Making an international call from your mobile phone, like an iPhone or Galaxy, may seem intimidating, but it’s a super simple process that anyone can do and we have you covered.
You may need to make an international call when you’re IN the United States – this is sometimes referred to as an international stateside call.
There’s other times you may need to make a call when you’re abroad and travelling across the world. This is usually called roaming internationally. Read on to find out how to to make international calls.
International calling guidelines and rates
When you’re making an international call from your mobile phone, there’s a few very important things to check prior to making the call.
Check 1 – ALWAYS check your rates prior to making a call. Mobile providers all have different rates for making international calls from the U.S or when outside the U.S.
Check 2 – Some plans with mobile providers include international benefits. Log into your mobile account or contact your mobile provider to see what benefits are included, like discounted calling or free data when you’re abroad.
Check 3 – Many providers offer optional add-ons which provide highly discounted international calling for a fixed rate each month. It may be beneficial to add an optional feature if you’re going to make a lot of international calls. It will save a lot of money!
Make international call from the United States
It’s just three simple steps to make an international call from the United States to another country and you can follow them below. If you’re calling Mexico, that process recently changed – scroll down to find those specific steps!
Step 1 – From your mobile device, open the dialer (usually the phone icon) and then the keypad.
Step 2 – Add the plus sign + (you may need to hold down the zero 0 button) followed by the country code, a city code (if needed), and then the local number.
Step 3 – Press the send button on your phone to initiate the call.
Calling Mexico from the United States
In 2020, the steps changed to call a mobile phone number in Mexico from the United States (or other countries).
If you had previously called Mexico, be aware that you should NO LONGER ADD THE NUMBER 1 after the Mexico country code (which is 52). This only applies to mobile numbers – not landlines.
Here’s an example of how you should dial now: +52 xx xxxx-xxxx.
For landlines only, just as a reminder – here’s an example of dialing a landline in Mexico: 011 52 xx xxxx-xxxx.
Call back to the U.S. from another country
Step 1 – From your mobile device, open the dialer (usually the phone icon) and then the keypad.
Step 2 – Dial the plus sign (you may need to hold down the zero 0 button), then one (+1), the area code, and the number (this would look like +1-555-777-7777).
Step 3 – Press the send button to initiate the call.
Call a country when outside the U.S.
Step 1 – From your mobile device, open the dialer (usually the phone icon) and then the keypad.
Step 2 – Add the plus sign + (you may need to hold down the zero 0 button) followed by the country code, a city code (if needed), and then the local number.
Step 3 – Press the send button to initiate the call.
Lookup international country codes
Every country has a unique country code that MUST be dialed when attempting to call.
There’s many sites out there that provide country codes – you can run a search for a site, or use a reputable site such as https://countrycode.org/
You can run a search by country or scroll through an A-Z alphabetical list. It’s that easy!
