Travel & Lifestyle

How to set up your phone to avoid charges

So you plan to use your smartphone during your upcoming trip to Europe. Great. But how do you ensure you don’t accidentally lose all your data while using your iPhone in Europe and get an $800 bill from your carrier when you get home?

First, read our guide!


Use data? Make a plan.

if you are a AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile/Sprint iPhone customers And if you plan to use data to access the Internet or use email at any time during your trip, it is highly recommended that you purchase some kind of plan (unless you plan to buy a SIM card for your phone in Europe). Otherwise, you will pay the price. (AT&T, for example, charges up to $2.05 per MB without a plan. Sure, that sounds cheap, but it gets ugly quickly!)

Click here to learn more about international data and phone plans for AT&T customers and Verizon customers.

T-Mobile (and former Sprint) customers Users who have signed up for one of the operator’s “Go5G” plans are in much better shape, as the operator offers free text and data usage across Europe, as well as $0.25 per minute calls. Note that T-Mobile does not have a separate plan for international use. Instead, its usual ‘Go5G’, ‘Go5G Next’ or ‘Go5G Plus’ plans are good for data, text and calls abroad and are already set up for international roaming.

If you’re a T-Mobile customer with a Go5G plan, congratulations. You don’t actually need to follow the rest of this article or change how your phone is set up. Please note that these calls will be billed for an additional fee of $0.25 per minute.

How much data do you need?

Let’s say you sign up for a plan that includes 1 GB of data, unlimited texts and calls for $0.35 per minute. What exactly does 1GB represent?

As I mentioned in this post, here are some data usage estimates:

• Send or receive email (without attachments): approx. 20 KB per email; (with attachments) approx. 300 KB per email

• Loading 1 web page: 1 MB per page

• Streaming music: 500 KB/minute (30 MB/hour)

• Streaming video (standard quality): 2 MB/minute

I’m assuming that we all avoid streaming music and videos when traveling (when not connected to Wi-Fi), and that your data usage mainly consists of checking email, using Google Maps, and occasionally browsing the web.

If you focus solely on email (and don’t open any large attachments), you can download or send thousands of normal-sized emails with the 1 GB plan! That’s enough for me (especially on vacation!).

But hey, everyone’s data needs are different. Check out AT&T’s handy data calculator to estimate how much data you’ll need. This is especially handy if you plan to browse the web or (hopefully not!) launch your applications.

How to set up your iPhone for international travel

OK, you’re ready to set up your phone. Here’s how I set up my older iPhone for travel. Please note that new phone models may have different locations for some of the settings listed below. We provide instructions for both older and newer models.

Also, please note: Buying a European SIM card for your phone or an unlocked phone for travel are relatively simple and cheap alternatives. Be sure to read our guide to this option.

iphone_roaming

1. Turn off data roaming.

First things first. Turn off data roaming to prevent your phone from connecting to data networks while traveling.

It’s likely that your carrier doesn’t operate cell towers in the country you’re visiting. So if you need to access a data network, your phone will need to roam and find a network that works. By turning this feature off, you effectively prevent your phone from joining these partner networks.

Note: You can turn this button back on when you really want to use a data plan and access these data networks. But keep in mind that as a default setting, it’s best to turn it off.

Old iPhone

Go to: Settings > Cellular > Data Roaming. close.

(To keep it simple, the iPhone even says “Turn off data roaming when traveling to avoid charges when browsing the web, using email, and other data services.”)

Newer iPhone

For newer models, please visit: Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Data Roaming. close.


iPhone cellular data settings2. Turn off cellular data.

When I travel in Europe, I usually turn off cellular data as well. Even though AT&T has repeatedly assured me that I just need to turn off data roaming, I still turn off cellular data just to make sure my phone is blocked from using data until I want it to. (Apple also recommends turning off both features when traveling internationally.)

By turning off cellular data, you effectively block your phone from accessing all data networks, limiting its use to making calls and sending text messages, but you can use all other features (apps, email, internet, iMessage) : Connect it to a Wi-Fi network.

Note that if you reverse the order of #1 and #2 here and turn off your cellular data first, your data roaming will also be turned off. If you’ve turned off data access on your phone, you won’t be able to roam data.

As with data roaming, if you want to use your data plan, you need to turn cellular data back on and then turn on data roaming.

For new and old iPhone models, please visit: Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data. close. (Note that “Enable LTE” will also disappear once you turn off cellular data.)


iphone_application3. Cut off the app’s cellular data connection.

Your app won’t work without a data connection or Wi-Fi network. Even so, you should go into your phone’s settings and manually turn off apps to prevent them from eating up your data plan.

But wait, isn’t this a bit redundant if you’re planning on turning off cellular data already (following the first two steps)? not necessarily.

