Last updated: December 2011

To many Americans, staying in touch with a cell phone while in Europe can seem difficult and expensive. But savvy travelers know it doesn’t have to be. Having a phone while you’re there can be a major time saver and convenience. This article tells you how to stay in touch and save money.

Advanced mobile phone usage in Lucca, Italy

Why don’t US cell phones “just work” in Europe? For various reasons, the United States developed and deployed wireless technologies that were incompatible with those deployed in the Rest Of the World, which went with a standard called GSM (“Global System for Mobiles” – one of the reasons why Europeans use the term “mobile” and not “cell phone”).

This meant that for many years, the only option for US travelers to Europe was to rent a GSM phone, which was expensive and inconvenient. No one could reach you on your US cell phone number; you had the hassle and cost of receiving and returning the phone, and both handset rental and calls were astonishingly expensive.

GSM comes to America

Today, you can buy US mobile phones that use the GSM system from AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile. So why don’t these phones “just work” in Europe? Although they use GSM, they work on different radio frequencies. To function in Europe, a GSM phone must operate (at the very least) on the 1800MHz frequency; to get the best European coverage it must operate on both 900MHz and 1800MHz. And this is just for regular GSM — for 3G services, you need 2100MHz in Europe and 1900MHz in the US.

The net? Make sure you buy a phone that clearly states is can be used internationally or is called a “World Phone”. If in doubt, find out what frequencies it offers and check them. There are more and more multi-band GSM phones coming on to the market every month, so the good news is that it’s now a lot easier to find a good international phone.

What if I’m on Verizon or Sprint?

Verizon uses a system called CDMA, and Sprint uses both CDMA and another proprietary system called iDEN, originally developed for Nextel. However, Verizon in particular has figured out that it is losing a lot of nice profitable international traffic as a result, and now has phones that support both US CDMA and international GSM frequencies. Verizon calls these “Global Phones“. The line-up changes every couple of months as new phones are released, but the Blackberry: Bold 9930, Torch 9850; Motorola Droid 3, Droid 2 Global; and HTC: Droid Incredible 2,Trophy are all CDMA/GSM world phones available at the time of writing.

The most significant new Global Phone for Verizon and Sprint is the iPhone 4S, which is the first Apple iPhone that works on both CDMA and GSM networks. Verizon iPhone 4 and iPad 2 customers are out of luck — both are CDMA-only and will not work in Europe.

Verizon also offers a free GSM phone rental program for occasional travelers — if you’ve been a subscriber for a while, they will lend you a phone at no charge for a short trip (less than 21-days). Call Verizon on 800-711-8300 to find out if you qualify.

Sprint offers a flat rate $1.29 per minute overseas roaming charge for most GSM countries (i.e. those where Sprint has a roaming agreement). For Verizon subscribers, it’s a little more complicated: Verizon GSM roaming charges are different for each country, though most of Western Europe is $1.29 per minute, discounted to $0.99/min on the $4.99/month discounted international plan.

There are now also some Caribbean and Asian countries with CDMA networks — e.g. the largest Chinese cities — but it is still just a handful compared to the 250+ countries that offer GSM. GSM coverage is usually far better than CDMA in those same countries.

Cutting the cost of calling

Call charges on a European pre-paid GSM phone can be up to 80% cheaper than rental phones or roaming charges on your own account, and incoming calls are free. You visit any phone store, buy a pre-paid phone and pre-paid minutes of talk time. There are disadvantages: you can’t use your own cell phone number any more, and you will need enough local language proficiency to buy “recharge” or “Top up” cards and activate them using a telephone menu. Also, due to billing limitations, many pre-paid GSM phones will only work in the country where you purchased them. But if you are willing to put up with the extra complexity, this approach can save you a lot of money as the cost is less than a week’s rental of a GSM phone. At the end of your trip you can keep the phone for next time, recycle it, or sell it on eBay.

Clearly, a drawback of this kind of pre-paid is that you need to buy a phone you may never use again, unless you travel to Europe often. So why can’t you use your own GSM world phone for pre-paid service?

