Avoiding iphone data roaming charges

Hugbubble

Forgive my ignorance...it's the first time I've been away since owning the iPhone...

I've heard horror stories about people accidently incurring massive bills from data roaming charges so just wanted to double check- if I have the data roaming option set to the "off" position (as is the default with the iPhone 4) this means it will not roam in terms of data when abroad, but will still allow roaming so that I can call & text. Is this correct?

slenderkitten

I am wondering about this too, i was in europe last weekend and had it set to off the whole time and used a wifi (home conection) turns out someone hadn't got security enabled, i didn't use much of it as i was scared of expensive bills. i didn't make any calls or txt on my iphone anyway so it was only the wifi data usage. had phone turned off most of the time anyway.

would like clarification though.

withabix

Turn data off and the phone won't use 3G/GPRS/Edge data.

Unless there is a fault in the software, which, knowing Apple....

Also be careful of Apps which ask you if you want to turn data back on when it is switched off.

cgk1

Just as an aside to the technical solutions - unless you've pre-arranged a massive limit with your phone company, it's now limited to 50 euros within Europe when roaming unless you agree otherwise with the company So it's worth ringing them to check that you haven't already agreed to a larger limit.

Bongedone

You can use the phone on wifi without the sim card installed. This will mean you won't pay for voicemails and receiving calls either. Remove it at the airport and put it back in when you get home.

jem16

Hugbubble wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance...it's the first time I've been away since owning the iPhone...

I've heard horror stories about people accidently incurring massive bills from data roaming charges so just wanted to double check- if I have the data roaming option set to the "off" position (as is the default with the iPhone 4) this means it will not roam in terms of data when abroad, but will still allow roaming so that I can call & text. Is this correct?

Best plan is to turn off data roaming and cellular data. people have encountered problems and bills by only turning off data roaming alone.

With both of the above turned off you can still make/receive calls and texts as normal. You can also use a WiFi connection if one is available and be sure that no data charges happen.

Just be careful not to allow any apps to turn on cellular data for you.

simax

Just to mention Vodafone EU Data Traveller. From 1st June it will give you a 25MB allowance every day to use in that country. Plans with 900 mins or more have this bundle for free, and lower tariffs can pay £2 a day or £10 for a months access.

Currently, gives 5MB a day, except in large EU countries such as France, Germany, Spain, etc where it is 25MB a day, but from 1st June all EU countries will be 25MB a day.

25MB a day = 750MB a month so should be fine for most iPhone users.

Beats paying £3/MB with O2/Orange/T-Mobile etc.

Just thought I'd mention this as I think it's a cracking deal.

Orville

simax wrote: »

Just to mention Vodafone EU Data Traveller. From 1st June it will give you a 25MB allowance every day to use in that country. Plans with 900 mins or more have this bundle for free, and lower tariffs can pay £2 a day or £10 for a months access.

Currently, gives 5MB a day, except in large EU countries such as France, Germany, Spain, etc where it is 25MB a day, but from 1st June all EU countries will be 25MB a day.

25MB a day = 750MB a month so should be fine for most iPhone users.

Beats paying £3/MB with O2/Orange/T-Mobile etc.

Just thought I'd mention this as I think it's a cracking deal.

Hi.

The £2 a day option, does it just charge you per day you actually use it?. Say i sign up in england today but travel to spain at the end of next month, i am not charged from today for it am i?...

Gordon_Gecko

Turning roaming off is the best way - texts and calls will still work, although you probably won't be able to send MMS texts. I got caught out recently - big bill as I was being charged nearly £4 a MB, but next time I'm going to sign up with one of the roaming data packages which makes it a lot cheaper. Orange do one where you pay a set amount of around £8 per day that you use data abroad, but get 50MB of data for that fee.

interbear

simax wrote: »

Just to mention Vodafone EU Data Traveller. From 1st June it will give you a 25MB allowance every day to use in that country. Plans with 900 mins or more have this bundle for free, and lower tariffs can pay £2 a day or £10 for a months access.

Currently, gives 5MB a day, except in large EU countries such as France, Germany, Spain, etc where it is 25MB a day, but from 1st June all EU countries will be 25MB a day.

25MB a day = 750MB a month so should be fine for most iPhone users.

Beats paying £3/MB with O2/Orange/T-Mobile etc.

Just thought I'd mention this as I think it's a cracking deal.

That does seem a reasonable deal.

I'm with 3 - they charge £1.28 per MB but I'd rather have a fixed fee for more data as per Voda.

pimento

I'm going to Belgium in a couple of weeks and I'll be leaving my smart phone at home and taking an old Nokia PAYG with me. Only for emergencies really. I reckon I can last a week without Facebook (just)...