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Verizon $100/month plan for iPhone and Apple Watch usage in Europe

R

RibbonRomanceAuthor

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Caminos Frances, Norte and Ingles June-July 2022
Per recent research in planning for my June Camino, I see that I can either pay Verizon $10 for each day I use my phone or $100 per month. Since I'll be in Europe for the Camino as well as a family visit in Ireland, I'm looking at $300 for usage the same as I have it in the US vs potentially $900 for three months at $10 per day. Since I want my apple watch with fall detection to work, I'm going with the $100/month plan.
 
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This is certainly the easiest thing to do, but I am offended by the prices that carriers charge for European roaming plans. I use a European SIM, which is nuisance to set up, but then I'm smilin' & dialin' like a local. Your phone works like it does at home, you just have a different phone number.
 
RibbonRomanceAuthor said:
I see that I can either pay Verizon $10 for each day I use my phone or $100 per month.
Click to expand...

That $100/month is not a bad deal! I'm on AT&T here in the U.S. and as far as I know they only offer a $10 "international day pass" data plan with no monthly discount – fine for a week or so, but not for a two or three month trip. That said, using a local (European) SIM card on your travels will likely be even less expensive than that Verizon $100/month plan.


I share your offense, and agree that swapping out SIM cards while abroad has been a more fraught process than it should be. But it's made somewhat easier by the fact that newer model iPhones (ones released since 2018) as well as many Android phones now utilize a dual SIM set up where you can keep your domestic number + calling plan on one SIM (often on an eSIM, which is permanently "lives" in your phone's memory) and use a local SIM (via a second eSIM or a physical nanoSIM card you insert into your phone's SIM slot) on the other. Best of both worlds! Lots of threads on here about the various merits of different European SIM cards and data plans but Orange and Vodaphone seem to be well regarded and easily obtainable in Spain.
 
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My biggest concern is that the Apple Watch fall detection feature will work bc that’s the reason I bought it. So far it seems that monthly plan will work whereas with any different set up it may not.
 
RibbonRomanceAuthor said:
My biggest concern is that the Apple Watch fall detection feature will work bc that’s the reason I bought it. So far it seems that monthly plan will work whereas with any different set up it may not.
Click to expand...

I have an Apple Watch as well and also want the fall detection feature to be able to connect to a local help/emergency network when I travel. As far as I'm aware, any data plan will accomplish that - but that Verizon monthly plan you described definitely seems like the most straightforward, even if it may not be the least expensive.
 
I have T Mobile over 55 plan and my phone works great in Europe. It is free! I was in Spain and Gibraltar in November 2021. When I landed in Spain T Mobile sent me a text and welcomed me to Spain.... I also had a fall in Madrid. Before I could get up, my watch started activating the SOS system. My friend turned it off for me, and it asked a second time if I was ok before it would turn it off.
 
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The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I've had T-Mobile service for years. I have used it on 5 Caminos, and other trips abroad with no problems and no extra charges.
 
RJ in CA said:
I have T Mobile over 55 plan and my phone works great in Europe. It is free!
Click to expand...

trecile said:
I've had T-Mobile service for years. I have used it on 5 Caminos, and other trips abroad with no problems and no extra charges.
Click to expand...

Oh, I have long been envious of you T-Mobile users because of this! Maybe one day I'll work up the energy to switch. (In the meantime my AT&T plan comes with a free HBO Max subscription, which I guess is ... something?)
 
SenorJacques said:
Oh, I have long been envious of you T-Mobile users because of this! Maybe one day I'll work up the energy to switch. (In the meantime my AT&T plan comes with a free HBO Max subscription, which I guess is ... something?)
Click to expand...
T Mobile give you apple tv and Netflix for free.... I am a big fan of AT&T , but I live in an area where T Mobile works better so I switched after I returned from Spain in 2019. I have to say... I really do enjoy the free Europe plan with T Mobile and I only pay 35.00 each for my phone and my husbands phone and the apple watch is only 5.00 a month.
 
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I am going in July, and that was on my list of things to decide what to do. I was going to leave my Apple watch behind, but now, I will put it back on my list. I will also be in Europe for 3-4 months.

This is a great help!!

Thanks!
 
To put a twist to this topic, I've been able to use the WhatsApp for calls and text messages when traveling in other countries without having to pay anything. I just make sure that the numbers I call are in my contacts, and if I need to call/text a new number I simply add it to contacts before calling/texting. With my Verizon unlimited data plan there is absolutely no charge whatsoever.

