What Kind Of Phone Should I Have For Long Term Travelling

Updated: 11/6/2018 | November sixth, 2018

Dave Dean from Too Many Adapters gives us tips and communication on travel tech and gear. He is our resident expert, trying out new products and seeing what works so you don't cease up with gear that breaks and a laptop filled with viruses! This month's column is about how to pick the best phone for when yous travel.

As a travel tech writer, I get asked nearly using smartphones when we travel. The minute we caput overseas with our phones, nosotros're hit with a confusing mess of technical jargon, expensive roaming agreements, conflicting advice, and nonworking gear. Trying to discuss the nuances of GSM frequency bands or iPhone unlock codes with a mobile vendor in a dusty Cambodian town isn't my idea of fun, and I doubt it's yours either.

Since nosotros all desire our smartphone to piece of work when we travel, I've put together this guide covering everything yous demand to know almost how to go your smartphone working overseas every bit well equally the all-time smartphones for travel. It's detailed, but not too complicated, and will salve you lot money, time, and plenty of frustration (and has additional resources at the end).

How to Observe the All-time Travel Telephone

To help you discover the all-time travel phone, I've divided this article into 3 main sections. If you don't want to read through everything just click on the links below to jump ahead.

Part one: Understanding Your and Unlocking Current Phone
Function 2: Tips for Using a Locked Phone
Role 3: The All-time Travel Smartphones

Role #1: Understanding Your Electric current Phone

Using a telephone overseas is relatively easy. You tin either get a cheap erstwhile phone (call back an quondam 2000s Nokia) or get a newer smartphone that you can unlock and use. In that location's a lot of phones – from cheap to expensive – out there. The tips on using your phone will relate to you no matter where in the globe you are!

1. Will your current phone work overseas??

The first thing to check is whether your phone will physically piece of work overseas. Unlike countries and cell companies employ different technologies and frequencies, and your phone needs to be compatible with them to work.

The nigh common cellular technology is GSM, and it'southward widely used throughout much of the earth. CDMA is less mutual, simply it is used by Verizon and Sprint in the United States, and a few carriers elsewhere — if your phone only supports CDMA, it's highly unlikely to piece of work internationally.

Even if yous do have a GSM telephone, though, you however need to make sure it supports the frequencies used in your destinations. For the ability to send and receive calls, texts, and 3G data in most of the world, look for the words "quad band" or the specific bands 850/900/1800/1900 MHz in the specifications. If your phone supports all four, you won't have many bug while traveling. This page lists the verbal GSM frequency details for pretty much every land.

But, don't fret, as phones are built these days to work in multiple countries, so at that place's a 99% chance your telephone volition work overseas.

2. How practise you lot unlock your telephone?

When it comes to travel, you'll hear a lot of talk well-nigh unlocked phones, which isn't much use if y'all don't know what they are and whether you lot have one.

If you got a free or discounted smartphone by signing upwardly for a service contract, there'due south a chance it's network locked (this is especially true for Americans). This means your phone visitor prevents your phone from being used on annihilation other than its own network. In a specially shady motion, some companies in the U.s. even lock phones that y'all paid full price for unless you specifically bought the unlocked version.

With a locked phone, you're stuck with paying your cell visitor'southward roaming rates from the minute you land in your destination until you arrive dorsum domicile.

Locked phones are common if you're from the United states, Australia, and New Zealand but less so in Europe and Asia, where paying the full price for unlocked devices is typical. (On the bright side, more than and more than companies are willing to unlock your telephone if y'all pay full price these days. This especially true for Android devices. Google phones come unlocked already!

An unlocked phone is a phone that yous can apply anywhere in the world and where you are allowed to supercede the SIM card as you travel the earth without having to bargain with your phone visitor or pay roaming fees.

The skillful news is that information technology's easy to become your phone unlocked.

The kickoff step is always to enquire your jail cell company. Policies vary widely just cell companies in the US are at least legally required to unlock prepaid phones after a year, and contract phones after they've been paid off.

If your carrier refuses to unlock your phone, you can e'er endeavor to notice the appropriate unlocking lawmaking yourself. Companies like Unlock Base sell such codes for a few dollars. They aren't guaranteed to piece of work for every device, but the visitor says it'll render your coin if there's a problem.

The best way to unlock your smartphone is to get to contained telephone stores and specialized unlocking places and have someone unlock your phone for you. You can find unlock stores all around the world (especially in Southeast Asia).

