Note: This article is part of a series on Using an American iPhone in Europe… without Going Broke.
If you’re an AT&T customer planning to use your smartphone abroad, you have some choices to make before you leave home. These will impact how you use your phone and how much you’ll be charged. These choices include whether or not you expect to use your iPhone abroad to:
• Phone: place and receive international phone calls
• Text: send and receive text messages
• Web: browse the web and check emails on your phone
• Apps: use iPhone applications.
AT&T offers one comprehensive “package” to address each issue. Note that AT&T recently made some big changes to their international offerings when they introduced the add-on International Day Pass package. If you were used to the old options (separate packages for texting, calling, data, etc.), you’re in for a surprise, as they’ve all been bundled together.
Also, please note: If you’re serious about smartphone savings while traveling, be sure to read our guide to buying a SIM card in Europe for American phones. Using a European SIM card requires you to unlock your phone (or bring along a cheapo unlocked phone to use), and can lead to big savings.
AT&T offers one add-on plan, called the International Day Pass, for international usage. This package is added on top of whatever monthly charges you currently incur. To get these rates, call AT&T before taking off and have them add the package to your plan. You may also log in to your AT&T account and add the International Day Pass yourself. It is possible to have them add the plan from abroad, but it’s a better idea to set it up before taking off.
(Note: This package does not expire. Instead, it only activates when you use your phone outside of the U.S. However, double check once home to make sure that the plan has paused and that you’re not still paying for it!)
Here are the details for AT&T’s International Day Pass plan for iPhone and Android phone use throughout Europe:
Note that the International Day Pass charges you $10 each day that you use call, text, voicemail, or data features on your phone. Once the 24 hours are up, it resets and will only charge you another day if you access those features. You won’t be charged if you take a digital detox for part of your trip.
Another crucial thing to note is that this pass works with your billing cycle. If you pay for a full 10 days and then your billing cycle resets and you use the International Day Pass for another 10 days, the cost will apply to each billing cycle.
For more information on the International Day Pass stipulations, check out this FAQ from AT&T.
If you plan to use your phone to make and receive calls, the International Day Pass allows unlimited free calls to the U.S., within the country you are staying, and to more than 100 countries included on this list.
Cheapo tips
• Placing and receiving: Don’t forget that you’ll be charged the International Day Pass daily fee for placing and receiving calls. Even if you answer the phone and say, “Don’t call me, I’m in Florence! (click),” you’ll be charged $10 for the following 24 hour period.
• Voicemail: Yes, listening to your voicemail will cost you, as you’ll need to connect to your carrier.
• Use Skype instead of calling: For calling home, I prefer to use the Skype app on my phone when I have a free Wi-Fi connection. Using Skype (or other apps, such as Google Talk), you can call another user for free, or call a telephone for just pennies per minute.
• Texting: I recommend using text messages in place of short phone calls, whenever possible, but note that the International Day Pass includes unlimited SMS texts only, not iMessage. Using iMessage on your iPhone will count toward your data package, which may or may not be unlimited depending on your usual plan. More details on this below.
• Data roaming: If you don’t want to be charged the $10 fee for the International Day Pass on certain days, don’t forget to deactivate your data roaming. (See more tips for how to set up your iPhone when traveling abroad.)
As for texting, without a plan, it costs $.50 to send text messages throughout much of Europe ($1.30 if the message includes a photo or video). However, AT&T’s package offers free unlimited texting. This is good news for those of us who rely upon texting to communicate while traveling.
What about receiving text messages? You’ll pay for these just as you would for receiving a text message back home. If you have unlimited texting, you’ll be able to receive unlimited texts abroad at no extra charge.
Cheapo tips
• Using iMessage: What about just using iMessage or another messaging app to send text messages while traveling? You could do that, but don’t forget that you’ll only be able to send and receive these messages when you’re running the app. Thus, either you have to fire up the app and use expensive data (not recommended unless you have an unlimited data package and thus unlimited data for the International Day Pass), or you’ll have to connect to a Wi-Fi network. The latter option will work, but it prevents you from sending and receiving when you’re out and about, resulting in delays in receiving messages.
