I just called AT&T and the person I talked with said that my iphone (6) would not have access to international WiFi without buying a passport plan. She said that the $30/month plan used to include access to WiFi, but now only the $60 ro $120/month plans include it. Is this correct?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
Maybe talking about whether the plan includes AT&T WiFi Hot spots ?? We had our phones on vacation hold (NO AT&T phone or data service ) and were able to use hotel-supplied WiFi.
And from what others have said, the hot spots weren't that great.
Posted by
NH
219 posts
What is international wifi?
I have AT&T and have never bought an extra plan while traveling. I turn my data off and use wifi where available if I need it. I don't text or call enough to bother paying for a plan.
Posted by
Columbus, Ohio
142 posts
May I ask a really basic question please....what the heck is data??? Can you tell I use my phone as a phone? Lol. I would like to have access to my email and maps, and perhaps make a call to our next hotel to confirm the day before arriving....we have iPhones through Sprint, and I know they offer an international plan, but I don't even know what we need. Sooooo glad these boards are anonymous!!!!
:)
Posted by
3 posts
I am an AT&T customer too and I buy the $30 30-day Passport; you can choose the date that you want it to begin and it will automatically expire in 30 days. I buy it so that I can essentially text with the US while I'm overseas; if you use the phone, its at a reduced rate but you are still paying an international rate. As far as roaming wifi, I wouldn't use it unless you are desperate -- just wait until you are in a free wireless location like your hotel.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32219 posts
mal,
It sounds like the person you were speaking didn't know what they were talking about, and was more interested in selling you a plan you didn't need. I've never heard of "international Wi-Fi", and I'm not sure it even exists? The person may have been referring to international cellular data, which would indeed require some kind of international plan. If you're only planning to use Wi-Fi for accessing E-mail or whatever, you should be able to do that without any plans. Be sure to leave cellular data "off" so that you don't incur any charges.
One other point to mention though. If you're planning to use voice or text, you'll probably want an international plan for that to minimize the costs.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3391 posts
When you go to Starbucks and connect to their wi-fi it costs you nothing and you just sign in. It's exactly the same when you are in Europe. You are in a location that offers free wi-fi and you just sign in. You don't need anything extra on your phone plan to be able to do this.
If you want to make calls back to the US or to another person within Europe or access GoogleMaps for GPS (which is about all I do when I'm not using wi-fi at a cafe or in my hotel) then you do need some sort of international data plan. I have Verizon and pay $40 per month, per phone, to access this overseas.