Traveling to Italy, w/ an older iPhone X - any good SIM card for data/txt/voice?

[cyber888]

I have an older IPhone X and I think I need a physical SIM card to insert in my phone for Italy/Europe, since eSIMs work for newer iPhones.

Anyone who has used a good pre-paid SIM card for Italy that has good performance for Data/Voice/Text ?

I see Vodafone and Orange on Amazon.com. Anyone use these ?

Thanks.

 

[rodi]

In the past I've used vodophone, Tre, wind, and tim. I've always purchased at the arrival airport or in the first town.

It's a shame your phone won't do esims. Younger son is heading to Florence, as I type this, for a semester abroad. We bought him a holofly esim (best prices for unlimited data).

I usually just purchase travel roaming from t-mobile for long enough to cover my travel. No more swapping sims.

 

[Texas Proud]

We were in Italy a few months back and DW bought a SIM from "3" or something like that... we paid extra so it would work in Switzerland but it did not... but worked very well in Italy... supposed to in the EU...


I think it was like $15 for a month with 10 GB of data... $25 for 100 GB IIRC..


It surprised me how much data you could get compared to what we have to pay...


Edit to add... found a link...


https://www.phonetravelwiz.com/buying-a-sim-card-in-italy-guide/

 

[FIREd_2015]

...I see Vodafone and Orange on Amazon.com. Anyone use these ?...
Thanks.

I bought one of the Orange SIM cards from Amazon. It worked fine in the parts of Italy and France I visited in July. It worked fine for data and receiving text. Had a problem trying to make a voice call but I'm guessing it was user error. The number was registered in Spain and I was in Italy trying to call another number in Italy. Couldn't figure out how to dial a local number with a Spanish phone number. Here's the SIM card I got from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BYYN4L5K?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

 

[Drake3287]

Who's your US cell provider? We have Verizon and simply use their flat $100. rate for one month of international service with unlimited data along with calls and texts. I simply turn on the wi-fi hot spot and my wife uses that for data service for her phone. Check and see if your provider has a decent international plan like Verizon. Going through the new SIM card process is sort of a pain also not to mention you end up getting a new phone number.

I just bought a new iPhone 14 for our next months Italy trip and Verizon gave me a $700. credit on my old iPhone X. Check your provider for the same thing. Ended up paying something like $400. for a new phone.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

In the past I've used vodophone, Tre, wind, and tim. I've always purchased at the arrival airport or in the first town.

It's a shame your phone won't do esims. Younger son is heading to Florence, as I type this, for a semester abroad. We bought him a holofly esim (best prices for unlimited data).

I usually just purchase travel roaming from t-mobile for long enough to cover my travel. No more swapping sims.

Our daughter had a 3-week study abroad session in France, and that's what we did. It was $35 for 5GB of international roaming data and $50 for 15GB, so we paid for the bigger plan just in case, which of course she didn't need, but it was worth $15 for us not to have to worry about her running out and needing to contact us for more data.

 

[mpeirce]

Just note that the iPhone X can’t use 5G networks, so don’t sign up for a 5G only plan. The iPhone 12 is the first 5G compatible iPhone.

 

[cyber888]

Thanks everyone.
We have AT&T Pay as You Go. We're grandfathered into the old system of pay 25 cents by the minute, because we're not much of cellphone users.

Who's your US cell provider? We have Verizon and simply use their flat $100. rate for one month of international service with unlimited data along with calls and texts. I simply turn on the wi-fi hot spot and my wife uses that for data service for her phone. Check and see if your provider has a decent international plan like Verizon. Going through the new SIM card process is sort of a pain also not to mention you end up getting a new phone number.

I just bought a new iPhone 14 for our next months Italy trip and Verizon gave me a $700. credit on my old iPhone X. Check your provider for the same thing. Ended up paying something like $400. for a new phone.

 

[explanade]

If the OP wants to use data:

https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/Italy

I've not used eSIMs because they cost more than physical SIM cards for similar amount of data.

In many places, a mobile data connection will be faster and more reliable than hotel wifi.

So Italy's prepaid market at least gives you the option to purchase tens or even over 100 GB of data to use in a month.