Semester abroad and Iphone....

[packofjedis]

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!

iMessage to iMessage is free. Problem we ran into was when iMessage wasn't available. You know how sometimes the messages go green instead of blue? Well that happened and then it was no longer free for either party.

 

[Wislodgers]

Thank-you for all the great ideas! We all have iphones in our family so the imessage is very intriguing. I am not sure what kind of access he will have to WiFi though. Something to look into. I am thinking the international texting plan will probably work best. He is in Ireland for a semester, home for a month and going on a missions trip to Guatemala. Any clue if international texting is for specific countries, or it is truly "international"? It is definitely more for my peace of mind, not his!

 

[minnierocks]

iMessage to iMessage is free. Problem we ran into was when iMessage wasn't available. You know how sometimes the messages go green instead of blue? Well that happened and then it was no longer free for either party.

Thanks for the information...I will check into this a little more.

 

[packofjedis]

Thank-you for all the great ideas! We all have iphones in our family so the imessage is very intriguing. I am not sure what kind of access he will have to WiFi though. Something to look into. I am thinking the international texting plan will probably work best. He is in Ireland for a semester, home for a month and going on a missions trip to Guatemala. Any clue if international texting is for specific countries, or it is truly "international"? It is definitely more for my peace of mind, not his!

You need to look up on your company's website to see where they offer coverage. Sprint had a list with prices etc.

Although, I'm certain in some parts of the world there must be low to no coverage available. They use other people's cell towers, and if there aren't any.....

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Thank-you for all the great ideas! We all have iphones in our family so the imessage is very intriguing. I am not sure what kind of access he will have to WiFi though. Something to look into. I am thinking the international texting plan will probably work best. He is in Ireland for a semester, home for a month and going on a missions trip to Guatemala. Any clue if international texting is for specific countries, or it is truly "international"? It is definitely more for my peace of mind, not his!

Go to AT&T's website; the Global texting plan and countries where it works are listed. It is available in Ireland and Guatemala.

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/i...dable-world-packages.jsp#messaging-outside-us

http://www.att.com/att/global/affor...ntries/#fbid=HkQeCA2vAwu?tableRoamingPackages

 

[maggiew]

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

My daughter did last semester abroad in London. She has an Android (Galaxy SIII) and bought a sim card in London. (we had to unlock the phone. Tmobile did this no problem and it was a relatively new account). The Sim card she bought was really cheap and included unlimited internet and texting. It cost around 10 pounds per month and she could buy a "top up" type card at the phone store. She used CarPhone Warehouse.

However, all of her friends who had iPhones had planned to do the same thing. But when they got there they found out their phones couldn't be unlocked. I think you can only unlock the iPhone if your 2 year contract is up??? (not sure, never had an iPhone. But that was the reason stated.) Anyway, all her friends had to buy a cheap flip phone in London. They would then use their iPhones only when they were in a wifi spot. (And Wifi isn't everywhere in London like it is here.) My daughter had to look stuff up for her friends all the time because they didn't have internet access except when in a wifi spot. She said they would often eat at a nearby pizza place that had wifi just so her friends could have the internet connection!!!

Maggie

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

.......

However, all of her friends who had iPhones had planned to do the same thing. But when they got there they found out their phones couldn't be unlocked. I think you can only unlock the iPhone if your 2 year contract is up??? (not sure, never had an iPhone. But that was the reason stated.) Anyway, all her friends had to buy a cheap flip phone in London. They would then use their iPhones only when they were in a wifi spot. (And Wifi isn't everywhere in London like it is here.) My daughter had to look stuff up for her friends all the time because they didn't have internet access except when in a wifi spot. She said they would often eat at a nearby pizza place that had wifi just so her friends could have the internet connection!!!

Maggie

I am really surprised they didn't understand the rules about unlocking iPhones. The rules for unlocking depend on the carrier or how technologically savvy you are, Or if you originally bought an unlocked phone.

A great place to find free wifi in the UK is to stop into a Starbucks.

 

[JB2K]

We have AT&T

My best advice to you - take your iPhone to an AT&T corporate store, tell them you are taking the phone overseas, and have your SIM card slot unlocked, and have your child purchase a prepaid SIM in the country they are visiting.

The consequences if you don't? Many apps, particularly Facebook, is always running in the background and thus, always consumes some sort of data, which would quickly run-up international roaming changes on your AT&T bill.

It's also noteworthy to mention T-Mobile in the U.S. is about to launch "free worldwide data" on their devices, which would be beneficial to anyone traveling to Germany, given that T-Mobile is the dominant carrier, there.

 

[BurleyGirl]

I'm sorry to ask this question in the middle of this thread, but I'm hoping you all will indulge me.

This "semester abroad" thing truly intrigues me, and I'd really like to hear how it's done. DS is currently a freshman in high school, and I crave an opportunity for him to get to have such a seemingly rich experience. Where/when/how does one start down this path?

Thank you!!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

My best advice to you - take your iPhone to an AT&T corporate store, tell them you are taking the phone overseas, and have your SIM card slot unlocked, and have your child purchase a prepaid SIM in the country they are visiting.

The consequences if you don't? Many apps, particularly Facebook, is always running in the background and thus, always consumes some sort of data, which would quickly run-up international roaming changes on your AT&T bill.

Is it that hard to remember to turn off data roaming,

Also, once again, you cannot unlock an AT&T phone which is still under contract.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I'm sorry to ask this question in the middle of this thread, but I'm hoping you all will indulge me.

This "semester abroad" thing truly intrigues me, and I'd really like to hear how it's done. DS is currently a freshman in high school, and I crave an opportunity for him to get to have such a seemingly rich experience. Where/when/how does one start down this path?

Thank you!!

Information about this program should be available at your son's school.

 

[BurleyGirl]

Information about this program should be available at your son's school.

I guess that was a bit of a "duh" question, but being our only child, and neither one of us having attended college, the whole college process is foreign to us. I will have him discuss with someone at his school.

And, thank you!

 

[Wislodgers]

The college that my son is attending has a program to Ireland and Russia. I believe most universities offer study abroad programs. It is something you can explore on most university websites. Wading through all the college stuff can be daunting when you have not navigated it before! High schools should have support programs to help you through it. Also other families that have been through it before can be a great resources.

 

[Samar]

My husband is in India right now and has his Iphone on Airplane mode. We text using skype and talk using FaceTime.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

The college that my son is attending has a program to Ireland and Russia. I believe most universities offer study abroad programs. It is something you can explore on most university websites. Wading through all the college stuff can be daunting when you have not navigated it before! High schools should have support programs to help you through it. Also other families that have been through it before can be a great resources.

This type of program is also available in high school. I thought that is what the poster was interested in:

http://www.afsusa.org

There was an interesting discussion a few days ago in the New York Times regarding the benefits of studying abroad:

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/10/17/should-more-americans-study-abroad

 

[BurleyGirl]

Thanks so much, Wislodgers and lost*in*cyberspace!! I look forward to diving into this stuff and exploring this whole new world!! I really appreciate your kind responses!