Cell phones in Europe?

[sugarpink]

I do have an international phone (not a smart one, though), and I now have it unlocked.

I believe to use it in Europe I can get a prepaid SIM card or just a European SIM card to be able to call in Europe.

Has anyone done that? Should I buy the card before I go? Should I do prepaid?

Suggestions are welcome!

 

Thanks in advance

[crystalspin]

My T-Mobile smartphone homed in just fine, no alteration (different SIM) from here in US. This was a land-based bus tour of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania. as soon as we crossed a border I would get a message telling me what the voice and data rates would be. EU countries was VERY reasonable, and even the non-EU country wasn't that bad if you *needed* to be in touch.

 

It's not exactly your situation, but I would contact your carrier (or see their website) and find out the coverage without a new SIM, or if you do need a new SIM.

[POA1]

Assuming that you have a GSM phone whose radio supports the bands used in the country you're visiting, you can buy a SIM card. Or, as the previous poster mentioned, you can get a T-Mobile SIM card for their Simple Choice plan (no contract, post paid) that will give you $0.20 per minute calls and unlimited texts from most every European country.

[pspercy]

You might check http://www.mobal.com

[pspercy]

You might check http://www.mobal.com/world-data-sim/

 

I've got one of their phones and have had no issues with the company at all.

Edited February 21, 2015 by pspercy
Network froze, lost edit

[Love the beach]

Check out : http://www.telestial.com/ as well.

 

I have been using their sim card in my unlocked GSM phone for years. I like that they give you both a US as well as an international phone number....so family at home can call without incurring charges.

[Randyk47]

We have iPhones with AT&T service. I simply go on line with AT&T and activate an International plan to start just before we cruise. When we get back I cancel the International plan so basically all we get charged extra for is a month or so. Three years of doing this and it works fine.

[jhannah]

You might check http://www.mobal.com/world-data-sim/

 

I've got one of their phones and have had no issues with the company at all.

That might be the best option. I tried one of their SIM cards and it locked up my phone the moment I turned it on! The Mobal website said it would work with my phone (Galaxy S2, unlocked) but it didn't. Customer service couldn't figure it out. Their phones are cheap enough that I would go that route if I ever wanted a phone in Europe again.

[Tedferg]

Check out : http://www.telestial.com/ as well.

 

I have been using their sim card in my unlocked GSM phone for years. I like that they give you both a US as well as an international phone number....so family at home can call without incurring charges.

 

Looks like the minimum you can add is $30 so $49 minimum. I was just looking for an emergency phone and thought I could pick up a SIM for $10 or so.

[Love the beach]

Looks like the minimum you can add is $30 so $49 minimum. I was just looking for an emergency phone and thought I could pick up a SIM for $10 or so.

 

According to this, you can pick up a sim card for $9 with $5 credit or a $19 one with $10 credit.

 

http://www.telestial.com/international_sim_cards.php

Edited March 4, 2015 by Love the beach

[Tedferg]

OK thanks - I missed that. I thought the only one that would work on a Med Cruise was the Europe Simple - $19 with $10 credit and $30 add on. Looks like the difference is in the call rate. Good option. Maybe I can add more minutes at purchase and avoid the $30 top up. Last Med cruise we only made two or three calls.

[brentp]

but when I looked into this 3 years ago, I ended up going with an international SIM from http://www.ekit.com. Had both a US and a UK number, and for some reason inbound calls were less than outbound calls - so I always had our party call us back when we wanted a longer conversation. Phone worked in every country on our itinerary (including Croatia). I do recall that at that time, some of the European prepaid SIMS would not work or had very high call rates in some of the other countries. I had the SIM in hand and tested before we left.

 

For what it is worth, I also used the same SIM a year later when we were in the Baltics (Estonia, Russia, etc.), again, phone worked in every country. I didn't look into any alternative SIMs at that time for I still had a balance on this SIM from the prior year.

 

Again, things might (likely) have changed, but that is the best source I found for our countries 3 years ago.

 

Enjoy

Edited March 5, 2015 by brentp

[POA1]

I failed to mention this before, but you can't have a carrier locked phone and swap out SIM cards. Your phone is locked to your carrier's network until such time as they unlock you. If you buy a subsidized phone, it's probably at least two years until the phone company will unlock it.

