<p>Quick question: Youngest DD’s BF is in Poland visiting his grandparents for a few weeks over the holidays. He has both his US cell phone and a prepaid SIM phone that was purchased in Poland. I see DD has sent/received a few texts from his US phone while he is there and no additional charges on our line so far. They also plan on Skyping (but his grandparents do not have internet service).</p>
<p>What is the cheapest way for her to text her BF while he is there without blowing up his US cell phone bill or our cell phone bill? We have ATT and the International texting is $15.00 a month for 1000 texts (which should be more than enough). Are there any hidden charges on that I should be worried about? This seems to be the easiest and cheapest way for them to keep in touch while he is there. She would be texting his prepaid SIM phone.</p>
<p>Have them both download Whats App. There is no charge for the first year and then .99 a year after. As long as they have web access, there are no charges and no limits on the amount of texts sent. We use to it to text the family in Holland all the time. You can slos send photos and videos through it.</p>
<p>Agree with the recommendation of the what’s app. Application. Currently using it. And yes, Facebook too. Also an app called viber. All these require Internet access.</p>
<p>If they are both on ATT, there is no cost for your D to text him and there is no cost for him to receive the text. He would only incur costs when he texts back when he doesn’t use wifi.</p>
<p>Does that require cellular data to be on? We avoided doing phone to phone because of the cellular charges. I actually paid for some cellular and some Data roaming jut to avoid a big hit, but amusing what’s app</p>
<p>Njres, that is what is quoted on the ATT site for costs for texting to Europe through ATT World Connect.</p>
<p>I am not sure what provider he currently uses. I will have to ask her but that could be why so far no extra charges have shown up on her phone for the texts she has sent to his US based phone.</p>
<p>He has no internet connection where he is staying. His grandparents are old and live in rural Poland (about an hour outside of Warsaw). I am not sure if his friends there have internet (he was born here, raised in Poland, and moved back to the US in his teens). </p>
<p>I will ask DD when she gets home if he has ATT.</p>
<p>The first hurdle is to get access to data and web services. All the apps in the world won’t help if you do not have reasonable access on the device. A local SIM with data might be the answer. </p>
<p>Keeping a US phone connected abroad can lead to nasty surprises.</p>
<p>I assume he knows what he is doing with his own phone since he travels to Poland once or twice a year. If he incurs a ton of charges on his US phone that is on him frankly as he should know better. He does have a local SIM with him as well she says (I assume with data). </p>
<p>HImom, you are funny lol. DD says that Skype-ing is enough for her while he is gone (so he must have access to internet somewhere or some sort of data connection on his local SIM phone). However, I feel like at some point she or he will go into rapid text mode like kids today tend to. Right now she is sending him a pic of a gift he bought her for Christmas lol. So much for only needed Skype.</p>
<p>There’s a lot more free WiFi in places other than the US. I would totally disconnect cellular data and rely on Wifi as it’s usually free. This was the case in Europe and in Asia. Check out the WiFi availability in the places where he’ll be and that will likely be sufficient. Using cellular data abroad with a US carrier and from a US carrier can be very expensive (sending info can be expensive too). Investigate the other possibilities.</p>
<p>Have been over here for a week and found very little if any free wifi. Several services claimed to be free but sent a pass code to your phone and if you accepted it you’d be billed. DH used a free wifi over here once and was hacked. Be careful. One of my favorites was a sign in a restaurant we passed the other day. It said “no wifi. Talk to each other”. Sad part- the sign was in English, which is not the native language where I am. Message to the ugly Americans, perhaps.</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone’s suggestions. She says she is using Skype to text and talk to his local phone in Poland. I had no idea Skype could do this but she is paying for it herself and I don’t see any extra charges on her bill. I will definitely keep an eye on her usage as he is there for a couple more weeks.</p>