Emails

I can see and respond to my emails via a website, with no SIM usage. I just have to have Wi-Fi availability. I assume all email providers offer that capability, but it's something you'll want to check out at home ahead of time so you know how it works. You might start by Googling webmail and the name of your provider.

If you tell us which email service you currently use, someone here may be able to give precise huidance.

Important: You will almost certainly need to know your email password when you first use webmail on your smartphone or tablet. I suspect most of us tend to forget that password since it's normally stored on each of our devices. You may need to dig a little to find your email password.

Hi Kathy. No need for a sim card or any phone service to use internet / email in Europe via wi-fi. To test, just set your phone here to airplane mode, then access internet and email via wifi at your home or at a coffee shop. If that works here, then it will work the same in Europe. Enjoy your trip!

If you will need to communicate with them, via emails, at times when you cannot otherwise connect to Wifi, then you'll need a SIM card. But if you are going to send your emails in the hotel room, or from a cafe with WiFi access, then just set your phone to Airplane mode and you can then log onto the Wifi Connection. Airplane mode disconnects your phone from the telephone airwaves and makes it behave like a computer or tablet.

WiFi is fine, but I'd suggest having a second email address. Why? As soon as I tried to log in to my hotmail in London, Microsoft "protected" me by reporting suspicious activity. I had to ask Microsoft to send a confirmation code to my Comcast address. Sitting in our London hotel room, I had to figure out how to access the Comcast email online, then jump through the confirmation hoops. Not that difficult, but somewhat unexpected and annoying. I had to repeat the process in Paris. Thanks, Microsoft!

The week after we got home, I made a day trip to Iowa. Guess what? Microsoft noticed I'd traveled somewhere newly suspicious, and I had to repeat the process again. Thanks for keeping me safe, Microsoft! But other providers may well make you jump through similar hoops.

Oh, indeed you need to be protected from nefarious activities in Iowa

Kathy,

E-mails are transmitted using the Internet, so all that's needed is a connection to your E-mail provider, either via WiFi or via the cellular data network. As long as you have reliable connections to WiFi, you should be able to access your E-mail.