Planning a last-minute getaway to somewhere fabulous? We totally understand. Even though the sun has finally made an appearance (fingers crossed), you can never fully trust the British weather! And if you want to make calls, send texts, and browse the web on your phone while abroad without returning to a massive bill — you’ll need to ensure your device is ready for roaming. Fortunately, we’ve got all the tips you need to dodge those roaming charges.
What is roaming?
Roaming is what your mobile phone will do when it goes outside of your network provider's coverage area (i.e. when you go abroad). It'll try and look for a foreign network to connect to so you can still make and receive calls, send messages, and access the internet just like when you use your phone at home. Roaming works because loads of providers from all over the world will have agreements in place to allow customers to use each other’s networks. But many foreign networks will apply roaming charges for using their services while travelling.
iD customer? We're roam free in 50 destinations!
You won't have to worry about roaming charges in lots of popular holiday spots if you're an iD Mobile customer on a phone or SIM only plan. That's because we're roam free in more destinations than any other network across all plans (up to 30GB). So, you can head off to Greece, Spain, France, Italy, and many more amazing European countries using your UK monthly allowance of minutes, texts, and data. Just chat, message, browse, and stream as normal without any additional charges waiting for you when you get home.
To see all iD Mobile roam free destinations and learn more, check out our Inclusive EU Roaming page.
How much will I be charged for roaming outside of a roam free country?
If you're an iD Mobile customer flying to a destination that's not on our roam free list — extra roaming charges will be applied. This means that it'll cost you a certain amount for making a call, sending a text, and using data to run apps or browse online. The amounts charged will depend on where you're going and who your provider is. But if you're on iD Mobile, we've made it super easy to find out how much it'll cost to call, message, and use data overseas with our International Calling & Roaming Charges page.
Just choose the type of charge (roaming or calling abroad), then select the country you're heading to. And in seconds, you’ll see how much it'll cost to use your phone while travelling there. Easy!
How to manage roaming charges and keep data usage low.
We've got another great money-saving feature for iD Mobile customers going abroad. If you open up the iD Mobile app, you can set and adjust a Bill Cap in the Services section. This allows you to limit your monthly spend to an amount that works for you.
It basically protects you against any nasty surprises, so it'd be a great idea to set one up before you leave for the airport. But when is it a good time to set up a Bill Cap?
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If you're travelling to a country that's not included in our free roaming destinations.
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If you reckon you might go over the 30GB data limit in one of our 50 free roaming destinations.
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If you're close to an international border, there's a chance you could be exposed to inadvertent roaming — where your phone might connect to a network from a country not in our free roaming destinations. This could result in additional charges being applied.
If you're not an iD Mobile customer, or just want to keep roaming charges to a minimum, try these out:
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Switch off data roaming: If you're not too fussed about getting online when you're out and about on holiday, just toggle off data roaming in your phone's settings. You'll still be reachable by phone and text in emergencies. And then when you get back to your hotel, just use their Wi-Fi to catch up on everything you missed.
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Put your phone in Airplane Mode: This will stop you from using data, making or taking calls, and sending or receiving texts. It will still let you use Wi-Fi though.
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Stop specific apps from using data: Your phone should show you which apps are using data in your settings. So, just turn mobile data off for certain apps you won't need to use.
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Download offline apps: Google Maps can be a lifesaver when travelling somewhere new. And you can use it without needing data or Wi-Fi if you download a map of where you're going before you leave. Music and video streaming apps like Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix let you download content too.
Just got back from a once-in-a-lifetime trip? Or are you heading off on holiday soon? Let us know where you’ve been or where you’re going in the comments below.
