I'm leaving to maui for vacation and so I was wondering that If I take my iPhone there, will the network automatically switch to AT&T or stay Rogers? (I never traveled with my iPhone so I dont know the GSM stuff) and also if I decide to text a friend back home, would it count as international texting even though it is a canadian number to canadian number or would it come out of my unlimited texting?
You will definitely be jumping carriers. You're only on Rogers where Rogers is. All roaming fees would apply and they can be pretty steep with the iPhone if you aren't careful.
So If I have roaming option on off in settings(default is already off) it'll block me off the net thus I don't get charged for the data unless im on wifi right? I can still use text and voice for long distance prices? I'd only be calling my family incase of emergency or if someone gets lost there or something.
I've looked into this a bit myself, as I'm traveling to the States and Iceland in the next few weeks with my phone (though with Fido, but I think it's basically the same).
Texting *is* expensive; usually an extra charge of between 50 cents or a buck for an outgoing text, depending on where you are or when. So one or two texts won't kill you, but a lot will. Not sure how it is on received texts offhand, but you'd have to look it up; worst case scenario it would probably be the same as outgoing. I fully intend to send one or two texts just for the fun of being like "So...I'm texting from a boat off the shores of Reykjavik...what are you up to?" Though maybe that's just my tech-obsessed self.
But yes, definitely do turn data roaming OFF, and I'd say maybe switch your mail settings to fetch manually, but that may be a little paranoid of me.
The one thing I've been curious about is if geotagging will work for photos taken without a data connection. I know it relies on the GPS, and GPS is sort of separate from data...so if you take some photos there and they're geotagged when you get back, let me know!
It might be worth it for you to call Rogers and tell them you're traveling to the US and ask if they have any specific packages (I know they have a package for US data for $10 for the month, you still pay for data on top of that but it's significantly cheaper - this is what I did when we traveled to New York back in May). Text msg's cost me $.60/each to send from the US to Canada. I'm not sure if they offer voice packages for the US.
Maui is the most beautiful place on earth imho. Is this your first time traveling there? We actually got married and spent 22 incredible days there in Feb/08. It's a much better time to go if you want to see whales, although there is no bad time to go to Hawaii, the weather is the same all year round. We stayed in a condo in Kihei. Some things I'd recommend if it is your first time; get up super early one day (say around 4), drive up to the top of Haleakala and watch the sunrise at almost 10,000 feet...it'll take your breath away, just bring a sweater or 4. It'll probably be low single digits up there.
Maui Luaus, Old Lahaina Maui Luau | Official Website
This is an incredible luau, very much worth the $. The food was good and the entertainment was awesome. I know, I know, you were asking about the phone, not the island. I just fell in love with Maui, let me know If you want any more ideas on what to do or what to see.
We only used our phones once when we arrived, that was it, literally. Although if you think you're going to use the GPS then I would strongly recommend the data package from Rogers, it might cost you $20 or so depending on how long you're there for and how much you use it. If you plan on talking a lot on your phone then perhaps an unlock and a US carrier sim card is in order.
The last bit of I84toff's excellent post is the best part: you may want to consider unlocking your iPhone (at least for the purposes of the trip if not permanently) and buying an inexpensive pre-paid AT&T or T-Mobile (either will work in the US and I have no idea of the coverage of either one in Hawaii) if you're going to be there for a while.
The bottom line is that roaming is EXPENSIVE, and data roaming is HELLA EXPENSIVE and affects things you don't think about (like push notifications, GPS, email and so forth). If you don't wish to go the unlock route I would (seriously) put the phone in Airplane mode with all data and phone turned OFF until the moment you actually need to use it, and talk or text as little as humanly possible. Rogers makes a mint off travellers.
But yes, definitely do turn data roaming OFF, and I'd say maybe switch your mail settings to fetch manually, but that may be a little paranoid of me.
well one of the guy's in the office just got back from Italy, and downloaded his email while there, long story short over $300 in data charges, so I wouldn't even open email, in fact leave it in airplane mode.
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