<p>A bit of back ground…I’ve been with Verizon since they were GTE Mobil (back when phones were the size of a brick). I’ve found the best way to get a believable answer from CS - for anything other than the most basic questions - is to call 3-5 times, ask the same question and wait for a majority answer to emerge. Even then I’ve still been hit with surprises.</p>
<p>So, with this system I have yet to receive what I consider to be a reliable answer to the following:</p>
<p>" The Verizon iPhone5 is both CDMA and GSM capable. It has a SIM slot. As per numerous - and reliable - tech news sources, this phone comes ‘unlocked’. As per these news sources, one is ‘should’ be able to purchase a SIM in another country (in our case Germany), plug this babe in and be off and running. Can you please verify that this is true."</p>
<p>Oh…the variety of answers I have received. Everything from, “YUP no problem” to “no way” or well, maybe but you can’t test it before you get there and if it doesn’t work…call us then. </p>
<p>Has anyone actually used this phone successfully outside of the US. If so …how? I did speak to one CS rep who seemed particularly informed. She mentioned something about having to reauthorize a different SIM card via the phones associated iTunes account. But, she was unclear as to whether this was needed if the SIM was 'new and out of the box", or only if the SIM had been previously associated with and used by another device. I was hoping to borrow someones SIM, put it into my son’s phone and then have him call me from the other side of dinner table and see if his ‘foreign’ ID and number came across to my domestic iPhone.</p>
<p>The phone also requires a nano SIM - which is yet a new ‘standard’. The web shows interesting ways to trim and sand a normal sized card so that it would fit. However, I’d rather not attempt that procedure. Does anyone know if nano cards are commonly available in Europe?</p>
<p>I asked this same question many times before signing a contract with Verizon for a couple of iPhone 5’s. in 2 Verizon stores I was told the iPhone 5’s would not be unlocked for international use for 6 months,however, finally, after a lot of checking, I was told by 2 individuals at local Verizon store that they were unlocked right out of the box for international use. Now, I haven’t verified this but I do believe it to be true and thus went with Verizon iPhone 5’s rather than the unlocked version at the apple store or the AT&T version - my thinking being that this will be the most versatile phone and can be used with any network once the contract is fulfilled (unlocked phone from apple store and AT&T phone can not be used on Verizon network in the future). I hope I’m right!</p>
<p>I have been told that the Verizon iPhone5 wouldn’t work domestically if you tried to run it on T-Mobil for example. But then, this too wouldn’t make sense if it is a contract phone. The customer would be paying the monthly contract fee and then be paying for the alternate carrier. I’m somewhat tempted to just try out this scenario but even if it does work, it still doesn’t guarantee functionality outside of US.</p>
<p>A particular CS rep mentioned something about having to contact VZ global services so they could ‘ensure the correct and most recent software’ was on the phone and then it ‘should’ work. When I asked how a phone, out of the box less than 4 weeks could not have the latest SW…there was a stammering silence. Argh.</p>
<p>Now I am getting nervous again. I visited 2 Verizon stores and went to Apple before I bought S an iPhone 5. Today we went to Apple again and then came home and called Verizon. We also have an instruction sheet from S’s program in Denmark explaining how to use a smart phone. After the phone call, S is pretty sure that he knows what to do when he gets to Copenhagen. I think that I will remain nervous until we get that first phone bill that shows we are not getting charged exorbitant fees for overseas calls.</p>
<p>LOQ: Will your son be purchasing a new plan (with new sim card)? My d. inherited an older Verizon smartphone from s. (HTC, not iphone). Called verizon and they gave us an unlock code to use the phone internationally. It will need a separate sim card. So, once a new sim card is in place, you should not be hit with any high calling fees on your existing plan.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, one needs to purchase a local sim with “pay as you go” plan and not use either Verizon or other US sim/plan when overseas to keep calling costs at a minimum. In the UK, these can be purchased out of machines in the arrivals area of Heathrow airport (also microsims with data allowances for iPads - which I have found to be the easiest way to get these). As long as the phone is unlocked getting service should be straightforward. I’ve also found that calling the US is very much cheaper with a PAYG plan than anything offered for travelers this .</p>
<p>DW went to India with her Verizon I-phone which was “unlocked”. She bought a card there which tecnhically would give her a new (local) telephone number and run off their account. Unfortunately, it never worked, but I don’t know whether it was an issue with Verizon or the local dealer…</p>
<p>With D’s 4S she had to call verizon and get them to unlock if for international travel. She will buy a sim card when she gets there…program prefers students to have a local phone number in the country they are in. If you don’t need a foreign phone number, you can use verizons international plan but I doubt that’s a good value if traveling a long time.</p>
<p>I had a Samsung Galaxy III with Verizon, and bought an international plan from them to use it abroad. It never worked in Ethiopia, never worked in Cambodia, never worked in south India, never worked in Mumbai, never worked in Gujarat.</p>
<p>It worked in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. Go figure. I’ll never do that again.</p>
<p>I’ve gotten a recommendation for a OneSIM card (onesimcard.com) which can be used across multiple countries. D1 is going to be doing an extensive amount of travel for the rest of the year, and she will be able to use one microsim card for the entire trip. She’ll be able to test it out in the US first. This is on a Sprint iPhone 4s, but many models are covered, including the Verizon iPhone 5 with that little nano card. Check the website for rates. </p>
<p>There are other providers who offer similar types of global coverage cards, but I trust the recommendation (professional cell phone service specialist hired by my employer to help reduce company cell phone costs; we get free advice from him as a benefit). </p>
<p>mini, the Thar Desert has 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor. Who knew?</p>