Ken Blake wrote on Mon, 02 Dec 2024 11:24:33 -0700 :

I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy) this coming March and April.

I have a Google Pixel 4a. What can I do to enable my phone to make and receive calls while I'm away?

What can I do to get walking maps of the cities I'll be in into Waze
or Google maps.

I'm a purposefully helpful kind-hearted person so I wrote up a lot below to help you (and to help others like you) route offline while they travel.

If you have a T-Mobile post-paid plan in the USA, you're "probably" covered since my basic plan covers me in my visit to Europe every year with free unlimited data & unlimited roaming & unlimited texting (including MMS).

Hotspotting/tethering (which they call the same thing but it's not) is
limited to only 5GB/month per phone on the T-Mobile basic postpaid plan.

Even if you do NOT have the basic T-Mobile plan, most carriers 'should'
allow you to buy an enhanced plan (particularly for data) on a monthly
basis (e.g., T-Mobile offers a $10 per month addition for hotspot data).

In that T-Mobile basic plan, the only thing you pay for is phone calls.
They're 25 cents per minute, coming or going, to and from the phone.

That is, they're 25 cents per minute calling the USA or receiving a call
from the USA and 25 cents per minute calling locally or receiving a local
call. That's the only expense - but you can get around that expense too.

Make your calls on Wi-Fi (if you can find a local access point that is).
If you're not on T-Mobile, ask your carrier if they have a European add on.

If you don't have a plan that covers it, you'll need a SIM card that does
have the service where you'll be traveling - where the frequencies "may"
matter (Steve always talks a lot about that) but in my experience, most
phones have at least one frequency that is the same as the local area.

And that one frequency is all you need.

You may need to turn on roaming though, so I would advise you to call your carrier at 611 on your phone and ask them how to turn on your roaming.

As for maps, what's wrong with OSMAnd~ offline maps?
*OsmAnd& Maps & GPS Offline by OsmAnd, In-app purchases
Free, ad free, 4.5 star, 153K reviews, 10M+ Downloads
<https://osmand.net/>
<https://f-droid.org/repo/net.osmand.plus_431203.apk>
<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.osmand.plus/>
<https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd>

You can download Google Maps offline, which I did for years when it first
came out, but it's so much of a PITA that I don't bother with that anymore.

While I am aware you're not all that technical, someone technical like I am easily uses geoPDFs of any area in the world which you can download and
route and show your position (all the USA parks and every inch of the USA except for the military locations has a free georeferenced PDF for that).

Most people use Avenza for routing on georeferenced PDFs.
*Avenza Maps* Offline Mapping by Avenza Systems Inc., In-app purchases
Free, ad free, 4.6 star, 72.6K reviews, 1M+ Downloads
<https://www.avenza.com/avenza-maps/>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Avenza>
<https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id388424049>

But I use Paper Maps because it has fewer limitations than does Avenza.
*Paper Maps* by Abbro Inc, In-app purchases
Free, ad free, 5K+ Downloads
<https://www.paper-maps.com/>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.abbro.androidmap>
<https://apps.apple.com/app/nextmap/id1147385120>

While this is for technical people, meaning not so much for you, what I use also is a site which generates geoPDFs for any area, such as Caltopo.
<https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=40.14529,14.83154&z=5&b=mbt>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.caltopo.android>

With Caltopo, you can plan a route and save it on a georeferenced PDF.
Then you can load that georeferenced PDF & route into any map program.
<https://www.offline-maps.net/>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.psyberia.offlinemaps>

There's more (much more) if you know what you're doing, as I never have any problem in Europe (I visit Germany every year like clockwork) routing.

Good luck. Most of what I said above is for experts though.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy) this coming March and April.

I have a Google Pixel 4a. What can I do to enable my phone to make and
receive calls while I'm away?

What can I do to get walking maps of the cities I'll be in into Waze
or Google maps.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-02 19:24, Ken Blake wrote:

I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy) this coming March and April.

I have a Google Pixel 4a. What can I do to enable my phone to make and receive calls while I'm away?

The important detail is who is your provider and what plan you got from
them. You have to ask them what are their fees while you are in the EU,
and whether they have travel plans.

If they are too expensive the solution is to buy, either on Amazon
before departure, or in the EU, a prepaid SIM card, and connect it as
secondary SIM card in your phone, which I hope is dual SIM.

Otherwise, replace your normal SIM and tell your family your new number.

What can I do to get walking maps of the cities I'll be in into Waze
or Google maps.

My preferred method is to install OSMAnd app, and dowload now the
countries of interest.

With a proper secondary SIM card, you can navigate as usual.

Notice that the conditions of a card bought in one country of the EU
might be different when you change country, so ask the merchant about
that. There are agreements so that the cards work when changing
countries, with similar prices (no roaming charges) but there are limits
and some differences.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Carlos E.R. wrote on Mon, 2 Dec 2024 22:03:55 +0100 :

Otherwise, replace your normal SIM and tell your family your new number.

Which reminds me that there are a bunch of "second line" apps which give
you a "real" phone number (so to speak) if you can get on the Internet.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

In comp.mobile.android, on Tue, 3 Dec 2024 01:15:16 -0000 (UTC), Andrew <[email protected]> wrote:

Carlos E.R. wrote on Mon, 2 Dec 2024 22:03:55 +0100 :

Otherwise, replace your normal SIM and tell your family your new number.

Which reminds me that there are a bunch of "second line" apps which give
you a "real" phone number (so to speak) if you can get on the Internet.

I set up one of those for my 83 year old friend, who has no cellular
account but piggybacks on her next door n'bor's wifi. I thought it
would be good for her when she walked over to a farther neigbbor, or
went to the doctor, but she wasn't interested and if you don't use it
for ???? 30 days???, the number gets taken back and you have to start
all over. It worked well, I could call out and call in. Maybe I could
even leave messages? I don't remember which one worked the best but if
anyone cares, I can check her phone next time I see her.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

In comp.mobile.android, on Mon, 02 Dec 2024 11:24:33 -0700, Ken Blake <[email protected]> wrote:

I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy) this coming March and April.

Lucky you. Now I want to go somewhere. (We'll see if the doctor can
lessen my back pain, so I can walk again. (At least I can still drive.))

I have a Google Pixel 4a. What can I do to enable my phone to make and >receive calls while I'm away?

For a trip that long, I doubt any plan by your US cellular provider will
be anywhere near as cheap as what I do, rent a sim in the country I'm
going to. One or 2 years I had it mailed to me in Baltimore (they had
an agent in the US who did that.) Other times, I got the SIM at or near
the airport, when I landed. I got good advice from Trip Advisor on which
sim guy was good. (there were really only two selling to the US and they
were both good.) The first year I used Skype to call home and even
bought a Skype phone number, then Whatsapp, but as time went on, the
SIMs I got there included a USA phone number, so it was really easy for
people to reach me. I don't know how common this is in the 3 countries
yuu're going to.

