iPhone in Italy

Who's service? Wifi is widely available, generally free, and works well for email and skype or similar long distance service. Just make sure your date roaming on your phone is switch off or you will get a big surprise when you get home.

I'm with Verizon. Sorry to be not so phone savy, but if I am on Wireless, I won't get any charges?

Don't worry about. Verizon will not work in Europe anyway. So switch off roaming, and use the wifi and you will be fine.

The iPhone5 will work in Italy if your carrier is Verizon. You should go on their website to see what calling and data packages they offer.

I have an iPhone 4

I just activated my new I phone today (goodbye blackberry). While I was on the phone with Verizon today, I asked them about using the iphone in Europe. The data is $25 for 25MB. You need to sign up for their global data plan and they need to activate the Sim card in your phone for global use. Even though we'll have the plan, we'll keep the data off unless we need internet access, without looking for a wifi spot). But use wifi in hotels to retrieve emails. I think they also have a voice plan, but I think you save only 20 or 30 cents per minute. If the people you call have an iphone/ipad, you can use face time for free.

The Verizon iPhone 4 will not work in Europe for calls, text or 3G data; the Verizon iPhone 4S and 5 will. However, the Verizon iPhone 4 will work on WiFi. To work in Europe a phone needs GSM (the phone system used in Europe). In the US, Verizon uses CDMA (another system not used in Europe). Their iPhone 4 only has CDMA; the 4S and 5 also have GSM. GSM uses a SIM card, so that's how you can tell; no SIM card = no GSM = no service in Europe. On iPhones, the SIM card compartment is on the side of the phone. So, you want to put your phone in airplane mode, then switch on WiFi when you are using this. This will save battery (searching for a signal uses more juice than when the phone has found a signal). WiFi is either free, or you'll know what you're paying per hour or per day, so no extra costs. Note that all AT&T iPhones (even the first one) will work in Europe. That's because AT&T uses GSM in the US, and all iPhones have the necessary frequencies. (The US uses 850 and 1900, while Europe uses 900 and 1800; AT&T iPhones are "quad band" and have all four of these). If you want to make calls, you'll need another method. You can buy an inexpensive Italian phone and load it with credit. Or maybe you or someone you know has an old "dumbphone" they're not using, and if it's quadband and they can get it unlocked, you can then just buy an Italian SIM. For details of these and other options, search the Helpline (there's lots of threads about it).

Cathie, I don't believe the Verizon iPhone 4 will work in Europe at all, except for Wi-Fi use. Therefore you wouldn't have any phone or text capabilities. Both the Verizon iPhone 4S and 5 WILL work in Europe AFAIK, but you'll have to get Verizon to enable the GSM portion of the phone. As already mentionned, using cellular data in Europe can result in HUGE bills (ie: five figures), so that's definitely something that has to be considered. I'd suggest contacting Verizon for suggestions on your best options for the uses you anticipate. Happy travels!

Not sure if Verizon still does this, but they will send you a loaner phone for use at a minimal cost that will work in Europe. Call Verizon to see if they still do this and what the costs are.

I used the Verizon loaner phone program a few times before buying a GSM dumb phone from them. The loaner phone program was great; see if they still have it. Verizon's international plan is great for phone service. If you buy the plan, it's something like $5-6/mo for most of Europe, and you only need to keep the plan while you're gone. You can make calls to the US for 99 cents/min. Otherwise, it's something like 1.25/min. You can check with them for current rates. I found RS's advice to buy a cheap phone in Europe to be a real pain (if you don't speak the language). All the instructions for installing more "time", as well as the warnings about how much time remains, are in the country's language... hardly surprising, but crazy-making to hear frequent messages and have no idea what they're saying. I only used that phone on one trip; it wasn't worth the hassle.

hi, have a look at this website to help you find wifi hot spots in Italy. http://moving2italy2.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/info-on-wi-fi-and-hotspots-in-italy.html

We used our iPhones in Italy with an ATT data/text package. I think it was around $50? Just make sure your ROAM feature is off except when you are checking e-mails, etc. I leave my phone on 24/7 and you can't do it there or you will be charged those scary fees! If you reset your data usage button (I think it's under settings on the iPhone, you can see when you are nearing your data limit.) We found most hotels had either WiFi or you could check info at the front desk.