Don’t forget, many of us allow our apps to send us push notifications and run on their own in the background. If you have all of these features activated, they may kick in when you turn on data roaming in Paris to check email, using up your data allotment.

To prevent this, take a moment to scroll through the list of apps and close their data connections one by one. (notes You need to do this before turning off cellular data, as turning off cellular data will make these buttons inaccessible.

Once cellular data access is turned off for these apps, they can still be used over a Wi-Fi network. If you want to use cellular data in these apps (for example, using Google Maps over cellular data, which I’ve been doing abroad), just turn them back on when needed!

Old iPhone

Go to: Settings > Cellular > Use Cellular Data. Close applications one by one.

Newer iPhone

Go to: Settings > Cellular. Scroll down to the “Add eSim” section of the application. Close applications one by one.


iphone_reset4. Reset your statistics and monitor your data usage.

This one is interesting and important. At the very bottom of the Cellular page there is a simple little link that says “Reset Statistics”. Once abroad, click this link and start tracking your international data usage. You’ll see your total data usage and phone usage at the top of the Cellular page (under Cellular Data Usage).

Track your usage here and you won’t face any unpleasant bill surprises when you get home, especially if you buy the right data plan for your trip.

Unfortunately, the only problem is that the statistics aren’t always completely up to date. It turns out that AT&T can experience delays in reporting international data usage (because international carriers actually provide you with the network and then report it to AT&T). I recommend proceeding with caution here.

For older and newer iPhone models, please visit: Settings > Cellular > Reset Statistics. Click it.


iphone_fetch5. Switch “Get New Data” to “Manual” to stop automatic email downloads.

When I travel, I also turn off my phone’s ability to automatically check and download email. Even though my data roaming is almost always set to “off” (preventing me from accessing email), I still don’t like it when my phone automatically picks up anything when I set data roaming to “on.”

Old iPhone

Go to: Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Get new data. Toggle Push to Off, then click Manual under Get at the bottom of the screen.

Newer iPhone

Go to: Settings > Mail > Accounts > Get new information. Toggle Push to Off, then click Manual under Get at the bottom of the screen.

Once you switch to Manual, you’ll be able to check and send email by turning on data roaming and cellular data, then opening Mail. Simple.


iphone messages6. Turn off iMessage.

This drives me crazy. iMessage lets you quickly and easily send messages to other iMessage users on your Apple devices over a Wi-Fi network without paying for text messages. That’s great, but iMessage uses Wi-Fi networks to send and receive messages, so it won’t work if you’re not connected to Wi-Fi. Your messages will just stay there and won’t be sent until you connect to Wi-Fi.

What’s the solution? I choose to send old fashioned text messages (via SMS) while traveling. AT&T’s International Pass includes unlimited text messages, so it doesn’t cost anything extra to send them.

To force your phone (any model) to turn off iMessage, go to: Settings > Messages > iMessage. close.

Note that you may still encounter problems even if iMessage is turned off. Others may send you iMessages, but only when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. When I’m traveling and waiting for friends to text and suspect iMessage is the culprit, I sometimes text them and say, “If you want to text me, make sure your iMessage is turned off!”


Calling home costs just pennies (or free) using the Skype iPhone app.

7. Paranoid? Put your phone into airplane mode.

If you have followed the steps above, you have now turned off data roaming, cellular data, apps, and email running in the background. What’s still working?

Well, first, your phone! You can still make and receive calls now (provided you’ve called your operator and activated your phone for international use). You can also send and receive regular old text messages (if you’ve turned off iMessage).

However, this may still make you uncomfortable. Maybe you don’t want people to be able to contact you. (Don’t forget, you’ll be charged for incoming calls and listening to voicemails.)

If this is you (it’s been me for years, so there’s no shame), you can put your phone in “airplane mode” and rely solely on your Wi-Fi network to use the web, send emails, and use apps. For example, if you want to make a call through the Skype app and don’t want to pay for the call, this is a great solution.

Using airplane mode when traveling in Europe can really give you peace of mind as it removes any insecurity of your phone secretly draining your data plan. However, it can also feel quite limited, since you can’t send and receive text messages instantly (except through iMessage or Facebook Messenger when connected to a Wi-Fi network), nor can you make standard phone calls.

If this applies to you, please visit: Settings > Airplane mode. Open.

If you are using your phone in airplane mode, please note that you need to switch “Wi-Fi” to “On” and select a Wi-Fi network.

Also in our guide to using a US iPhone in Europe

Use a US iPhone in Europe…without breaking the bank

Tips for AT&T customers

Tips for Windows and Android customers

Tips for Verizon customers

AT&T vs. Verizon: International plans compared

notes: This article was updated in December 2024 to include a wealth of new information.

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