What can I do to get walking maps of the cities I'll be in into Waze
or Google maps.

I know someone who helped develop Waze, so I have great affection for
it, but Waza in my opinion is mostly for directions, but google maps is
mostly for knowing where you are and what is nearby. I don't need
directions that much, I know how to read a map, and Google maps has
directions when I need them, so I use it. I brought a laptop and when directions mattered, I would plan my travels the night before, and send
or email or both the directions to the phone.

Are you renting a car? Lots of suggestions if you are. What's the best
clip to attach the phone to the dashboard, etc.

Do you speak the languages of any or all 3 countries? Because I still
don't, and I wanted news or talk radio, not just music, I wanted some
non-local station. YOu don't have to decide this until you need to, but
the way to get stations out of the geographical zone is with a VPN. I
tried Firefox VPN and I couldnt' get it to work, then Nord VPN and I
coudln't get it to work, and I wondered if I was as smart as my mother
told me I was. But Express VPN installed very easily, and for the same
price, it goes into Windows and on your Android phone. Worked really
well, including for videos from the US. (Had to turn if off a few times
to listen to a local station) Pay by the month and when you get home
you can cancel it.

I used Tunein to listen to American news etc. (I was careful not to but
I accidentally said I wanted the paid version and let the free month go
by using it and had to pay for the next momnth.)

The new/used laptop I bought tonight has a place for a SIM, but I used
and will likely still use, my phone as a hotspot to feed internet to the laptop. All phones can be hotspots now, right? Or at laest yours can?

At least 2 or 3 years, my car had a video screen and worked with that
app which casts Android to the car radio. I forget the name. So I could
get google maps on the car screen, but it's not the whole system. The
map is there, and maybe, I forget, restaurants, hotels, tourist things,
at least a few, but you can't tap on them and learn anything about
them. For that you need the phone, and at least in 2021, you could not
have anything on the phone and the car screen at the same time, iiuc. So
I ended up putting OSMand on the car screen, and it turns out it's
easier and safer to read when driving than google maps is. I kept google
on the phone and referred to it and all its details when I needed it.

(Sometimes I ran the laptop off the cigarette lighter, and one day I was
really into it and wanted to put GPS into the laptop, and they have
that, but it didn't sound like it worked that well. I've given up that
plan to have GPS. But I still use the laptop in the car a lot.
Sometimes I sleep in the car, use it before I sleep and then check my
email in the morning. I roll up my clothes so the laptop can sit level
on the passenger seat. The new laptop is only 4 pounds, instead of 6.
I guess that is good, even though all the accessories weigh another 4
pounds.)

There was also a local app with walkng tours of a quite a few places
around the country. I only found one interesting but it was really good, historical. Your countries probably have that. I think I heard about
mine on TripAdvisor.com.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-03 04:57, micky wrote:

Do you speak the languages of any or all 3 countries? Because I still don't, and I wanted news or talk radio, not just music, I wanted some non-local station. YOu don't have to decide this until you need to, but
the way to get stations out of the geographical zone is with a VPN. I
tried Firefox VPN and I couldnt' get it to work, then Nord VPN and I
coudln't get it to work, and I wondered if I was as smart as my mother
told me I was. But Express VPN installed very easily, and for the same price, it goes into Windows and on your Android phone. Worked really
well, including for videos from the US. (Had to turn if off a few times
to listen to a local station) Pay by the month and when you get home
you can cancel it.

I used Tunein to listen to American news etc. (I was careful not to but
I accidentally said I wanted the paid version and let the free month go
by using it and had to pay for the next momnth.)

You do not need an VPN to tune radio stations on internet. There are
some apps (free), and some web sites.

Simple Radio app I found reasonable (I tried several apps). Caveat: it
does not want to exit and has to be killed.

https://streema.com is very good. Using it with Firefox in a laptop you
can find out the actual URL and copy it over to VLC and use that one
instead for the listening, with lower CPU load.

Possibly, if you manage to transfer the URL to the phone, you can listen
on the phone using VLC.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 03.12.24 15:25, Andy Burns wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

Not sure why I said "free", I should have said at no additional cost.

Intra EU roaming charges are forbidden for many years.

A new SIM for a couple of days? Not really.
The OP should ask his US-provider what it has on offer for such trips.

When I travel in the US - the opposite direction - I use my regular plan
from my Swiss provider that includes 40GB data and unlimited calls to
and from USA, Canda and all of Europe. Costs $50/month.

That is really trouble free usage of mobile communication.

Coverage:

Alaska, Andorra, Belgien, Bulgarien, Dänemark, Deutschland, Estland,
Färöer, Finnland, Frankreich, Gibraltar, Griechenland, Grossbritannien, Guernsey, Hawaii, Irland, Island, Isle of Man, Italien, Jersey, Kanada, Kroatien, Lettland, Litauen, Luxemburg, Malta, Monaco, Niederlande,
Norwegen, Österreich, Polen, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Rumänien, San
Marino, Schweden, Slowakei, Slowenien, Spanien, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, Tschechien, Türkei, USA, Ukraine, Ungarn, Vatikan, Zypern

--
"De gustibus non est disputandum."

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Andy Burns wrote:

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

Not sure why I said "free", I should have said at no additional cost.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-03 15:25, Andy Burns wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

Not sure why I said "free", I should have said at no additional cost.

But sometimes companies apply a limit. I'm unsure of the details.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Mon, 2 Dec 2024 22:03:55 +0100, "Carlos E.R."
<[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-02 19:24, Ken Blake wrote:

I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy) this coming March and April.

I have a Google Pixel 4a. What can I do to enable my phone to make and
receive calls while I'm away?

The important detail is who is your provider and what plan you got from >them. You have to ask them what are their fees while you are in the EU,
and whether they have travel plans.

If they are too expensive the solution is to buy, either on Amazon
before departure, or in the EU, a prepaid SIM card, and connect it as >secondary SIM card in your phone, which I hope is dual SIM.

Otherwise, replace your normal SIM and tell your family your new number.

What can I do to get walking maps of the cities I'll be in into Waze
or Google maps.

My preferred method is to install OSMAnd app, and dowload now the
countries of interest.

With a proper secondary SIM card, you can navigate as usual.

Notice that the conditions of a card bought in one country of the EU
might be different when you change country, so ask the merchant about
that. There are agreements so that the cards work when changing
countries, with similar prices (no roaming charges) but there are limits
and some differences.

