A lot of people ask me for recommendations for staying connected while traveling internationally. T-Mobile is the best service for international roaming, but the service here in rural Oklahoma is pretty weak. Here's a breakdown of how I stay connected abroad on the cheap.
Here's what I use:
- Unlocked dual-SIM phone, currently a OnePlus 3
- Vonage VoIP app
- YouMail Visual Voicemail
- Signal Private Messenger / WhatsApp / Facebook Messenger / iMessage
I use Cricket Wireless as my U.S. cell provider. It runs on the AT&T network and offers great rates on family plans, but your carrier doesn't matter as long as your phone is unlocked and GSM compatible.
The first thing you want to do is download and set up the Vonage Mobile App. The app gives you VoIP calling over WiFi or mobile data at rate of $0.01 / minute to the U.S. There are other free options on the market, but Vonage allows you to spoof your U.S. cell phone number which I find to be extremely valuable when returning calls. It can be a real pain to explain a weird number when calling a business contact back in the U.S.
Secondly, download the free YouMail Visual Voicemail app. This app gives you the ability to check your voicemail over data - even if you don't have your carrier's SIM card installed.
And last, pick a preferred messenger. WhatsApp is extremely popular outside of the U.S. and Facebook Messenger is nearly ubiquitous in the U.S. I personally use Signal Private Messenger as it makes an excellent default SMS app for Android and Signal to Signal messages are transmitted over data fully encrypted. Whatever you use, this will replace your traditional text messaging while you are abroad. If you're an iPhone user your iMessage to iMessage (blue bubble) will work the same as it is over data.
You can buy your local SIM card in a number of places. Most international airports will have them at the arrival terminal, but they are usually quite expensive compared to what you can get elsewhere. Prepaid Data SIM Card Wiki has excellent information about local carriers and where to get a SIM card. Amazon also carries local prepaid SIM cards if you would like to have it read to go when you land. Just remember, many of these SIM cards are good for a finite window of time and the timer starts as soon as the card is inserted in your phone.
Once I have the local data SIM installed and running I'm good to go... and usually for just a few dollars.
I hope this helps you stay connected as you travel abroad!
Have a question? Leave it in the comments.
What are some of your tips for staying connected while traveling? Share them in the comments.