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Sicily and old phone topic

Not being all that astute on smart phones, as I live in a very rural area, we bought a Samsung 9s. I just found out it is locked into my carrier (a local provider connected to Verizon). Verizon uses CDMA, but Samsung higher phones have both this and GSM. Question I have is whether we can buy a local sim when in Sicily or does the locking out just preclude it? I understand there is a code you must over- ride.

Am thinking of just buying a cheap phone in Italy or not even worrying about one. We only need to let the Airbnb's know when we are coming and I might be able to do this over Wi-fi, at some hot spot.

Any ideas?

Thank you.

Posted by
5298 posts

Question I have is whether we can buy a local sim when in Sicily or does the locking out just preclude it?

Your phone must be unlocked in order for a foreign SIM card to work.

If you paid for your phone in full, you can probably get it unlocked.
I’d suggest contacting your phone carrier to find out if this is a possibility.

If you can’t get your phone unlocked, then you should download the ‘WhatsApp’ app and this way you can text or call (when connected to Wi-Fi) your AirBnB host (or anyone else) as long as they also have WhatsApp installed on their device.

Wishing you a wonderful time in beautiful Sicily!

Posted by
5687 posts

Right - you need to contact your carrier to ask about unlocking the phone. But - yes, you can use it on WiFi without getting it unlocked. You can make calls over WiFi with Google Voice, Skype, or WhatsApp (which is very popular in Europe).

Posted by
11656 posts

Our landlord communicated via WhatsApp in Sicily and said it is used a lot in Italy.