Heading abroad and want to use your phone while traveling? Understanding roaming plans is key to avoiding exorbitant charges. This guide examines international roaming, from how it works to tips for minimizing fees.
When you travel overseas and use your mobile device outside your provider’s coverage zone, you are “roaming” on other carriers’ networks. Your phone taps into local networks abroad to connect calls, texts and mobile data.
Your home provider then passes on the roaming charges from those foreign carriers. The fees for using another company’s network get added to your regular monthly wireless bill.
Why Roaming Plans Matter
International roaming can lead to extremely high bills if you don’t have the right plan. Horror stories abound of travelers being slapped with thousands in unexpected roaming fees.
Your regular domestic plan likely includes limited or no international coverage. Without adding an international roaming package, you’ll pay costly per-use rates while traveling.
To avoid bill shock, it’s critical to understand your carrier’s roaming policies and add a suitable overseas plan before departure.
Roaming Plan Options
Carriers offer various international roaming packages to reduce excessive fees. The main options include:
Travel Passes
These provide a bucket of voice minutes, texts and mobile data at fixed daily or weekly rates. Travel passes offer predictable fees for hassle-free roaming.
Monthly International Packages
Some providers let you add monthly international roaming packages with a set allotment of minutes, texts and data that can be used across multiple trips.
Daily/Weekly Rates
Carriers publish daily or weekly roaming rates for calls, texts and data by country. This pay-per-use approach carries more risk of higher bills.
Suspending Service
You can temporarily suspend your domestic service and reactivate it upon return. But this loses the convenience of keeping your number and account active.
Alertify is an international SIM card and eSIM store that can help you save money on roaming costs. With Alertify, you can get a SIM card that works in over 200 countries, so you can stay connected without breaking the bank. Alertify also offers a variety of plans to fit your needs, so you can find the perfect one for your trip. Plus, Alertify’s customer service is top-notch, so you can always get help if you need it.
Here are some of the benefits of using Alertify:
- Save money on roaming costs:Alertify’s SIM cards and eSIMs are much cheaper than roaming charges from your home carrier.
- Stay connected no matter where you are:With Alertify, you can stay connected with friends, family, and colleagues no matter where you are in the world.
- Choose the perfect plan for your needs:Alertify offers a variety of plans to fit your needs, so you can find the perfect one for your trip.
- Get help from top-notch customer service:Alertify’s customer service is top-notch, so you can always get help if you need it.
- Get a SIM card before your arrival at your destination.
If you’re looking for a way to save money on roaming costs, Alertify is the perfect solution. With Alertify, you can stay connected no matter where you are in the world without breaking the bank.
Tips for Picking a Roaming Plan
Choosing the right roaming package requires estimating your travel usage. Consider these factors:
- Destination(s) – Check rates for the country/countries visited.
- Length of trip – Daily, weekly or monthly packages? Multi-country or single?
- Data needs – Will you rely heavily on mobile data or use WiFi?
- Communication – Primarily calls, texts, apps (i.e. WhatsApp)?
Monitor Usage
Apps like ALertify provide real-time monitoring tools and alerts to prevent plan overages. Knowing exactly how minutes, texts and data get used while traveling is key to controlling costs.
Use WiFi for Data
Whenever free WiFi is available, use it for data instead of your plan’s cellular data allowance. Turn off “mobile data roaming” in device settings to prevent unintended roaming charges.
Minimize Cellular Usage
Use apps like WhatsApp or FaceTime Audio over WiFi for cheap international calls and messages. Keep your phone in airplane mode and enable WiFi only when needed.
Understand Billing Policies roaming plans
Carefully review your carrier’s roaming policies before traveling. Know how usage gets rounded up and billed to avoid surprise fees.
Activating an international roaming plan is the best way to prevent bill shock when traveling overseas with your mobile phone. Monitoring usage in real-time using tools like ALertify provides an extra layer of protection from unintended charges. Do your homework before you hit the road and enjoy the journey without the stress of a sky-high wireless bill.
FAQs
There are a few technological precautions travelers can take to avoid bill shock. First, control your data use by turning off data roaming in your phone's settings when you don't need it. You can also download maps when you have Wi-Fi and then use apps like Google or Apple Maps in offline mode.
How to avoid being charged for roaming? ›
How to reduce or eliminate roaming fees when travelling
- Get a travel plan. Contact your service provider to find out if they have travel plans or add-ons that you can purchase. ...
- Buy a local SIM card, digital SIM card (eSIM), or prepaid plan. ...
- Turn off data roaming. ...
