taking smartphones abroad - am I on the right lines?

balletshoes

We are going to France next month, both our mobile phones are smartphones (mine is Android, daughter has a Blackberry). We only want to use free wifi where its available in our location there.

So - I turn off data roaming and mobile roaming, and to save battery life, I turn off wifi until we want to use the phones in the free wifi area. Yes? Is this all we need to do to ensure that we are not racking up big bills with our phone providers in the UK?

Thanks for any advice.

newbutold

When I go abroad I turn off data roaming & just use wifi. I also turn off my voicemail as Tmobile recommended me to.

victor2

With all roaming switched off, you should be OK. When my OH takes her smartphone abroad, she leaves it in "airplane mode", as it's useless as a phone anyway, but she uses the camera and has friend's details in it. Switches it off when she's not using it too.
To use free WiFi, you may have to take it out of Airplane Mode, but with roaming disabled, you should be OK. Could always remove the SIM, but not sure if they'll still start up without one.

balletshoes

I will be able to make calls on the phone if necessary though while in France, without data/mobile/wifi switched on?

victor2

You'll need mobile roaming switched on to make or receive calls (at great expense), unless you use one of the VOIP services through free WiFi.
Don't switch on data roaming unless you want really big bills.

newbutold

OP, who are you with? TMobile, make you purchase a travel booster when wanting to use data roaming. If you don't buy a booster your Data doesn't work & it's not possible to exceed the pre-bought amount. It's great so you are not hit with an unexpected big data bill. Of course at £10 for 50mb is not cheap & doesn't last long but at least when I travel I have peace of mind.

http://support.t-mobile.co.uk/help-and-support/index?page=home&cat=USING_THE_INTERNET_ABROAD&pcateg=HELPANDADVICE

balletshoes

I don't really want to use data roaming at all.
My idea was, we'd connect to free wifi to use bbm etc (daughter) and really the only reason I'd need my phone at all would be in case there were problems with our travel arrangements and I may need to call local taxi companies etc in France.

But if either of those options are going to cost me a lot of money I'll rethink and not take our smartphones at all (I still have my old non-smartphone with a payg sim that I could use instead - last time I used it in France (sim is Orange) to call a local taxi firm there it didn't cost me more than about 30p of my credit).

victor2

balletshoes wrote: »

But if either of those options are going to cost me a lot of money I'll rethink and not take our smartphones at all (I still have my old non-smartphone with a payg sim that I could use instead - last time I used it in France (sim is Orange) to call a local taxi firm there it didn't cost me more than about 30p of my credit).

That's the best way, if you can convince DD she doesn't need her Blackberry.
I did the same with an old Orange PAYG mobile - you know, the ones that just let you make a phone call or text somebody.
Made sure roaming was enabled, took it to Turkey and used it for taxis etc.
When going further afield and for longer periods, we take an unlocked mobile and buy a local SIM.

macman

balletshoes wrote: »

I will be able to make calls on the phone if necessary though while in France, without data/mobile/wifi switched on?

No, you'll need to roam to make even local calls,. But you can still keep data roaming switched off.

Iconic

This is a couple of years old but is still useful

http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/10-things-to-know-before-using-your-phone-abroad-this-summer

Roger1

Useful info, folks. Thanks.

I sometimes listen to the radio on my Huawei G300 either using apps or using the built-in FM tuner. I have done so either using wifi or using data included in my subscription. I have a question about listening when abroad.

• using apps, I can listen to UK stations. Presumably this would be chargeable using data connection. Will this be free on wifi?
• using the FM tuner, I can listen to local stations. Will this be chargeable or free when using the phone as a radio with the phone connection switched off?

Thanks for your advice.