Travelling to the UK with the 950XL

[moirane]

Hi all,

I am going to be travelling to N. Ireland (UK) over the Christmas break and will be there for about a month. This is the first time I am travelling abroad with a dual SIM phone and I am wondering what the best way to handle making sure I have both data, sms and phone capabilities when I am not connected to WiFi.

Normally I would just purchase a plan from ATT that covers the time frame I will be gone that allows X amount of minutes data etc.. but with the dual SIM I am thinking there might be a cheaper/easier way.

Would it be possible to purchase a local SIM that would work in the SIM 2 slot of the 950XL that would allow a local number and sms and data functionality and if so what would be the best way to get one? Specifically I will be in county Antram in N. Ireland if that makes any difference as far as carriers etc...

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks in advance,

Kevin

 

[bells0]

PAYG sims are readily available in all supermarkets. Will come with an allowance of minutes/texts/data. You can 'top up' the balance in shops also or by calling the provider.

Doesn't the dual sim only allow data usage on 1 of the sims though?

 

[moirane]

Yea I was thinking I would turn SIM 1 off and just use the PAYG SIM for sms/data/phone except when I am on WiFi. Does it make sense to wait until I am there to purchase the SIM? Is there a way to purchase a SIM that will work in N.. Ireland (UK) from here (like from Amazon?) Any particular carrier I should be looking for?

Thanks again in advance for any help

Kevin

 

[jmajid]

usually makes sense to just get there and purchase - and seems like you will have plenty of time to do that...
The advantage of the Lumia 950XL - is two fold (or dual )
dual sim : means you dont have to fiddle getting the sim out and putting the other in... a pain for sure... esp with these nano sims
unlocked : means no begging ATT to unlock the phone so that you can get cheaper data when overseas

go for it - buy it and you'll find you get MUCH better deals for data and txts outside the US

FYI i travel to the UK and to Asia often... and have a sim card for most countries now... usually the sim card phone number will stay valid for about 12 to 18 months depending on country...

 

[Lee Power]

A UK pay as you go sim will normally deactivate with the potential loss of number & remaining credit after 6 months of un use. Plenty of places to pick up a suitable sim card once you get to Ireland. Three network is worth a look.

 

[moirane]

Great, thanks for the info everyone!

Kevin

 

[anon(8966963)]

Get Vodafone

 

[moirane]

Great, thanks for the info everyone!

Kevin

 

[CrownSeven]

I travel there for work quite a bit lately. I purchased a sim card from vodaphone for 30 pounds and use that along with my tmobile sim. Tmobile gives free international data and text, calls are 20 cents a minute. They do throttle data quite a bit though. So I use the vodaphone sim for data and local calling instead. Gotta love the dual sim for times like these!