<p>Thanks all. We have downloaded Viber. Can anyone tell me the best settings to have her phone on while in Spain. I know data roaming should be off. But should she also disable the 3G setting and/or cellular data setting. Sorry, for being so needy but I am really a bit technically challenged.</p>
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<p>I am sorry but that is not exactly true. I would recommend to check your account immediately. Using an iPhone abroad is creepingly expensive. Your data cost are indeed close to organized theft, but your calls and … Messages are equally prohibitive. Having US cellular access to an iPhone abroad is a horrible idea, even when TURNED OFF. a missed phone call could cost you FOUR dollars when directed to your mailbox. Messages are fifty or ten cents a piece, and the user cannot control the messages received. </p>
<p>The only workable usage for an iPhone is via a local SIM or Wifi access. The phone service should be forwarded. Read my suggestion to use google voice plus talkatone. </p>
<p>PS My parents live abroad and we are using phones abroad all the time. We have newer iPhones and older models. Simply stated, unless someone else picks up the tab, staying on AT&T abroad is asking for problems.</p>
<p>Viber is working great. D downloaded it to her itouch and I was skeptical about receiving calls but she has called and texted with no problems. Also sends tons of pictures. Her internet at her homestay has not always been good . The group also bought cheap vodaphones to keep in touch with each other. She did get a calling card for US and when she called it was very clear. The viber calls are not as clear but atleast it is free. Really like the free texts with pics.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC</p>
<p>I’m a little confused. Won’t Viber incur data charges on an iPhone?</p>
<p>Skype is working for us perfectly. D. leaves messages there at her convinience and we do the same. Usually several times a day. She also sends emails. She called once as it is expansive ($3/min.) only becasue she was not sure about internet at hotel when she just arrived. This is not Spain. But D. is further from home than Europe.</p>
<p>My daughter is leaving for Australia in a few days, so same concept, different location. Whe purchased an inexpensive cell phone that will work in Australia, for which she needs to pay $0.80 a text. We will call her cell only in emergencies, whatever that means. We are hoping our primary means of communication will be Skype, and we will use texting to coordinate schedules. I told her we would set our alarm to get up in the middle of the night if we need to, but hubby wasn’t as enthusiastic about that. :-)</p>
<p>We have agreed that our communication will reflect that of yesteryear when calls were made once a week. It worked for my parents and I when I traveled in Europe 35 years ago, so it should work today. ;-)</p>
<p>Some bad information here:</p>
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<li>You can use a domestic iPhone abroad. Authorized carriers can unlock a US phone and sell you a sim card for use there. This is true for ATT’s GSM version of the iPhone. Verizon should unlock the phone for you (which I think only helps with the 4S). If you call your carrier and ask, they’ll tell you what to do. </li>
<li>If that’s too much of a hassle, you can use apps like Line2 which use the internet like Skype. You can of course use Skype as an app. These rely on wifi.</li>
<li>You can buy or rent a phone abroad. Get an international calling card and use that from Spain. (As an oddity, we found that buying cards in the US and mailing them to China was cheaper than buying them in China. I have no idea how the pricing works for Spain.)</li>
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<p>Son has been in Italy (not Spain) for 4 months. We have used Google+ regularly to video chat. We usually make contact via facebook chat, then adjourn to Google+ for the video format. He has been using a local cellphone and brought his Android for wifi access but turned off the data feature (to save money).</p>
<p>Beyond communications, my D is in Spain and is finding the food in Seville to be very expensive…and fresh fruit is not readily available everywhere and when she can get it it is very expensive… She has basic board included but it is low quality and heavily sauced (fattening)…we have traveled extensively so it isn’t just a cultural adjustement. So, we have increased her budget…</p>
<p>If you take your Iphone and in “settings” turn off Cellular Data will this make your phone usable in wi-fi, but otherwise avoid any charges to your bill while you are in Europe? This would be ideal as I could still get emails, internet etc. when in wi-fi and would only need to buy a local phone for calls/emergencies.</p>