 

On the other hand, if you buy an unlocked phone, it's yourself to take where you wish.

[Danni3ll3]

According to this, you can pick up a sim card for $9 with $5 credit or a $19 one with $10 credit.

 

http://www.telestial.com/international_sim_cards.php

 

 

This is perfect! Much easier than buying a new SIM card for each country. And I do have an unlocked phone from Apple. I wanted to keep my cheaper plan and still get a new phone. My carrier wouldn't let me do that without upgrading to a much more expensive plan that was basically the plan I had already. So this was my workaround. Expensive at the outset but much cheaper in the long run and I have an unlocked phone that I can swap SIM cards in and out of.

[FLACRUISER99]

You might check http://www.mobal.com

Another vote for Mobal.

[Tedferg]

Telestial call rates are $0.59 for $9 card and $0.39 for the $19 card - including the $10 credit the $19 card looks good.

 

Tedferg

[Danni3ll3]

I just did a bit of research on Telestial and Mobal. The reviews out there are not good to say the least (reviews were mostly on Amazon). Mobal seemed to be a bit more expensive than Telestial and the main complaint of Telestial seemed to be their call back system. Apparently, you call them, hang up, wait for a call back then you can dial the number you want. However, the Europe SIM card doesn't use that system unlike the cheaper ($10) or more expensive Explore card. With the Europe card, you dial as you normally would. That happens to be the 19 dollar card. I can get the Telestial Europe card at Amazon.ca so I think that is the one I am going to try. I won't be doing a lot of phone calls but I would feel better if I can at least contact poor hubby who is staying home while his wife and daughter are gallivanting across Europe. =D

[Hlitner]

I have had a MOBAL phone for about 8 years and it was one of our best travel investments. We originally signed up with MOBAL for $100 and they gave us a decent Motorola Phone (quad freq) that was "locked" to MOBAL. For our money we not only go the phone, but also got $100 worth of phone time...so the phone was essentially free. MOBAL gives you a UK phone number which folks can call from anywhere in the world (although it would cost them the same as a call to the UK). MOBAL phones will usually lock onto the strongest cell single (regardless of the carrier) which is an advantage over companies like ATT which only use their own providers. We have no monthly or annual fees, and our phone was still using that original $100 of time until a few months ago.

 

MOBAL is not cheap, but we find them perfect for a phone to use in emergencies or occasional calls. Yes, you are going to pay at least $1 a minute, but then you can leave that phone in a drawer at home for a year before you use it again and there are no fees.

 

Hank

[Danni3ll3]

I have had a MOBAL phone for about 8 years and it was one of our best travel investments. We originally signed up with MOBAL for $100 and they gave us a decent Motorola Phone (quad freq) that was "locked" to MOBAL. For our money we not only go the phone, but also got $100 worth of phone time...so the phone was essentially free. MOBAL gives you a UK phone number which folks can call from anywhere in the world (although it would cost them the same as a call to the UK). MOBAL phones will usually lock onto the strongest cell single (regardless of the carrier) which is an advantage over companies like ATT which only use their own providers. We have no monthly or annual fees, and our phone was still using that original $100 of time until a few months ago.

 

MOBAL is not cheap, but we find them perfect for a phone to use in emergencies or occasional calls. Yes, you are going to pay at least $1 a minute, but then you can leave that phone in a drawer at home for a year before you use it again and there are no fees.

 

Hank

 

I am glad that Mobal worked well for you. I am in no need of a phone since I have an unlocked iPhone. I would definitely take your advice though if I didn't have a phone already. Thanks for your comments. I know they will be helpful to others. =)

[neptuno]

We are still big fans of T-Mobile simple choice plan, free text and data in 120 countries, $0.20/minute calling. You can upgrade the international free calling for a monthly fee, cancel anytime.

[travelers07]

Agree about T Mobile. Can't imagine travel without it now! Only ports- and on land- it has not been available was the Bahamas and the Falklands.

[cruisersMandW]

We have iPhones with AT&T service. I simply go on line with AT&T and activate an International plan to start just before we cruise. When we get back I cancel the International plan so basically all we get charged extra for is a month or so. Three years of doing this and it works fine.

 

Randy, we were thinking about doing this in Europe. They told us it was $30 for a month and $1/min for calls. Do you know if that counts incoming as well as outgoing?