If you plan to send and receive emails, browse the web or use applications (such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram), you’re going to want to have the International Day Pass, as you’ll be using data. If you don’t have a package, then you’re strongly cautioned to only use these features when connected to a Wi-Fi network!
AT&T’s International Day Pass offers the same amount of data you have on your regular phone plan. If you have unlimited data, no problem. If you only have a certain amount, here are some estimates of the amount of data required to:
• Send or receive an email (without attachment): Approx. 20 KB per email
• Send or receive an email (with attachment): Approx. 300 KB per email
• Load a webpage: 1 MB per page
• Stream music: 500 KB / minute (30 MB / hour)
• Stream video (standard quality): 2 MB / minute
Cheapo tips
• Using data? Get a package: If you plan to at least check your email every once in a while (without a Wi-Fi connection), I recommend getting the International Day Pass. Checking your email even occasionally without a package will quickly become very expensive.
• Maps use data to load: Maps are confusing, as they require data to initially load, but your GPS location can load without data. Got that? For example, using Wi-Fi, you could load up a map of your neighborhood in London and then, without any data use, pull up that map later and see your location. However, to load a new map with a Wi-Fi connection (or do a search or zoom in), you’ll need to use data. I find this one of the handiest data uses, and another good reason to sign up for the International Day Pass.
Of course, if you just stick to Wi-Fi for the duration of your trip, you don’t need to add on the International Day Pass. For years I traveled in “Airplane” mode, with my telephone basically disconnected, but my Wi-Fi fired up. This allowed me to use emails, maps, Facebook, Skype, and the internet only when I was connected to a free Wi-Fi network.
That’s still an option. However, be aware of the obvious drawbacks of relying on Wi-Fi: You’re lost without a connection.
These days I opt for the International Day Pass, take advantage of the unlimited texting, make infrequent and short phone calls, and use data to check emails (but never open attachments) and use Google Maps. And I never open other big apps (like Facebook, Skype or Twitter) unless I’m connected to a Wi-Fi network.
Even if you opt for the International Day Pass, it’s a very good (even critical) idea to monitor how much data you use, especially if you do not have an unlimited plan for data. Checking data usage is easy on an iPhone. You can see your Cellular Data Usage by clicking into “Settings” –> “Cellular”. Once abroad, the first thing you should do is scroll to the bottom and click on “Reset Statistics”.
You’re set — now stick to your plan, or upgrade if you’re about to go over!
Also in our Guide to Using an American iPhone in Europe:
About the author: Tom Meyers created and launched EuroCheapo from his Berlin apartment in 2001. He returned to New York in 2002, set up office, and has led the EuroCheapo team from the Big Apple ever since. He travels to Europe several times a year to update EuroCheapo's hotel reviews. Tom is also a co-host of the New York City history podcast, The Bowery Boys. Email Tom. [Find Tom on Google Plus]
I really loved and appreciated taking your time to share this valuable information.
Im traveling to Munich this month to stay there for six months for My Husband business project and his taking us and two daughters ,one 16 years old and the other one are turning 26 in June .
I would love any suggestions about adult school that not cost exaggerated or jobs that not required speak German .
We have looking for schools or jobs to be prepared for my orders daughter work visa to stay for 90 days
Since you had living in Europe is any advise or tips that you can share .
My older Daughter is my concern and is important for us to be together.
We are absolutely new like baby first steps in a new place .
I really would love any information . Sincerely:
Miriam L . Note:I’m Spanish and my grammar is very poor
Thanks for all the great, well written, well researched information. FYI AT&T now offers an international plan where for $10/day you can access all the features of your current home-based AT&T plan. It’s not exactly a great deal, especially for long trips, but it is another option. They also appear to be promoting this new method and making it more difficult to find the “passport plans” on their website. I’ve heard that T-mobile has unrolled new unlimited international data plans, as a way to pull in new customers, but I haven’t really looked into it. If that’s true, that might be a good reason for frequent international travelers to abandon AT&T.
Craig Nelson July 17, 2017 at 7:26 am
Hi Larry,
Thanks for the compliments! And thanks for the update on the AT&T plan. We love it when readers share their tips and feedback.