- Turn on airplane mode.
Meanwhile, here are a few tips to avoid bill shock:
- Put your phone on airplane mode while in-flight, in transit or while on a cruise.
- Switch on your data only once you reach your destination.
- Avoid using SMS and Voice while traveling. ...
- Try and use WiFi whenever available to save on data charges.
It is true that Airplane Mode can help you to avoid international roaming charges. With Airplane Mode turned on, your device will not be able to connect to cellular service, meaning you will definitely not incur any international roaming charges.
How do I not get charged for roaming abroad? ›
One way to avoid roaming charges is to rely on Wi-Fi hotspots when you travel. Most urban areas have hotels, restaurants, and public spaces that offer free Wi-Fi. You can connect to their network and call, text, and use data without incurring roaming charges.
Does turning off cellular data stop roaming charges? ›
Turn off Data Roaming to prepare for a trip
If your carrier does not support Data Roaming, you can turn off Data Roaming to avoid roaming charges while you're traveling. To do this: In the Settings app, tap Cellular or Cellular Data.
Does turning off mobile data stop roaming charges? ›
Disable data roaming
It ensures you only surf the web on Wi-Fi and avoid steep data roaming charges. iPhones: Head to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Data Roaming and disable it.
How do I make my phone bill go down? ›
How to Lower a Cell Phone Bill
- Stick to Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is everywhere, so you shouldn't have a problem staying connected. ...
- Monitor Your Background Data Usage. ...
- Consider a Family Plan. ...
- Eliminate Unnecessary Services. ...
- Should You Switch Carriers? ...
- Update Your Service Address. ...
- Enroll in Autopay. ...
- Explore Promotional Offers and Discounts.
Many phone carriers charge fees on top of your regular bill. These may include late payment fees, early termination fees, or restoration of service fees. Some phone carriers also tack on “monthly” or “service” fees or even illegally cram bills to increase revenue.
Why does my phone keep shocking me while charging? ›
Reasons behind phone shocks
One common cause of electric shocks is a leaking alternating current (AC) from the charger, particularly with AC-DC chargers. When your feet are wet and you touch a charging phone, the current may flow through the phone's metal parts and into your body.
Airplane Mode prevents you from using data, talking on the phone, or sending/receiving texts, but you can still use Wi-Fi and you'll certainly prevent roaming charges. INSTRUCTIONS: Before leaving your regular coverage zone, swipe down on your phone and tap the Airplane Mode icon.
Are there roaming charges for texting? ›
In summary, whether or not roaming charges apply to texting depends on your mobile service provider and mobile plan. While some plans may include international texting or roaming as part of their packages, others may charge additional fees for texting while travelling outside of your home country.
Is airplane mode the same as turning off roaming? ›
Airplane Mode turns off your device's ability to connect to cellular networks (meaning it can no longer send or receive calls or texts, or use data). As it is no longer accessing local cellular networks, it will not be charged roaming fees (caused by your device connecting to networks outside its home region).
Is WhatsApp free to use abroad? ›
Have an account? Log in . You can use WhatsApp internationally for free with Wi-Fi; depending on your cellular plan, you may incur international charges for using cellular data on WhatsApp. To preclude international data fees, you can turn roaming off on your phone and still use Wi-Fi.
How can I use my iPhone without roaming charges? ›
How to avoid data roaming charges on your iPhone
- Your Primary SIM should be OFF. ...
- Your eSIM should be ON and roaming. ...
- Your eSIM should be your only data source. ...
- Make sure iMessage can use email. ...
- Make sure FaceTime can use email. ...
- Consider using a free travel phone number.
To reduce data usage, make sure you turn off cellular data and set your phone to "airplane mode." You don't want your phone to grab data the minute you take it off airplane mode, even for a minute. Turn off or restrict background apps that refresh or update automatically, using data even when the app is closed.
Does receiving texts count as roaming? ›
When customers travel abroad and use their phones or laptops whilst on a foreign (“visited”) network, this is known as international roaming. Sending and receiving SMS text messages whilst roaming abroad is called SMS roaming. Data roaming refers to the use of mobile data services whilst abroad.
Do you get charged roaming if your phone is on? ›
Roaming, roaming everywhere. But even if you don't do any of the above while you're outside of your coverage area, you can still rack up roaming charges simply by keeping your device powered on.
Will I get charged if I turn on data roaming? ›
Data roaming is the use of cellular data services on a mobile device outside of the coverage area of the home network. This can result in additional charges from your mobile service provider, which can vary depending on the destination and the type of data usage.
