OT: - Cell service in Europe | The Boneyard

OT: Cell service in Europe

Fishy

Fishy

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Going to Europe next week.

My wife and daughter won’t really need their phones, but I’d like them to be able to use them....just not enough to actually put them on my global plan for an extra $200 for the trip.

I had two ideas...

1) By them Orange SIM cards for the trip.

2) Sign up for Google Fi for a month.

Opinions? Both are priced about the same. Both work in the countries we’ll be in.
 
I got the UK Three Sim Card from amazon. It's $25 from amazon and you get 12GB of data + 3000 minutes which is good for 30 days. Worked everywhere for me in southern and central europe even in the Azores.
 
.-.
Drytortugas said:
With google fi you’ll keep your same phone number.
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I’m not switching them to another plan permanently - just doing this for the duration of the trip.
 
Drytortugas said:
With google fi you’ll keep your same phone number.
Expand ...

Right, kind of. If you keep your number and switch to Google Fi, your old service (ATT, Verizon, etc) will be canceled. I'd recommend getting a new number if you don't want this to happen.
 
Orc said:
I got the UK Three Sim Card from amazon. It's $25 from amazon and you get 12GB of data + 3000 minutes which is good for 30 days. Worked everywhere for me in southern and central europe even in the Azores.
Expand ...

I saw that as well - how did you activate it?
 
Fishy said:
Going to Europe next week.

My wife and daughter won’t really need their phones, but I’d like them to be able to use them....just not enough to actually put them on my global plan for an extra $200 for the trip.

I had two ideas...

1) By them Orange SIM cards for the trip.

2) Sign up for Google Fi for a month.

Opinions? Both are priced about the same. Both work in the countries we’ll be in.
Expand ...

Use a spatula and throw their phones in the pond then there's nothing to worry about.
 
We are going to use a new SIM card in Europe next month. We’ve used other schemes before through ATT that are too limiting.
 
.-.
Purpose?
Lil Fishy: Low used phone in the States: will it be used more in Europe? Just buying local SIM card + hotel WiFi may serve her needs. If card runs out, add £ or €.

Mrs Fishy: Non-emergency family illness calls: voip via hotel WiFi. No need for other calls during vacation, no? Extreme messaging, app, website use on vacation: all bets are off.

Pre vacation sledge hammer > spatula
 
Fishy said:
Going to Europe next week.

My wife and daughter won’t really need their phones, but I’d like them to be able to use them....just not enough to actually put them on my global plan for an extra $200 for the trip.

I had two ideas...

1) By them Orange SIM cards for the trip.

2) Sign up for Google Fi for a month.

Opinions? Both are priced about the same. Both work in the countries we’ll be in.
Expand ...

when you say 200 dollars for the trip you are talking 10 dollars a day x 2 phones x 10 days?

Heres the rub in your favor. if no data or phone service is used on a particular day you dont get charged the 10 dollars. When you activate that plan it just stays on the line and only is charged on usage days, if your daughter truly isnt using much (and wife) you may get out for 100 bucks or less......

and the benefit is they dont have to deal with sims which can sometimes be unpleasant.
 
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We have Verizon and when in Europe this past June, the wife and I went on their TravelPass for 10 bucks a day for each phone. It just uses our existing plan. And for our 12 year old he used their pay as you go plan so he would pay any data/messages/calls at a higher rate. But he had his phone off except for wifi for the entire trip. But in an emergency he could turn the cell service on and call if needed. He never did and used his phone a ton with the wifi being literally everywhere there.
 
Fishy said:
I saw that as well - how did you activate it?
Expand ...


I activated it when I arrived in Europe. Just insert the UK Three sim in cellphone sim slot and restart the phone. It was up and running few seconds later. No need to do anything else
 
August_West said:
when you say 200 dollars for the trip you are talking 10 dollars a day x 2 phones x 10 days?

Heres the rub in your favor. if no data or phone service is used on a particular day you dont get charged the 10 dollars. When you activate that plan it just stays on the line and only is charged on usage days, if your daughter truly isnt using much (and wife) you may get out for 100 bucks or less.

and the benefit is they dont have to deal with sims which can sometimes be unpleasant.
Expand ...

No - I know some companies like Verizon have a $10 a day travel plan. My business account with ATT does not. I would have to give them 30 days of international roaming.
 
Da_Aisijimo_Gou said:
Purpose?
Lil Fishy: Low used phone in the States: will it be used more in Europe? Just buying local SIM card + hotel WiFi may serve her needs. If card runs out, add £ or €.

Mrs Fishy: Non-emergency family illness calls: voip via hotel WiFi. No need for other calls during vacation, no? Extreme messaging, app, website use on vacation: all bets are off.

Pre vacation sledge hammer > spatula
Expand ...

Basically, I am looking to spend a little bit of money so I do not have to worry about their phones. I want them to be able to use them without me having to crawl through their settings to make sure I don’t spend $800 because their phones backed up some photos.

I think Google Fi is the answer.
 
.-.
Fishy said:
No - I know some companies like Verizon have a $10 a day travel plan. My business account with ATT does not. I would have to give them 30 days of international roaming.
Expand ...

It must.

That doesnt make any sense . ATT business absolutely offers that. Use it all the time Id call your rep.


this is me logged in to the Att Premier site (business account) and selecting a line that has it.... See highlighted. Thats what you want to add.

Capture.JPG
 
Oof. Was in Europe last year and finally felt Sprint did something right. $15/week for unlimited 4G data worked just about everywhere. Calls were $0.20/minute but who still calls anyone anyway - can always use Whatsapp, Facetime or Facebook messenger for calls anyway.
 
Last edited:
Hey Adrien! said:
Been planning on getting off Verizon and switching to Google Fi to save $$$. Worth it?
Expand ...

Been on Fi for 2+ years. Solid service, no complaints. Bills based on usage have ranged from $31-$43/no. PA still has a lot of dead areas. Fi seems to work in more of them than VZ.
 
Tell your daughter to find an Italian lover and just use his phone. Might work for your wife too. You are screwed though.
 
.-.
Fishy said:
Going to Europe next week.

My wife and daughter won’t really need their phones, but I’d like them to be able to use them....just not enough to actually put them on my global plan for an extra $200 for the trip.

I had two ideas...

1) By them Orange SIM cards for the trip.

2) Sign up for Google Fi for a month.

Opinions? Both are priced about the same. Both work in the countries we’ll be in.
Expand ...

It’s $10 a day to add international to Att or Verizon.
 
Fishy said:
Going to Europe next week.

My wife and daughter won’t really need their phones, but I’d like them to be able to use them....just not enough to actually put them on my global plan for an extra $200 for the trip.

I had two ideas...

1) By them Orange SIM cards for the trip.

2) Sign up for Google Fi for a month.

Opinions? Both are priced about the same. Both work in the countries we’ll be in.
Expand ...
Did you win the vacation on Pig in a Poke?
45516
 
Robertelamin said:
That’s what I did. Att even notifies you of the plan after landing.
Expand ...

Yep. And the Euro SIM card have a huge drawback. They change your phone number. So if @Fishy’s family wants to text everyone they know, like my daughter did in June, it’s not ideal. That worked better back when phones were mostly phones. My wife and Dana’s TMobile, which was only $5 .
 
HuskyHawk said:
Yep. And the Euro SIM card have a huge drawback. They change your phone number. So if @Fishy’s family wants to text everyone they know, like my daughter did in June, it’s not ideal. That worked better back when phones were mostly phones. My wife and Dana’s TMobile, which was only $5 .
Expand ...

I thought TMobile had free international data and texts?
 
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