Using my iPhone in Italy -- Probably stupid questions

Yes, if you are using your US phone number (no Italian SIM) then you dial the same way as you would if you were at home. I am not 100% sure about the same US area code part, so do 1 (area code) if it doesn’t work the just area code way.

So you are right, you’ve got it!

Edmond,

First of all, they're not stupid questions. Searching the internet is not always the best way to find answers, so it's sometimes better to ask questions on a site where you can get specific answers.

This website will probably answer a lot of your questions - https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/phones-tech/call-uk-europe

I find that the easiest way to call numbers back home is to add the prefix "+1" in front of the 10 digit number. Note that you won't always be able to call "1-800" numbers from Europe. If you need to contact credit card companies or whatever, they usually provide a normal long distance number, with instructions to call "collect". I normally don't worry about making "collect" calls, and just dial the number directly and pay the long distance (it's not usually that expensive).

I echo Ken's comments, Edmond. I have successfully used AT&T's daily international plan for my iPhone on the past 2 trips to Italy. Before departing for the most recent trip, I added the "+1" to any US phone numbers in my contact list that I anticipated calling while abroad. Made for a very easy connection and less hassle to remember the "+1."

One last tip that AT&T doesn't clarify very well... When you land in Italy, set your iPhone to Roaming. That's the only way that AT&T's international plan works on your phone. You will get charged only the AT&T daily international fee for each day you use your phone in-country, no roaming fees.

Good questions all around, and always good to double-check!

hi edmond
i also have att, last year september i was in paris, venice and amsterdam for 15 days.. i just called my carrier and asked for international plan for 1 month which was $60. didn't do the per day of $10 in case i went over, got back home and cancelled plan, even though i didn't pay anything with my iphone for calls, it's still $60 which was worth it to me. put the "+1". hope this helps you. by the way, like you, i'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. happy travels
aloha

AT&T's new $60/month plan gives you 1GB of data, which may be plenty for a reasonably short trip - but for 6 days or less, the $10/day plan is almost certainly better. (Their old $40/month plan gave you almost no data and wasn't worth doing in my opinion.)

If you want to avoid those 35 cents/minute AT&T calls ($60/month plan not the $10/day plan), see if you can use your phone's WiFi Calling feature and make calls with it on WiFi which should be FREE (double-check with AT&T on that). Otherwise, consider installing the Google Hangouts app (and Hangouts Dialer app too for Android phones) to make free phone calls home to US phone numbers, even to landlines.

thanks andrew. l didn't use my phone much unless in apartment or restaurant with wifi. Didn't have anything or anybody to worry about back here in the states, if a fire or an emergency my landlord would have called 911. I use whatsapp.com for free calling. Had a fabulous time.
Aloha