Need Major Help with bringing Iphone 4s abroad

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I have a Iphone 4s through verizon in the US. I am going to Italy for the semester to study abroad, and will be traveling on weekends to other areas sometimes. I downloaded whatsapp, viber, and magic jack. I will use my wifi when it is available. However at times I will need to text/call my friends who are in Italy as well. What is the best move as to waht to do. Thank you sooo much
 
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You can call and/or take the phone into a Verizon store to unlock the SIM card slot, then pick up a cheap prepaid SIM in Italy - most likely a company like Orange or Vodaphone. As long as you have had the phone for at least 30 days and your account is in good standing you won't have any issues.
 
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I traveled to Greece last year and I also brought my iPhone.
WhatsApp is a great, easy to use app, for talking to people abroad.
I think the biggest thing you have to worry about is carrier charges. In a foreign country, the US cell carrier you have either owns or "borrows" the cell towers in the area so you can use them. (I had no trouble having signal in Greece and I'm on AT&T, but I expect it's pretty normal for every carrier.) I'd talk to Verizon and see what their international plan is. I was gone for 12 days and I told AT&T the exact days I'd need the plan and they gave me the price. Sinve you are going for a semester, it'll probably be pretty reasonably priced.

Getting a monthly phone plan in Italy is a really good idea too. I did that when I was in Scotland for three months and still used it in my iPhone (that carrier was O2.)
 

chscag

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You can call and/or take the phone into a Verizon store to unlock the SIM card slot, then pick up a cheap prepaid SIM in Italy - most likely a company like Orange or Vodaphone. As long as you have had the phone for at least 30 days and your account is in good standing you won't have any issues.

Good luck with that. :) First, Verizon uses CDMA not GSM and from what others have reported, they absolutely refused to unlock their phones. It's best to get an oversea plan for whatever length of time you'll be there.
 
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Good luck with that. :) First, Verizon uses CDMA not GSM and from what others have reported, they absolutely refused to unlock their phones. It's best to get an oversea plan for whatever length of time you'll be there.

That's quite untrue. The iPhone 4s is built as a dual-mode phone including both CDMA and GSM technology, so while the Verizon network may use the CDMA tech, the phone does use GSM outside of this network. Verizon will not unlock the phone for purposes of changing to another US carrier; however, Verizon is very much open to internationally unlocking your phone. Verizon will internationally unlock your phone if you're a Verizon customer, have had that phone line active for 60 days in "good standing," and have not unlocked the phone internationally for the past 10 months. Essentially, what you need to do is call them and ask for them to internationally unlock your phone. They will tell you that to complete the process you will need to purchase a foreign SIM card (while abroad) and connect to WiFi so that Verizon can verify this new network. You can find such prepaid SIM cards at a local Apple store once you are abroad. This will allow you to use your iPhone 4s with an Italian phone number, with local rates based on the prepaid SIM. I'll be doing the same thing while in Germany. In the past, the popular option was to buy a cheap global phone and then buy a prepaid SIM in that country when you get abroad. Since the iPhone 4s is a global phone, you can do so without buying another phone. Verizon only restricts unlocking of a Verizon-bought iPhone for use on another US carrier.
 

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