TVM.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Mon, 02 Dec 2024 22:57:11 -0500, micky <[email protected]>
wrote:

In comp.mobile.android, on Mon, 02 Dec 2024 11:24:33 -0700, Ken Blake ><[email protected]> wrote:

I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy) this coming March and April.

Lucky you. Now I want to go somewhere. (We'll see if the doctor can
lessen my back pain, so I can walk again. (At least I can still drive.))

I also have back pain. My hope is that I can manage with it.

I have a Google Pixel 4a. What can I do to enable my phone to make and >>receive calls while I'm away?

For a trip that long, I doubt any plan by your US cellular provider will
be anywhere near as cheap as what I do, rent a sim in the country I'm
going to. One or 2 years I had it mailed to me in Baltimore (they had
an agent in the US who did that.) Other times, I got the SIM at or near
the airport, when I landed. I got good advice from Trip Advisor on which
sim guy was good. (there were really only two selling to the US and they
were both good.) The first year I used Skype to call home and even
bought a Skype phone number, then Whatsapp, but as time went on, the
SIMs I got there included a USA phone number, so it was really easy for >people to reach me. I don't know how common this is in the 3 countries >yuu're going to.

What can I do to get walking maps of the cities I'll be in into Waze
or Google maps.

I know someone who helped develop Waze, so I have great affection for
it, but Waza in my opinion is mostly for directions, but google maps is >mostly for knowing where you are and what is nearby. I don't need
directions that much, I know how to read a map, and Google maps has >directions when I need them, so I use it. I brought a laptop and when >directions mattered, I would plan my travels the night before, and send
or email or both the directions to the phone.

Are you renting a car?

No. I'll be on a tour. What I basically want to know is how to get
back to the hotel, if I can't walk anymore

Lots of suggestions if you are. What's the best
clip to attach the phone to the dashboard, etc.

Do you speak the languages of any or all 3 countries?

A little of each. I'm fluent in none of them, but I'm best in Italian,

Because I still
don't, and I wanted news or talk radio, not just music, I wanted some >non-local station. YOu don't have to decide this until you need to, but
the way to get stations out of the geographical zone is with a VPN. I
tried Firefox VPN and I couldnt' get it to work, then Nord VPN and I
coudln't get it to work, and I wondered if I was as smart as my mother
told me I was. But Express VPN installed very easily, and for the same >price, it goes into Windows and on your Android phone. Worked really
well, including for videos from the US. (Had to turn if off a few times
to listen to a local station) Pay by the month and when you get home
you can cancel it.

I used Tunein to listen to American news etc. (I was careful not to but
I accidentally said I wanted the paid version and let the free month go
by using it and had to pay for the next momnth.)

The new/used laptop I bought tonight has a place for a SIM, but I used
and will likely still use, my phone as a hotspot to feed internet to the >laptop. All phones can be hotspots now, right? Or at laest yours can?

At least 2 or 3 years, my car had a video screen and worked with that
app which casts Android to the car radio. I forget the name. So I could
get google maps on the car screen, but it's not the whole system. The
map is there, and maybe, I forget, restaurants, hotels, tourist things,
at least a few, but you can't tap on them and learn anything about
them. For that you need the phone, and at least in 2021, you could not
have anything on the phone and the car screen at the same time, iiuc. So
I ended up putting OSMand on the car screen, and it turns out it's
easier and safer to read when driving than google maps is. I kept google
on the phone and referred to it and all its details when I needed it.

(Sometimes I ran the laptop off the cigarette lighter, and one day I was >really into it and wanted to put GPS into the laptop, and they have
that, but it didn't sound like it worked that well. I've given up that
plan to have GPS. But I still use the laptop in the car a lot.
Sometimes I sleep in the car, use it before I sleep and then check my
email in the morning. I roll up my clothes so the laptop can sit level
on the passenger seat. The new laptop is only 4 pounds, instead of 6.
I guess that is good, even though all the accessories weigh another 4 >pounds.)

There was also a local app with walkng tours of a quite a few places
around the country. I only found one interesting but it was really good, >historical. Your countries probably have that. I think I heard about
mine on TripAdvisor.com.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

J�rg Lorenz <[email protected]> wrote:

On 03.12.24 15:25, Andy Burns wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

Not sure why I said "free", I should have said at no additional cost.

Intra EU roaming charges are forbidden for many years.

A new SIM for a couple of days? Not really.

Not a few days, probably two *months*: "this coming March and April"

The OP should ask his US-provider what it has on offer for such trips.

Yes, whatever he does, he should *also* ask his US-provider.

[...]

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

And for the EU you probably don't need to rent a SIM, but just buy
one, probably with a pre-paid plan.

Ken said "I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy)...". If he visits
them in that order, Carlos may be able to give some suggestions/pointers
for Spain. If Ken could indicate how much minutes/'texts'/GB he would
need per unit of time, that would help.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

In comp.mobile.android, on Tue, 3 Dec 2024 07:54:35 -0000 (UTC), Chris <[email protected]> wrote:

Install WhatsApp as most people and companies in those countries use it by >default for most communication. It doesn't suffer from call costs so they
can "call" you on your US no. for "free". It requires data, but most people >have large/unlimited data caps.

Yes, Whatsapp is fantastic. Especially if you want to share part of
your trip with someone back home. I gave 60 or 90 minute video tours of
a couple places where I was to a friend back home. She's seen more of a
couple obscure places than people who have actually been there. And it
was all free (I had plenty of data.)

What can I do to get walking maps of the cities I'll be in into Waze
or Google maps.

Make sure you have data roaming enabled and they'll work as normal. Again >check with your provider re costs.

As an aside, I'd also recommend getting off your phone and just wander
about. There's a huge amount of hidden gems in European cities and nothing >beats finding a great little square and cafe that's off the beaten track.

One of the advantages (maybe the only one) of a bad back, is that I have
to sit frequently and during that time I watch the setting and the other people. It's very nice.

I've twice had nerve anesthesia (prepartory to ablation, had it worked),
once or twice steroid shots (which seemed to give me one good half-day,
but no more), and tomorrow he is testing spinal cord stimulation. A
7-day test and if it works, he's going to want to implant somthing a tad
bigger than a fig newtow in my body somewhere, instead of taping it to
my side like tomorrow. They say 50% reduction is likely, or something,
but in a moment of trying to get me to do this, he said "If all of the
pain is gone". Note the word "if". The manufacturers say the test
should do 70% and only to expect 50% or less. No one but he has said
100% was possible, but maybe he knows it is. Or maybe he was just trying
to tempt me. He says he's done 400 in the last 5 years.

