Taking an iPhone overseas

[BrokenRSA]

My wife recently upgraded to an iPhone 4. All good and well.

We're going to the UK in two weeks time for a small vacation, and instead of paying the exorbitant roaming fees, we'd rather just get a prepaid simcard over there for the iPhone. Now I don't know if there will be any hassles doing this? Normal phones I've had no problem with in the past, but I can't get a clear answer on whether this will cause problems on an iPhone.

Anybody have any experience with this?

[ebendl]

My wife recently upgraded to an iPhone 4. All good and well.

We're going to the UK in two weeks time for a small vacation, and instead of paying the exorbitant roaming fees, we'd rather just get a prepaid simcard over there for the iPhone. Now I don't know if there will be any hassles doing this? Normal phones I've had no problem with in the past, but I can't get a clear answer on whether this will cause problems on an iPhone.

Anybody have any experience with this?

I can't see any problems, except for the MicroSIM - don't know how easy it would be to get a MicroSIM on Prepaid in the US.

You can always buy a normal one, and cut it smaller yourself.

[MongooseMan]

O2 Simplicity Prepaid (link). Go to counter, tell him you want to Simplicity deal where you pay 10 pounds and get unlimited UK texts and 500mb data.
I bought that last year when I went over and had no hassles (just be sure to be explicit when you're asking at the counter, we did waste 1 sim card coz they didn't get it first time.)
After that, 500mb is more than enough for 2 weeks. Plus you get to enjoy the iPhone in its natural environment, a 1st world country (seriously, it's an eye-opener).
Before you go, get Yelp, the London tube map and the london bus app. Will change your life.

[BrokenRSA]

Excellent, thanks, good to know there won't be any hassles!

[broken1]

*glare* at your username!

iPhone 4 will work fine overseas, as long as you get a Microsim.

SA iPhones are unlocked by default.

[BrokenRSA]

*glares back* Hah!

I was more worried about activiation and such, when you get the iPhone you have to activate it on iTunes, and it downloads some settings, and wasn't clear if that would prevent it from working overseas. But it seems that's not an issue, so it's all good!

[Roadrunner]

You might have to reconnect your phone with iTunes though after swopping the SIM card, just be wary of that.

Also, trimming a regular SIM down to size yourself is no problem if you have a steady hand.

[ebendl]

Mmm, forgot about the iTunes connection thing... Guessing the best way to test it here would be to get a different provider's SIM (say a MTN one if you're normally on VC) and see if you can swop it without the need to reconnect the iPhone. Obviously also try to setup the new internet settings on the phone directly.

I was planning on taking my iPad to the UK in October and getting a local SIM - much better than travelling with my notebook.

[bwana]

I regularly swap between Vodacom, MTN, 8ta, O2 and Vodafone in my iPhone without hassles. You will probably need to put in things like 02's APN etc.

[MongooseMan]

I regularly swap between Vodacom, MTN, 8ta, O2 and Vodafone in my iPhone without hassles. You will probably need to put in things like 02's APN etc.

Yeah, look that up before you go. I remember parking outside someone's house so I could use their unsecured wifi to look up the O2 apn details, was fun

[Ecco]

Should be no issue using the phone overseas.

One point i think you may need to look at is if you are insured.

Some insurance deals on your phone will not cover you if you use a simcard with a number that they are not aware of. If you are insured, best you notify them, else they might not pay out in the future (should anything happen).

[jasonbot]

Doesnt vodacom have deals with certain carriers overseas to provide calls to RSA at standard rates?

[renierp]

Yeah, look that up before you go. I remember parking outside someone's house so I could use their unsecured wifi to look up the O2 apn details, was fun

LOL! Gotta do what you gotta do hey!!!

[renierp]

Doesnt vodacom have deals with certain carriers overseas to provide calls to RSA at standard rates?

Nope. You can use SMS roaming, which allows you to receive SMS for free, and you pay R2 to send an SMS. Also keep in mind the R180-200 per MB they charge you for data when roaming... not worth it. Prepaid sim is the way to go

[wlamb]

I'm on vodacom and I can put an mtn m micro sim in my iPhone 4 and it works fine. No iTunes connections necessary etc.