Pre-paid using your own GSM world phone

In the GSM system, your phone number and other identifying information are stored on a little chip: the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). It’s a fingernail-sized smart card that slides into the back of your GSM phone under the battery (on most models). When you buy a European pre-paid GSM phone, it contains a “pre-paid SIM” issued by the carrier. If you already had a GSM world phone, you could go to Europe, take out the SIM from your US carrier, buy a pre-paid SIM (these can cost as little as 10 Euros) and put it in your own phone. iPhones and iPads use “Micro SIMs” that are even smaller than a regular SIM. Most SIM cards now come in a dual package –a standard-sized SIM that can be turned into a Micro-SIM by breaking off the plastic surrounding the metal contacts.

But we’re forgetting one important detail. In 99% of cases, people buy GSM phones from their carrier, such as AT&T or T-Mobile, and they want you to use the SIM that they issued. Otherwise, they will lose out on those fat international roaming minutes. Therefore, all phones sold by AT&T and T-Mobile are “network locked”. This means that only SIM cards issued by the carrier from whom you bought the phone will work. If you put a SIM from a different carrier into a network locked GSM phone, it will typically display an error message and/or only allow emergency (911 or equivalent) calls.

The goods news is that all networked locked phones can be unlocked, because locking is implemented in software. Nokia phones are unlocked using a code computed from the phone’s ID. Sony Ericsson phones need a code that is dependent on the ID and the keypad lock code, but which can only be computed by connecting the phone to a computer with a special cable.

So you have two choices: buy an unlocked GSM phone, or have your existing phone unlocked. Buying an unlocked GSM worldphone today is very easy — Amazon.com sells a wide variety of brand new unlocked phones from all major manufacturers with full US warranties. Apple will sell you an unlocked iPhone 4S. You can also find them on eBay from any number of merchants, though check to see if the phone is covered by a warranty.

There are hundreds (possibly thousands) of web sites offering phone unlocking services and equipment, and independent mobile phone stores in Europe will also do it for a small fee. Try Googling “Nokia phone unlock”, replacing Nokia with whichever company made your phone. Typical costs range from free to $20. The last time I did this a 20-minute call in Italy using a Telecom Italia Mobile pre-paid SIM was enough to break even on the cost of unlocking.

The Apple iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4 and 4S

AT&T iPhones are all world phones and work on any GSM network, but are network locked. The Verizon iPhone 4 is CDMA only and won’t work in Europe, but the Verizon iPhone 4S is dual CDMA/GSM and will work pretty much anywhere. I believe the Verizon iPhone 4S is also network locked (meaning you get a Verizon SIM) but I have not been able to verify this yet.

Help is at hand: those friendly phone unlocking services on the Internet have figured out how to unlock the iPhone and break its connection with iTunes so you can slide in a different SIM (called “jailbreaking”). Visual Voicemail won’t work on any network other than AT&T (it relies on stuff AT&T does behind the scenes), but regular voicemail works just fine. Some unlocking services also provide after-sales service: if Apple releases an iPhone software update that invalidates their unlocking, they will unlock the new software for you at no extra charge.

AT&T/Apple iPad 1 and 2

Apple AT&T 3G iPads are not network locked. They come with an AT&T micro-SIM which you can use in the US. To use elsewhere, you will need to buy a micro SIM from a local wireless carrier and swap out the AT&T micro SIM. Don’t lose it (they’re tiny) as you’ll need it when you get back to the US.

Verizon 3G iPads are CDMA-only and do not work in Europe. They can be used with WiFi connections and voice-over-IP applications like Skype.

Skype and other voice over the Internet options

With smartphones becoming more powerful and now offering downloadable applications like Skype and Google Voice, it’s possible to get free calling if you are in a reasonably good WiFi hotspot (such as your hotel). Call quality depends on the WiFi network performance and Internet connection congestion at your location. If it’s busy and everyone is Skyping, you’ll get poor quality. But when it works, it’s a great alternative.