3. What to do After Your Phone is Unlocked

One time y'all have an unlocked telephone, y'all simply buy a local SIM card in your destination. The toll, approach, and difficulty varies a lot, but you'll typically end up paying betwixt $10 and $50/calendar month for a useful amount of calls, texts, and data. Daily and weekly plans are sometimes available if yous're in a country for a shorter period.

This is an inexpensive way to stay connected with phone and data service while y'all travel. The downside is that you'll have to change SIM cards every time you change countries, so you may finish upwardly conveying a stack of SIM cards around the world with you (though I like existence reminded of all the places I've been!).

4. Is roaming actually that bad?

Yes, almost always. Your existing cellular plan doesn't ordinarily use overseas, and you'll typically be charged much higher rates every time you lot brand a call, send a text, or apply cellular data. Non every visitor is out to gouge their customers, but stories of people returning home to a bill of several thousand dollars after a short international trip are far from unusual.

There are a couple of rare exceptions – T-Mobile in the Us includes free SMS and (irksome) data in 120+ countries as role of its Uncomplicated Selection program, and 3 in the United kingdom extends your calls, text, and data packet to sixteen+ other countries. If you lot're not with carriers similar these, roaming is an option best left for those with corporate expense accounts, equally even the "special" international packages are expensive and a poor value.

Role 2: Tips for Using an Unlocked Phone

If your phone won't work overseas, or you can't get information technology unlocked, y'all still accept a few options for using information technology when you travel! You tin can do the following:

Merely use Wi-Fi — Your smartphone will even so connect over Wi-Fi just fine, so replace calling with Skype or Google Vocalism, SMS with WhatsApp, and download a bunch of offline travel apps to utilize when you're away from a signal. You lot'll be surprised how well that approach tin work, and not getting notifications all the fourth dimension is quite refreshing.
Buy a budget smartphone —While at that place'south a lot of junk at the bottom of the smartphone range, at that place are a few decent phones for travelers nether $200. My current favorite is the Motorola Moto G — you'll want to buy a microSD menu for some extra storage, but other than that information technology's a reasonably speedy smartphone, with a battery that lasts all day and a five″ screen you actually want to use. Tip: grab the "Global" version for maximum compatibility overseas. Y'all'll even so need to buy local SIM cards to put in it.
Rent a phone — You tin rent phones at airports and from various companies before you lot leave home, simply I'd only consider it for a short trip to a specific country where my usual phone didn't work. For anything other than that, information technology's cheaper simply to purchase a new 1.
Rent or buy a portable hotspot —Portable hotspots are small gadgets that create a wireless network and share a cellular data connection over it — you tin can typically connect five or x devices to the network yous create. You can rent i for short trips at an inflated daily or weekly rate, or you tin can purchase an unlocked hotspot and stick a local SIM card in information technology, just equally if it were a phone. Your smartphone will care for this like any other Wi-Fi network.
Use a tablet with cell capabilities — If you already ain a 3G/4G tablet, there'southward a gamble it was unlocked when you bought information technology. If so, y'all tin use this when you travel instead of a phone — just buy a data-just SIM locally, and use Skype and WhatsApp for your phone and SMS requirements. You can also utilize the tablet as a hotspot, to share the connection amid your other devices.
Buy a dispensable phone — If y'all're in a country for a while and all you lot need are calls, texts, and perhaps some light web browsing, merely buy the cheapest prepaid phone you can find at the local mobile shop. Sure, it'll probably exist consummate rubbish, just you tin ofttimes selection these phones up with a bit of credit for next to nothing and they'll do the job for a while. The upside? You lot really won't care if you driblet it in the hostel toilet. If it does survive the length of your trip, just laissez passer information technology onto to somebody else when you leave.

Part 3: The All-time Travel Smartphones

If you lot're looking to go a smartphone, hither are the best ones for travel right now:

1. Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus – This is essentially a cheaper version of the Notation 9. The battery life isn't as long every bit the Galaxy Note 9 but it'due south a couple hundred bucks cheaper, so if you're on a budget this might exist a ameliorate option.
Weight: 189g
Dimensions: 158.ane x 73.8 x 8.5mm
Screen size: half dozen.2-inch
Resolution: 1440 x 2960
Photographic camera: Rear camera: Dual 12MP (rear), 8MP (front)
Price: $749

3. Google Pixel 2 Twoscore – The Pixel 2 offers ane of the all-time smartphone cameras on the marketplace. if photography is the main reason yous're looking for a new smartphone, this would exist a solid choice.
Weight: 175g
Dimensions: 157.9 x 76.7 x 7.9mm
Screen size: vi-inch
Resolution: 1440 x 2880
Storage: 64GB/128GB
Camera: 12MP (rear), 8MP (front)
Price: $805