Oh, Ken, you might consider this or some other design: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PT4GRZM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I took it on my last trip, 3 weeks in Guatemala, and used it in one
museum, and in the Guatemala City Zoo. At the zoo I saw two other
people carrying their own seats, of two other designs, one an X-style
camp stool and I don't remember the other

The one above fits easily in a suitcase (despite the dimensions that a
similar gives. Sometimes Amazon dimensions include packaging. ). It'
opens and closes quickly, and is stable. It kept falling off my
shoulder when I used the strap, but something could be worked out.
Adding some other comforable strap that would attach to it or the first
strap and reach around to the other side of one's neck.

And there are other totally different designs too.

I doubt if a tour will take you to the zoo, but they are great at the
zoo. There were lots of benches at the GCZoo, but none were in front of
the animals. You're sitting down so even if others are there, you're
not in their way,and you can stay as long as you want watching animals.

Now I keep it in the trunk of my car, and when I went to a demolition
derby a month ago, I found there were no seats at all. Glad I had this.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 3 Dec 2024 16:28:17 GMT, Frank Slootweg <[email protected]d>
wrote:

Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

And for the EU you probably don't need to rent a SIM, but just buy
one, probably with a pre-paid plan.

Ken said "I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy)...". If he visits
them in that order,

Yes.

Carlos may be able to give some suggestions/pointers
for Spain. If Ken could indicate how much minutes/'texts'/GB he would
need per unit of time, that would help.

There's free wi-fi in all the hotels I'll be in. I don't know how
many minutes/'texts'/GB I would need. I was mostly concerned with
calling a taxi if I wasn't able to walk any farther. Or getting Uber
if I'm someplace that has it.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-03 17:28, Frank Slootweg wrote:

Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

And for the EU you probably don't need to rent a SIM, but just buy
one, probably with a pre-paid plan.

Ken said "I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy)...". If he visits
them in that order, Carlos may be able to give some suggestions/pointers
for Spain. If Ken could indicate how much minutes/'texts'/GB he would
need per unit of time, that would help.

Orange had a nice offer two years ago, but I don't know currently.
Almost unlimited usage for 50 or 60 euros, for a month.

The best method is not asking the locals, but entering a shop that tends
to multiple brands in an immigrant district. My cousin did that in
Barcelona and surprised me by finding a very good deal I did not know about.

Just a note: they will ask you to show an ID. This is counter-terrorism measures since 9-11 and 11M

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-03 19:16, micky wrote:

In comp.mobile.android, on Tue, 3 Dec 2024 07:54:35 -0000 (UTC), Chris <[email protected]> wrote:

Install WhatsApp as most people and companies in those countries use it by >> default for most communication. It doesn't suffer from call costs so they
can "call" you on your US no. for "free". It requires data, but most people >> have large/unlimited data caps.

Yes, Whatsapp is fantastic. Especially if you want to share part of
your trip with someone back home. I gave 60 or 90 minute video tours of
a couple places where I was to a friend back home. She's seen more of a couple obscure places than people who have actually been there. And it
was all free (I had plenty of data.)

Otherwise, do not forget RCS. If your friends back home do not have
whatsapp, they may have RCS; maybe they just need to activate it. If
available, it is is also gratis.



--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-03 19:58, Ken Blake wrote:

On 3 Dec 2024 16:28:17 GMT, Frank Slootweg <[email protected]d>
wrote:

Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

And for the EU you probably don't need to rent a SIM, but just buy
one, probably with a pre-paid plan.

Ken said "I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy)...". If he visits
them in that order,

Yes.

Carlos may be able to give some suggestions/pointers
for Spain. If Ken could indicate how much minutes/'texts'/GB he would
need per unit of time, that would help.

There's free wi-fi in all the hotels I'll be in. I don't know how
many minutes/'texts'/GB I would need. I was mostly concerned with
calling a taxi if I wasn't able to walk any farther. Or getting Uber
if I'm someplace that has it.

Yep.

One note, taxi calling in Spain is now done with an app. Varies per
city, I think. There are competing apps.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-03 20:25, Dave Royal wrote:

"Carlos E.R." <[email protected]d> Wrote in message:

Just a note: they will ask you to show an ID. This is counter-terrorism
measures since 9-11 and 11M

11M = 11th Marzo - i.e. Atocha?

Exactly.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

"Carlos E.R." <[email protected]d> Wrote in message:

Just a note: they will ask you to show an ID. This is counter-terrorism measures since 9-11 and 11M

11M = 11th Marzo - i.e. Atocha?
--
Remove numerics from my email address.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-03 22:24, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 03.12.24 20:19, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-03 19:16, micky wrote:

In comp.mobile.android, on Tue, 3 Dec 2024 07:54:35 -0000 (UTC), Chris
<[email protected]> wrote:

Install WhatsApp as most people and companies in those countries use it by >>>> default for most communication. It doesn't suffer from call costs so they >>>> can "call" you on your US no. for "free". It requires data, but most people
have large/unlimited data caps.

Yes, Whatsapp is fantastic. Especially if you want to share part of
your trip with someone back home. I gave 60 or 90 minute video tours of >>> a couple places where I was to a friend back home. She's seen more of a
couple obscure places than people who have actually been there. And it
was all free (I had plenty of data.)

Otherwise, do not forget RCS. If your friends back home do not have
whatsapp, they may have RCS; maybe they just need to activate it. If
available, it is is also gratis.

Seriously?!

Of course.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 03.12.24 20:19, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-03 19:16, micky wrote:

In comp.mobile.android, on Tue, 3 Dec 2024 07:54:35 -0000 (UTC), Chris
<[email protected]> wrote:

Install WhatsApp as most people and companies in those countries use it by >>> default for most communication. It doesn't suffer from call costs so they >>> can "call" you on your US no. for "free". It requires data, but most people >>> have large/unlimited data caps.

Yes, Whatsapp is fantastic. Especially if you want to share part of
your trip with someone back home. I gave 60 or 90 minute video tours of
a couple places where I was to a friend back home. She's seen more of a
couple obscure places than people who have actually been there. And it
was all free (I had plenty of data.)

Otherwise, do not forget RCS. If your friends back home do not have
whatsapp, they may have RCS; maybe they just need to activate it. If available, it is is also gratis.

Seriously?!


--
"Roma locuta, causa finita." (Augustinus)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 03.12.24 22:54, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-03 22:24, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 03.12.24 20:19, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-03 19:16, micky wrote:

In comp.mobile.android, on Tue, 3 Dec 2024 07:54:35 -0000 (UTC), Chris >>>> <[email protected]> wrote:

Install WhatsApp as most people and companies in those countries use it by
default for most communication. It doesn't suffer from call costs so they >>>>> can "call" you on your US no. for "free". It requires data, but most people
have large/unlimited data caps.

