Cell phone

When my daughter was doing a study abroad in Norwich England we used WhatsApp to stay in touch.

On my most recent trip, I left my iPhone ( 5s) on 'Airplane mode' the whole time & was able to communicate with my family via FaceTime (audio or video) whenever Wi-Fi was available (our hotel).

As long as your children have iPhones, you can send iMessages (texts) & you can also send photos via iMessage or email ( you'll need WiFi)

You'll need to setup/enable FaceTime on all your iPhones for FaceTime to work.

Enjoy your trip!

I did as Prillsila did, when my daughter back packed around Europe we both just texted and face times when she had wifi( which is easy to find) . And when we did a month in Europe this past May did same thing. As long as the people you want to stay in contact with have an iPhone it's easy. We never got a plan .

cynthia,

If you're willing to limit your text messaging to Wi-Fi areas, you could certainly place the phone in "Airplane Mode" and then separately switch the Wi-Fi back "on". Texts sent with Viber or similar services using Wi-Fi are free. AFAIK, there's no way to switch off calls but allow texts, as they use the same part of the cellular system. There are also privacy options in the iPhone menus, so you'll be able to block callers or whatever. How often do you receive the nuisance calls?

Another option would be to use one of the AT&T travel plans, but leave the cellular data switched "off". That way you'd be able to send or receive texts at any time, whether Wi-Fi was available or not. However, you'd still be available to the nuisance callers unless you blocked them.

Call ATT and ask about their passport plan. It sounds like the perfect solution for you. This forum is not the most up to date for technical information as shown by the responses in this thread.

Richard,

"This forum is not the most up to date for technical information as shown by the responses in this thread."

I don't think that's a fair comment. The responses so far (including mine) have tried to provide useful information to the OP, but with limited information it's difficult to know what the best solution is for each question, as everyone's circumstances, technical skills and budget are different. If you have more "technical information" to offer, I'm sure the OP would appreciate it.

Thanks everyone, This has been quite helpful!

Cynthia

Sorry Ken, I missed the part where you mentioned ATT also. Leaving your phone on airplane mode out of fear of running up charges is sort of ignoring all the options travelers have today. My next trip we'll have my wife's phone on ATT and I'll have a local sim for my unlocked smartphone. Planning everything online means I need access to getting online at times and many travel apps require data not just wifi. How else will I be able to play Pokemon Go in Paris?

Look at the ATT Passport plan. It works really well if using data is not a high priority. You will have unlimited texts and can send pictures. $30 for a month overseas.

Richard,

No problem. This is a frequent question and often difficult to answer as there are so many variables - which phone is being used, which network the OP is on, the costs of their networks roaming plans, the desired usage in Europe (basic or with data), whether the phone is unlocked, etc. There have been many comments here about easy roaming with T-Mobile plans, but if the traveller is with a different network, that won't be an option. Also this is a multi-national forum, so my knowledge of plans in other countries is somewhat limited.

On my last point, I was pleased to read today that a Court in Quebec has just authorized a class action lawsuit against the cellular networks there, concerning the exorbitant fees for roaming (both international and U.S.) that they've been charging over the years. Hopefully that decision will have some influence on roaming charges that all of us have to pay in Canada. As usual, we don't get any breaks - http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/crtc-phone-study-1.3717093

While pondering this thread, I read a recent review of Project Fi, which is intriguing. Buried in the article is a reference to a data-only SIM at $10 per gigabit. http://www.computerworld.com/article/3056595/mobile-wireless/project-fi.html

Bruce,

Project Fi is completely useless for many people, as it only works with a very narrow range of Google Nexus phones. It's also not an option for those of us that live outside the U.S.

Ken,
You're right that this comes up a lot and because of the variables there is no one right answer. For me...I bought my current Android phone outright and unlocked with no carrier's preloaded software. I'll buy a local sim in Italy and France so I have data. I won't use wifi for checking my bank balance or any other sensitive information, call me paranoid. I can also tether my tablet to my phone for any secure transactions or on the fly travel changes.

Cynthia,
If you have an iphone upload pictures over wifi at night from your hotel to icloud and share them with people back home. If you have an Android use Google photo to upload pics over wifi.

After you get an ATT plan for travel turn Mobile Data on only when you need Internet and there is no wifi, use it sparingly for email and an occasional map and checking you bank balance.

