Semester abroad and Iphone....

[Wislodgers]

My son is going for a semester to Ireland. I would like him to have a cell phone for texting....and just so I know he can contact home if he needs anything. Any ideas of what we can do? I wouldnt mind adding an international texting plan, but I am concerned about phone calls or data charges adding up. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! I don't want to be surprised with a horrific phone bill! I am not worried about him abusing it, he is very responsible, but I know people have charged up bills unknowingly! We have AT&T

 

[tarheel618]

Would an Ipod work with a WIFI connection? He could text anyone with an iphone/ipad and even facetime with them. I don't think you would have to worry about data plans.

 

[scrapquitler]

My son is going for a semester to Ireland. I would like him to have a cell phone for texting....and just so I know he can contact home if he needs anything. Any ideas of what we can do? I wouldnt mind adding an international texting plan, but I am concerned about phone calls or data charges adding up. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! I don't want to be surprised with a horrific phone bill! I am not worried about him abusing it, he is very responsible, but I know people have charged up bills unknowingly! We have AT&T

Check with the program he is attending about cell phones. The one I studied in Spain with provides a local cell phone from a Spanish Cell Company as part of the program fees.

Otherwise, since he has AT&T, he can probably buy a local prepaid sim card in Ireland and use that.

 

[SandrA9810]

If he used it in airplane mode for most the day, he could just pick up on wi-fi signals to use. Then he could use facetime to call other iphone/ipad users. I believe texts to other apple devices are used through data, not the text plan. It's one issue phone companies have with Apple, and that's why the texts are in blue and not green.

Of course this will only work if you're a family of iphone users.

Other options are for him to get a cheap flip phone and just use a carrier over there for local calling. Most the companies use phones with SIM cards.

 

[tvguy]

My daughter is going to school for a year in England. She just bought a "pay as you go" phone when she got there.
Her phone cost $25, includes 250 minutes and 250 mb of data. In other words, the phone was free, because a refill of 250 minutes and 250 mb of data is $25.

Phone store guy told her "unlike America, in Europe, we have to include data for free because Europeans would never ever pay extra for it".

The carrier is O2.

 

[SwimChicSQ]

If he has an iPhone ( or android) smart phone he can use an app called Viber to text and call while on wifi. Both people do have to have smartphones w/ the app to work but it is an option if you both have smart phones I used it when I was overseas to call home to keep in touch and it worked very well.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Otherwise, since he has AT&T, he can probably buy a local prepaid sim card in Ireland and use that.

This will only work if his iPhone is eligible to be unlocked. Plus, that will only be free for local calls, not for calling or texting the US.

International texting plans are pretty cheap. You can get a Global Messaging package of 50 messages a month for $10.00 on AT&T and for $30.00, you can get a European calling plan for 30 minutes of calls a month.

If you only want texting, I would go with the Global Messaging Plan. That's what we do when we travel internationally. If you have this plan, any texts he receives are free. The 50 texts only count when he sends a text.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I studied in Europe and bought a pay-as-you-go phone as well, then reloaded when needed. Only thing is, it CAN get expensive because you end up using it to stay in contact with others on your program. I'd call AT&T and see what they say about adding an international phone for a temporary amount of time; I know people who did this and they were in a much better place with their phone than some of us were!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Check with T-Mobile. I have noticed something in passing on commercials which said worldwide unlimited data.

 

[Megkel]

My parents just went to Italy for a month and I was house sitting for them. My parents have an iPhone and so do I so we were able to iMessage each other for free while they were there. My dad also download an app to his iPad that allowed him to text for free as long as he has wifi for my other siblings. They have Sprint and I have AT&T. Not the same contract and neither of us were charged. Sorry I can't help on the calling though.

 

[tomi]

My daughter spent last semester in Spain for a study abroad program and went back this semester for an internship. We have AT& T for our smart phones. We added 200 texts a month (international) for $30 a month. This does not include texts when she has wifi which are free. We can also do FaceTime for free whenever she has wifi. In addition, she found an app called Magic Jack for under $10. It allows her to call home anytime she has wifi for free. Since she has wifi in her apartment, we spend nothing on her calls home.
Last semester she also had a pay as you go Spanish phone for local calls and friends she met there. But this semester she decided she didn't need it because of her 200 international texts and wifi.
So , communication does not have to cost much. We talk to our daughter several times a week without worrying about the cost. Good luck to your son.

 

[Katelly]

My daughter spent last semester in Spain for a study abroad program and went back this semester for an internship. We have AT& T for our smart phones. We added 200 texts a month (international) for $30 a month.

This is what we did as well. My daughter didn't study abroad but has been on several school trips to Europe. The 200 texts for $30 worked really well for her.

 

[bmraar]

We currently have an exchange student from Turkey. She bought a pay as you go phone when she got here with a basic data plan. She and all her friends/family back home have an app called WhatsApp. It allows them to text without incurring any international charges. It uses the internet as the basis for texting instead of using the phone towers. My boss and his wife from the Czech Republic use the exact same app. The app is free.

Hope that helps!
Kim

 

[tjlemkuil]

I second the WhatsAp recommendation. Get a local pay as you go with a data plan and you should be fine. We have hosted AFS students from Turkey and Germany and we still talk to them using it.

 

[OneGoodMan29]

I would personally recommend skype, he can install it, he can call any number in U.S. for few dollars a month.

I am having skype as a phone with a line and cost me only $90 a year

 

[DisneyIll]

My daughter is currently studying in Germany. We contact each other through Viber, skype and face time on our I phones when wifi is available to her. Her issue is wifi is harder to find free over there than here in the US. She also was required to purchase a pay as you go phone over there by her her student university program, so she could be easily accessible as she ventures around Europe.

 

[packofjedis]

We just got back from Great Britain. We needed to be able to stay in touch with my mom who was dog sitting for us. We had our iPhones unlocked by Sprint and bought a prepaid sim card there. We were able to call, text and check emails. When we ran out of money on our plan, we popped into the grocery store and reloaded it with how ever much we needed. It was the cheapest option. It also gave us a British phone number, which I'm sure he'll want an Irish number to give out to people he meets.

If he can find a cell phone store (in UK it was CarPhone Warehouse) that specializes in all plans, they'll hook him up.

We didn't want to take the chance on having the phones on airplane mode since I've read about people still getting huge bills by the phone searching out wifi.

Also, call your company here in the States and make sure you can accept and send foreign texts. We had to add a plan to my mom's phone so that it would be cheaper.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

.....
We didn't want to take the chance on having the phones on airplane mode since I've read about people still getting huge bills by the phone searching out wifi.

All you need to do is turn off data roaming.

 

[minnierocks]

My parents just went to Italy for a month and I was house sitting for them. My parents have an iPhone and so do I so we were able to iMessage each other for free while they were there. My dad also download an app to his iPad that allowed him to text for free as long as he has wifi for my other siblings. They have Sprint and I have AT&T. Not the same contract and neither of us were charged. Sorry I can't help on the calling though.

So there were no extra charges on either bill for international communication when using iMessage? We are currently in discussions on how to handle communicating with our adult children while we are on a cruise. If we could message them for free while we are in port then I no longer have to worry about how I am going to work this out!

 

[Starshine]

We have Vonage for our home phone and they have an app you can use to make international calls for free from your cell phone as well.