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European SIM Cards

Hyde

Hyde

Matt SR
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I will be travelling to Norway, connecting through the UK next week, and wanted to look into how much a European SIM card would cost/what would be a good carrier to consider.

Specifically, there will be moments in the trip where it would be good to have data and phone capabilities to meet up with family, who we will be rendezvousing with.

Any recommendations or experiences?
 
Is your phone unlocked? If you are thinking of using your Verizon, AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile phone in Europe by replacing the SIM card - it won't work.
If your phone is unlocked, then you'll want to purchase a SIM card in each country your visiting, as that's usually much cheaper because getting a SIM card in one country and using it in another can be quite costly. Sometimes you also can't recharge the card out of country.
I usually get one from the country's major carrier (i.e. O2 or Vodafon) to ensure the best coverage and buy whatever option they have that offers the most data for the money because I use my phone more for that than calling and texting is usually the same regardless of the card's options.
If your phone is locked, there are other options. Give me a call and I'll let you know what's best to do.
 
^ And don't forget all of the socialism as well. :razz:

^^ I do have a Sprint iPhone, but it is unlockable gratefully. I'll give you a buzz Jerry for recommendations.
 
If your phone is locked and your contract is finished or in good standing, you can usually have it unlocked by bringing it into a store and explaining that you'll be traveling.

Unless you have AT&T. They'll try to tell you how much money you can save by using their international service... Which will cost you from three to ten times as much as doing SIM swaps.

Also: your phone has to be capable of using European networks... Usually tri-band or better, IIRC.
 
rollermonkey said:
If your phone is locked and your contract is finished or in good standing, you can usually have it unlocked by bringing it into a store and explaining that you'll be traveling.
Click to expand...
You used to be able to do that, but as of this year unlocking any phone is illegal and most stores won't touch them. However you can easily look up how to unlock your phone on the interwebs. :wink:
 
ECG said:
rollermonkey said:
If your phone is locked and your contract is finished or in good standing, you can usually have it unlocked by bringing it into a store and explaining that you'll be traveling.
Click to expand...
You used to be able to do that, but as of this year unlocking any phone is illegal and most stores won't touch them. However you can easily look up how to unlock your phone on the interwebs. :wink:
Click to expand...

That's completely bonkers!! In the uk, just about any independent mobile phone shop / market stall will do it in about half an hour!
 
It's been almost 4 years since I was there, so things may have changed, but mobile phone service in the USA is practically third world.
 
caffeine_demon said:
ECG said:
rollermonkey said:
If your phone is locked and your contract is finished or in good standing, you can usually have it unlocked by bringing it into a store and explaining that you'll be traveling.
Click to expand...
You used to be able to do that, but as of this year unlocking any phone is illegal and most stores won't touch them. However you can easily look up how to unlock your phone on the interwebs. :wink:
Click to expand...

That's completely bonkers!! In the uk, just about any independent mobile phone shop / market stall will do it in about half an hour!
Click to expand...

Yep they say they do but it does not work properly and after a while the phone goes off as many people have found out.

Also many android phones and iPhones cannot be unlocked.
 
I seem to remember that it's a legal requirement that the networks in the UK offer a valid way for the phones to be unlocked. Essentially, it's against consumer rights to enforce the phones on a single network once that phone is your property.

So what you need to do is call the network provider and then pay them to issue the unlock code (charging to unlock is legal :) ).

There are databases of unlock codes often leaked though. So people on markets and the like buy those databases and if you're lucky, your phone will be on the list and it can be unlocked.

Now... Those databases are "stolen", so if the network should find out that you had your phone unlocked by one of their stolen databases rather than paid for to be unlocked, they're probably within their rights to bar the phone.

It's one of those - you take the risk things. I doubt out of contract they really care too much though.

Doesn't help Hyde mind :lol:
 
The telecommunications industry in the U.S. is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from monopoly. Very few players, regulations that favor industry, very regressive consumer rights. The mobile phone locking/unlocking issue is apart of that, with very few U.S. phones on the market able to be easily unlocked. It is all overseen by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission: mobile networks, wireless, cable television, etc.

Net neutrality is another hot issue in the U.S. right now, with things looking to go to the way of an anti-net neutrality state, where companies will need to pay more to ISPs to have their data move quickly.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpbOEoRrHyU[/youtube]

It's pretty **** up.

All that being said, we are still discussing SIM cards on the travel, and it turns out wifi may be adequate for our meeting up. Appreciate everyone's input!
 
Furie we tried getting phones unlocked at work. It can take up to two weeks and they charge for it.
 
Yep, that's the kind of thing I was on about :)

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
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