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Phone for International Travel

I'm a dummy when it comes to phones. We have TracFone service and are told we can unlock our Android phones but our service is good only stateside. We would like to keep our phone numbers but want the capability to use our current numbers in Europe. Obviously we need to switch our service. Do we need to buy new phones with different service? How do we keep our current phone numbers? What's the best service to have when traveling abroad? What does the experienced traveler recommend?

Posted by
14812 posts

Transfering the number is easy. Whether or not you need a new phone depends on the phone you.

I use T-mobile because international coverage is incuded in most plans. Data (slow) and texts are free. Calls cost 25 cents/minute. Most of us use wifi apps like What's App, Google Voice or Skype to make calls when connected to wifi. For Skype my calls are bout 2 cents minute.

If you have a GSM phone, you can use it to transfer to T-Mobile. If it's a CDMA phone, you need to get a new phone.

If you don't know which type of phone, tell us and we'll try to help.

Posted by
9404 posts

We have TMobile, best one for international travel, and are very happy with the service, here and there.

Posted by
1150 posts

I suspect you will need to get a new phone. It used to be that TracFone phones were more limited and restrictive than phones from other carriers. For example, they may not have the radio frequencies you would need for use in other countries. Note that my impression is based on what I understood to be the case from years ago, so it might be out-of-date.

I use T-Mobile myself, but if I were starting fresh, I would consider Google Fi. Right now, Google Fi has a good deal on a Pixel phone at a substantial discount. Google Fi has attractive features for use outside the U.S. (as does T-Mobile).

To keep your current phone number you will need to port that number to a new carrier. There are guides on how to do that online or at phone stores.

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Posted by
32173 posts

As the previous reply mentioned, you may not be able to use your Tracphones in Europe as they may not be technically compatible. Therefore you may either have to....

If you're planning on doing more travelling in future, you may want to give some thought to changing your home cell service to a different network. I'm sure others on the forum will be able to provide some good tips on which US network is best for service both at home as well as while travelling.