Verizon iPhone and iPad in Italy

I upgraded to an iPhone with Verizon in May, specifically because I was trying to decide between in iPhone and a Droid Razr and they told me that only the iPhone would work in Italy. 3 or 4 days before I left for Italy in June I stopped in the store and signed up for the International Plan and my iPhone worked just fine the entire time I was in Italy. HOWEVER, I was VERY careful about how I used it. I rarely turned it on and when I did I made sure that it was in Airplane Mode almost all the time. I mainly relied on wi-fi. I was very concerned about getting a huge bill when I returned from my trip (I have heard horror stories) and was pleasantly surprised when the bill came a couple of days ago and it only cost me an extra $50. So your phone should work, just be careful about how/when you use it.

If your phone works over there, you will be roaming. Very steep per minute charges. Be cautious. I had my ipad with me on our last trip and I was able to use wi-fi most everywhere. My old ipad did not have 3G. My new one has 4G but I still won't use it in Roaming mode.

I had the same experience. Turned off roaming and used wifi. No problem in Rome. Amalfi Coast signal was not good so had to use wifi only. I was also nervous about getting a big bill but it was also about $50 more than usual

Download the Skype app. Put the phone in airplane mode and turn on the wifi. Make your calls on Skype when you get a wifi signal. much cheaper that way.

Cathy, Whether your iPhone will work in Italy will depend on which model it is. AFAIK, only the newer iPhone 4S is capable of use on GSM networks, but you'll need to get Verizon to "enable" that function. If you have one of the older model iPhones, they'll work for net or E-mail in Wi-Fi areas but the phone won't be operational. If your iPhone will work in Italy, are you planning to roam with Verizon, or buy a local SIM when you arrive? If you want to use a local SIM, the phone will also have to be "unlocked" by Verizon. I'm not thoroughly familiar with iPads, but it would help to know whether you have a Wi-Fi model or a Wi-Fi + 3G? If you have a 3G model, are you planning on using cellular data while in Italy? Hope this helps. Happy travels!

Cathy, some things I've learned from a colleagues who recently travel to Italy is to go to Settings - Mail,Contacts,Calendar - Fetch New Data - Turn "Push" to "off". That way, if you have to turn off the "Airplane Mode" (i.e. to use your phone to make a call), it will not download your emails and other data. Also, go to Settings - General - Network - and turn of 3G and Cellular Data. You can still use WiFi when in a hot spot. I have AT&T and have subscribed to a monthly data package ($30 for 50MB), a text package ($10 for 50 text msgs) and voice package ($5.00 to reduce phone calls from $1.39 to $.99/minute). AT&T advised that as soon as I land back in the U. S. after our 2 week trip, I should call AT&T and stop the service. The monthly charge for text and voice will be prorated for just the time I used it. I imagine Verizon is similar but do not know for sure.

Thanks so much for all of the advice/suggestions. I did confirm with Verizon that my iPhone 4S will work in Italy - as several of you said. I will sign up for the international data plan just before I leave and cancel it when I get back. And I downloaded Skype to make any calls I need to make back to the States. For local Italy calls I'll use the $1.29/min Verizon roaming charge - probably restaurant reservations only. My iPad is wi-fi only so I should be able to use it in the bigger cities where available. Thanks again!

Cathy, Be sure that Verizon "enables" your iPhone 4S for GSM use and that a SIM card is installed. Here's some information that may be useful..... Tips when traveling internationally When roaming in another country, iPhone will automatically the best network for use while roaming. However, you can manually specify a network using the following steps: • Tap Settings > Carrier and turn off Automatic. Wait until available networks appear (this can take up to two minutes). • Tap to the carrier you wish to use. * Note: This setting may appear only when you're outside of your carrier's network and other local carrier networks are available.
If you do not have an international data plan, turn off Cellular Data and/or Data Roaming to avoid data roaming charges: • iPhone: Tap Settings > General > Network When data roaming and cellular data are off, you should not see a cellular-network indicator in the status bar. Note: CDMA iPhone models have a Roaming setting with separate options for Voice, Data, and International CDMA. If your iPhone 4S supports both CDMA and GSM roaming, you can use Settings > General > Network > Roaming > International CDMA to control which network your iPhone 4S uses: - International CDMA > On: iPhone 4S will attempt to use an available CDMA network instead of GSM. - International CDMA > Off: iPhone 4S will use only GSM networks. (* THIS IS THE ONE YOU SHOULD USE) - Note: After enabling International CDMA while on a GSM network, when you return home turn on airplane mode for 30 seconds to ensure that your phone switches over from your current GSM network to your normal CDMA network. Cheers!

Hi Wanda, I have no vested interest on this career but just sharing my experience....
The AT&T rep who guided me on my international plan actually set the date of our departure and arrival so I do not have to call back AT&T and cancel that plan for DH's IPAD, yes he does not want to deal with phone calls so I had to do it even if it was not mine-lol-- (you might want to check on that to save you one more step coming back; it automatically cancelled for me and it did because I checked anyways just to make sure). They also prorated the rate they gave me which was monthly but we only used for 2 weeks.