International travel can cost a small fortune in mobile fees. And forget about trying to keep your smartphone data plan while adventuring abroad.
Turns out, you鈥檙e better off ditching the cell entirely and using an iPad聽or tethering your iPhone to the iPad to use the iPad鈥檚 connectivity instead of your phone鈥檚.
Why not just pop a bargain SIM into your iPhone? Because you want to keep your own number for incoming communiques, and changing SIMs means losing that connection. Instead, go through a聽U.S. carrier like聽 on the iPad, which will enable you to keep your iPhone鈥檚 number and still save money.
Here鈥檚 how it works. First, you need an iPad running Apple SIM鈥攏ot just Wi-Fi. (Note: If your iPad doesn鈥檛 have Apple SIM, .) Then you鈥檒l navigate to iPad Settings > Cellular Data and tap 鈥淪et Up Cellular Data,鈥� where you鈥檒l find GigSky as an option.
GigSky offers service in 90 countries, with rates that cost about half or less of what most U.S. and overseas carriers charge. The key to the savings is that GigSky varies the聽charge聽based on what it pays, whereas almost all U.S. carriers offer only a flat rate, keeping what they save when聽local service providers charge them less聽rather than passing that savings on to you. For instance, in Greece, AT&T wants $60 for 300 MB. GigSky, on the other hand, offers you ten times as much data and charges only $50.
Important details:
1. First, both phone and iPad must be running the latest version of iOS8, and you must have the same Apple ID for both devices.
2. Once you鈥檝e selected GigSky as the cellular data option and have聽landed abroad, go to Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot on the iPad. Enable it.聽Next, on your iPhone, find the network聽your iPad has created and enter the provided PIN. At the same time, turn off cellular data and data roaming on the phone: Go to Settings > Cellular to do this.
This way, any text or call sent to your iPhone鈥檚 number will get bounced to your iPad (by using Apple鈥檚 Continuity, which essentially acts like a form of call/text/FaceTime forwarding). You can answer on either device without paying your carrier鈥檚 international fees.聽
3. Lastly, while outgoing texts and FaceTime don鈥檛 require your cellphone to be turned on鈥攜ou can do this directly from the iPad鈥攜ou do need your iPhone turned on and tethered to the iPad when you want to place voice calls and be certain the recipient will see your cell number on their caller ID.