We are traveling to the Loire Valley Oct. 16, 2014, and are interested in any information that will help in using the iphone 5c and 5s. We were told by US Cellular that the phones are "world phones" and should work. However, no one is able to explain the actual procedures and needs for the phone. So, has anyone had any experience in getting an iphone from the US to work in France? Also, which provider is best, SFR or Orange?
Thanks for your help and information.
Regards,
John
There is no procedure. If it is a GSM compatible phone with International Roaming enabled, which is effectively what your phone company means by '"world phones" and should work', then just turn it on when you land, as you do at home. It will automatically pick a provider, you shouldn't have to do anything.
We have ATT and have no problem with our iPhones working in Europe. When you turn it on when you land it will search for the network on its own. Mine picked up Orange or Bouygues depending on where we were. I don't think I had a choice on the provider. Make sure to turn off your data before arriving unless you buy a plan through US Cellular. The rates are ridiculously high if you don't. My dad forgot to turn his data off in Canada one time and ended up with $300+ bill just from emails coming in. He didn't use the web or send any emails.
My iPhone worked fine in Australia. You can add on an additional international plan for very little. Tell your provider you will be in France and they will only activate it for the dates you are there. I think I paid $4.00 for two weeks in Australia. This is to prevent exorbitant roaming fees if you have to make a call. Remember Skype calls are free and wi-fi is everywhere. I just turned off cellular the whole time and turn off automatic fetching of email.
I used an iPhone 5 in France this past May and had no problems. I signed up for Verizon's global voice and data plans but used wifi whenever possible to save on data usage. Also, in addition to turning off cellular, turn off the "push" setting in the "Fetch New Data" in "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" Setting and then check "manual" at the bottom of the page. This will ensure that the phone does not automatically download email if cellular was left on by mistake. One final note of caution - to all iPhone users - do NOT upgrade your phone's operating system to iOS 8.02 - they are having major problems with wifi, Bluetooth, etc. Even after two versions, iOS 8 is problematic. I read a few posts on various web sites and they suggest not upgrading until Apple fixes these problems (and releases iOS 8.1).
Thanks so much to all for taking the time to respond. This was very helpful.
John
I just got back from Paris. I used my Verizon Iphone with no problem. Verizon advised me to buy a minutes plan (to halve the per minute price of international calls) and a data plan. I told them the hotel had Wi-FI and that I didn't expect to use the phone anywhere else. So they advised me to turn off cellular data. Wi-Fi worked fine.
