I've used my iPhone in Switzerland, Germany and Italy without an issue. Any one know if there are any issues in the Wessex region of England? We'll be on a bike trip this fall and I want to be able to text and receive text messages from home.
We won't be in London...only in the countryside from Bath to Asbury and Stonehenge.....
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
380 posts
We've had AT&T for years and never had a problem using our phones in the UK. I can't remember who the service is actually through (thinking O2 is one) but I put the international plan on our phones before leaving the States. It saves money if we have to use it.
Posted by
CA, USA
333 posts
You'll internationally roam on the various UK networks on the iPhone...02, Orange, Vodafone, etc.
Just make sure you have data roaming off unless you pay for the data plan. You can get .99c/minute international calling plan from AT&T for 5.99/month and texts cost about.50c to send/receive.
Posted by
Texas
518 posts
Be SURE you check about the DATA in addition to calls and texts. It's receiving data that can kill you if you have an internet phone and don't keep the data reception turned off or have a package. We bought an iphone when they first came out, thought we had all those "international packages" tended to. AT&T didn't have all their ducks in a row because of the phone being so new. We had a HUGE data bill the month after we got home -- we were gone a month. I won't say how much, but it had four digits to the left of the decimal. Didn't make that mistake again.
Posted by
Wilmington, DE, USA
712 posts
My husband and I both took our cellphones to England and France last year. We called Att to have them set up for their overseas program. My phone worked and his did not. He tried to find out in a few cell phone stores, but now one could figure out why his did not work.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32352 posts
Ellen,
You shouldn't have any trouble at all using your IPhone anywhere in England. Cell towers are ubiquitous (as in the rest of Europe). As a previous reply mentioned, you'll probably roam on different networks in the U.K. When your bill arrives, each network and the calls you made / received will be listed.
Again as mentioned, it's VERY important to have the data portion disabled so that you don't receive a HUGE bill for data roaming. That means NO E-mail or web surfing EXCEPT using Wi-Fi back at the Hotel (where available).
It would be a good idea to contact AT&T to get info on their current roaming plans, and also to notify them that you'll be travelling in the U.K.
Marie,
The most likely solution why your husband's phone wouldn't work is that it was a dual band phone, having only the two North American frequency bands. Another potential reason could be that a "network search" was necessary when arriving in Europe, so that the phone could "find" the correct frequencies.
Cheers!
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
Ellen, I used my iPhone last August in Scotland and England with no problem. I did turn off the data flow and only use the wireless. It was terrific to have it. I was in the countryside of Scotland and I'm sure that the English countryside will have similar coverage if not better. ; ) Pam