Craig
Thank you so much for this concise posting! Leaving for London in a couple of hours and had not thought to call AT&T….will do now!
According to AT&T’s Passport information, it’s *not* free to use WiFi.
https://www.att.com/shop/en/wireless/international/roaming.html
Perhaps this was not the case at the time this article was written, but I asked AT&T Customer Support, and they said that in order to use *any* WiFi while abroad, the user would need the $60 Passport package at a minimum. How can they charge to use WiFi?
Thomas Meyers April 28, 2016 at 8:27 am
Hi there, Normal Wi-Fi is free and will always be free. You can turn your phone onto airplane mode and turn on Wi-Fi and use free Wi-Fi at your hotel or at a McDonald’s, for example. However, AT&T is trying to sell you on access to Wi-Fi “hotspots”. If you download their app and pay for the $60 package (or higher), you can access these Wi-Fi hotspots throughout Europe (and the world). These are offered in partnership with other phone carriers and the app will tell you where you can find them. However, this isn’t the same as just using good, old-fashioned wi-fi. Your phone is configured so that you can use Wi-Fi wherever you can find a free Wi-Fi network to join… no matter what AT&T tells you! I hope that helps. Have a great trip!
Tom
How do I text a U.S. iPhone that is in Italy? It has a U.S. phone number and I’m in the US. the iPhone has the cheapest passport international plan but does not appear to be receiving my texts. I am receiving texts from that person though.
Deb Whalen August 25, 2015 at 3:01 pmI want to make sure if I use the “Airport mode” and connect into “WiFi” once a day that I will still receive any/all iPhone iMessages that have been sent to me throughout the day? Thanks,
Deb
Our daughter is doing a semester in Austria this fall and she heard that AT&T has poor coverage in Europe. Is that true? I would think you’d be roaming the whole time, using other carrier’s cell towers so it wouldn’t make any difference which carrier you were on.
Hi Greg, I have traveled all over the world and found that getting an unlocked phone with two SIM card slots and then buying the SIM cards in the respective countries for a few dollars is the best and cheapest way to operate. I have done this in Europe, China, India, and Singapore. You basically do what the locals do, circumvent the pricey American roaming plans and don’t really have to worry about how many minutes you are using etc. You can get a decent unlocked Android phone at Walmart.com for example, the local SIM card at any of the many little private phone shops in European cities and then they’ll even help you set it up. It is easier than you think since the Europeans are more advanced in that regard and usually never roam. The second SIM card in the phone could be an American one from say PTEL, a company that sells them online and then send it to you with a local US number. They “piggy back” on TMobile. If she has a WIFI connection, she can use SKYPE as the article mentioned or she could also use the MagicJack or the Viber APs to call US and Canadian numbers for free from wherever she is. I hope this helps save you and your daughter hundreds of dollars as it did for me – and good luck to her in her studies ( I grew-up a few miles from the Austrian border in Germany).
Hi! My question kind of piggy-backs off of Linda’s. I know that with the package, when my French friends use their French numbers to contact my American one, they won’t incur international charges. I’m in France, and unexpectedly need to be able to communicate with locals via phone, but only for two weeks. And because I don’t need to make many calls/texts, just some, I want to go ahead with my phone and take on the international rates. But will my friends be charged international rates if they call/text me while I’m here? Or if I call/text them? What happens on their end?
I hope you can help! Thank you so much!
McKenzie, Whether your French friends get charged or not depends on your actual number NOT your location. If you use your US number in France, you get charged the roaming fees, and they do get charged for an international call, even if you sit right next to them. But they have a good international plan so it’s ok for them.
Hi there – If I get an ATT passport plan, does it matter if I text international numbers i.e. my friends with French mobile numbers in France or does the unlimited text only work for texting U.S. numbers? Thanks- incredibly helpful!!
Thomas Meyers June 1, 2015 at 12:28 pm
Hi Linda, Interesting question! I believe that all texts are treated equally for the international plans. I’ve never noticed a difference for texts sent to my US or European friends with any of these plans. Have a great trip!