Here is perhaps some information that could clarify the use of WhatsApp.

What to Do When Charged for Free International WhatsApp Phone Calls

Wondering why you were charged for a WhatsApp international phone call and how to stop it from happening again next time? Here's an explanation and some tips for your next call.
www.lifewire.com
 
Yeah, T Mobile is great. Unlimited data roaming and unlimited texting in 130 plus countries. International data call is 25 cents per minute but if you make a call using wireless, it's free. I called my husband every day during my Camino. You get free basic Netflix (you can watch from only 1 equipment and if you want to watch on multiple TVs, you just pay the differences of around $5.00). I really like the international conveniences that T Mobile offers. BTW, I don't work for, or own and T Mobile stocks so it's my honest opinion.
 
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Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
The $100 dollar plan has limits on minutes, text and data. Look closely. The $10 a day includes everything you have at home. If you always use WiFi it doesn’t cost anything for that day. The $100 plan is great if you don’t make a lot of calls but if you keep your phone in WiFi calling and are in a WiFi area the minutes don’t count. I think it all matters to how much time you want to spend worrying about what your phone is doing. I’ve used both plans and the $10 is no worry plan.
 
I used both plans. For years I used the $10/day for fear that I would run out of data. This year I was in Europe for 3 1/2 weeks and went on the monthly plan and did just fine. I was very careful to use wifi whenever possible and I turned cellular off on all but most necessary apps to assure they didn’t use data in the background.
 
We switched from Verizon to T-Mobile 55+ with the international plan in 2015. Better pricing that included the ‘free, 2-yr iPhones, no more looking for hotspots, no more carrying a second ‘international’ phone outside the US. No more calling issues when we visited Canada, Peru & Ecuador (including Galapagos Is), and of course, Europe.

On our 2018 Camino, I was even able to use ‘Find My Phone’ to locate my wife when our party of 5 split up based on walking pace. After 2 months in the EU, along with the many calls made within the EU for trying to locate lodgings, my total extra cost above my flat monthly charge was about US$25. And during our 2nd month out, T-mobile even sent me a text to inform me of these extra charges.

No interests in T-mobile except that they have provided me with very good service, customer and actual, for these past 6 years.
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I forgot to mention. When I traveled in November 2021, I traveled with two friends. Each of us had a different Mobile service; Verision, AT&T and T Mobile. They paid for the monthly plan. My friend who was on AT&T had difficulty receiving text messages. WhatsApp was more reliable. However, we spent Most of our time in the south of Spain ... Andalusia Area and Gibraltar.

We also spent a week in Madrid; all three worked fine in Madrid.
 
I appreciate all these responses and insights! Thank you!
While on the Camino, I expect my phone use will be very minimal. I mainly want that fall detection to work bc that’s the sole reason I bought that watch. I want help if needed and I want my son to be contacted.
But in Ireland afterwards, I expect to be using the phone in a more normal fashion but will, as I do now, seek out WiFi and turn off unused apps.
Buon Camino
 
I used Google Fi (it's for US residents).

Edit: I deleted most of what I originally wrote here. It occurred to me that something i wrote was wrong so I checked things. There has been a number of changes since I last used Fi internationally. Instead I'll direct you this Google Fi support page:

How to use Google Fi outside of the US - Google Fi Wireless Help

What you need to know about the international roaming policy Activation: You need to activate and use the service in the US for at least one day before you use it abroad as per G
support.google.com

All searches I've done for alternative non-Fi US service comes up with T-Mobile as my second choice.
 
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AT&T is the same. It is $10 per day capped at $100 per billing cycle.
 
RibbonRomanceAuthor said:
My biggest concern is that the Apple Watch fall detection feature will work bc that’s the reason I bought it. So far it seems that monthly plan will work whereas with any different set up it may not.
Click to expand...
The Apple Watch fall detection dials 911 which won’t reach emergency services anywhere in the EU to my knowledge. My experience in 3 Camino has shown that getting a local SIMM card is by far the best way to go. Far cheaper plus if any local business or person that wishes to call you would not need to call a “different country”.
 
In Europe you want 112, which also works in the UK and Eire where 999 is the standard emergency number.

I’d be stunned if it isn’t easy, or automatic, for an apple product to make that switch, I’d almost assume that it reconfigures as soon as it detects the local network.
 
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The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
By a SIM from a European carrier and pay a lot less than $300.
 
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
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