My phone "Bricked" in France last week! Went dead. Scary- but here's what I learned..

Oh yikes....I've become very dependent on my phone the last few trips to Europe. From ApplePay for everything to train and plane tickets.

I'm not very technically inclined so can you explain what "bricked" means? Was it an older phone? Can you share what kind?

Yes, I would like to know if there is a way to check on my iPhone’s health with Apple support or phone provider before I leave the states? I often travel solo and don’t usually bring even my iPad with me.

Bricked-- The Black screen of death. The screen goes black, and you cannot get the phone to restart again. It is now a Brick!

I know many folks hold on to their phones for awhile. Mine was a Pixel 5a, on Google Fi system. The Pixels are up to 7 now...

I guess I'd recommend that everyone clean up their phones before they leave the country. Make sure you "sync" all your information to the cloud. I cannot get into my old phone, so hopefully my contacts will come though ok. I know I'll have to download all my apps again and make my little "clusters" of apps- Credit card, airlines, etc.

Depending on your age, don't be dependent on a grandkid to be your tech wizard. Learn some of it yourself.

don't be dependent on a grandkid to be your tech wizard...

So true. We can take comfort in knowing they will someday, in the distant future, be completely flummoxed by some yet to be invented device.

A compelling argument to store all relevant travel docs on a cloud resource, and travel with a tablet [or laptop] in addition to a phone. And then store key docs on the tablet.

Probably better to keep important info outside associated apps, just in case.

Using a Google Voice number for 2-factor authentication, you can forward to your phone but also acces on your tablet, if e-mail not an option. Although, do you really need to access bank accounts, etc. that often while traveling?

Even if your phone seems perfectly healthy before you leave for your trip, it could still die the moment you land in Europe. You could drop it in water. You could lose it or having stolen.

So...yes, best to have a backup plan.

I do travel with spare devices. So if my main phone died, I'd at least be able to get everything on my tablet if I had access to WiFi.

So true. We can take comfort in knowing they will someday, in the
distant future, be completely flummoxed by some yet to be invented
device.

Boy oh boy do I hope I'm still around for my kids to have kids and see them roll there eyes at my kids 😁

I still haven't pulled the trigger and used data on any out-of-country trips but your warning for a back up plan is well received. I still carry paper copies of any critical information that I may need in a pinch.

Thanks mango.tree for the great comment on buying a phone in Europe... I'll have to check with Google Fi to see if that would work, and what phones are compatible with the Fi system.

I love my Google Fi because it is an international phone...once I land in France it automatically works- no cards to change, no extra fees.

As long as you have everything backed up in the cloud, and a good phone provider like google fi which accepts a large number of unlocked devices, you should be fine. I've had to buy a cheap ($100ish) android phone and activate it abroad, it's not that big of a deal. Then you sign in to google, and everything is back where it should be. Definitely could see this being a problem with some of the legacy providers like AT&T, Verizon etc.

If you use 2 factor authentication with Google, how will you sign in on a new device while in Europe?

I can if I lose my phone if I also have my tablet - I can use either one to approve devices that are trying to sign in. But if I had only one device? It would be harder.

Google allows you to create "backup codes" for this purpose. You must create them ahead of time. If you use an Android phone, this is probably a good idea. Create the codes and print them out and stuff a folded up piece of paper into your luggage or something. Then if you lose your primary Android device, you would be able to login with a new one using one of the codes. Details here.

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/1187538?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid

I am so dependent on my phone for travel. My entire trip plan is in Onenote.

I carry my old phone as a backup. Before my trips, I synch everything.

Funny story, though. On this trip, I tried to use my backup phone for a task. Although it had worked immediately before my trip, it had somehow "bricked" in transit - in my carryon bag. Ah well, I still had my tablet, and accomplished what I needed.

I travel with two iPhones, sync’d like CW mentioned

Wouldn't everything show up the moment one puts the sim card into a new phone?

