We do so much on our phones that require a network connection. We look up places to eat, hail a cab and check flight information if we would like to travel. However, as you travel abroad and use your phone like you typically do, you will incur data roaming charges.
What Are Roaming Charges?
These are the prices you pay for using your mobile network overseas. They are usually much higher than what you pay at home, and mobile network carriers apply roaming charges to calls, messaging and data depending on where you are in the world. Depending on your carrier, you might get free EU roaming and then have to pay for international roaming.
It is very easy to incur massive roaming charges, especially for data, due to how much we use our phones and rely on the internet. Being careful and following some simple rules can help you avoid an unexpectedly high bill or reaching your cap which will require that you pay for a new plan.
Check Your Data Roaming Charges and Rules Before Travelling
Before travelling, you should always check your network’s policies to see what they say about roaming and roaming charges. Some carriers provide roaming as part of your plan, while others require you to pay extra for the service. Some have data caps, while some allow you to use as much data as you like.
Depending on your carrier, you may have to buy an add-on that allows international data roaming or pay pay-as-you-go rates. Some carriers cap how much you spend on their pay-as-you-go plans to help you avoid a massive bill.
Turn Off Data to Avoid a Roaming Charge
Turning off your data connection means you eliminate all data usage but can still call and text. If you do this, you can use Wi-Fi provided in areas such as the airport, hotels, and restaurants to check your emails and browse the internet.
An alternative is switching your phone’s airplane mode on. Understand that while this will stop all data usage, you will not be able to call or message, so you should only do this if you are sure people can reach you in other ways.
Download What You Need at Home
Downloading and streaming content consumes a lot of data, and you will go through your data plan very quickly and thus incur significant charges if you decide to do this abroad. If you like watching movies and TV shows as you travel, consider downloading what you need before you leave.
Smartphones and tablets now have enough storage to store a few HD movies and TV shows, but you might need external storage if you want to download 4K content and take it with you. Fortunately, modern devices support external drives, and you can find drives of up to 1 TB in a capacity that your device supports.
Also, it is a good idea to download all the critical documents you will need as you travel, such as boarding passes and maps; Google Maps allows you to download up-to-date maps for offline use.
Disable Background Apps and Services
If you are on a typical data plan, you will not notice how much data background apps and services use. For example, regular backups and updates that run in the background can consume a gigabyte or more of data each time they run or happen.
Android and iOS devices allow you to turn off automatic updates through the Play Store and App Store. Instead of turning them off altogether, you can always set your phone to update your apps when on the Wi-Fi networks you encounter as you travel. You should also do the same for automatic backups.
After doing this, go through each app on your device through your settings to check their update and backup protocols. You will be surprised at the number of apps that want to update or perform backups all the time without caring about the type of connection you are on.
Stop Background Refresh
Some apps, such as news apps, refresh in the background so you have the latest news the next time you open the app. While doing so improves user experience, it also consumes data that you want to avoid when you are on a roaming data plan.
On iOS, you can turn off this setting by going to Settings and then General. You should then scroll to Background App Refresh and tap on the option. The phone will give you a list of apps with this setting turned on, and you can just toggle the slider to turn it off.
For Android devices, go to Settings and then Apps and Notifications. Pick See All Apps and tap on the apps you do not want refreshing in the background. Slide the switches to stop these refreshes.
Use a Local SIM Card
If you own an unlocked device, you can get a local SIM card to use alongside your regular one if your device supports dual SIM. Local data rates are much cheaper than roaming data charges, and you can also benefit from cheaper calling and messaging rates using a local SIM card.
Before you do this, though, you need to know whether your phone is unlocked. The best way to do this is to insert another SIM card into your phone or its second SIM card slot. You have a locked phone if you do not get network bars or service.
A local SIM card is also an excellent option for those going abroad for a long time. Many networks only allow you to be on their roaming plans for a limited time, so you might get cut off before the end of the trip.
Watch Out for Networks on Cruise Ships
Most networks do not cover cruise ships under roaming arrangements since your phone can connect anywhere, anytime if you have roaming on. Keeping an eye on your phone and the networks it connects to is important to avoid so-called “maritime networks”. These are satellite-based data networks that charge very high rates.
When on a cruise ship, it is also easy to connect to a new network in a nearby country. If this happens, your carrier will label this a roaming connection and apply a roaming charge to your bill.
You can avoid all this by turning off your data and using the Wi-Fi onboard the ship. Some cruise ships have free Wi-Fi tiers, but it is better to use paid tiers because they are more secure and less congested than the free options.
Use Lightweight App Versions
Companies realise there are a lot of regions in the world where older phones and slower internet speeds are the norm. They have, therefore, developed lightweight apps that use less data to give people on these devices and networks a better user experience.
You can find lightweight versions of apps like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter that will help you save a lot of data.
Use Messaging Apps to Call Home
If you regularly use FaceTime to call home, consider apps like WhatsApp that let you make video calls over Wi-Fi.
Data roaming charges can be surprisingly high if you do not take measures to keep your data usage low. Fortunately, there are many ways to do this, including using local SIM cards and taking advantage of Wi-Fi at every opportunity.