Are you planning a trip to Portugal and want to know about mobile phone options? Moving to a new place can be an exciting yet unnerving experience. For those looking for the ideal balance between adventure and comfort, Portugal is fast becoming one of Europe’s most sought-after expat destinations.
With its breathtaking landscapes, vibrant culture, warm climate, and more affordable cost of living compared with other European countries – there are many attractive benefits that draw people into Portugal.
If you’re considering moving overseas to Portugal, you might be wondering about the types of mobile phone options you have. Fortunately, we’re here to help make this decision easier by discussing your different choices available when it comes to having cell service while residing in Portugal.
How to prepare a mobile phone for use in Portugal
To prepare a phone for usage in Portugal, you must first get service, by either getting a SIM card or an eSIM; the former being a physical SIM card that you’ll have to insert into your phone, and the latter being available only for those who own newer phones that already have them prebuilt in them.
Additionally, some phones will allow dual SIM slots, which either will contain two physical slots or one physical slot and one digital slot. Another option you can turn to is getting service from a “Voice over Internet Protocol” (VoIP), such as Google Voice, that works via Wi-Fi or mobile data instead of requiring a SIM card.
Make sure you pay off any of your outstanding payments on your phone before switching to carriers located in Portugal. Your carrier will usually lock your phone until all of your outstanding payments are paid off, and won’t let you switch to a different one until after you do.
To make your life easier when you move abroad, this should ideally be done a few weeks before the relocation.
Owning a Portuguese phone number
Although not essential, owning a local Portuguese number will make many aspects of your everyday life much more efficient and reliable. Since a lot of people will expect you to have a Portuguese number and don’t utilize VoIP apps such as Google Voice or WhatsApp, having a native number can be beneficial to you overall.
When you’re in Portugal, you can sign up for a phone number from any of the three main mobile service providers. The main mobile service providers in Portugal are MEO, NOS, and Vodafone. Their stores are easy to find, and normally there is at least one person who works in their stores that speaks English fluently. It’s best to look into getting an entire package with these companies because it’ll be much cheaper for you that way.
However, before you sign up and make any purchases you should inquire if they are offering service at your address. After that, you can pick between the options of a postpaid plan or a prepaid plan.
A postpaid plan is usually more expensive, and will usually require a credit check since you will be billed at the end of the billing cycle. A prepaid plan, on the other hand, is much cheaper, but you will have to pay them first before you’ll be able to use their services.
A postpaid plan will usually provide you with unlimited calls/texts available, as well as providing you with some choices on how much data usage is included every operating period. A pre-paid plan, on the other hand, will be more limited depending on what company you choose.
When you are selecting a plan for your phone, you should be prepared to submit identifying documents such as your passport or residence card as proof of identity.
While all three main mobile service providers, MEO, NOS, and Vodafone, all offer the same general coverage, the services provided usually will vary depending on where you live. In some rural areas, specific buildings might also block cellular signals and require WiFi calling instead.
Note that not every model of the phone will support WiFi calling so it is best to check with your carrier if this feature is supported beforehand.
5G coverage in Portugal
Even though 5G coverage in Portugal is on the rise, they’re still not sufficient enough as of today. As of right now, there isn’t an exhaustive list of phones supported by 5G networks in Portugal. However, if you’re partial to using Android phones, here’s a short list of the types of Android phones that currently does support the 5G network.
- vivo V20 Pro 5G.
- Samsung Galaxy A51 5G.
- OnePlus 8 Pro.
- Motorola moto g 5G.
- Oppo Reno 5 Pro 5G.
That said, regular phone activities such as browsing or emailing are not expected to be improved much via 5G in Portugal, so if that’s what you’re looking for speed-wise then investing in a lower-cost data plan such as 4G will do just fine. The ideal scenario justifying obtaining access to these higher-speed 5G networks would be if you’re using your phone as a mobile hotspot for sharing connectivity between multiple devices simultaneously.
Even though having a 5G connection in Portugal is faster than having a 4G connection, so far the technology used to provide the connection does not measure up to the extreme speed that was advertised for this technology. Currently, tests show speeds ranging from 500 to 800 Mbps, even though the advertised maximum top speed is 1 Gbps.
Keeping your U.S number while living in Portugal
You might want to keep your U.S. number while you’re temporarily in Portugal since your U.S. number is required for some two-factor authentication for a few websites in the United States. If you want to keep your U.S. number when you’re traveling to Portugal, you can either use the international roaming plan (which can be quite expensive) offered by your service provider or use a virtual number service to forward calls from your U.S. number to your phone in Portugal.
Google Voice is one such virtual number service that you can use, and it only requires an initial payment of $20. However, you could be required to set it up from the US, and it has also received reports from some people who have experienced trouble with 2FA while using it.
An alternative to Google Voice is iPlum which allows for reliable voice and text messaging at a much lower cost when compared to its competitors. IPlum’s starting plans begin at just $5 per month, which is considerably low, but despite that, their web interface isn’t that reliable.
What happens when you travel back to the U.S.?
If you purchased a Portuguese SIM in Portugal, when you travel back to the US, it might not be desirable or even economical to keep using it. In this case, you can obtain a “travel SIM” from either a virtual or local provider from the United States. For example, you get a travel SIM from T-Mobile, a local network provider. If you decide to get a travel SIM from T-Mobile, they offer a plan with unlimited data at a low cost of approximately $40/month.
Conclusion
In conclusion, using a cell phone while you’re in Portugal is quite straightforward. You can either use a local SIM, a travel SIM or just turn to international roaming. Local SIM cards are widely available and generally offer decent rates, but require your device to be unlocked. For international travelers, travel SIM cards can be a practical solution, although it’s important to compare different providers for the best deal.
Those using a service provider that offers international roaming can also take advantage of it in Portugal; however, restrictions and limits exist so it’s wise to check with the carrier or service provider first. All in all, researching coverage and fees before deciding on an option will help you ensure the smoothest experience possible.
