Post Ayth5964WPqdO8cnbs by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) More posts by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) Post #AytdrsSYlfiAA57nrE by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-05T10:44:37Z
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My mom is going on a trip and has alarmed me by saying she will "just leave my phone in airplane mode" the whole time. Don't think it's safe. She went to Canada recently, got dinged by a $200 international fee. Now convinced she can't use her phone. Really I think she'd be fine with the fee if she just knew *in advance* how much it would be. This is just a week long trip. I have not traveled to Europe recently so I don't have good advice.
(DIR) Post #Ayte0jcoz37rMt9FZY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-05T10:46:13Z
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I remember buying a sim card and having a different number for one trip. I remember just using my phone on another trip as normal and it only costed a little more. Can any travel pros say what is done now? I explained to her that payphones don't exist anymore. She's almost 90 and needs to have her phone on or I will die of stress.
(DIR) Post #AyteG9F81GDDAFPpMu by roknrol@beige.party
2025-10-05T10:48:49Z
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@futurebird I just had to replace my phone and I frequently travel to Europe. Some phones have a dual-sim slot, and some also hae eSim as an option.
(DIR) Post #AyteYHWhxa8S4GHjou by tipjip@bonn.social
2025-10-05T10:52:13Z
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@futurebird My wife recently went to Turkey and Japan using an eSIM for data. The specific one was https://saily.com/, but other exists.You still have to be careful accepting calls, but data works fine.
(DIR) Post #Aytf2CfMayGdgHbLLk by jmjm@mstdn.social
2025-10-05T10:57:35Z
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@futurebird Is switching to another carrier an option? Google Fi's $65/mo plan includes free calling in the US, Canada and Mexico, and $0.10/minute everywhere else. The ability to take my phone with me anywhere and have it just work for an affordable price is why I've stuck with Google Fi through some thick and thin.
(DIR) Post #AytfFAHkl56W3sjqAi by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-05T11:00:02Z
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@jmjm I can't travel to visit to help her set up a new sim card, but if it's an esim that might be possible. Hmm. I think I might need to just call Xfinity and ... talk with them. I really don't want to do that but this isn't so much about the cost it's just about it being simple and not stressing my mom out.
(DIR) Post #Ayth5964WPqdO8cnbs by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-05T11:20:38Z
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@roknrol I thought part of the "wonderful future" was going to be never thinking about this stuff again. That was very naive of me. US phones never have dual sim slots so that's not an option and I don't want to talk my mother through doing anything with a sim card ... Maybe I will just call in and try to find a way to pre-pay so she had no choice.
(DIR) Post #Aythds4lnV56jZZezY by StarkRG@myside-yourside.net
2025-10-05T11:26:38Z
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@futurebird My suggestion is to find out how much it would be to add international roaming for a month or whatever. Also realise that international text messaging can be *significantly* more expensive than calls (like 25¢ or more per text) so use Signal or something similar instead.
(DIR) Post #Aytj4pWRV38KaRw8Ia by AbramKedge@beige.party
2025-10-05T11:42:56Z
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@futurebird I still have my Google Fi account because it gives me seamless (cheap) roaming just about everywhere. I'm using my bought-in-the-US pixel, with an e-SIM for my UK phone service.
(DIR) Post #AytjkKYX1QdUi1hdHE by kc@social.coop
2025-10-05T11:50:22Z
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@futurebird in Europe our telecome providers tend to be on the path to getting travel sim packages (granted this is not for every country)https://travel.orange.com/en
(DIR) Post #AytlQHvPIJRMfKyPDs by InkySchwartz@mastodon.social
2025-10-05T12:09:13Z
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@futurebird @jmjm Simple is important. Especially for those who are not tech savvy or just expect their tech to work.
(DIR) Post #Aytqb6HnPJdhWaQ8Xo by bucknam@mastodon.social
2025-10-05T13:07:14Z
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@futurebird our family members have done a few international trips recently and our carrier (Verizon) has a choice of daily “Travel Passes” or a monthly equivalent (which is a few $ less per day) which we added to phone plans prior to travel. The former just activates automatically when you start using your phone internationally; the latter you purchase when you want to activate it. Your phone works normally and you use the same number; no extra sim needed.
(DIR) Post #AytrI3o8UuogI324Aa by bloodripelives@federatedfandom.net
2025-10-05T13:14:58Z
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@futurebird She can get a local SIM at a phone shop, and they can put it in the phone for her and swap it back when she’s about to leave! (I mean, I don’t think this is *officially* a service the stores advertise, but it’s such a trivial operation I can’t imagine any tech store kid refusing it to an older customer.)
(DIR) Post #AytsdVz12Lori5uoSW by Remittancegirl@mstdn.social
2025-10-05T13:30:04Z
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@futurebird There are very few places in europe you can’t buy a prepaid sim card. It’s super cheap and useful. But perhaps she doesn’t feel capable of changing her sim. Usually the people who sell them will do it for her right there at the counter.
(DIR) Post #AyttjtofRGsLJpgPzM by bruce@darkmoon.social
2025-10-05T13:42:25Z
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@futurebird @roknrol Most providers have an international plan that's much cheaper than roaming charges.
(DIR) Post #AytvDPvxCo5zHWjM5w by michael_w_busch@mastodon.online
2025-10-05T13:58:44Z
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@futurebird When I have done international travel with a smartphone; I have purchased low-volume international data plans that covered texts and maps to the extent that I needed them.(When I spent time in Australia before that; I bought a cheap pre-paid phone at a kiosk in Sydney.)
(DIR) Post #Ayu07rbNvFQn7uHSgC by sbourne@mastodon.social
2025-10-05T14:53:58Z
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@futurebird @jmjm Definitely talk to her carrier. We found out we didn't need to do anything the last time we traveled - the plan had changed since the previous time we'd traveled internationally.
(DIR) Post #Ayu0BU4BMvYzI5TcfI by motoridersd@pug.ninja
2025-10-05T14:54:38Z
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@futurebird the easiest would be if her current carrier offers some sort of International package you can add on ahead of time that will allow her to have her phone on for basic things, and then she can use WiFi other times.A more complex option is to get a separate line, eitehr via an eSIM if her phone supports it, or swapping her existing SIM card, but then she might not have her US number available when she gets back.
(DIR) Post #Ayu7oFUCDBSH2k4m6C by astronot@mastodon.online
2025-10-05T16:20:01Z
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@futurebird iPhone XR has dual sims and esims. That's what i used when traveling all over the globe a while back. Those phones are all old now and cheap to buy at your local phone repair place or online $130ishTMobile has global roaming plans for old folks for $45 a month. My coworkers used those instead of messing with local SIMs. They can port your number and set up the esim from home.As said elsewhere, ATT does $12 a day but you have you sign up in advance.
(DIR) Post #AyuklzR0odBctUV6G0 by lufthans@mastodon.social
2025-10-05T23:36:39Z
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@futurebird for Mint offers month to month sim ( was $15-$30 this Summer ) and Mint provides some coverage in Canada as part of its US plan ( Reynolds being Canadian )T-mobile also provides some Canada coverage ( and now owns Mint )For Europe T-mobile used to provide free calls in from the US, but roaming for data and making callsI had to carry a second phone for work, so got a local SIM for it to have data and calls out, but most people don't have 2 phones