<p>My daughter spent a semester in Madrid and we kept in touch via email and the I-Chat application on our MacBooks. Does your daughter’s I-Pad have I-Chat functionality? I’m assuming that she has internet service where she is staying, of course. I agree with those who recommend that she turn off her AT&T phone. We learned that lesson when my daughter was in Italy for a summer program. While in Madrid she bought an inexpensive local phone with prepaid minutes to use to stay in touch with her local friends. She kept in touch with her U.S. friends via Facebook.</p>
<p>As others have stated, it is a VERY BAD IDEA to use a US cell phone in Europe for data or cellular calls. Data rates are outrageous but so are regular cellular calls to and from the US. Please note that US cellular users pay for outgoing AND incoming calls. So, if you are in Madrid and a friend calls your US number, YOU WILL BE CHARGED for the incoming call at roaming international rates, often in excess of $1 per minute. Even if it goes to your voice-mail you will be charged for the call! Buying blocks of minutes from US carriers for international calling is a total rip-off. </p>
<p>The only use of US phone in Europe would be for WiFi calls but all cellular calling and data roaming should be disabled first. Last time I disembarked in Paris, I had left my iPhone in my briefcase without turning off cellular service. By the end of the day, without ever using the phone, I had more than $200 in charges just from voice-mails and e-mail updates. </p>
<p>On the other hand, cellular users in Europe only pay for outgoing calls NOT incoming calls. If you have a local SIM card you will get unlimited incoming calls at no charge. </p>
<p>You can also get inexpensive local plans for $15 and up for unlimited local calls and unlimited SMS. With an international calling card number such as net2phone you can make unlimited calls from your phone to the US for less $30/month. </p>
<p>Don’t bother bringing your iPhone except possibly for WiFi. Even if you get it unlocked, it may still not work. I brought not one but TWO unlocked AT&T 3GS iPhones to Europe last month and neither worked with a European SIM card even though they were quad band GSM phones. Cell phones are dirt cheap in Europe and you can get them with a starter plan for less than $20. If you lose it you won’t be as upset as if you lost your iPhone.</p>
<p>D1 was in London for 2 months last year for training. She unlocked her iPhone for around $25, she then bought a sim card for unlimited data plan, unlimited local calls and very low cost international calls. I think the plan was around $30/mon in London. I would imagine it could also be done in Spain. When she came back to the US, she just popped her AT&T sim card back in, and she is still using that iPhone.</p>
<p>Australia was a complete different story when D1 was there few years ago. Any cell phone or internet plan was very expensive. We had to get her a new phone and prepaid when she was in Sydney. Her school also had very limited internet access, so we couldn’t skype. We ended up buying her a stick, but the first month she streamed few movies, and the bill we got was over $500.</p>
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<p>Haha, I really thought I was reading one of my past posts! Everything above is inline with my family’s experience regarding connecting in Europe, and very much with the multiple warnings I have posted regarding … wanting to stay connected with the good old ATT. While some charges are quite visible (calling the US while roaming) few people are aware of the pitfalls of the missed voicemail and the back and forth traffic that will be billed to you. Yes, that is the roundtrip between the US and your phone abroad. Like others, we had to learn from experience. A friend who traveled to Israel and Hungary was particularly skewered by ATT for such usage. </p>
<p>Regarding the unlocking of the US BASED iPhone, unless one made the correct choices and avoided upgrading without the help of some very smart pirates, it will not work well. Just as CD experienced, I could not make a 3GS work, but was saved by an older model that had been retired eons ago. That phone that runs an older software accepted the local SIMs without any issues, except for going dead at the airport in Madrid. </p>
<p>Although it is possible as the pirates seem to come up with solutions, I have yet to see anyone with one the last models of the iPhone working with local microsims abroad. </p>
<p>Last but not least, all the tips and tricks for wifi usage obviously require … a wifi connection. The other option is a cellular data plan bought locally.</p>
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<p>The cheapest grocery store will be Mercadona. They have the best prices for fresh fruit.<br>
[Mercadona</a> Sevilla](<a href=“http://www.tiendas-espana.es/tiendas/Mercadona/Sevilla.html]Mercadona”>Mercadona Sevilla)</p>
<p>Another option is to look for the open markets.</p>