data overseas. So far, combination of that and an e-sim card is working great.

Lauri, last year I spent 30 days in Germany and like you, did not want to fork over big bucks to Verizon for something that should (imo) be free. Instead I bought an Airalo eSIM data plan. It was $20 for 10Gb and 30 days. It was easy and worked perfectly.

The one thing about eSIMs is that most of them are data only, which I was fine with. I did not need to use my phone at all. There were times I called my family and friends but it was when I had wifi available. And then I used FaceTime audio or WhatsApp depending on what phones/apps they had.

And yes, eSIMs are usually either accessed with a QR code or by activating them from an app. It depends on the provider. I don't know what you're read in the forum, but here is a link to a previous post that might help - also a support link from Apple about eSIMs for iPhones.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/buying-an-international-esim-data-plan-for-your-regular-phone-with-esim-no-more-burner-phones

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209044

Carrie, $100 for a month is definitely better than $10 a day when I'll be there for three weeks. Thank you for directing my attention to that option, although I think a English SIM card would be even cheaper. Still, it's a more affordable option.

Jaimeelsebio, I should probably do a cost analysis of whether I got my money's worth for my TIM Italian Sim card that I bought for something like $45 last year for a two week trip in Italy, but I am dubious about whether Verizon has even slow 2G service. Previous to the last two European trips I took, I did not get any kind of alternative SIM card and just used WIFI when available, but I felt like I was really hobbling myself from taking advantage of what a data plan could offer me in terms of maps, train and bus schedules, etc. For example, this upcoming trip, I bought tickets to the Globe Theater for two different nights. They don't send the ticket until seven days in advance and you are expected to show it on your mobile phone. Now presumably I can take a screen shot or otherwise save it when the ticket arrives from the WIFI in my AirBnB, but that would just leave me feeling nervous as to whether I could actually access the tickets when the time came. FYI St. Martin in the Fields sent me a PDF I could print, which I did.

Liz, I found Settings/Cellular Data on my iphone. Sure enough, there is an Add eSim option which is presumably what I would click on once I buy an eSim card on the internet as you did. I am not sure what I would click on to implement what you did with your suggestion to set your phone under "setting/cellular" to keep your primary number for voice/text (using only when connected to wifi).

That would be great to be able to access text with my primary number. For my family, I have asked them to all have WhatsApp numbers, I send them my new European number and I use WhatsApp to communicate with them, but sometimes important texts have come in and I didn't them get them until I returned from my trip and reverted to my primary number.

Thank you Mardee, for the additional information. I think I am going to be fully competent now to take advantage of lower rates, travel happily, and communicate with home. There are so many ways to spend money while traveling. I like to save where I can.

Lauri

Apple has some info on dual SIM card use on its support pages

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-dual-sim-iph9c5776d3c/ios

I generally don’t need data immediately upon landing overseas. I like to wait until in town to get a SIM card in case I need some additional support. In the past I have used Vodafone and EE. Both have shops near Covent garden which is convenient to where I stay. EE plans currently start at £10. Not the cheapest but cheap enough for me.

https://shop.ee.co.uk/sim-only/pay-as-you-go-phones

The last I checked the UK telcos don’t offer esim on their prepaid plans. You could move your Verizon service to the esim which would free up the physical slot for a local one. An added advantage is that you don’t risk losing your home plan SIM card since it’s stored electronically.

Liz, could you clarify this? "Main thing with Verizon is to make sure your travel pass is OFF, otherwise even when I was on Wi-Fi, my phone would connect with a tower, and I had just bought another travel pass. Trying to straighten out with Verizon was so frustrating."

I bought an eSIM from Orange (have a French phone number) and I thought that all I needed to do was turn off the Verizon eSIM and turn on the Orange eSIM before turning off airplane mode and getting off the plane. You're saying there's still a chance I'd connect to a Verizon tower?

