British Expats - Truphone any good?

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Truphone any good?

Hi, I am currently living in the US and looking for a solution to my phone needs.

I live in the US and have a US cheap smartphone (which i hate) on a no contract $50 a month top up which gives me unlimited talk and text but no data. This is expensive for the amount I actually use.

I also have a UK iPhone which I use in the house on wifi for most of my communication but don't want to pay roaming charges when I'm out and about.
I also use it with O2 pay as you go top up when in the UK.

Having done a lot of research, it seems to be near impossible to just a US iPhone sim and put in my iPhone (I don't want to corrupt the UK number as it is linked to accounts back in the UK)
I don't want a US contract phone or have to buy an unlocked iPhone (and yes it does have to be iPhone!) I just want to use my one iPhone both sides of the pond easily.

Now I have heard about a Truphone sim and looks like the answer to my situation. Anyone got opinions to either Truphone of alternative solutions to my problem?

Re: Truphone any good?

T-mobile will give you a sim for your iPhone without a contract, $50/pm. You have to fiddle with the data settings but you can Google instructions for that. Phone needs to have been unlocked though.... and your 4th paragraph seems to suggest it's not.

Re: Truphone any good?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brown18 (Post 10712504)

AT&T will give you a sim for the iPhone. Works well on PAYG. I put on $25 (10c a minute plan) and top it up when needed. Has no data but there is a ton of wifi where I live and work so don't need the data package anyway. Most of my contacts are through WhatsApp, Viber or FaceTime so, effectively, free. That $25 can last a good while.

Re: Truphone any good?

Thanks for your responses. My iPhone is unlocked.
I spoke to T-mobile as they have the best deal for no contract. The guy had a look and he needed to change things in the settings but wasn't confident about how to switch it back for using in the UK when I go back.
I actually get much more use out of my iPhone for free as I use this so much at home but it is when I'm out and about I have the problem.

My understanding of Truphone is that I can have one sim, i can have a UK and US number with PAYG style plan, with relatively good rates without having to top up until required (like uk) which seemed too good to be true.

Re: Truphone any good?

Don't know about Truphone, but there's another current thread that has loads of info about getting a phone going with a PAYG sim. Think it might be the ATT thread?

Re: Truphone any good?

I have an unlocked iphone which I use in both US and UK. Just get a PAYG sim from AT&T, I do same as MarkWM.

You don't need to alter any settings? It's a no-brainer??

Re: Truphone any good?

The settings the OP will have to alter are the ones for the data connection - that's necessary whenever you change network providers if you want the full functionality.

@Brown18, the main issue with an older iPhone on T-Mobile is that in some places, they still use frequencies for their 3G connection that older iPhones can't handle and you end up with an Edge data connection.

For example, if you have a 3GS, you're better off getting a non-activated Straight Talk AT&T SIM on ebay - that gives you unlimited US calling and texting, plus around 2GB data for $45/month.

Re: Truphone any good?

I have a Truphone Sim and use it when I am travelling in the UK Europe. The costs are much better that AT&T global roaming but you really cant depend on the service. Every country has a different set up for numbers and their customer service is terrible. It is not something you can rely on.

Re: Truphone any good?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brown18 (Post 10712970)

Truphone does allow both US and UK on the same SIM and top up as needed, but so do a lot of other services. There's a lot of them listed at http://www.trutower.com/international-gsm/.

I would recommend choosing one of those that best suits your needs if you want both a UK and US number.

Re: Truphone any good?

Thanks for all your responses. My UK iPhone also has a UK iTunes account but I've found some of the apps I'm interested now are only available in the US App Store so now that I've found out that T-Mobile do interest free over 2 years for a no contract IPhone, I'm probably going to buy a new one after all.
Once again, thanks for all your responses I'm sure they will help others in the same predicament.