I have my French Orange sim in my old US Google Moto, while my US sim is in my very old Google Moto, used only for 2 factor ID.
My husband uses his Free-brand French sim in his old Google phone, too.

Thanks again mango.tree
I love walking through European stores shopping- that is a great idea- not given to me by Google.

When I chatted with Google they ran through the troubleshooting for the issue again and only offered to send a replacement phone to a relative in the states that then would ship it to me in France! I knew that wouldn't work! So I then figured out how to go for two weeks without a phone....but having the small laptop that I had access to everything except text and voice worked well.

I'll never travel without the computer-

So glad folks are helping out in this thread with various ideas!

My issue with two factor was with other apps- such as my work and Capital one. My suggestion to everyone is to check all these to make sure they do have email as a method for verification and the second phone number of spouse if possible.

I believe that alot of what we have on our phones are actually ON THE PHONE. The last time I changed phones I cabled by old phone to new Pixel and everything came over. All the bubbles for apps, and every single app. All Apps are ON PHONE, not in cloud I think.

So still waiting for replacement phone from Google...

Oh no! I'm so sorry this happened to you and thank you for the warning!

This is exactly why I print copies of critical info and keep them in a dry bag in my day bag and also save everything to Google Drive, and all pictures I take are backed up to Google Photos. I also email my itinerary to my family before I depart.

You just never know...

After reading this thread, I've decided to order a new phone. I didn't realize my current phone is over 2.5 years old. I will keep it as my backup.

I also have to get a new tablet as the touchscreen on my current one has become supersentive and over-reactive.

If you use 2 factor authentication with Google, how will you sign in on a new device while in Europe?

I always print out a list of authentication codes that I can use if needed.

Thank you, Mike for the further explanation. I got an iPhone 14 a few months ago and also travel with an iPad Mini from which I think I can access everything but I'll check on the critical elements (Delta app, lol and another airline's app for my upcoming trip).

I don't want to go back to carrying paper!

My phone has frozen twice while traveling. One trip was in Amsterdam and the other was in Stockholm. On both an Apple store was right around the corner and they fixed it immediately. Now, I always look to see where there Apple stores are located when I travel and so far, they have been right around the corner in my entrance or exit city. I also think I'll always have an iPhone because of it, but who knows.

Sweden in 2015* was an eye opener regarding travel tech on my phone. Now almost everything is on my phone, but still I bring backups in paper and my H has copies so he could send the paperwork to any email address I needed. I traveled without backup tech for my phone so will likely continue. What I am happy enough is whenever I check in my bag (carryon size) they insist on providing a paper boarding pass, as many people take a long time to bring up their boarding pass.

And most of all, I love Apple Pay!
*In Sweden 2015 I started out with only my iPod, LOL, so that's how long ago that was technologically.

I have a Pixel 6 phone.
The nice thing about having a Google phone is that you have access to all of your stuff as long as you can get online.
You just sign on to your Google account and everything is there.

I only travel with my phone, no tablet.
It would be extremely inconvenient if my phone were to stop working while on a trip.
If that happened I would have to buy a new phone in Europe and figure out a way to to contact Verizon and get the new phone activated to my account.
Despite that, I am not going to carry an extra phone or a tablet or a laptop as I think the likelihood of this happening is low.
My packing is down to 16 pounds and I don't want to start packing for every possibility.

But, I am very, very cautious with making sure that my phone isn't stolen or lost.

I might have nightmares tonight, just thinking about it.

Thanks to all for their comments and suggestions. I have added a number of items to my checklist for our trip to Rome this Thanksgiving- especially the tip on printing out codes from google.

A very frightening experience! Glad you found a solution. FIY Google Maps does not need an internet connection either, as long as you download your areas of interest online before you go. I have mucked around with a lot of mapping apps, and found Google just as good. It does NOT allow downloading of routes though, which some of the others allow. It used to...