I know someone here will be able to help! We are travelling to France from 3 Nov to 13 Nov. I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 (Verizon) phone. I’d like to buy a SIM card (all I know thus far is that I need the nano size) for use while in France. I don’t need to call the US, but I do need data, texting and calling capabilities. I don’t need to keep my US number while I am there, so a French phone number is fine. The phone will be primarily for calling and texting our daughter, who is studying over there, and possibly for GPS, though we will likely rely on paper maps.
I’ve looked at a few plans, but am totally confused.
You would need to unlock your phone first. I am not sure if you will be able to use Verizon phone overseas. The first thing I would do is to call Verizon first to get those two questions answered.
If you can’t unlock your phone, but your phone is usable in France, you may want to buy international data service from Verizon. I did that when I went to England, but from ATT. It cost me $20 for certain amount of data. I used it for VOIP calls, like Viber. You can also use Viber and WhatApp for texting by using data and wifi services. You may not need a local sim card if you have international data service.
Verizon included a sim card removal device with my phone when I got it a few months ago. I’m assuming they wouldn’t have done that if the phone was locked, right? I think there are new FCC rules about this that went into effect earlier this year. I know that all new iPhones, at least, come unlocked now.
Regarding the international plan, could you only use it for VOIP calls? And was the $20 plan sufficient for all your data needs or did you need to purchase more as you went? The price sounds great and much lower than the SIM cards I was looking at.
I find that it is very confusing and frustrating trying to plan from the US. It seems that after I’ve finally identified the carrier and data, call and text ability that I want, I can’t find it at the airport or in any of the easy to get to shops that claim to carry the SIM and features I’m looking for. Sigh.
My suggestion - if you go the SIM route, relax and see what is most easily available once there. Perhaps your D can suggest the best carrier for coverage. Then see what is offered on the SIMS that the stores are carrying - data amount, call usage, etc. Hopefully, one will meet your needs.
You can also check where WIFI hot spots are also for out and about needs if you can’t find a SIM card you like. My go to is always Starbucks when in Paris, but there’s also free WIFI in parks and other public places. It is sometimes quite slow. I always have included WIFI at hotels I book - some do charge extra. I Skype back to US. I rarely need to make local calls, but I understand that you have more reason for this and a SIM with a fully working phone would be useful.
Check also with Tripadvisor and FlyerTalk forums. This question is frequently asked and you may get some very recent advice and experience. By the way, if you solve the problem, please post on your return. I’m always ready to hear about phone solutions!
Addition - I find Skype usage very cheap. I call our home land line frequently from Europe and Asia. Very low rates. I put in $25 for a 2 week trip to Asia - phoned DH daily 30 - 60 minute chats. Still have money in the Skype account.
If you bought your phone at a discount in exchange for signing up for a contract, then the provider can refuse to unlock it until that contract is over.
My Verizon S5 is unlocked and I have purchased a SIM card for service in France. That’s all I can tell you at this point since I am clueless as to whether or not it will work. We will be Paris based beginning the end of this month and lasting till T-giving. When we travel we usually use Skype and email to contact the office and home but I’m like you, we just want to use it in order to contact busy D (in Paris as well) in order to coordinate lunchtime or dinner meet ups. I would also like to be able to use the Voyages- SNCF app without the worry of finding a WIFI hotspot. If I successfully get the thing working I will try to remember to post here!
For only a 10 day one-off i wouldn’t bother w a new local sim card I wd just use my American carrier and activate int’l voice/text/data service temporarily, supplementing data service a free wifi where available.
I am with ATT, and the main reason is for international usage. Verizon uses a different network (CDMA) and their iphone is also different than ATT iphones. There was a thread about not able to use unlocked Verizon iphone with ATT.
Carriers won’t unlock your phone until it is fully paid for. I wouldn’t advise you to unlock your phone by yourself or it may go out of warranty.
For ~$20 international data, it was plenty for me to text/call D2, use google map and surf the net from time to time. I was also able to check emails when wifi was not available. I was out of the country for a week.
When my kids traveled abroad, they took an old unlocked iphone and bought local sim card. They also used their data service to call me via Viber. We avoided paying international calls.
If you decide you only need data, you can rent a “mi-fi” from travel wifi dot come, very nice people, the device works on the 3g & 4 g networks, you can use it for VOIP calls if you have an app for that on your phone
I was able to turn on “phone to go” on Comcast and download an app to have a US number whilst abroad.
In the past only ATT and Tmobile used sim cards, for GSM 3g and 4g service.
Verizon and Sprint used CDMA, which did not use a sim card.
Now there is LTE, which is used with a sim card. But there are different frequencies and your Verizon phone might not be unlocked or be able to be used in Europe, with foreign sim card.
So I would call Verizon and see if the phone can be used overseas.
My D took her unlocked GSM android phone to Germany this summer and bought a local sim card. But she mostly used wifi to send us texts over whatsapp.
Your phone will be incompatible with French SIM cards. Europe doesn’t use CMDA and they’re on a different frequency for LTE. Verizon allows its customers to rent GSM compatible phones for when they’re traveling, so contact them if you want a fully functional phone when you travel.
I believe some Verizon phones have a slot for sim cards that allows them to be used internationally on GSM networks. You would have to find out about your specific phone model.
Is that true for all phones SaintSaens? In fact I took D my old Verizon Samsung G3 to Europe for my D and she replaced the SIM card and is using it full time. I contacted Verizon and they told me that my French SIM card would work in a similar fashion…but we shall see.
@musicamusica , my daughter is using her Verizon phone with a foreign SIM card and it works fine. She had a English SIM card when she was in England this past summer and bought a French SIM card when she arrived in Paris. She’s not living in Paris, but started there. Both worked perfectly. For calls to us, however, she uses Facebook messenger because it’s free and works more reliably than Skype. Her French phone number is useful to her friends there, which is why she has it.
I think I am going to try to work with Verizon for our needs this time, but when we were in France six years ago, our phones did not work, in spite of what they told us. That’s why I posted about getting a SIM card, but maybe VZ’s technology has improved enough to work this time?
Okay, I took the advice of those who told me to try Verizon (in spite of our previous bad experience). We turned on the international calling plan for the billing cycle that will include the time we are there, for $40 per phone. It includes 100 minutes of voice, 100 texts, and 100 MB data. There are, of course, charges for overages, but this plan looks like a better deal than the pay-as-you-go plan offered by VZ or any of the purchased SIM cards, some of which were $80-$100 each.
Our daughter’s phone is unlocked because she has had it for three years, which is why she was able to use SIM cards in two different countries. However, for people still on their phone contracts who plan to be away for longer, it might be worth getting the company to unlock your phone so that you can install a SIM card. Either that, or buy a prepaid phone when you get there. But that looked to be the more expensive option for our short trip.
Thanks for saving me from going the stupid route.I’ll let you know whether this truly works (the saleswoman naturally promised that it would) after we return.