Handy tips for a phone-stress-free European trip

• When buying a “world phone” make sure that it operates on 1800MHz frequency, and ideally on both 900 & 1800MHz at a minimum. If it does not, it won’t work outside the US.
• Before you leave, call your carrier and tell them to turn on international voice and data roaming. It’s turned off by default. Even if you bought a world-phone when you signed up for service, and/or told the nice sales or activation person that’s why you went with them. It is turned off by default as an anti-fraud measure.
• Sometimes, you cannot call US 800/888/877/866 numbers from foreign countries. So find out the non-800 number for your cell phone carrier’s customer support before you leave. That goes for any other 800 numbers you may need to call when overseas (e.g. your credit card company).
• Calling 611 or any other “short code” (in industry lingo) may also not work, so don’t rely on it. Find out the international number for customer service.
• To call internationally when outside the US, you need to know the country code of the place you’re dialing. The US country code is 1 — pretty simple. France is 33, the UK is 44… there’s a whole list.
• To call internationally from a mobile phone, enter a plus sign (+), followed by the country code, followed by the number. For example, to call 415 555 1212 from Europe, you’d dial +1 415 555 1212 on your phone. Finding the plus sign on the keypad of your phone can be hard… keep looking, it is there somewhere! You might need to hold a key down to get the plus sign.
• When calling from a non-mobile phone (e.g. a payphone or hotel phone) remember that the international access code in Europe is 00, not 011. For example, to call 415 555 1212 from a payphone in Europe, dial 00 1 415 555 1212. This convention also works on mobile phones.
• When making an international call to any European phone number that begins with a zero, omit the zero — unless you are calling Italy. For example, to call the UK number 01606 54321 from France, you’d dial +44 1606 54321. + is the international prefix, 44 is the country code, then the number with the leading zero omitted. Italy is the lone exception — if you need to call there don’t drop the leading zero.
• Enjoy your trip, and don’t forget to call home!

What about e-mail, data etc?

See part 2 of this article series, which covers mobile data services.

Links

The GSM Association:A trade association that also maintains world-wide GSM coverage maps showing all carriers and frequencies used.

Search eBay for unlocked GSM world phones

Google result for “Nokia phone unlock”

AT&T

T-Mobile

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An extremely common question, especially for those heading to Europe for the first time, is what kind of plug adapter to use for their cameras, laptops, phones, iPads etc. In this video, I take a look at three common adapter types and show you how they work. I also show you what to look for to make sure your particular device will work on European voltages, and what kind of devices won’t work.

This really is one of those topics where literally taking a look at the converters is so much better than reading about them. Enjoy!

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First, a quick note for Verizon iPhone 4 / iPad 2 owners: sorry, your phone/tablet won’t work in Europe. See my other article on cellphones in Europe to understand why, and what your options are.

If you haven’t done so already, register with AT&T’s MyWireless web site so that you can make changes to your phone plan options online. Log in with your wireless number and PIN code, so that you get to the home screen for your wireless service. Look for the “Quick links” section in the top-right quadrant of the page, which will look like this:

Look for this menu

Click on “Manage features”, and you’ll get a long screen showing all your current wireless settings that don’t have to do with domestic US voice minute bundles. You can ignore most of these (i.e., leave them unchanged) and scroll down to the section titled “International Features”. It should look like this (depending on your current settings, you might have different items selected):

AT&T international options

Now, let’s walk through the settings that will ensure you hit the ground running the moment your arrive in Europe. Straight away, we’re going to ignore the section called “International Dialing – Voice” because that’s about calling overseas when you’re still in the US. So skip this section.

International voice roaming

The next section is important: “International Roaming Voice (Standard International Dialing included)“. Walking through the settings one at a time:

Select “AT&T World Traveler(SM)” – at the time of writing, it’s $5.99/month. This gives you discounted calling in Europe and many other countries. At current prices, this means 99 cents per minute for most European countries vs. $1.39/minute without it, saving you about 29%. Doing the math, break-even on this option is about 15 minutes of talking in a month. You can easily get there even if you make quick calls for tickets, reservations, coordination etc. because each call will be rounded up to the next minute. The full list of AT&T discounted international rates is here.

