Mobile phones in Europe

You must not have turned data "off".

The amount of date usage included in the ATT plan is quite small and you have to be very careful. We don't even bother with the ATT international package. My husband just makes sure data is "off" and uses the wifi for free. Phone calls cost slightly more than they would with the international plan, but we just keep the phone calls short.

judi,

As Lola mentioned, it sounds like your cellular data was still "on" and that was probably the bulk of your $500 charge. I'd suggest having a chat with a knowledgeable AT&T rep to see how you can reduce that. Did you make or receive a lot of calls while you were travelling? Keep in mind that smartphones typically have a lot of "background" applications, such as checking for E-mail, using location services or whatever, and that all uses data.

As I don't live in the U.S. I'm not overly familiar with AT&T pricing, but have heard from others here that the Passport plan is quite reasonable. If you leave your cellular data switched "off" unless absolutely needed, and use Wi-Fi for all internet access, your bills should be a lot cheaper.

While you could use a cheap phone purchased in France, that would only provide you with basic functions, which you could also achieve with your present phone with the data switched "off".

AT&T has a pretty good international plan that has recently gone into effect. It is $50 for a month, unlimited texting in and out, and some data. I have always used my phone while in Europe for emergency phone calls, but never used any data, only wifi. How can you keep track of what you use, so I don't risk it.

Every reference here to cell phones days to be sure to turn off the data. Many others have been charged far more. It is too bad they did not make you aware of that fact. The reason I want my own phone with my own number is for emergencies, and ease of use. The plan will cancel after 1 month unless you renew it... unlike previous where you had to call to stop it.

I just returned a few weeks ago from a trip to Italy and it all worked perfectly, and being able to text others in our party who had the same plan was great. Calls are still about $1.00 a minute, but I don't call unless emergency.

judi, we've traveled several times in Europe with AT&T international plans, and always turn off the data roaming. No surprises in our bill.

Just so you know---if you do not turn data off, your phone will use it to acquire things like email, etc., anytime you are not on wifi. So even if you do not open your email or use apps, it is using up data. It starts cranking away as soon as you leave the wifi area.

You can remove your SIM card and leave it at home. Then if your only visiting France you can purchase a SIM card there and prepay for your usage. It should be around $40 for a month.

TMobile data is free. It will be difficult to get a throw away phone and service that is more economical and certainly not easier. http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/simple-choice-international-plan-countries.html

"You can remove your SIM card and leave it at home. Then if your only visiting France you can purchase a SIM card there and prepay for your usage."

That will only work if your phone is unlocked. If the phone is "locked" to AT&T, you won't be able to use any other SIM cards.

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I knew that the cost of usage last year was my fault--operator ignorance, if you will. Not taking the time to turn off my data, I'm certain was the culprit. I have decided to purchase the Passport plan, but be more mindful and vigilant in turning off the data. Once again, I appreciate your help.

For those travelers who are tech-challenged, Rick finally posted a travel talk about mobile phones and other tech issues in Europe, see
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/travel-talks/mobile-device.

I once racked up a pretty large bill in a country that was not on the TMobile plan. I didn't think to check before I left. After the bill hit about $1000 TMobile called me to warn me. I told them I had no idea the country was not in the plan. My fault. 100% my fault. They still erased 75% of the bill without me asking. I wouldn't count on this happening but it does speak well for them.

Judi----note that once you turn data off, you should monitor the phone and make sure it stays that way. After we were in Venice for three weeks with no issues, we were in Venice, my husband turned his phone off at some point to save the battery. Apparently when he turned the phone back on, it defaulted to data "on" and he did not realize that. Fortunately ATT sent a warning by text message when his data usage got up to $100---it only took a couple of days. So that was the extent of our extra charges.

Our last trip to Italy he was careful and we incurred no extra charges at all.

It is really nice to keep your own phone and not have to get a new phone number, which you do with a local SIM card. We did that when we were in New Zealand a year ago because we wanted to be able to use the phone for navigation. The data package was attractive. But we had no idea what we faced in terms of hassles with the new phone number---his family could not call or text unless we gave it to them. And I think he was unable to access his contacts in the phone with the new SIM card in. Of course we still had email contact, but only when we were in wifi range in our hotel room.

Last trip (one month in Spain) I bought a very basic phone, SIM card, charger and minutes for 25 euros from Vodaphone. I bought it at a department store in Barcelona. Similar deals were available through Orange and, I'm sure, plenty of other carriers. You can get a phone at a kiosk in the airport, department stores downtown, phone stores downtown, or kiosks in shopping areas.

I used the phone to make local calls in Spain and it worked fine (8 euro cents a minute). I made at least one or two calls a day, for up to ten minutes each and ended up spending right at 50 euro. For calls home, I brought an Ipod touch and set it up with Skype to call landlines. I put $20 deposit down and had about $10 left when I got home.

I know a lot of people prefer to take their phone. It's possible the plans/phone companies are getting better. I gave up on the idea of using my phone before a trip to Scandinavia in 2010. At&T advertised rates "as low as" $1.99 per minute on international calls. When I looked at their actual rates it was something like 5.99 per minute in Denmark, Norway and Sweden and higher elsewhere (9.99 per minute in Russia). I also had to arm-wrestle the company to unlock my phone. They didn't want to do it and really foot-dragged at every step.

I finally decided the rates were too high and my phone would be no better than a paperweight if I got to Europe and it wasn't correctly unlocked. It was easier to just get a phone there.

Now I like to get a local SIM card for the country I'm in. My normal trips now are to one country only (earlier trips covered multiple countries) which works well with a local SIM. Typically, calls in the country where you buy the SIM are very cheap but you're still roaming when you go to another country.

So much has to be factored in when deciding the best approach for you. For me luxury and convenience aren't important at all. Time and expense are important so decisions I make are generally geared toward either saving time or money. I also like to travel light, so there is value for me in reducing my load wherever I can.

I will second the T-mobile plan. I used it last Sept, in Italy. Texting and data were free. Plus, calls .20 a minute. I never had to worry about data usage, at times it was slow, but I was only charged for the few calls I made. The plans for T-mobile are no contract, which makes switching easy.