Within Italy cell phone - questions

Angela, for about forty euro I bought a TIM phone and minutes in Italy and the salesperson activated it for me. There's an English language option (although you will receive texts about the amount of money left on your card in Italian), it's very simple to use. I only spent another ten euro or so on additional minutes, and I was there for 10 weeks. I even called the US and a credit card company a few times.

Great advice, thanks! Please excuse the techie question, but do I need to jailbreak AND unlock the old iphone? I thought I could just unlock it?

I'd buy a cheap GSM phone and SIM once I was there. Because you'd have to buy a SIM anyway, adding the phone may not really be adding that much to the cost. This approach sounds a lot easier than the other things you mentioned. You can get a entry-level phone for not much in most of the world now. Note: There has been an ongoing debate about how difficult it is to get a phone account in Italy. You might check it out before you go, just so you know about the possible problems. Getting Italian SIM Card for cell phone? Important Information

Angela, I would unlock you old Iphone 3 and give that to them to use. I unlocked my 3gs (check youtube) and it was extremely easy. Then you can pick up both SIMs at the same time and be done with it. I was in Rome in October and got my SIM from the TIM store (upstairs) at Termini. It was no more than 15 euro and included: 1. SIM Card 2. 1 week of free local calls 3. 1 month of unlimited internet access
4. 5 euro call/text credit My other group decided to buy a phone at a kiosk in the airport and it was a complete hassle. They would only allow 50 euro credit to be added...nothing less. We ended up being separated with no means of communication by the last day. If you do end up buying a phone, buy it at a reputable store, such as TIM. That way if you need anything, you can get easy customer service. Have a great trip!

Unlock and jailbrake your old Iphone. Then, besides using it for a phone with an EU SIM card, you can use it for Wi-fi (email, etc. We also used ours for Skype calls {to anyone in the world for 2.3 cents/minute}. You can also take your exsiting IPhone so that you can receive emergency calls from home. (and you already know about forwarding incoming calls, turning off data, etc.) But don't overlook the fact you can pre-buy small amounts of data that you can use overseas for your existing phone, get reduced price overseas calling/text plans, etc. Check with your provider. I used mine to create an Email folder with my itinerary, plane ticket info, contact numbers, copies of my travel info, screen shots of local maps, etc. I also downloaded language aps (that did not require that data or wi-fi was available.)

You have to jailbreak it first with an app called cydia. You can get this app by going to a website (it has the word snow in it). Search youtube and they will show you what to do. Then after you get this cydia app on your phone, you install one of it's programs and your phone is officially unlocked. I am by no means a techie, and it was very easy!

I was just coming here to ask the same question! Zoe, do I just go to a phone store in the airport in Rome to buy a phone, and they will allow calls throughout Italy, as well as internet access? I will need the phone in Switzerland as well. I am completely in the dark when it comes to being able to use phones in Europe. I have already read the article about buying a phone and still don't get it. BTW, I have an iPhone 4S, will this work in Europe if I have Verizon turn on my international calling and data?

I'm very interested in this topic so please allow me a stupid question: if one of you has a US number and the other one has an Italian number, will you be placing expensive long distance calls to each other? ( not using skype or the computer). I just got an Android for Christmas so I'm on a learning curve.
Also, would jailbreaking and such ruin a warranty in your opinion? Thanks.

Melanie - You can buy a phone at the airport OR at the train station OR at any cell phone store on the street you come across. I can highly recommend the TIM store. Whatever you do, don't buy it from a kiosk because this is not affiliated with any carrier and you won't be able to easily get customer service if you run into problems. Just tell them that you need to purchase a phone with a SIM card. This will give you an Italian phone number. The phone will work sort of like a prepaid phone here in the States. You will start out with 5 euro credit for calls and texts. International calls and texts are obviously more expensive, but MUCH cheaper than any deal you will get from Verizon. Also tell them that you will want internet access. I was lucky and got a month of free unlimited internet with my SIM package. If they don't have that offer available, internet is around 2 euro/week (super cheap IMO). Again, you prepay this. If at any point you run out of credit on your phone, you can pop into a TIM store and easily add more. I used this throughout Italy with no issues. I don't know about crossing into Switzerland. Verizon is weird in that most of their phones are not GSM capable (worldwide network). They may be changing this now that they are selling the iphone. I'm with AT&T so I can't comment about that. I do know that in the past when people used the Verizon international plan, Verizon would send them a loaner phone to use that was GSM capable. Specifically related to the iPhone, the iPhone 4 and 4s use microSIM cards. As far as I know, you won't find a microSIM Italian card...only the regular size SIM. So your option here, if you choose to use your current phone, would be to buy the Verizon plan (again, you would need to confirm that your phone is GSM ready).

Melissa - Can you be more specific about "if 1 of you has an Italian number and 1 has a US number"? Are you talking about the 2 different groups in Italy, or are you referring to calling someone back home? Jailbreaking will ruin any warranty/insurance/whatever, but from what I understand it's 100% reversible. Meaning that when you got back home you can set your phone back to the way it originally was. I haven't done it because I plan to return to Italy soon and didn't want the hassle. Be aware that I learned Skype will not work on a jailbroken iPhone. My traveling companions found that their Android phones would not work in Italy because they don't have SIM cards in them. You may want to check that out. They were only able to use them for the internet and only with wifi.

The newer issued Androids have SIM cards, ( Igot one in May). and I used mine in London, Italy and Egypt back in November for wifi, skype and texting. I called back to the US one time during my 17 days abroad and used it twice in Italy to connect with someone traveling within our party. I called Verizon and they set up my phone for Global use with calls costing no more than 2.50 minute depending what country we were in and texting was .50 per text for outgoing and .05 for incoming text messages ..from anywhere. They also had plans for data usage just in case you were not able to connect to wifi hot spot while traveling. I would check that out if you already have a phone. Verizon will also rent you a phone for 19.99 that is already set up for global use if you don't want to use yours. You will need to call them to discuss plans as it depends on where you are traveling to.

@Melanie, Yes, you can certainly go to a phone store at FCO, at Termini or other location and buy a PAYG phone that will "allow calls throughout Italy". However, AFAIK it won't be possible to buy a phone that includes internet access via the cellular network, as data plans are not available in Italy except for contract customers. You can use the same phone in Switzerland for voice or text, however the costs will be higher (ie: top-ups will have to be done more frequently), as you'll be "roaming" as soon as you venture outside Italy. Regarding your iPhone 4S, I believe the Verizon model is CDMA only, so if that's the case it won't work in Europe for phone or text (I'm assuming your phone doesn't use a SIM card?). However, you should be able to use it for E-mail or web surfing in Wi-Fi areas. A few other options you could consider.... > Arrange a rental phone with Verizon that will work in Europe. For occasional calls, it's a reasonably cost-effective option. Use your Verizon iPhone for Wi-Fi use. > Obtain a phone from one of the "travel phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Call In Europe, Telestial or Mobal. Their plans are usually "post paid" (billed to a credit card) so no need to top-up, and the rates will be the same for both countries that you'll be visiting. Good luck and happy travels!