When traveling abroad, ‘unlock’ your phone to avoid hefty fees
Q: What does it mean for a mobile phone to be “locked” in regard to international travel? Does that mean it will not work overseas?
In this situation, a “locked” phone works only on the network of the wireless carrier that activated the device and not on the network of a competing domestic company. Locked phones can “roam” onto international networks, but without the proper service plan from your carrier, the charges for international roaming can be hefty.
“Unlocked” devices are free to use other networks around the world. Travelers who want to buy a local number and an inexpensive data plan can then swap in a compatible SIM card (short for subscriber identity module) from international wireless carriers.
If your phone meets certain requirements, you can ask your carrier to unlock it from the network. Those requirements vary by company, so check with yours before you go.
Verizon doesn’ t lock most of its phones (except for some in its 3G World Devices line). If you’re a customer of AT&T, T-Mobile or Sprint, or use another carrier, check the company’s site for unlocking instructions. In most cases, typical requirements include a completed contract commitment with the company and a device that has not been reported as lost or stolen. Many requirements are waived for active-duty members of the military.
Most c a r r i e r s wil l a l s o have instructions for changing out SIM cards from your phone model. You can also find the information on the site of the phone manufacturer, like Apple, Google or Samsung. When exchanging SIM cards, make sure you get a new one in the correct size for your phone and keep the old one in a safe place.
If you are traveling abroad just for a quick trip and do not want to fuss with unlocking the phone or juggling SIM cards, ask your carrier about getting a short-term international plan for voice and data. Investing in an inexpensive “burner” phone and a local SIM card is another option that may cost less.
Q: Yo u T u b e ’s d e s kt o p website has this handy Share setting that lets you share a clip that starts pl ayi ng l a te r, a t a c e rtain part of the video. Is there something similar for clips on Vimeo that I don’t see?
A l t h o u g h t h e V i m e o site doesn’t have the same onscreen options that YouTube does, you c an also share links to its videos that are set to start playing at a certain point.
The first step is to figure out the specific spot, or timecode, where you want the clip to begin.
O n c e y o u h av e e s t a b - lished the starting point — for example, 2 minutes and 13 seconds into the clip — you need to add this information to the end of the clip’s Vimeo URL.
C l i c k o r t a p i n t o t h e address bar, and at the very end of the URL, type “#t=” and then “2m13s” (without the quotation marks) to indicate that the starting time code is 2 minutes and 13 seconds from the beginning.
Do not use spaces between the original URL and the new timecode information you just added. The new URL (which now looks like https://vimeo. com/192298842#t=2m13s), is the version you share with friends.
You can also add a timecode notation to the end of URLs for YouTube clips this way, but for those who have not tried it yet, YouTube has a feature that can save you the typing. When you are watching a clip on the site and get to the place in the video that you’d like a friend to start watching, click the Share button under the video window.
At the bottom of the Share box, click the box next to “Start at:” in front of the di splayed timecode. The URL shown right above has updated itself to add the new starting point, which you can then copy, post or share with friends.