18. Traveling Abroad with Your iPad
In This Chapter
• Recharging your iPad while overseas
• Options for accessing the Internet while abroad
• Purchasing and changing the micro-SIM chip
When you travel overseas with your iPad, being able to access a 3G or 4G wireless data network and recharge your tablet are relatively straightforward processes regardless of whether you travel with a laptop computer.
Using International Power Adapters
When traveling abroad, you must be able to recharge your iPad’s battery. If you want to recharge your tablet using an electric outlet overseas, you must attach a special adapter to the end of the white USB cable that came with your iPad.
Available from Apple Stores and Apple.com, the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit ($39.00) comes with six international power adapters that connect to the USB cable that came with your iPad. This kit enables you to plug in your tablet just about anywhere in the world.
Beware of International Roaming Charges
If you’re travelling overseas using an iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G/4G, and you attempt to access a local cellular data network via a 3G or 4G connection without first replacing the micro-SIM chip in your iPad, you could wind up paying a fortune (typically $20.00 per megabyte) in international wireless data roaming charges.
To keep this from happening, you have four options:
• Turn off international data roaming on your tablet and rely only on Wi-Fi hotspots to access the Internet. To do this, launch Settings, and tap on the Cellular Data option. Then, turn Off the virtual switch that’s associated with Data Roaming (shown in Figure 18.1).
Figure 18.1. Turn off data roaming on your Wi-Fi + 3G/4G iPad model when traveling abroad to avoid high international data roaming fees.
• From your wireless data service provider in the United States, prepurchase an international data roaming plan. This will include a predetermined wireless data allocation you can use while traveling abroad. This is typically less expensive than roaming internationally without an international plan but much more expensive than swapping out your iPad’s existing micro-SIM chip with a micro-SIM chip from a local wireless data provider that’s based in the country you’re visiting.
• Transform your cell phone or laptop into a personal Wi-Fi hotspot, and use your iPad to access the Internet by connecting to the hotspot your other device creates. Or, purchase a prepaid mobile hotspot in the country you’re visiting so that you can access the Internet from your tablet and other devices, including your iPad, smartphone, handheld gaming system, and/or laptop computer.
• Acquire a micro-SIM chip from a wireless data provider in the country you’re visiting and prepurchase 1GB, 2GB, or unlimited wireless data access for a 30-day period. This will typically cost between $15.00 (USD) and $30.00 (USD) and is the most economical option. However, it requires you to temporarily replace your iPad’s current micro-SIM chip with one you acquire locally in the country you’re visiting.
To replace the micro-SIM chip in your iPad, use the SIM chip ejection tool that came with the tablet. It’s a small piece of metal with a thin, pointed tip. (As an alternative, you can unbend a small paperclip and use the end of it.) Insert the end of the ejection tool gently into the tiny hole located on the side of the iPad. You’ll discover it next to the micro-SIM chip slot. The chip will pop out. Store the existing chip in a safe place, and carefully insert the new micro-SIM chip provided by the local wireless data service provider where you’re traveling. The SIM chip replacement process should not take more than a minute or two. Once installed, activate the wireless data service from your tablet’s screen. Make sure the device is not in Airplane Mode as you continue.
If you’re planning a cruise vacation, most cruise ships now offer Wi-Fi Internet access that works with the iPad; however, the cruise line charges a high per-minute fee. The alternative is to visit an Internet café when the ship docks at the various ports of call.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, for example, charges $35.00 for 60 minutes of Wi-Fi Internet access while aboard the ship. Other prepaid packages for 100 minutes ($55.00), 150 minutes ($75.00), 250 minutes ($100.00), and 500 minutes ($150.00) are available. Other cruise lines charge similar fees.
Replacing Your iPad’s Micro-SIM Chip for Wireless Web Access
If you have an iPad Wi-Fi Only model, your tablet can connect to the Internet via a Wi-Fi connection anywhere in the world you travel that has a public Wi-Fi hotspot available (this includes many hotels, cafes, and airports). Keep in mind that you might have to pay an hourly or daily access fee to connect to Wi-Fi hotspots in many airports and hotels, for example, just as you do in the United States.