Yes, Whatsapp is fantastic. Especially if you want to share part of
your trip with someone back home. I gave 60 or 90 minute video tours of >>>> a couple places where I was to a friend back home. She's seen more of a >>>> couple obscure places than people who have actually been there. And it >>>> was all free (I had plenty of data.)

Otherwise, do not forget RCS. If your friends back home do not have
whatsapp, they may have RCS; maybe they just need to activate it. If
available, it is is also gratis.

Seriously?!

Of course.

:-D


--
"Roma locuta, causa finita." (Augustinus)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-04 02:07, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 03.12.24 22:54, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-03 22:24, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 03.12.24 20:19, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-03 19:16, micky wrote:

In comp.mobile.android, on Tue, 3 Dec 2024 07:54:35 -0000 (UTC), Chris >>>>> <[email protected]> wrote:

Install WhatsApp as most people and companies in those countries use it by
default for most communication. It doesn't suffer from call costs so they
can "call" you on your US no. for "free". It requires data, but most people
have large/unlimited data caps.

Yes, Whatsapp is fantastic. Especially if you want to share part of >>>>> your trip with someone back home. I gave 60 or 90 minute video tours of >>>>> a couple places where I was to a friend back home. She's seen more of a >>>>> couple obscure places than people who have actually been there. And it >>>>> was all free (I had plenty of data.)

Otherwise, do not forget RCS. If your friends back home do not have
whatsapp, they may have RCS; maybe they just need to activate it. If
available, it is is also gratis.

Seriously?!

Of course.

:-D

Your bias against it is well known and can be duly ignored.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 04.12.24 03:10, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-04 02:07, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

:-D

Your bias against it is well known and can be duly ignored.

I have it active for years but I never received a "RCS". Market share
not materially different from zero. It is a dead horse in the times of
free messengers.


--
"Roma locuta, causa finita." (Augustinus)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

J�rg Lorenz <[email protected]> wrote:

On 04.12.24 03:10, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-04 02:07, J�rg Lorenz wrote:

:-D

Your bias against it is well known and can be duly ignored.

I have it active for years but I never received a "RCS". Market share
not materially different from zero. It is a dead horse in the times of
free messengers.

Earth to J�rg: The "Two Questions" are from an *American* planning to
visit Europe. Put two and two together and maybe, just maybe, you'll
figure it out.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-04 07:26, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 04.12.24 03:10, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-04 02:07, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

:-D

Your bias against it is well known and can be duly ignored.

I have it active for years but I never received a "RCS". Market share
not materially different from zero. It is a dead horse in the times of
free messengers.

You are not USAian.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 04.12.24 12:58, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-04 07:26, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 04.12.24 03:10, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-04 02:07, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

:-D

Your bias against it is well known and can be duly ignored.

I have it active for years but I never received a "RCS". Market share
not materially different from zero. It is a dead horse in the times of
free messengers.

You are not USAian.

I know even better than the average US-cellphone-user because I use all existing networks by roaming and I'm not stuck with one provider and in addition with the exception of WA I use all messengers including
potentially RCS (there is a rumour that it also exists on iPhones in the meantime but was never seen).


--
"De gustibus non est disputandum."

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 04.12.24 12:58, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-04 07:26, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 04.12.24 03:10, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-04 02:07, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

:-D

Your bias against it is well known and can be duly ignored.

I have it active for years but I never received a "RCS". Market share
not materially different from zero. It is a dead horse in the times of
free messengers.

You are not USAian.

I'm in the USA quite often. This year in October and November. We have a
lot of friends and relatives there: Exactly the same. RCS is practically non-existent. iMsg, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp rule!


--
"De gustibus non est disputandum."

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 20:11:38 +0100, "Carlos E.R."
<[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-03 17:28, Frank Slootweg wrote:

Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

And for the EU you probably don't need to rent a SIM, but just buy
one, probably with a pre-paid plan.

Ken said "I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy)...". If he visits
them in that order, Carlos may be able to give some suggestions/pointers
for Spain. If Ken could indicate how much minutes/'texts'/GB he would
need per unit of time, that would help.

Orange had a nice offer two years ago, but I don't know currently.
Almost unlimited usage for 50 or 60 euros, for a month.

Thanks, but much more than I'm willing to spend. I hope to never need
to use it, but just want something available in case I need to.

The best method is not asking the locals, but entering a shop that tends
to multiple brands in an immigrant district. My cousin did that in
Barcelona and surprised me by finding a very good deal I did not know about.

Just a note: they will ask you to show an ID. This is counter-terrorism >measures since 9-11 and 11M

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 12/4/2024 8:53 AM, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 04.12.24 12:58, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-04 07:26, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 04.12.24 03:10, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-04 02:07, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

:-D

Your bias against it is well known and can be duly ignored.

I have it active for years but I never received a "RCS". Market share
not materially different from zero. It is a dead horse in the times of
free messengers.

You are not USAian.

I know even better than the average US-cellphone-user because I use all existing networks by roaming and I'm not stuck with one provider and in addition with the exception of WA I use all messengers including
potentially RCS (there is a rumour that it also exists on iPhones in the meantime but was never seen).

In the US on my iPhone when I send a text message to someone with an
iphone the input field looks like the bottom portion of the image below
and says it will be an "iMessage." If one of the recipients has an
android phone, it looks like the top one and says it will be "Text
Message - RCS."

<https://i.postimg.cc/Gp4Fj4bJ/Messages.jpg>

--
I Stand With Israel!

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Ken Blake <[email protected]> wrote:

On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 20:11:38 +0100, "Carlos E.R."
<[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-03 17:28, Frank Slootweg wrote:

Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

And for the EU you probably don't need to rent a SIM, but just buy
one, probably with a pre-paid plan.

Ken said "I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy)...". If he visits
them in that order, Carlos may be able to give some suggestions/pointers >> for Spain. If Ken could indicate how much minutes/'texts'/GB he would
need per unit of time, that would help.

Orange had a nice offer two years ago, but I don't know currently.
Almost unlimited usage for 50 or 60 euros, for a month.

Thanks, but much more than I'm willing to spend. I hope to never need
to use it, but just want something available in case I need to.

You said you wanted to be able to call a taxi, in case you need one.
If so, you need to be prepared and that something is "available" is of
little help in such cases, you need to *have* it.

My advice: If you have a dual-SIM phone, buy a local pre-paid SIM when
you arrive. Will probably only cost you the credit supplied on the SIM,
i.e. some 10 dollars or so. If you don't have a dual-SIM phone, but can
swap SIMs (i.e. you can't be contacted on your US number, but can still
use things like WhatsApp), do the same (pre-paid SIM).

