Phone service overseas?
 

What do you guy do? I will be gone for 6 weeks with my family in Asia visiting few countries. I am told that I have to change SIM cards upon arrival and that my existing phone number can't be used. I must communicate with my men and incase if clients call. What's the suggestion? I hear:

Rent a hot spot device

Change SIM card

Use internet as phone (how does that works?)

Stick with Verizon and pay through the nose. They want just about 450 bucks for international service for 30 days

I will be in China, Hong Kong, and spending my last week in Bali. I know, the heat and the humidity will kick my ass

Supposedly (I don't know from personal experience) Magic Jack is supposed to be a good option.

https://www.magicjack.com/useInternational.html

https://wp.magicjack.com/features/guide-calling-internationally-magicjack/

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110% get a local SIM, especially in Asia. It will be light years cheaper than Verizon. Take a peek at a couple travel blogs to get an idea of what you should look for, just Google "traveling in Asia sim card blog" or something like that.

Here's a decent guide:

https://www.bemytravelmuse.com/get-sim-cards-southeast-asia/

AT&T charges 10 bucks a day for unlimited calls and data, depending on the country. Not a bad deal.

Verizon charges 10 bucks/day or every 24 hours of usage and usage goes against your stateside plan. If you have wifi access at a hotel, you could always check VM's and return calls.

I'd go with a hot spot device if you need access to your number.

If it were me, I'd say we "forgot our phones" in another bag...….use the families' phones or since it is vacation don't use a phone!

It really depends on how much data and talk time you might need. One of my friends went to Italy for a week. He just got the AT&T Europe plan for the month he was going to be there. It was fairly cheap as he sent mostly texts, and made a few calls.

Call your carrier and see what plans they offer.

That is easy to say, and hard to do if you are a heavy phone user. Just the translation services on a phone, or a GPS to find your way can be wonderful. Take a photo of a sign and it will translate what the sign says. Ask a question into the phone, and have a local hear it in the local language is great if you need some help.

I've been in Kingston for about a year now. I got a local Sim with the carrier here and put it in
My unlocked iPhone. I'm here on business, but when I call back to the office in the states it's only 1 cent a minute. Local calls are free with the plan. And I use the data to check email and for GPS.

Unlocked my phone before going to England and picked up a local carrier's sim card.
Wish I paid as little for service in Canada! It was darn cheap by comparison.

I'd get a Google Fi SIM and use that while away. Great International Rates.

I don't except too many call between my workmen and myself. Once a week just to see how things are going. mainly to check restaurants, maps and points of interest and such. Maybe Uber and other daily essentials which I do not have too much of. I am not a heavy phone user.

We have a free Canada plan but Asia is a different animal from what I hear.

I am told that I have or should set up this app called We-Chat. Everything is done on it including paying bills and cash isn't too popular anymore even in the remote places. We have a private tour guide and dinner is on our own. I need to learn how to use We-Chat to pay up. I don't feel like washing dishes.

We bought SIM cards in Croatia. Worked great until I got a message in some foreign language that I could not understand. After that? No worky.

Most recently, we turn off cell data and text / facetime / whatsapp with wifi. Not super user friendly but free and it works.

My daughter is doing a study abroad semester in Australia. She bought a sim card at the airport when she landed. They have them in machines like the ones that sell candy bars or you can go to a kiosk. That's what all the college kids do and it works well.

She uses a lot of free wifi so the actual data usage isn't much.

So for those who have overseas SIM cards, how do you get your phone number to follow you?


P.S.

Instead of Uber some Asian countries have Grabber
Seriously that’s what it’s called
Uber sold out to them there
It works the same way

I had a different phone number when using the purchased SIM card in the UK. People who needed to be in contact with me would use whatsapp.

T-Mobile has a pretty good coverage and make sure you are on wifi when you need to make a call.
Texts are free
Here is their deal in Vietnam for example.
https://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/roaming?country=Vietnam

the other pain in the rear is that I am going to three different countries and I believe they have different systems or SIM chips. I have no clue what Whatsapp is or how it works. My understand is that if a SIM chip is changed, I can't call back to the US unless the plan allows me to do so?

Can't help you there. I am on T-Mobile and international roaming is free for data up to certain speeds... (2G in Singapore for example, but 4G in Canada). Voice calls are not free, but if I'm on vacation, I tell them to text me if urgent, and I'll get on my computer and use VOIP...

FB Messenger also works. Unfortunately Skype connects to your phone number so it becomes a voice call.