How much data does something like google maps or waze use if you are driving? I would like to use my phone as a GPS while driving through Austria but I’m unsure if that is an affordable option!
Robyn, Google Maps gobbles up huge amounts of data if you leave the “data” feed on. One trick is to turn it on to download all the mapping info. Then after a few minutes turn the data off and voila, you are still on your free GPS mode with a downloaded map but without useless data feed and charges. You just won’t get some traffic updates (that you may not get anyways) but it will save you more than 75% of your data charges. If you drive for a long time, at the next rest stop, turn on the data feed again to update your map. Then turn it off again and so on.
W. Tiritilli March 27, 2015 at 1:29 pm Does one need to have AT&T’s Passport App on your cell phone to use the phone in Europe?Thomas Meyers March 31, 2015 at 8:48 am
Hi there, No, you don’t need any special app to use your phone. You should contact AT&T to make sure that your phone is activated for international use, however. (Most should be.) I never use their app — I can’t really figure out what the advantages of it are! You don’t need it to use Wi-Fi, make calls or sends text messages. I have enough apps taking up memory on my phone, I don’t need another one! 🙂 Thanks,
Tom
It might be easier to pull the SIMM card out of your iPhone when you depart the USA basically turning the iPhone into a iPod Touch. Then use Google Voice or Skype app to place VoIP calls over over a Wifi network. I use a VPN service on my iPhone when using public Wifi networks so I don’t get scammed by a honeypot. A VPN service also lets your connection to the internet be any place in the world the VPN service has servers.
For local voice calls and texts just pick up a burner phone with the minutes you will use on your trip. Email those you will need to communicate with in Europe your burner phone number.
Ordered AT&T plan (phone, text, no data); was told it was not prorated but sold by the month, and if you don’t use it you lose it-it doesn’t roll over.
I meant to say also that the extensions app turns your mobile into an extension of your current Vonage plan phone. And, for those who don’t know about Vonage, it’s a company that offers VoIP internet phone calling. We’ve had a plan with them for years now and love it.
Has anyone used the Vonage Extension App for iPhone in Europe? I just downloaded and installed it. It says that if I turn on Airplane Mode, then enable Wi-Fi while abroad, I will be able to make calls for the same price that I can normally make them from the U.S. So, that theoretically means that I should be able to be making calls from the U.K. or France etc., for nothing, as it currently doesn’t cost me to call those countries from my land line in the U.S. with my current plan with Vonage. Has anyone tried this? I’m VERY curious to know as my wife and I are going soon to London and Paris. Thanks in advance.
Nicholas Pellegrino November 2, 2012 at 11:10 amFollow-up comment. I did turn my phone on again, quickly signed up for Skype and purchased $10.00 of Skype credit. Using wifi Skype worked perfectly to call the US, although I never could get a in-Ireland call to go through. That was probably my inability to understand what to dial.
Nicholas Pellegrino November 1, 2012 at 10:44 pmOct. 2012. After reading these posts I vowed not to use my iPhone in Europe. I then had an emergency and turned on the phone to access a phone number in Contacts so I could use a landline. I SHOULD have immediately switched to airplane mode but didn’t. I shortly received a email warning of high data usage. I turned off the phone until that evening when I contacted ATT to discover I supposedly had 14,000kb of data usage 5 hours before I was even in Ireland, a $283.00 charge. I had not received any photos, video, etc. and again, wasn’t even in country when the alleged charges occurred. The best they would do is sign me up for a $30.00 data plan and back date it. I never turned the phone on again. Arriving home I discovered the $283.00 charge was on my bill, although a phone call today apparently has corrected that. You’ve been warned!
Karen Mowers September 7, 2012 at 8:32 pm I will be in Europe shortly- you said skype will work with wifi, will facetime work also?You can also send unlimited free messages between iPhones by turning on iMessage (under Settings > Messages > iMessage (turn on) and using wifi. I checked with AT&T today and they confirmed this.