There is a size and compatibility difference between standard and micro-SIM chips. When visiting a cellular phone store overseas to acquire a SIM chip for your iPad, be sure to obtain a micro-SIM chip for use with a wireless data service that supports the iPad.
Connecting to the Wireless Web Overseas with an iPad Wi-Fi + 3G/4G Model
When you leave the United States, your 3G/4G wireless service through AT&T Wireless or Verizon, for example, is not available. However, you can visit any Apple Store or Apple Authorized Reseller while you’re overseas (or many cellular service providers) to obtain a micro-SIM chip that temporarily replaces your current micro-SIM chip while you’re traveling.
Figure 18.2 shows a sample micro-SIM chip for the new iPad or iPad 2, the SIM chip ejector tool that comes with every iPad, and a dime (for size comparison). As you can see, they’re all tiny.
Figure 18.2. Here, you can see a sample micro-SIM chip for the new iPad or iPad 2, the SIM chip ejector tool, and a dime.
Because you can purchase 3G or 4G wireless data service on a month-to-month basis or, in some cases, acquire a predetermined amount of wireless data use, you can easily obtain a new micro-SIM chip that works in the country or countries you’re visiting, insert it into your iPad, and be able to access 3G or 4G wireless data service in almost any country.
If there’s an Apple Store where you’re going, an Apple Genius can offer you a micro-SIM chip from a local 3G/4G data service provider, help you swap the chip in your iPad, and activate the 3G/4G wireless data account using a major credit card within 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can visit a retail location for a wireless service provider and swap out the micro-SIM chips yourself.
After you set up 3G/4G data service in a specific country, any time you return to that country, you can use the same micro-SIM chip and purchase additional access. However, when you replace your current micro-SIM chip with the micro-SIM chip for the local 3G/4G wireless data provider in the country you’re visiting, make sure you do not misplace the original chip because you’ll need to swap it back into your iPad when you return home.
While traveling, the price for 3G/4G wireless data access varies based on the country you’re visiting and the wireless data service provider you need to use. You will probably find the prices to be reasonable in most countries.
Throughout Europe, one of the leading wireless 3G/4G data service providers that supports the various iPad models is O2 (www.o2.co.uk). Upon arriving in any European country, you can visit an O2 retail location (which are as commonplace as AT&T Wireless or Verizon Wireless locations in the U.S.), or visit any Apple Store and obtain a free O2 micro-SIM chip.
With the O2 micro-SIM chip installed in your iPad, you can sign up for 3G/4G wireless data service for a low flat fee per day for up to 200MB of data use, or you can sign up for 1GB of wireless data use, which you can use within a 30-day period. There’s also a plan that offers 2GB of wireless data use over a 30-day period.
These last two O2 wireless data plans are recurring, meaning you are automatically billed for the plan every 30 days until you cancel. However, you can easily cancel the plan at the conclusion of your trip with no penalties or extra fees. When you install the O2 micro-SIM chip, you can activate (or cancel) it and choose a wireless data plan directly from your tablet.
If you’re interested in using the Vodafone wireless data service while in Europe, visit www.vodafone.co.uk/personal/mobile-internet/on-your-tablet/on-your-ipad/index.htm to learn more about the iPad data plans available. Keep in mind that you can sign up for a recurring 30-day plan, but then cancel the plan at the conclusion of your trip.
One Vodafone plan offers 2GB of wireless data usage within the UK, which can be used within a 30-day, period for £15.
To learn about Vodafone’s Mobile Wi-Fi option that enables you to access the Internet from multiple devices simultaneously, visit www.vodafone.co.uk/personal/mobile-internet/sharing-your-internet/mobile-wi-fi/index.htm.
If you know you need to swap micro-SIM chips in and out of your iPad while traveling abroad, make sure you bring along the small metal SIM chip ejector tool that came with your tablet. For information about how to use it properly, visit Apple’s website (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4577). Alternatively, you can unbend a small paperclip and use the tip of it to eject the SIM chip from the almost hidden compartment found near the upper-left side of your tablet.
If you’re using an older iPad model (an iPad 2, for example) and use Verizon Wireless as your wireless data service provider in the United States, before leaving for your trip overseas, contact Verizon Wireless and activate a CDMA Global Data Roaming plan. For more information, contact Verizon directly at (800) 922-0204.