iphone in ireland

You can if it is a GSM phone.

I was in Bloomington last Friday. I think all iphones are GSM, aren't they?

As Steve said it has to be unlocked and jail broken.

If you aren't willing to do that AT&T does have international roaming plans and data plans but they aren't cheap. .99c/minute voice 50MBs data =$60.00. Good news is that you can get service pretty much anywhere on the Island. I've never found a place without service

If your hotel has wifi you can get the Skype App which will allow you to dial the US for .02c a minute

What about using iPhone just as an Internet device? Can I just put it in airplane mode and get any wifi? I'm concerned about accidentally receiving texts or calls and ending up with big bills, but still would love to carry iPhone as my Internet device.

You'll want to make sure you turn off any automatic downloads, like automatic email downloads. You can run up a huge bill if you don't, since you'll be charged roaming fees for every email that comes in.

I was considering forwarding incoming calls before I leave the U.S. Would that work to protect against unwanted incoming calls, while leaving the iPhone available for other uses?

Keri,
If you mean forward all calls to voicemail, I think that would work, at least it has for me on T-Mobile. I'd even get the voicemail notifications without charge. Just be careful to unconditionally forward all calls before leaving the US. If your phone rings over there, even if you don't answer and let it rollover to voicemail, you'll be charged for a call.

Sue,

As the others have indicated, your IPhone will need to be unlocked (sometimes termed as "jailbroken") before it will work with SIM's from other networks.

Before deciding on which route to choose, I'd suggest looking at the expected calling that you'll be doing in Ireland. If you're just going to be making the occasional outgoing call to check reservations or whatever, you might consider just using roaming with AT&T. However, as the others mentioned it's extremely important to disable the data portion of the phone to prevent being charged huge data roaming fees.

You'll need to give some thought to call-forwarding. If someone in Ireland needs to reach you, they'll be unable to get through if all your calls are forwarded. Keep in mind that anyone in Ireland wants to call you, they'll have to dial your U.S. number, and the call will be "bounced back" to where ever you are.

If you are planning to use an Irish SIM, you might want to check the various networks to research the plans they offer. You may have to accept a basic voice & text only plan, as I'm not sure if data is available on PAYG plans?

In addition to using Irish SIM's, you could also use one of the "travel SIM's" from Call in Europe, Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Mobal or Telestial. Be sure to review their plans carefully, so that you have some idea on what the costs will be.

I normally use roaming with my home network (basic Cellphone), use voice calls VERY sparingly and use text most of the time to keep in touch with family back home.

Good luck!

Paul, Yes, I meant that I would forward my iPhone number to our Comcast landline number (which has voicemail that sends me an email when a call comes in). And if a message is left there I can listen to the message via a browser.

And, yes, I know about the iPhone voicemail incurring charges. I received a wrong number call (at 2 or 3 am) in Lugano, which I didn't pick up. It rolled to the iPhone's voicemail and, yes, I was charged. This trip I'm hoping to avoid that.