Using an iPhone overseas...

[Anonymous]

I have a question about costs. I know my iPhone will work in Europe and that the charge for voice is $1.29 per minute, but what about data? I understand that it is exorbitant. Should I just shut down the email and internet services altogether while overseas to avoid these costs? Is it possible to just turn it into a phone for the trip and avoid all data costs?

[Anonymous]

Also, I have a follow-up. Is wifi free? So could I turn off the AT&T roaming but still get email in a wifi area?

[jsteele]

Check "Settings" -> "General" -> "Network" and ensure that "Data Roaming" is off. That should be the default. Otherwise, yes, data roaming is expensive.

Even with Data Roaming turned off, you can use wifi. AT&T will not charge for that. Of course, there may be a charge to connect to wifi in the first place if you can't find a free hotspot. Once you are connected via wifi, you can use any Internet service available on your iPhone including web surfing, email, and even Skype if you install the client.

[Anonymous]

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

You pay them $5.99/month and that will cut down the per minute charge to .99 most places (woo hoo). Also you can pay them for one-time data roaming (I think it's $60 for 50 MB?).