iPhone in Europe

Apple told me my iPhone would not work in Europe.

I've used my iphone with no problems in Italy, Switzerland and Germany to make phone calls. Their phone service is much better than that in the US.

I've used the text messaging. Turned off the internet. It's when you get email that you spend the really big bucks.

Before my first trip with the iphone, I called AT & T to ask advise. I was told that if I kept my phone usage to under 20 min, I'd end up spending about the same as if I got the international plan....so I watched my minutes with the timer on the phone (reset it to zero before you leave so you can keep track)

Text messages are about .50 each one. Phone calls can be $1.99 a min.

If you can find FREE Wi-Fi, you can use the internet. It's if you use the EDGE network (it really doesn't work over there) that you get the big expense.

CALL AT &T and talk to an Apple rep for the best answers to all your questions. OR, you can surf AT & T's website for FAQ about international travel and phone usage.

I would have every possible question about every possible expense answered in writing before I would use my iphone in Europe. I thought I had the bases covered last summer with an international package. We used our iphone in the UK and France. We sent text messages and received e-mail with a few calls. We were there a month. I won't say how extravagently expensive it was, but there were 4 digits before the decimal!! This year I won't make that mistake.
Thomas

Ash, I'd suggest checking with AT&T in order to get a very clear idea of the voice and data roaming charges. I believer they have an "international roaming package" at small additional cost that provides slightly cheaper voice calls, but I'm not sure about data (E-mail and Internet).

In those locations where Wi-Fi is available, turning "off" the data portion (which uses the cellular network) and using Wi-Fi will be much less expensive. Sending text messages should also be cheaper, as this is using the older GPRS technology (as I recall, texts are about 60¢ per message (plus applicable taxes and fees of course).

Tom, I suspect the "sales associate" that told you the IPhone won't work in Europe is badly misinformed. As Thomas pointed out, the phone DOES work but is VERY expensive for data roaming.

Thomas, sorry to hear that you were nicked with such outrageous charges. There was a post here last year (I believe) relating the story of an enthusiastic IPhone user that surfed his way across Europe and found a $3000 bill waiting for him when he got home! It's unfortunate that the Cell Phone networks don't do a better job of explaining this to consumers. I'm sure Blackberry users face the same situation, but they may not be too concerned as for business users the cost is "tax deductible".

Cheers!

Thanks, everyone. Now that I know what to look for the AT&T website made more sense. They don't make it very easy to find out anything, but Ellen and Ken have it right. As long as you leave the international data roaming function turned off and use the free WiFi that most hotels provide one shouldn't incur any charges. If you do turn the data retrieval on, change the auto push to manual so the phone won't be updating without your knowledge. After hearing about Thomas's sad experience it may be wise to use it very very sparingly.

I've been doing research about using our iPhones in UK. It's extremely scary and unclear! It is stupid expensive to use data in Europe, while using WiFi is okay.

You know how to turn off International Data Roaming, which is good. You can also turn on Airplane Mode, which automatically turns off WiFi, but you can turn it on again. I've also read that you can take out your SIM card for fool-proofing, which basically turns your iPhone into an iPod Touch.

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/08/01/insane-international-iphone-roaming-charges/

Let me know what else you learn!

Thanks, Michelle. If I learn anything further I'll pass it along.

I took my iPhone to Spain last summer and purchased an international add-on plan for one month - it makes it more affordable, but it's still pricey. It does, I believe, give you a lot more room for data. (Another little trick they pull on you is they tell you to keep the international deal until you're absolutely sure you've been billed for ALL minutes used overseas - otherwise, if you cancel and you still had a couple of days of usage billed on your next bill, they'll stick you for the original, extremely high price! So just to be sure, you're probably going to need to have the service for two billing cycles - nice, huh?)

Also, there's an iPhone app (or there was) called Tru Phone - that provide VOIP(voice over internet protocol) on your phone - so you can make calls for free via WiFi. I didn't have this when I went so Spain, so I'm not sure how well it works, but it's worth looking into.

Skype for iPhone has just been released!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=304878510&mt=8