How to Use Your iPhone 4/4S Overseas
Posted: October 17, 2011 by AppleWorld in Labels: Apple, iPhone 4 / 4S
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If you think iPhone plans are expensive in the United States, try traveling across an ocean with one. We’ve all heard the horror stories: multi-thousand-dollar bills for forgetting to turn off the you-will-accrue-substantial-charges-if-this-is-turned-on slider, but what do you do if you actually need to use the Web overseas? We’re here to help.
For those of us already tied to a long-term contract with AT&T, options are fairly limited. The easiest and most cost-effective way for regular long-distance travelers to get instant access to the web and email wherever they are (within a reasonable 100-country radius) is by adding one of four international data packages, which start at $24.99 for 50MB of data. Much like text messaging, global add-ons can be changed or deleted at any time, but be aware of your usage -- extra kilobytes are pricey, costing $10 for each 10MB. Calls are a little trickier and vary widely between countries, but AT&T World Traveler ($5.99 a month) will keep the costs somewhat manageable.
Since the iPhone 4S is a dual-band phone, global Verizon and Sprint users are no longer stymied by the less-prevalent CDMA network. According to reports, both carriers will unlock iPhones for customers "in good standing," which simply means they've paid their bill for 60 days. Once unlocked, you have several options direct from the carrier, including Verizon's Global Data plan, which starts at $30/month for 50MB (Sprint doesn't have a bundled plan, but they'll be kind enough to notify you when your roaming charges top $50 and disable it completely when it hits quadruple figures). Talking's a little more palatable: Sprint's Worldwide Voice add-on offers discounted global rates for an additional $4.99 per month, and International Long Distance Value Plan is a buck less than that. Of course, once the SIM slots are unlocked, you're no longer tied to the carrier's options...
When Apple began selling unlocked iPhones stateside this summer, a collective cheer emerged among all contract holdouts, but there were a few caveats. For one, prices aren’t for the faint of heart -- $649 for the 16GB iPhone 4S, $749 for the 32GB version and $849 for 64 gigs -- for another, it requires a micro-SIM card. Still-independent T-Mobile -- which missed out on the iPhone jackpot again this year -- has been known to brag about the number of iPhones roaming around its network. For rabid communicators, the provider offers a handy $10-a-month with all-you-can-make calls to landlines in over 50 countries, texting in 200-plus countries, and discounted calls in over 150 countries (i.e., calls to Bangladesh will cost $0.34 per minute to landlines and $0.42 to mobile phones instead of the usual $2.99 rate). International internet service is a bit pricier at $15 per megabyte.
Of course, if you want to bypass the major carriers altogether (or have an unlocked Sprint or Verizon slot), you can pick up a prepaid Micro SIM card from OneSimCard and save a bundle on per-megabyte overuse charges. Cards cost $44.95 (you’ll get a European phone number), with packages of airtime starting at $10. Rates vary by country--in the United Kingdom, for example, $25 will get you 25MB of Internet use (in 10kb chunks), about 60 sent text messages or around an hour of outgoing talk time (incoming calls and texts are free)--but consistently clock in under the major carriers.
AT&T
For those of us already tied to a long-term contract with AT&T, options are fairly limited. The easiest and most cost-effective way for regular long-distance travelers to get instant access to the web and email wherever they are (within a reasonable 100-country radius) is by adding one of four international data packages, which start at $24.99 for 50MB of data. Much like text messaging, global add-ons can be changed or deleted at any time, but be aware of your usage -- extra kilobytes are pricey, costing $10 for each 10MB. Calls are a little trickier and vary widely between countries, but AT&T World Traveler ($5.99 a month) will keep the costs somewhat manageable.
Verizon/Sprint
Since the iPhone 4S is a dual-band phone, global Verizon and Sprint users are no longer stymied by the less-prevalent CDMA network. According to reports, both carriers will unlock iPhones for customers "in good standing," which simply means they've paid their bill for 60 days. Once unlocked, you have several options direct from the carrier, including Verizon's Global Data plan, which starts at $30/month for 50MB (Sprint doesn't have a bundled plan, but they'll be kind enough to notify you when your roaming charges top $50 and disable it completely when it hits quadruple figures). Talking's a little more palatable: Sprint's Worldwide Voice add-on offers discounted global rates for an additional $4.99 per month, and International Long Distance Value Plan is a buck less than that. Of course, once the SIM slots are unlocked, you're no longer tied to the carrier's options...
Unlocked
When Apple began selling unlocked iPhones stateside this summer, a collective cheer emerged among all contract holdouts, but there were a few caveats. For one, prices aren’t for the faint of heart -- $649 for the 16GB iPhone 4S, $749 for the 32GB version and $849 for 64 gigs -- for another, it requires a micro-SIM card. Still-independent T-Mobile -- which missed out on the iPhone jackpot again this year -- has been known to brag about the number of iPhones roaming around its network. For rabid communicators, the provider offers a handy $10-a-month with all-you-can-make calls to landlines in over 50 countries, texting in 200-plus countries, and discounted calls in over 150 countries (i.e., calls to Bangladesh will cost $0.34 per minute to landlines and $0.42 to mobile phones instead of the usual $2.99 rate). International internet service is a bit pricier at $15 per megabyte.Of course, if you want to bypass the major carriers altogether (or have an unlocked Sprint or Verizon slot), you can pick up a prepaid Micro SIM card from OneSimCard and save a bundle on per-megabyte overuse charges. Cards cost $44.95 (you’ll get a European phone number), with packages of airtime starting at $10. Rates vary by country--in the United Kingdom, for example, $25 will get you 25MB of Internet use (in 10kb chunks), about 60 sent text messages or around an hour of outgoing talk time (incoming calls and texts are free)--but consistently clock in under the major carriers.