If you want more advice, *talk* to us. Sofar you have given very
little information/feedback.

The best method is not asking the locals, but entering a shop that tends
to multiple brands in an immigrant district. My cousin did that in >Barcelona and surprised me by finding a very good deal I did not know about.

Just a note: they will ask you to show an ID. This is counter-terrorism >measures since 9-11 and 11M

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-04 17:36, Frank Slootweg wrote:

Ken Blake <[email protected]> wrote:

On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 20:11:38 +0100, "Carlos E.R."
<[email protected]d> wrote:

Orange had a nice offer two years ago, but I don't know currently.
Almost unlimited usage for 50 or 60 euros, for a month.

Thanks, but much more than I'm willing to spend. I hope to never need
to use it, but just want something available in case I need to.

You said you wanted to be able to call a taxi, in case you need one.
If so, you need to be prepared and that something is "available" is of
little help in such cases, you need to *have* it.

My advice: If you have a dual-SIM phone, buy a local pre-paid SIM when
you arrive. Will probably only cost you the credit supplied on the SIM,
i.e. some 10 dollars or so. If you don't have a dual-SIM phone, but can
swap SIMs (i.e. you can't be contacted on your US number, but can still
use things like WhatsApp), do the same (pre-paid SIM).

For that price, it may not include much data.



https://www.movistar.es/tarifas-moviles/prepago/

- Prepaid plus tariff. Now with 40 GB at 5G+ speed with unlimited
national calls and 200 minutes of international calls.

- Premium prepaid tariff. Now with 80 GB at 5G+ speed with unlimited
national calls and 400 minutes of international calls.

- Total prepaid tariff. Now with 140 GB at 5G+ speed with unlimited
national calls and also in the EU.

- Habla 6 prepaid tariff. This is the simplest voice-only tariff and the default tariff in general in the prepaid mode.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

They don't say prices. I found them at a newspaper, for the past summer.


<https://www.lavanguardia.com/andro4all/operadoras/movistar-multiplica-por-cuatro-los-gb-de-sus-tarifas-prepago-este-verano>

Plus (10 euros): from 10 GB to 40 GB. Also includes unlimited
national calls and 200 minutes for international calls.
Premium (15 euros): from 20 GB to 80 GB. Also includes unlimited
national calls and 400 minutes of international calls.
Total (20 euros): from 35 GB to 140 GB. In addition, there are
unlimited national calls and unlimited calls within the European Union.



Another provider.

<https://www.vodafone.es/c/particulares/es/productos-y-servicios/movil/prepago-y-recargas/tarjetas-prepago/>

Prepago S
50G
unlimited national calls
400 minutes international

10€ 28 days.


Prepago M
100G
unlimited national calls
800 minutes international

15€ 28 days.



Prepago L
150G
unlimited national calls
1200 minutes international

20€ 28 days.


Notice that with a SIM bought in Spain, making a phone call in Italy is
an international call.

They mail you the SIM free or charge, but I don't know if to the USA.


Prepago XL
170G
unlimited national calls
1600 minutes international

30€ 28 days.


Prepago XXL
200G
unlimited national calls
2000 minutes international

40€ 28 days.



Then there are the small providers. Here there is a comparison: <https://selectra.es/internet-telefono/movil/prepago>


--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-04 17:36, Frank Slootweg wrote:

[...]

You said you wanted to be able to call a taxi, in case you need one.
If so, you need to be prepared and that something is "available" is of little help in such cases, you need to *have* it.

My advice: If you have a dual-SIM phone, buy a local pre-paid SIM when you arrive. Will probably only cost you the credit supplied on the SIM, i.e. some 10 dollars or so. If you don't have a dual-SIM phone, but can swap SIMs (i.e. you can't be contacted on your US number, but can still
use things like WhatsApp), do the same (pre-paid SIM).

For that price, it may not include much data.

Huh? Later you give examples of 10-50GB for 10 Euro. That's quite a
bit of data and Ken said he mainly needs it to call a taxi (if needed)
and will use Wi-Fi in hotels.

[Examples deleted.]

Notice that with a SIM bought in Spain, making a phone call in Italy is
an international call.

Yes, but it is subject to free roaming and must be *charged* as an
in-country call. Or did Itlay (or Spain) leave the EU when I wasn't
paying attention!? :-)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-04 19:54, Chris wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

Notice that with a SIM bought in Spain, making a phone call in Italy is
an international call.

Really? Is that typical?

My UK SIM treats all EU calls as local when roaming. This was both before
and after brexit. My deal is £7 pm incl 20GB and unlimited calls/txts.

I guess it depends on the plan. You have to ask to make certain.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-04 19:54, Chris wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

Notice that with a SIM bought in Spain, making a phone call in Italy is
an international call.

Really? Is that typical?

My UK SIM treats all EU calls as local when roaming. This was both before and after brexit. My deal is �7 pm incl 20GB and unlimited calls/txts.

I guess it depends on the plan. You have to ask to make certain.

Nope. It's an EU regulation. You can only charge the same cost as an in-country call and there's a maximum per minute cost. (There was a time
when for me a call inside another EU country or from such a country to
NL was *cheaper* than an in-NL call, because of that maximum per minute
cost.)

But yes, *technically* it's "an international call" because you have
to prepend the country code of the destination, which you don't have to
do for an in-country call.

So it's "an international call" and it needs roaming to work, but it's
not more expensive than an in-country call.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-04 20:08, Frank Slootweg wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-04 17:36, Frank Slootweg wrote:

[...]

You said you wanted to be able to call a taxi, in case you need one. >>> If so, you need to be prepared and that something is "available" is of
little help in such cases, you need to *have* it.

My advice: If you have a dual-SIM phone, buy a local pre-paid SIM when >>> you arrive. Will probably only cost you the credit supplied on the SIM,
i.e. some 10 dollars or so. If you don't have a dual-SIM phone, but can
swap SIMs (i.e. you can't be contacted on your US number, but can still
use things like WhatsApp), do the same (pre-paid SIM).

For that price, it may not include much data.

Huh? Later you give examples of 10-50GB for 10 Euro. That's quite a
bit of data and Ken said he mainly needs it to call a taxi (if needed)
and will use Wi-Fi in hotels.

I found that out later.

Two years ago our card was 60 euros. I think it was unlimited, not sure.
It was cheaper for them calling the USA or Canada than for me.

[Examples deleted.]

Notice that with a SIM bought in Spain, making a phone call in Italy is
an international call.