Also, Lauri, the Orange eSIM I purchased was $21.25 for 8gb data, 200 texts/30 min calls outside Europe (all calls/texts in Europe free). It's good for 14 days and can then be topped up if need be.

Thanks, Kristi. Orange eSim sounds really reasonable.

Lauri

I'll give a report next month when I get back and let you know how well it worked!

We're probably going to buy a SIM card for my husband's phone when we get there - his doesn't have eSIM and even though Orange's website says I can buy the same plan on a SIM card, their 'partners' either aren't selling the 8gb one or are selling it at 50% more than the Orange website says. I'm not 100% certain we need his phone to have wirless capabilities but I'd feel better if he did.

I believe Gifgaff posts sim card abroad.

Tariff in UK and Europe broadly is a lot more modest.

£10 will give you 20GB. 5G included too

https://www.giffgaff.com/help/articles/how-long-does-it-take-to-receive-my-new-sim

I found a You Tube video from Apple that shows how to use dual sim. I find pictures helpful. It looks like taking advantage of dual sim is the way to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lnEQLVOsH4

Lauri

Liz, could you clarify this? "Main thing with Verizon is to make sure
your travel pass is OFF, otherwise even when I was on Wi-Fi, my phone
would connect with a tower, and I had just bought another travel pass.
Trying to straighten out with Verizon was so frustrating."

Just to clarify. I was turning my primary SIM card "on" so I could get texts to that number, and using e-sim just for data. Because that primary SIM card was on (only in hotels on wi-fi), I guess it made contact a few times with a tower (even when I was on wi-fi), triggering a Verizon travel pass. I think if I had turned primary SIM off all the time, it would not have been an issue. I only turned it on while on wifi, to see if any texts.

As I have elderly parents, I didn't want to totally turn off the primary SIM card for 2 weeks.

my advice would be to get the $100 Verizon plan but only on one phone. The other use only on free wifi or get a data SIM card.

Whatsapp is great and fun but only works if the other party has it, sometimes you just need to make an old fashioned phone call.

Make sure you put your phone in airplane mode. Then use WiFi calling where you can. Know that often, UK online companies do not accept our NAmerican credit cards. You can buy vouchers from shops and use those tho (GiffGaff for example). But really, go to an Orange/Vodafone or whomever you want to use and they will set you up. NOT third party sellers. It is so simple, you will see that all the fumbling around won't be worth it.

Lauri,
one other thing I don't see if anyone mentioned, if you have an iPhone, you don't need an oyster card for the tube.

Under settings>wallet&apple pay, add a credit or debit card to "express transit card", then you can just hold your phone near the card reader at the turnstile on your way in and out, and it automatically adds the cost of the trip. It even limits charges per day to what they would be with the oyster card, and works for a few hours after the battery dies, if that unfortunate event happens while you are on the tube. Super convenient.

Actually no one needs an Oyster card anymore, tap and pay credit cards are the easiest way to go

Liz, I clicked on settings>wallet & apple pay, and sure enough a transit card option popped up. Listings for different transit options were listed (primarily options for use in China, plus a few others as well) but even using the search feature, I didn't find anything for London. Is that I just need to add a credit card to wallet & apple pay, and that's all I need to do to pay with my credit card to use the Tube system and London bus system (I've read about showing your iPhone to the reader at the turnstile)? I don't need a specific name for the transit system in London?

Here’s Apple support page regarding transit express. But basically yes. I have a credit card set up and no other transit cards. Tap and pay at the entrance and upon exit in London. Make sure to use the same method. So don’t mix and match phone, watch, credit card. And if you have a credit card with no foreign transaction fees use that one.

The nice thing about using a phone set up this way is that you don’t need to wake up or unlock your phone to use it. Just tap. Works great in London and NYC. Haven’t tried it anywhere else.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212171

I did the $100 for the month. Verizon credited my account for my regular monthly fee and then charged me for the other. So all in all really easy and less money than I thought.

I am currently in the Netherlands and just have my phone in airplane mode. I am using the wifi for my What’s app and other needs.