Note that World Traveler can be pro-rated if you don’t use it for an entire month. So if you’re just popping over to Europe for a week, you can turn the feature off when you get back and only pay for the week of World Traveler that you used.

Skip over the next few options around cruise ships, Haiti, Mexico and Canada, and down to “International Roaming – Data“.

International data roaming

There are a whole host of options here at different price points. Let’s face it, international data roaming isn’t cheap. To save you doing the math, here are the per-megabyte costs for each of the options listed in most European countries:

• 200MB for $199.99 is $1.00/MB
• 100MB for $119.99 is $1.20/MB
• 50MB for $59.99 is $1.20/MB
• 20MB for $24.99 is $1.25/MB

The “overage rate” — how much you pay if you exceed the selected amount — is $5.12/MB, so estimating accurately pays off. Personally, I find the Maps app incredibly helpful when stuck trying to navigate twisty Tuscan towns, but don’t really want to use anything else. So I go with the 20MB or 50MB options depending on trip length and complexity. You can use the MyWireless site to check on your typical data usage and predict how much you might need.

If you forgot to buy one of these options before you left, AT&T gives you one very limited shot at retroactively buying data options during your trip, or after you get back. You can back date the feature to your last billing cycle start date. You have to know when that is to see if it might save you from excessive charges. If your billing cycle start date happens to be the day before you got back from Europe and you only log in when you get back, for example, you’re out of luck.

International text messaging

Then move on to “International Messaging“. You can ignore “International Messaging LD 100″ as it’s for sending texts internationally when you’re in the US.

I recommend selecting “Global Messaging 50″ for $10, as you can send 50 text messages at $0.20 each, and $0.40 for any additional messages beyond that. Compared to a one minute call, texting is one fifth the price: you can send 5 text messages. If you are a text maniac, I’d suggest toning it down for the vacation and letting your BFFs know you’re paying for every text you send.

When you’re done selecting options, the web page should look similar to this (you might choose different data options, of course):

Your selections should look something like this

If you mess up, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Reset”. If you’re done, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on “Next”.

Confirming your changes

The screens that follow are pretty confusing, because the system splits out each feature you’re ordering, and in some cases lets you backdate or set a future date for your changes for each feature. Read the page carefully to see which feature is being set up on each page.

Backdating (if available) is really handy if you want to retroactively add global text messaging, for example. But at the moment, we haven’t even left the US yet, so you probably want to select “Make effective/expire today” or “Future date to the next bill”.

“Future date” sounds good but is actually very limited. It only allows you to turn on your settings on the date of the next bill — which may not be near the time of your trip. “Make effective/expire today” means your changes will be complete and active on the AT&T network within the next 12-24 hours. I’d recommend you make all your changes a day or two before you leave for Europe and just make it effective that day.

One “gotcha”: some features like Global 50 text messages are pro-rated during a month if you don’t turn them on at the beginning of the billing cycle. For example, if you turn it on half way through the billing cycle you’ll only get 25 text messages during that monthly billing period. Gotta love that, eh?

When you’ve set the effective date for each feature, click on “Next”. When all dates for all features have been set, you get one final chance to review all your changes and read the small print of the services. If all is OK, click “Submit”. If not, you can cancel or go back to previous pages. If you messed up a date, click “Back” and correct it. Once submitted, AT&T will send you an email confirming your changes and you’ll be ready to stay connected as soon as you hit the ground.

On the ground in Europe

To control data usage, use the Settings app to turn data roaming on or off. Apps can still run in the background and access the network without your knowledge, so the only effective way to control network usage is Settings. Do this before you take your iPhone out of “Airplane mode” to avoid inadvertent data charges.

Turn your iPhone on after arrival and, after a few minutes of searching, it will automatically connect with one of AT&T’s roaming partner networks in the country you’re visiting. You typically get a free text message from AT&T advising you of data charges (at least I do) and maybe a text from the local network operator telling you about any features or charges.

