Cell phone/Wi Fi reliability

You can turn your phone to airplane mode and use wi-fi only in Europe. I'd honestly be worried that somehow it would get turned back on by accident and there would be exorbitant charges from Verizon for roaming data etc. For example, I had a Verizon phone made by Motorolla and if I accidentally hit the power button in my pocket, the phone would reboot and no longer be in airplane mode. There is a risk involved taking a phone without an international data plan. It is really up to you if you want to keep tabs on your phone for your entire trip. You can use an app like " WiFi finder" to find hotspots along the way. Wifi access/coverage is improving with each passing year, but you definitely can't plan on having WiFi everywhere you go.

In my experience, most flip phones don't take sim cards, but without knowing the make/model its hard to say.

Take your current phone to a T-Mobile store and see if it is compatible with their network. They can put you on a 1 month (no contract) unlimited data/texting plan that will give you 3G coverage in almost any place you go in Europe. I believe they also pay to get you out of any existing contracts with a competitor (if that promotion is still running anyway).

My phone will re-set (taking it off airplane mode) if you power down and then back up.

I take my Verizon phone and use it the same way (airplane mode and WiFi). Mine does not have European bands, though, so I run no risk of using data - it won't work as a phone or for texting except on WiFi.

I used my Verizon phone (android) and tablet in airplane mode, with free wifi, and had very little problems. Wifi is everywhere now, and I did what you want to do - post on Facebook! Yes, Verizon international plan is expensive.

I did get a sim card from Eurobuzz ($9) for emergencies, but rarely used it. It was good to have for the occasional call to a hotel.

Okay, thanks for all of the good information. I did try putting my phone in airplane mode and powering it off and on and it seemed to stay in airplane mode. But I'm a bit concerned about the roaming charges as well so I think that I will visit my Verizon store and try to get more information to start with (they were not much help on the phone).

Again, thanks for the ideas/input!

If you're really concerned about accidentally running up roaming charges, you can ask Verizon about putting your phone on vacation hold -- can't be used to call, text or for data but you CAN use WiFi when there is a connection.

I put my phone on vacation hold, can still use the camera and other non-data features, check and send email when I have wifi.

I am not sure if this will help or not, but Verizon just lowered all their international call rates if you have a 4G phone. You can sign up for a 30 day deal International plan now per place like Italy and cancel after you get back (Be aware Sicily and Italy ARE two countries per Verizon's current plan.). If you are only going to one, two or three countries it's really a good deal if like us you have to phone access while away; anymore and it's not so good, but still may be worth it if need to get business calls in more places. Also we use WhatsApp (It's free!) to text and send pictures to family. You can download it at WhatsApp.com and have your family and friends download it and install it. Works great with my kids traveling all over the earth.
Kathi

Also as a side note I received this recently from Verizon which may be why they lowered the rates:
Effective 6/24/15, we are improving how your International Services work on your 4G device(s) while roaming outside the United States on a GSM network.

Currently, customers with 4G world phones can send or receive text and video messages in both GSM and CDMA markets. Beginning 6/24/15, Verizon Wireless will update these customers’ accounts to allow them to also place outbound calls to numbers both within the country that the subscriber is traveling in, as well as back to the US. This change applies only to 4G world phones, 3G devices will continue to operate as they do today.

Please note, to block your company’s subscribers from making such calls and incurring international roaming fees while traveling outside the United States, you can take the following steps by 6/24/15:

Thanks for telling me about the the vacation hold! I'll check on that along with the new Verizon rates.

I'm still going to check on whether this old sprint phone that I have is locked in case I want to get a sim card but I'm not hopeful of getting help since I no longer have a sprint account.

Thanks again for the input!

We were in Italy for 30 days in May 2014 and all the B&Bs and hotels that we stayed at had WiFi that I used to download email. Only one B&B I had to go to the lobby to get the WiFi.

We were in Italy for 30 days in May 2014 and all the B&Bs and hotels that we stayed at had WiFi that I used to download email. Only one B&B I had to go to the lobby to get the WiFi.

We just returned from Italy and I'm a workaholic! So we got the Verizon temporary international plan for $40. I think you get 100 Mb of data and 100 minutes of calls, plus 100 outgoing text messages. All income text messages are free. Anything after 100 Mb of data, they charge you $25 for additional 100Mb.

We have iPhones and I think I ended up paying $65 for the 2 weeks we were in the country. I was diligent to turn the phone into airplane mode when I was using it. It really helped and well worth the money for me.

Thanks again for the suggestions! Kevin, that actually sounds like a good deal as long as I upload pictures while the phone is in airplane mode/free wi fi (which eats up data quickly). I think that I'm mostly just worried about needing to make/receive an emergency call or text from home along with being able to post pictures for friends and family. I'll be working some but can do most of it via email. I'll check into the $40 verizon international plan!

On my Galaxy S5 (Verizon) I can go into settings and under CONNECTIONS go to Data Usage and turn off Mobile data (uncheck box)
I will be using my smartphone only when WIFI is available. Camera and audioguides work without data on.

Sue,

You need to understand the difference between CDMA and GSM. All Verizon/Sprint phones are CDMA, and unless your specific phone is GSM enabled with a SIM card, like an iPhone 6, it won't work in the rest of the world. Only the USA and Canada can use CDMA phones.

I think that I understand that I either need to keep my Verizon phone on airplane mode to take photos and use wi fi when it's available or make sure that my phone is unlocked if I want to purchase a sim card in Italy. Am I missing something else? Please let me know! I've been to Europe three other times and have never used a phone so I'm somewhat clueless. Thank you!!

As Stephen was pointing out, before you can decide whether or not to use your own phone on an international plan, or get a SIM, or anything else, you first have to make sure it's a GSM phone. If it's not, it can only be used on WiFi for apps and web browsing when you are in a WiFi area. You won't be able to use it for calls (or texts, unless you have a texting app).

All Verizon LTE smartphones made within the last year or so are GSM and CDMA capable

Thanks for all of the good information. In searching the internet I found out that my Verizon smartphone is GSM capable (I also located the removable sim card) so I believe that I will purchase a sim card when I get to Italy. Again, I appreciate all of the input as I am not a technology person at all.

Sue,

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but you'll also need to ensure that your phone is unlocked. If not it won't be capable of using SIM cards from any other network.

Oh, thank you. I'm planning on visiting my Verizon store so hopefully, I can double check that.