Easiest way to text within USA on UK mobiles

[pigby]

Hi

Off to California in 3 months time - last part of stay is a few days in DLR.

DD will be 19 this time and one morning she may decide to stay around the pool (or in bed!)for a while and we walk to the parks.

I thought it may be a good idea for us to text each other just to let her know where we are, so she can meet up with us and wondered what the best method would be to do this.

I am thinking we put data roaming on our phones (iPhones - two with O2 and 1 with Orange) and select a US network but no idea on cost. Or would it be better to buy prepaid US Sim cards but would our phones need to be 'unlocked' or unblocked' to do this? Wouldn't really be ringing home to UK nor would we be making calls - just texting to keep costs down.

 

[pascalstongue]

If you get access to free wi-fi there I would download Whatsapp or Viber to make free calls/texts. I used Viber whilst in WDW in May in the parks and the resort. No problems with coverage at all.

 

[flortlebap]

Whatsapp is good if you can find free wifi - it isn't everywhere in the parks and you still apparently have to pay in some hotels (FW and off site)

Data roaming - I would say switch it off - my iPhone hit £5 in data for one day and that was only for checking Lines about three times!

Texting prices weren't actually too bad so that would be cheaper than paying to roam!

 

[disneyholic family]

keep your data roaming switched OFF (unless you can get an unlimited data plan- which i think isn't available)..

so keep that data roaming switched OFF OFF OFF!!! really.....unless you have a LOT of money lying around with nothing to do with it but hand it over to the phone company!!

 

[pigby]

Thanks. Unsure whether I would get free WiFi in Disneyland Park (Anaheim) or not.

If not, will I be able to send a text as normal with the data roaming switched off. Would the phone just find Orange's 'partner' over in the US without doing anything else?

 

[flortlebap]

Yes, you can connect to the network but you need to disable the push data on your phone settings and don't let it connect to the Internet it took my iPhone about an hour from landing to connect to the US network.

 

[duffdo]

For heavens sake, do not use cellular data services on a UK phone in the US!!! Turn the cellular data off!!! The cost of data use and calls for UK networks in the US is ridiculous! Personally, I would use WiFi wherever possible. If you need the use of your phone all the time, you could either try and get a US SIM card. They are available on EBAY. You should find Simple Mobile ones fairly easy to get hold of, however you will find it a struggle if you have an iPhone 5! The other, potentially more simple option would be to be a cheap PAYG phone when you get there. If you do go down the road of getting a SIM card, don't forget to ask your UK network to unlock your phone, otherwise it won't work!

 

[wayneg]

As others have said keep data off, use WiFi where possible then text when required. We have never had more than a few £ extra on our bills.
We all use Kakao Talk when we have a WiFi connection, free messages, calls, photo sharing etc.

O2 costs abroad here 40p/text, data £6/mb capped at £40 http://international.o2.co.uk/internationaltariffs/travelling_abroad

Orange also 40p/text, data £8/mb http://www.orange.co.uk/roaming/usa/#

 

[MichelinMan]

Orange have some data bundles which aren't bad compared to most of the other operators (certainly cheaper than O2). £6/day for 30MB - which I might use for the odd day - used this in Chicago last year for a few days. They also have a £75 for a month capped at 150MB, but not sure whether I will need that much with WiFi access in Disney. I will be offsite for around 10 days though, but will probably only need the data for a handful of days (mainly to use the lines app around Universal, and the SeaWorld app).

I wouldn't worry too much about the texts, as long as it is the odd one here and there. It is the data that is a killer - and the Disney app is one of the biggest killers. Just opening it up seems to use a couple of MB!

By contrast, the Touring Plans App hardly uses any data at all - it seems to be well optimised to reduce data usage requirements.

If you do use data, just remember to disable any automatic push emails.