Calls to your iPhone that are unanswered and go to voicemail will incur per-minute charges. The call actually makes it all the way to your phone in the foreign country and then is forwarded back to your voice mail number the US — hence the charges. You can avoid this by turning on “forward all calls to voicemail”, so that the call never reaches your phone in the first place (this means no-one can call you directly, but you can still listen to the voicemails they leave). The other option is simply to turn off your phone when you do not want to be reached — then the call never reaches your phone either and goes straight to voicemail.

To send all calls to voicemail, dial *#67# to see which number is used for your voicemail. Then dial *21*[number]# to forward all calls unconditionally. Then, when you want to turn this off, dial ##002# to restore default call forwarding.

When you get back

Important: log back into the MyWireless site and reverse the changes you made. No need to pay $5.99/month for discounted global roaming if you’re in the US the whole time. Do not use the backdating capability, otherwise you risk erasing the benefits you got from choosing discounts ahead of time. Only use backdating if you forgot to order something.

Enjoy your trip!

[Updated March 6, 2011 after comments pointing out errors]

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The Canon 50D isn’t supported in Lightroom 1.4 — only version 2.x. While the 50D is supported in Camera Raw 4.6, which means you can use it with Photoshop CS3, owners of the 5D Mark II are not so lucky: no support in Lightroom 1.4 and no support in Photoshop CS3 either; it’s supported in Camera Raw 5.2 which only works with Photoshop CS4.

To solve this problem, use the latest version of Adobe’s free DNG (Digital NeGative) converter to translate the RAW files from newer cameras into .DNG files. Lightroom 1.4 and Photoshop CS3 can open any DNG file, regardless of the original camera type. The DNG converter can be found here, and there are PC and Mac variants. It is updated at the same time as the Camera Raw plug-in for Photoshop when new camera support is added.

It works in batch mode — you point it at a directory (folder) full of RAW files and it grinds away creating DNGs in another directory. Taking the long view, DNG is probably a better file format for archiving images because it is open, unlike the proprietary camera-makers’ RAW file formats.

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Francesca, one half of LodgePhoto, had rented a car at London Heathrow, and was pleased to get a free upgrade to a Jaguar, which is this rental car company’s standard intermediate model. Now, there are Jaguars and Jaguars, and this was one of the former — i.e. at the low end of the range, nothing exotic, but a pleasant step up from the more typical Ford or Peugot. At the end of the rental, there was a small chip in the windshield, which American Express explained would not be covered “because Jaguars are exotic cars”… which, if true (there’s some doubt, see below), means that she’d been driving around without insurance for a few days.

Some digging on the Amex website revealed the small print of Amex’s rental car insurance (it is hard to find — it took two failed searches before following a series of links). There are some fairly substantial limitations in the current rules:

1. Exotic cars: anything by Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini (and other supercar makers). Also listed is the Jaguar XJS, which is not what Francesca rented. Also the Mercedes E320, which I would not consider remotely exotic. Check the document for the full list.
2. Expensive cars: an MSRP greater than $50,000. This can be a really tough one to figure out when renting overseas — is that the price of the car when purchased in the US, or the price of the car in purchased in Europe converted to dollars? How would you know either price when presented with a particular car at the rental counter? Is that price at the current dollar exchange rate, or when it was purchased?
3. Full sized SUVs and Vans: Chevy Suburban, Ford Expedition, Chevy Van etc. If you have a lot of stuff and/or a large family, this might also be a surprise. In Europe I always recommend getting more, smaller cars vs. one huge one, if that is possible, as smaller cars are easier to drive and park on narrow European roads (especially in medieval cities).

This is not the full list of limitations, by the way, just some edited highlights.

So, it’s not clear if the windshield chip is covered or not, since Francesca wasn’t driving an expensive or exotic car per the small print. We’ll find out.

The take-away from all this: re-read the small print. Even if you read it before. It might have changed!

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