Tip 5: Check your roaming settings
Just like so many other things, mobile phones have also revolutionized travel. You basically have the world in your pocket – you can snap a picture just like that, keep in touch with friends and family wherever you are, check addresses, opening hours, etc. on the go, translate anything, navigate, and so on. However, there in lies a potential risk, depending on your mobile subscription and where you are traveling you may end up with a huge bill if you are not attentive.
Whenever I am travelling outside the EU and EEA, I always turn off roaming and just use WiFi whenever possible. My service provider does not charge extra for calls and texts in the EU and EEA and even provides a limited amount of free data use. However, in order to ensure I do not exceed the data limit, I turn off automatic downloads as well as any apps I do not need. In order to be able to use my phone as much as possible I always book accommodation with free WiFi, which also allows me to use my iPad.
Here are some hints on how to turn off roaming, automatic downloads and apps.
Turn off roaming:
iPhone: Settings > General > Cellular > Data Roaming > toggle off/white.
Android: Settings > Mobile Networks > Data Roaming > toggle off/white
Turn off apps:
iPhone: Settings > General > Cellular > Cellular Data > scroll down and toggle/white apps you don’t use
Android: Settings > Data Usage > App Data Usage > tap app you want to turn off > toggle background data off/white
or if your phone has a data saver feature you can check the apps from here and turn the data saver on.
Turn off automatic downloads:
iPhone: Settings > [your name] > iTunes & App Store > Use Cellular Data > toggle off/white. Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > toggle off/white
Android: Google Play Store> Hamburger icon top-left > Settings > Auto-update apps> do not auto-update apps
