iPhone in Russia: follow-up

[Vanessa Prolow]

You might want to try just putting a local nano SIM card in your phone
before you buy a new phone for texting. I use a Beeline nano sim card with
a iPhone 5S purchased in the US and 3G has always been more than adequate.
You can always have them test it out in the store for you before you make a
purchase to see if it will work with your phone, since the Verizon/CDMA
aspect complicates things.


On Tue, Apr 15, 2014 at 3:20 PM, Ewington, Amanda
<amewington at davidson.edu>wrote:

> Thank you for the many helpful responses to my query about phones in
> Russia.  Below I have summarized responses for the list.  Please take
> everything I say with a grain of salt.  I do not pretend to be an expert on
> any of this.  I am just fumbling around trying to make sense of it all!
>
>   1.  One colleague has had positive first-hand experience with the
> Verizon Global plan on his iPhone 5s.  No problems.  He likes that he can
> also use it in other European countries for stop overs after Russia.  He
> still uses a separate phone with a local number for keeping in touch within
> Russia.  If you rely only on a global plan like Verizon's, people within
> Russia would have to dial a US number and incur costs for an international
> call every tine they called you.  Obviously, not ideal.
>   2.  Someone else  had a negative experience with the Verizon Global, but
> on an iPhone 4.  That response was "on list." if you'd like details.
>   3.  Another colleague has had no problem with using her iPhone and a
> local Russian SIM card (nano sized) during her stay in Irkutsk.
>   4.  All seem to agree that Skype or Viber or other such programs are the
> best bet for keeping in touch with people back home.
>
> As for the dream of simply placing a Russian SIM card in my iPhone, the
> jury is still out.  Seems to boil down to 2 complicating factors:
>
>   1.  LTE vs. GSM: If you want LTE, seems like it depends on which model
> of iPhone you have.  According to Apple's website, different models are
> compatible with networks in different countries:
> http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/ That page suggests that the only models
> compatible with Russian networks are the iPhone C (Model A1507) and the
> iPhone S (Model A1457).  My own model (A1533 CDMA) apparently will not work
> with LTE bands in Russia. Sounds like my phone would work with the GSM
> network, but Megafon cards that can be pre-purchased here do not come in
> nano size (see below)
>   2.  Regular-sized SIM cards vs. the "nano" or "mini" size required by
> the iPhone: Seems the iPhone requires a "nano" size SIM that can apparently
> be purchased from dealers in Russia but not from Telestial.  They offer
> only regular-sized Megafon SIM cards.  So, if you're going for a longer
> stay and can wait to set up your phone until after arrival, the local nano
> SIM for your iPhone might be the way to go.
>
> As for me, I plan to take my old unlocked flip phone after all, with a
> pre-purchased Megafon SIM card.  Once I get there I will purchase a cheap
> Russian smartish phone to make texting a bit easier.
>
> I hope this clarifies rather than muddies the issue further.
>
> Amanda
>
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-- 
Vanessa Prolow

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