European SIM card in US mobile phone
I have traveled internationally with my mobile phone, but have always kept the SIM card from my US carrier (AT&T). As a result, I try to minimize my airtime when abroad: no phone calls, use WiFi whenever possible, etc. I am planning several, more extended, trips and am considering getting a local prepaid SIM when I arrive in Stockholm. I have an unlocked iPhone 6, so the SIM is removable. When I return to the US, I'll put my AT&T SIM back in, and keep the Swedish SIM for future travel. I'm aware that some prepaid plans are terminated after a period of inactivity.
I will not have a fixed address in Europe, but I will have credit cards that can be used in Europe.
I've looked at some of the related questions, but they all assume that one knows what they're doing... I don't!
I am trying to avoid putting multiple questions here, but they're all closely related:
- I've never done this before; is this a complicated procedure -- or is what I've described even possible?
- Will this cause any issues for my US carrier (e.g., will they terminate my plan)? Obviously, I expect to be billed for my normal monthly plan.
- Although I am primarily interested in data, will I be assigned a Swedish phone number for local calls and SMS if needed?
- I assume that if someone calls/texts my US number, it will be the same as if the phone was turned off, and I'll get voicemail/texts when I return.
Followup:
I was able to purchase and use a prepaid SIM from Telia.se in my iPhone with minimal problems. I was assigned a Swedish mobile phone number, was able to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and access the internet.
Since I don't have a personnummer, I was unable to place international calls. This (mostly) wasn't a problem for me, since the whole point of the SIM was for in-country use. The only issue I had was that I was unable to call an International Freephone number from my mobile (which make sense, I guess).
Best Answer
You'll also have to check that your phone isn't network-locked. If you're paying for your phone as part of your monthly cell payments, then it might be. A network-lock (sometimes called a SIM-lock) prevents your phone from registering (being used) on another cell network.
The easiest way to check (apart from asking your cell company), is to put a pay-as-you go SIM from another network in it (or even use a friend's SIM). If the phone is network-locked, then the SIM won't work.
If it is locked, then you can ask your cell company to remove the network lock.
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Can you put a European SIM card in a US phone?
Remember that as long as you have a European SIM in your own phone, you won't be reachable at your regular US number. If it's not possible to unlock your phone, you can buy an unlocked phone either before your trip or at your destination (it's around $40 for a basic unlocked phone).Can I put a European SIM card in my iPhone?
Virtually all modern smartphones (iPhone 7 and newer) are compatible with Europe's mobile infrastructure and every major US carrier has international data plans \u2014 so your smartphone should automatically work once you arrive in Europe because the major US carriers have partnerships with local European carriers.Can I put a European SIM card in my Verizon phone?
Will my Verizon phone work overseas? Most of Verizon's cell phones, especially the more expensive ones, use GSM, the same standard that most countries overseas use. However, Verizon tends to "lock" many of their cell phones. This means that they do not let you put in a different SIM card than Verizon's.Will EU version phones work in us?
Unlocked handsets sold in Europe will likely work in the U.S., but only on GSM networks like T-Mobile, AT&T, Cricket Wireless and MetroPCS. CDMA carriers, including Verizon and Sprint, are mainly an anomaly on this side of the Atlantic \u2014 so overseas phones aren't built to support them.International sim card - Use your phone while traveling Europe
More answers regarding european SIM card in US mobile phone
Answer 2
Yes, this is possible. I do this with my unlocked US iPhone (at&t) whenever I travel to my birth country in Europe.
On the plane I switch the SIM cards. After arrival I add a small amount of money (~$10) to the EU prepaid SIM card. From that company, I almost immediately get texts with special offers, for example, for $X get a certain amount of minutes, texts and data, and almost always the deal is very good.
Soon after that, a screen pops up asking if I want to make the new number the principal one (no!), and whether I want to add the new number to iMessages and FaceTime (yes!)
I make this trip every few months, which keeps the prepaid card number always active.
On the plane ride back, I put the at&t card back in, and all goes back as it was pre-travel.
You can also get a 2 SIM card phone, or travel with a separate unlocked phone for use abroad. The latter was what I did before I started purchasing unlocked iPhones.
Answer 3
An annoying problem when removing your home SIM us that you won't get important messages.
I had two such issues, both credit card related:
I was notified by SMS that I reached 90% of my credit limit (long trip, lots of expenses). I didn't see it, and when it reached 100% the card stopped working.
When buying online, my card issuer wanted extra authentication by sending me an SMS with a code. So I quickly put my home SIM back in to get it. But try doing this when buying using your local SIM data connection...
A dual SIM phone is the best solution. A cheap GSM phone for your home SIM is also an option.
Answer 4
I'm not sure about the technical aspects of the whole US iPhone vs European SIM. My experience is with a European Android phone and a SIM from a different European country. So you might want to run this past AT&T before you leave.
However:
Is this a complicated procedure?
Not at all. I found it easy: power off my phone, take out the SIM, put the other SIM in, and turn the phone on again. And it didn't break anything when I switched back to my home SIM.
Will this cause any issues for my US carrier?
Don't know specifically about your carrier, but my home carrier didn't terminate my plan even after weeks of using the other SIM. And yes, I was billed by my home carrier on the normal monthly schedule. However, some carriers do deactivate prepaid accounts after longish period of inactivity (6 months?), so this might make your plan to save the Stockholm card pointless.
Will I be assigned a Swedish phone number for local calls and SMS if needed?
Yes. Make sure you have your contacts in the phone memory, not on your home SIM. You can tell your friends this new (temporary) number so they can call/text you. You might also get texts from the Swedish carrier in Swedish, welcoming you as a new customer and so on.
I assume that if someone calls/texts my US number, it will be the same as if the phone was turned off, and I'll get voicemail/texts when I return.
I don't know about voicemails but found my carrier only retained the texts for a while. I got the impression that after ~30 days they expired off my home carrier's system.
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