4. OnePlus 6 – This is a budget-friendly phone with decent battery, improved storage capacity, and decent low-low-cal photography.
Weight: 177g
Dimensions: 155.vii ten 75.4 x 7.eight mm
Screen size: half-dozen.28-inch
Resolution: 1080 x 2280
Storage: 64GB/128/256GB
Camera: Dual 16MP (rear) 16MP (front)
Cost: $535

v. LG G7 ThinQ – With an incredibly bright screen, smashing audio quality, and improve AI for photography, this is a groovy middle-of-the-road travel phone.
Weight: 167
Dimensions: 153.2 ten 71.ix x 7.ix mm
Screen size: half-dozen.1-inch
Resolution: 1440 x 3120
Storage: 64GB/128GB
Photographic camera: Dual 16MP (rear), 8MP (forepart)
Price: $725

6. Samsung Milky way Notation 8 – While the Annotation 9 made some improvements, the 8 is still a perfectly reliable model if you desire to salvage some money. Information technology's a fast phone with great cameras and a useful stylus, and while the bombardment life isn't as good as the ix it is a lot cheaper, which is a fair trade off.
Weight: 195g
Dimensions: 162.v x 74.8 x viii.6mm
Screen size: 6.3-inch
Resolution: 1440 x 2630
Storage: 64GB/128GB/256GB
Camera: Dual 12MP (rear), 8MP (front)
Price: $589

7. iPhone viii – The iPhone 8 has a not bad camera and improved speed, so if you're an Apple tree fan only detect the X and XS too pricey and then this is your next best bet.
Weight: 148g
Dimensions: 138.4 10 67.3 10 seven.3mm
Screen size: 4.vii-inch
Resolution: 750 10 1334
Storage: 64GB/256GB
Photographic camera: 12MP (rear), 7MP (forepart)
Price: $699

8. LG V30 – The LG V30 has a great photographic camera, fast processor and the battery life is keen. It'south too waterproof, which can be helpful when you're on the road. The camera autofocus is a chip slow, merely for the price yous likely won't observe better.
Weight: 158g
Dimensions: 151 x 75.4 x 7.3mm
Screen size: 6-inch
Resolution: ii,880 x 1,440
Storage: 64GB w/ microSD
Camera: sixteen/13MP (rear), 5MP (forepart)
Price: $539

ix. Moto Z2 Force – This is a durable telephone that's budget friendly. If you have a tendency to driblet your phone or are traveling off the beaten path then this might be a good choice. The bombardment life isn't great, but that'due south a fair trade for a shatterproof screen.
Weight: 143g
Dimensions: 155.eight x 76 x 6.1 mm
Screen size: 5.5-inch
Resolution: 2,560 x 1,440
Storage: 64GB west/ microSD
Camera: 13MP (rear), 5MP (front)
Cost: $359

10. HTC U11 – Another great eye-of-the-road phone with reliable functioning and a large, water-resistent screen.
Weight: 169g
Dimensions: 153.nine x 75.nine x 7.9mm
Screen size: 5.five-inch
Resolution: 1440 x 2560
Storage: 64GB/128GB
Camera: 12MP (rear), 16MP (front)
Price: $649

***

Getting your smartphone to piece of work overseas without coming home to a huge bill isn't always a straightforward job. Simply with a flake of time and effort up, y'all'll know exactly what options you've got when you're on the road and you'll be able to use your phone overseas. Practise your research, avoid the rip-offs, buy 1 of the above best smartphones when you travel, and you lot'll be able to stay in touch, stay connected, and stay Instagramming when yous travel!

Dave runs Too Many Adapters, a site devoted to applied science for travelers. A geek equally long as he can remember, he worked in IT for 15 years. Now based out of a backpack long term, Dave writes nigh travel and tech from anywhere with half-decent Net and a great view. You tin as well find him talking well-nigh the life of a long-term traveler at What'due south Dave Doing?

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Notice a inexpensive flight by using Skyscanner. It's my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Adaptation
You lot tin book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you lot want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, apply Booking.com every bit they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.

Don't Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance volition protect you lot against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It's comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never get on a trip without it as I've had to use information technology many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

SafetyWing (all-time for everyone)
Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Ready to Book Your Trip?
Check out my resource folio for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I utilise when I travel. They are the best in grade and yous tin can't become wrong using them on your trip.

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