I am in Europe and Asia for the next 6 months and my US phone wouldn’t work here anyway since it is a cheap Net10 phone. Since I was too cheap to buy an Iphone with plan in the US, I brought my new Ipod with me to Europe, which is really helpful as long as I have Wifi. Once I am connected, I can make hour-long calls via the AP’s that Viber, Skype or Yahoo offer -the later two which have video calling of course. Texting works with all three but as far as I know, only Viber will send it to one’s phone in the US. There is another AP that is called “Pinger” (before it was “Textfree”) which will give you a free virtual US phone number but you have to either purchase minutes at 1 or 2 cents or participate in their diverse promotions.
That said, I was able to buy a SIM card for 2 Euros in Paris and used an old phone my local friends had to set-up my local “mobile” French phone number. Then I bought 50 Euros worth of minutes from “Lycamobile” through one of the many mobile outlets in Paris and actually got another 25 Euros of minutes for free from Lyca as a bonus. Since I am not on a subscription plan, I will just have to buy more minutes if and when I run out of them but so far I still have plenty left after almost two months as I am not even being charged for receiving calls. International calls are cheap too – they only cost about 2 to 3 cents or so.
But in order to make and receive unlimited free real phone calls to and from any phone in the US and Canada, I actually brought my small “landline” phone with me that I then plug in to my laptop via my “Magicjack” plug-in that I’ve had for a couple of years now and which works nearly anywhere in the world. That’s because it is using US servers to connect you the same way it does at home (for the yearly price of $20- you can buy the MJ gizmo at Radio Shack or online for $45).
So, with a little planning, one, a few or all of the above choices should let you make all the phone calls you need for very little! Just remember to bring your gizmos with you and to get your plugs and 220V adapters (for the landline phone if you want one or you can bring ear phones and mic instead), you can usually get them in the same store you get your SIM card or other specialty store. However, as it was correctly stated in another comment, your laptop works on 110 or 220V as long as you have the cheap plug (as opposed to a more expensive converter that I am using for my diverse other items such as battery charger and landline phone.) I hope this helps!
I have an iPhone 4g and am currently traveling in Spain for 2 weeks. What a mess! Basically, I want no cellular traffic at all – no cellular calls and no cellular data to avoid the billing horror stories that I keep reading about. I only want web access where I can use Skype, Maps, and Mail. As stated ‘AirPlane mode On’ blocks everything. But even when I turn Data Roaming to Off, Cellular Data to Off, and 3G to Off, I still get text messages when I switch ‘AirPlane mode to Off’. Under ‘Mail, Contacts, Calendars’ I even turn ‘Push mode to Off’ and then ‘Fetch New Data mode to Manual’. How is this possible that I still get text messages? The source of the messages is an ‘automatic web site send’ and thus cannot be using iMessage web addressing.
Turn Airplane mode on, and then AFTER that, you can turn WIFI back on! It’s for when you have airplanes with Wifi in them 🙂
I also was caught by AT&T’s promise – and I was careful to make *sure* during the conversation – that the data would not be pro-rated. It was. I came back to a $900 phone bill, and also experienced the joy of talking to a manager who eventually credited me for the overage. So, make sure you have the international features for the entire billing cycle(s) you are on vacation. (Sucks if your vacation spans cycles – you pay double.) Also don’t forget to *turn off the international features* when you get home! (But not until the last day of the cycle )
I recently called AT&T to inquire about international rates for my trip to Europe coming up next week. I did purchase the call package at $5.99 to make outgoing calls, which the customer service agent said is prorated for the length of my stay (2 weeks), she got the exact dates of my travel from me. She also told me of the data plans, which were somewhat confusing to me, expecially because I will be on a cruise the first week of my trip. She told me that once the cruise ship is 12 miles off shore, whatever data plan I would buy from them would no longer work, and that I would have to buy the cruise ships data plan if I wanted internet access while on the ship. Also, telephone calls are the only service that is prorated, everything else will be billed for the entire length of the billing cycle. I chose not to purchase the data from AT&T given the information she gave me, instead I will likely buy whatever the ship has to offer, and when I am on land keep an eye out for a starbucks or other free wifi source. I recommend people buy the Whatsapp App for a one time cost of $2.00 you can use a texting app that actually runs off your data plan, so you don’t need to pay for additional texting packages.