Yes, but it is subject to free roaming and must be *charged* as an in-country call. Or did Itlay (or Spain) leave the EU when I wasn't
paying attention!? :-)

:-)

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-04 20:22, Frank Slootweg wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-04 19:54, Chris wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

Notice that with a SIM bought in Spain, making a phone call in Italy is >>>> an international call.

Really? Is that typical?

My UK SIM treats all EU calls as local when roaming. This was both before >>> and after brexit. My deal is £7 pm incl 20GB and unlimited calls/txts.

I guess it depends on the plan. You have to ask to make certain.

Nope. It's an EU regulation. You can only charge the same cost as an in-country call and there's a maximum per minute cost. (There was a time
when for me a call inside another EU country or from such a country to
NL was *cheaper* than an in-NL call, because of that maximum per minute cost.)

But yes, *technically* it's "an international call" because you have
to prepend the country code of the destination, which you don't have to
do for an in-country call.

So it's "an international call" and it needs roaming to work, but it's
not more expensive than an in-country call.

That's good to know. I heard grumbling from companies starting to or
wanting to charge more and limit the amount of roaming.



--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Mon, 02 Dec 2024 11:24:33 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

I have a Google Pixel 4a. What can I do to enable my phone to make and receive calls while I'm away?

I'm guessing nothing, but it could turn out to be very costly. I suggest
you check which providers in Spain, France and Italy offers eSIM. It
seems Pixel 4a supports this. This way you can use a SIM and eSIM at the
same time.

What can I do to get walking maps of the cities I'll be in into Waze
or Google maps.

Same as above: use eSIM for local providers and buy a data pack.

Some good advice: set a download limit in your phone, just in case.

--
s|b

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-05 00:26, Chris wrote:

Frank Slootweg <[email protected]d> wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-04 19:54, Chris wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

...

Actually you can add the country code to all your calls and the operator/network works out whether it's local or international. Makes life
a lot easier when storing and dialling contacts when away from home.

All my UK numbers start with +44 regardless of whether I call from home or abroad.

Absolutely.

But, assuming he starts the visit on Spain, then goes to Italy. He wants
to call a taxi, after seeing the number somewhere. You have to add the
prefix, which will not be printed in adverts and such. They assume local.

And they will see the foreign number, which might surprise them.
Hopefully they don't geofence.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-05 09:10, Chris wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-05 00:26, Chris wrote:

Frank Slootweg <[email protected]d> wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-04 19:54, Chris wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

...

Actually you can add the country code to all your calls and the
operator/network works out whether it's local or international. Makes life >>> a lot easier when storing and dialling contacts when away from home.

All my UK numbers start with +44 regardless of whether I call from home or >>> abroad.

Absolutely.

But, assuming he starts the visit on Spain, then goes to Italy. He wants
to call a taxi, after seeing the number somewhere. You have to add the
prefix, which will not be printed in adverts and such. They assume local.

True. I guess the OP needs to find what the county code are. I know France
is +33. What's Spain?

+34

Italy I don't know. Ah, +39

https://countrycode.org/italy

And they will see the foreign number, which might surprise them.
Hopefully they don't geofence.

I would suspect not given tourists will be regular users of taxis,
especially in touristy areas.

That's true.

But the other day there were some comments here about restaurants that
would not accept reservations unless you were near, so difficult to do
from the car while travelling to that city, and used gps spoofing to
fool the system.

gps would match, phone number not.


--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Chris <[email protected]> wrote:

Frank Slootweg <[email protected]d> wrote:

[...]

But yes, *technically* it's "an international call" because you have
to prepend the country code of the destination, which you don't have to
do for an in-country call.

So it's "an international call" and it needs roaming to work, but it's not more expensive than an in-country call.

Actually you can add the country code to all your calls and the operator/network works out whether it's local or international. Makes life
a lot easier when storing and dialling contacts when away from home.

Yes, I know and that's what I do as well. I just pointed out the
*need* to prepend the country code for "an international call", to
distinguish between "an international call" and an in-country call in
this context of in-EU roaming.

All my UK numbers start with +44 regardless of whether I call from home or abroad.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

"Carlos E.R." <[email protected]d> Wrote in message:

On 2024-12-05 09:10, Chris wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-05 00:26, Chris wrote:

Frank Slootweg <[email protected]d> wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-04 19:54, Chris wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

...

Actually you can add the country code to all your calls and the
operator/network works out whether it's local or international. Makes life >>>> a lot easier when storing and dialling contacts when away from home.

All my UK numbers start with +44 regardless of whether I call from home or >>>> abroad.

Absolutely.

But, assuming he starts the visit on Spain, then goes to Italy. He wants >>> to call a taxi, after seeing the number somewhere. You have to add the
prefix, which will not be printed in adverts and such. They assume local. >>

True. I guess the OP needs to find what the county code are. I know France >> is +33. What's Spain?

+34

Italy I don't know. Ah, +39

https://countrycode.org/italy

And they will see the foreign number, which might surprise them.
Hopefully they don't geofence.

I would suspect not given tourists will be regular users of taxis,
especially in touristy areas.

That's true.

But the other day there were some comments here about restaurants that
would not accept reservations unless you were near, so difficult to do
from the car while travelling to that city, and used gps spoofing to
fool the system.

gps would match, phone number not.

I found restaurants in Greece somtimes wouldn't answer foreign
numbers so I always made reservations with a local SIM. Mainly
because the older staff (the owner's mother, or grandmother even)
were not confident in English. A few words of greek were
required. Taxis, no such problem IME - so long as you can
describe where you are.
--
Remove numerics from my email address.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-05 13:48, Dave Royal wrote:

"Carlos E.R." <[email protected]d> Wrote in message:

On 2024-12-05 09:10, Chris wrote:

Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-05 00:26, Chris wrote:

...

I found restaurants in Greece somtimes wouldn't answer foreign
numbers so I always made reservations with a local SIM. Mainly
because the older staff (the owner's mother, or grandmother even)
were not confident in English. A few words of greek were
required. Taxis, no such problem IME - so long as you can
describe where you are.

Taxis in Spain are using apps, so that solves the spoken language barrier.



--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 4 Dec 2024 16:36:10 GMT, Frank Slootweg <[email protected]d>
wrote:

Ken Blake <[email protected]> wrote:

On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 20:11:38 +0100, "Carlos E.R."
<[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-03 17:28, Frank Slootweg wrote:

Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

micky wrote:

rent a sim in the country I'm going to.

A SIM for any EU country ought to allow free roaming to any other EU
country, so the O/P won't need three SIMs.

And for the EU you probably don't need to rent a SIM, but just buy
one, probably with a pre-paid plan.

