<p>Midwest, it might depend on type of phone. We have iphones. We had D1’s iphone 4s unlocked two summers ago. Just called verizona and told them she was going overseas. This past summer D2 went to England. D2’s iphone 5 was already unlocked (we double checked). Both bought sim cards in country they visited. D1 was required to do that or get cheap phone because program required “local” phone number. D2 did it this summer since other option was to leave phone in airplane mode and just use wifi, but wifi was spotty and she wanted to be able to text within group so got a deal at vodaphone for month of calling, texting and they as special had unlimited data which was nice when exploring new places.</p>
<p>We unlocked my D’s Verizon iphone4S (GSM/CDMA enabled for international use) before she left for Israel for the summer. Once she arrived, she switched the SIM card for a local number. She needed her US phone number to be accessible at one point, so she just reinserted the US sim card and used the international roaming we had activated. She was only gone for 10 weeks so it was worth it to us to add the $25/month international data plan for when she wasn’t in Israel during that time. It did take a few calls to different Verizon techs to get the phone unlocked, so give yourself some time. </p>
<p>Where is the link to the $25/mo int’l data plan? What I saw on the Verizon website was $25 per 100 MB – which is pretty darned pricey. Many of the places we will be staying don’t have wifi, but the main reason I want data (and hence a smart phone rather than a basic calls/text device) is for Google maps, which we have found provides better driving time estimates than our Garmin.</p>
<p>I have been reading the various Samsung and Verizon boards and have found that while the Galaxy S4 is indeed unlocked, a lot of people still have problems getting data service. There was in fact a blurb on one Verizon page that said that unlocked phone with an int’l sim card would get you phone and text, but they could not guarantee data. </p>
<p>Suspect I will be buying a phone when we land!</p>
<p>Maybe you should splurge for an unlocked 4S. D’s worked like a charm, data plan and all, with a local SIM card - in a pretty obscure country. The reason I do not recommend a 5 is simple - crappy battery life, drops wifi when below 2 bars and wouldn’t reconnect without prodding, issues with switching between towers, etc. </p>
<p><a href=“http://store.apple.com/us/buy-iphone/iphone4s/8gb-white-unlocked”>http://store.apple.com/us/buy-iphone/iphone4s/8gb-white-unlocked</a></p>