Richard,

I agree, there's no "one size fits all" answer for cell phone questions, and everyone needs to do their homework and find the best solution that works for them. I use an iPhone and although I recently got it unlocked, I'll still be travelling on a roaming plan with my home network this year. I need to be easily accessible from home for several reasons and using a local SIM just won't work for me. Having to take time to find a cell shop, choose from a variety of calling plans, register (in some countries) and top-up on a regular basis is such a nuisance and something I can't be bothered with. I prefer to have a working phone as soon as I step off the plane. In the overall budget for a large trip, the cell costs are not a huge problem.

I have used travel SIM's in the past, but their data allotments currently leave a lot to be desired. The travel SIM I used in the past provided a local access number that was mapped to the travel SIM, so I was able to forward my calls to that before leaving. Anyone calling my home number reached me via the travel SIM. The roaming plan with my home network is a bit expensive, but it sure does work well.

As you mentioned in your previous post, I tend to leave the Cellular Data blocked unless I need it and use Wi-Fi as much as possible. I always pre-arrange all my bill payments so typically don't have to do any online banking during trips. However, if that does become necessary I switch off the Wi-Fi and use LTE / 4G as that's encrypted and therefore much lower risk it can be hacked. My primary financial institution has an App, and that provides quicker and easier access than using the regular internet browser, and I can check balances without logging in.

As you've probably found, the picture is constantly changing and it's a challenge to keep up with it.

@Ken: While Project Fi is not available in Canada, it might be a viable option for some folks in the U.S. The purchase price for required devices start at $200, so savings can be racked up quickly given the rates charged by AT&T and Verizon. The utility of a phone with unlimited texts and 1GB data for $10USD, useful in 135 countries is not something to dismiss out of hand. My sense is, at least in America, that much of infrastructure costs have been paid and we should see more rates competition. Significant developments include porting of telephone numbers (allowing one to switch carriers and keep their beloved number) and major erosion of lengthy expensive contracts which include large discounts on new phones (planned obsolescence).

Bruce,

Even if I lived in the U.S., I'd still be reluctant to toss my existing phone to get Project Fi as I'm quite comfortable with the way my iPhone operates and I also have a considerable investment in Apps. I suspect there are others who won't switch for similar reasons, regardless of the benefits of Fi.

I've watched this stuff for a long time and what may happen is that when Project Fi reaches a certain size (number of customers), the cell networks will introduce pricing to complete with them. Project Fi is an MVNO and doesn't actually operate (or have to pay for) the network infrastructure, and I'm sure the cell networks (which do have to pay for ongoing maintenance and network upgrades) aren't going to allow them to siphon too many customers away. Since Profect Fi relies on cellular networks to provide some of their service, the network operators may simply start charging them more for that access.

I have traveled a lot in Europe and here's what I've done in the past since I find AT&T's international plans to be ridiculously expensive for the amount of data you get:

1) Buy a local sim card. Requires you to have an unlocked phone. I was recently in London and the minute I got into town, I went straight to an EE store and bought a 10 pound sim that lasted me the entire time. I want to say you get something like 500MB or 1GB of data? I think 2GB was something only like 15 pounds. You will then be able to text your family using an app like WhatsApp anytime. Unlimited texts but to phones in Europe however should not be an issue if you use texting apps like WhatsApp or Viber where the texts are sent over data and not cellular. You should be able to find something similar in the countries you are visiting. When I traveled between countries I used the same sim, just made sure I topped up before I left. There are PAYG sims that allow for roaming between countries for very cheap rates.

2) Phone calls back to the States: They recently changed the plans but the European sims use to allow me calls to home for ridiculously cheap rates. This last time I ended up buying the Skype unlimited call plan. Over Wifi, I could call home as much as I wanted for only $3 per month. If you are there less than a month just make sure you cancel the subscription before the next billing cycle. Not sure if they still offer this but I think they do. You will not be able to receive calls but you can make outbound.

If you want to keep your sim, then yes you'll have to buy a plan from AT&T. It will be hard to regulate unwanted calls unless you set your phone to airplane mode which defeats the purpose of buying those Passport plans. Anyways hope this helps!

Cynthia,
With regard to getting expensive unwanted junk/scam calls while in Europe consider this. Give everyone of importance such as close family members, banks, and neighbors in your contact list the same ring tone. If you hear it, you'll know it could be important. If it is the default ring tone or another ring tone simply ignore the call. If it is truly legitimate and important they will most likely leave a voice message. If it is a junk/scam call probably not. Unwanted texts are a different matter altogether and I'm not sure how you can handle that. But at least they are usually pretty cheap -- depending on your plan of course..