Ken said "I'll be in Europe (Spain, France, Italy)...". If he visits >> >> them in that order, Carlos may be able to give some suggestions/pointers >> >> for Spain. If Ken could indicate how much minutes/'texts'/GB he would
need per unit of time, that would help.

Orange had a nice offer two years ago, but I don't know currently.
Almost unlimited usage for 50 or 60 euros, for a month.

Thanks, but much more than I'm willing to spend. I hope to never need
to use it, but just want something available in case I need to.

You said you wanted to be able to call a taxi, in case you need one.
If so, you need to be prepared and that something is "available" is of
little help in such cases, you need to *have* it.

My advice: If you have a dual-SIM phone, buy a local pre-paid SIM when
you arrive. Will probably only cost you the credit supplied on the SIM,
i.e. some 10 dollars or so. If you don't have a dual-SIM phone, but can
swap SIMs (i.e. you can't be contacted on your US number, but can still
use things like WhatsApp), do the same (pre-paid SIM).

Thanks. It turns out that I had forgotten that I already have such a
SIM, one that I bought a year ago, for a trip I had to cancel.

If you want more advice, *talk* to us. Sofar you have given very
little information/feedback.

The best method is not asking the locals, but entering a shop that tends >> >to multiple brands in an immigrant district. My cousin did that in
Barcelona and surprised me by finding a very good deal I did not know about.

Just a note: they will ask you to show an ID. This is counter-terrorism
measures since 9-11 and 11M

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

In comp.mobile.android, on Thu, 5 Dec 2024 11:45:47 +0100, "Carlos E.R." <[email protected]d> wrote:

And they will see the foreign number, which might surprise them.
Hopefully they don't geofence.

I would suspect not given tourists will be regular users of taxis,
especially in touristy areas.

That's true.

But the other day there were some comments here about restaurants that
would not accept reservations unless you were near, so difficult to do
from the car while travelling to that city, and used gps spoofing to
fool the system.

gps would match, phone number not.

I thought my story was related when I clicked Reply, but maybe not.

Anyhow, I wanted to buy dinner for my family when visiting them in
Florida, and my nephew or someone knew the name of the restaurant, and I
think my nephew found it on the web and we ordered a lot of Chinese
food. For some reason I checked and the restaurant, with the same name,
same spelling, was in Milwaukee. I called before they could cook it
and they refunded he money. They said it had happened before.

Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 12/5/2024 11:13 PM, micky wrote:

Anyhow, I wanted to buy dinner for my family when visiting them in
Florida, and my nephew or someone knew the name of the restaurant, and I think my nephew found it on the web and we ordered a lot of Chinese
food. For some reason I checked and the restaurant, with the same name,
same spelling, was in Milwaukee. I called before they could cook it
and they refunded he money. They said it had happened before.

Come to bed, micky.......


--
I Stand With Israel!

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-06 06:13, micky wrote:

In comp.mobile.android, on Thu, 5 Dec 2024 11:45:47 +0100, "Carlos E.R." <[email protected]d> wrote:

And they will see the foreign number, which might surprise them.
Hopefully they don't geofence.

I would suspect not given tourists will be regular users of taxis,
especially in touristy areas.

That's true.

But the other day there were some comments here about restaurants that
would not accept reservations unless you were near, so difficult to do >>from the car while travelling to that city, and used gps spoofing to
fool the system.

gps would match, phone number not.

I thought my story was related when I clicked Reply, but maybe not.

Anyhow, I wanted to buy dinner for my family when visiting them in
Florida, and my nephew or someone knew the name of the restaurant, and I think my nephew found it on the web and we ordered a lot of Chinese
food. For some reason I checked and the restaurant, with the same name,
same spelling, was in Milwaukee. I called before they could cook it
and they refunded he money. They said it had happened before.

Ow!



--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 04.12.24 16:57, sticks wrote:

If one of the recipients has an
android phone, it looks like the top one and says it will be "Text
Message - RCS."

One or the other. RCS is not Text Message.

--
"De gustibus non est disputandum."

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-12-07 08:57, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 04.12.24 16:57, sticks wrote:

If one of the recipients has an
android phone, it looks like the top one and says it will be "Text
Message - RCS."

One or the other. RCS is not Text Message.

It can be said it is. It is the next version of text messages.


--
Cheers, Carlos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 07.12.24 14:38, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-12-07 08:57, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 04.12.24 16:57, sticks wrote:

If one of the recipients has an
android phone, it looks like the top one and says it will be "Text
Message - RCS."

One or the other. RCS is not Text Message.

It can be said it is. It is the next version of text messages.

No it is not. Technically.


--
"Gutta cavat lapidem." (Ovid)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 12/7/2024 1:57 AM, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

On 04.12.24 16:57, sticks wrote:

If one of the recipients has an
android phone, it looks like the top one and says it will be "Text
Message - RCS."

One or the other. RCS is not Text Message.

My point was answering this snipped part of your post:

"(there is a rumour that it also exists on iPhones in the
meantime but was never seen)"

With iOS 18 you will see and can use RCS.


--
I Stand With Israel!

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

In comp.mobile.android, on Sat, 7 Dec 2024 14:38:33 +0100, "Carlos E.R." <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-07 08:57, J�rg Lorenz wrote:

On 04.12.24 16:57, sticks wrote:

If one of the recipients has an
android phone, it looks like the top one and says it will be "Text
Message - RCS."

One or the other. RCS is not Text Message.

It can be said it is. It is the next version of text messages.

Wikip: As of 2020, RCS has rolled out across 90 cell operators in 60
countries globally,[6] and has over 1 billion monthly active users as of 2023.[7] RCS can also be used anywhere without carrier support using
Google Messages on Android, where it is provided via their own Jibe
backend in place of a carrier's while still connected to the global RCS network, and additionally offer end-to-end encryption....

Once a billion people have it and use it, almost everyone will soon
catch it.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 09.12.24 15:20, micky wrote:

In comp.mobile.android, on Sat, 7 Dec 2024 14:38:33 +0100, "Carlos E.R." <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2024-12-07 08:57, Jörg Lorenz wrote:

One or the other. RCS is not Text Message.

It can be said it is. It is the next version of text messages.

Wikip: As of 2020, RCS has rolled out across 90 cell operators in 60 countries globally,[6] and has over 1 billion monthly active users as of 2023.[7] RCS can also be used anywhere without carrier support using
Google Messages on Android, where it is provided via their own Jibe
backend in place of a carrier's while still connected to the global RCS network, and additionally offer end-to-end encryption....

Now we know that you master copy/paste. But we also know that you do not
know what you copy/paste (hint: Google's wishful thinking).

--
"Roma locuta, causa finita." (Augustinus)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)