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Question

charges abroad with data turned off

  • July 26, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 7 views

  • Community Member

Hi I am currently in the USA and have incurred a £25 charge for data and texts. I have had my data roaming switched off on my primary SIM since arriving and have been using an eSIM so please can you advise how this charge has been incurred? 

1 reply

Owethu M
iD Mobile Employee
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  • iD Mobile Employee
  • July 27, 2026

Hi ​@LeeW

 

Thank you for reaching out, and I'm sorry to hear about the unexpected charges while you're in the USA.

 

Having data roaming turned off on your primary SIM and using an eSIM would normally prevent roaming charges. However, if your iD Mobile SIM connected to a local network at any point while you were in the USA, even briefly, chargeable usage such as texts or mobile data could still have been recorded. Smartphones can also use small amounts of mobile data in the background for activities such as syncing emails, updating apps, and other system processes if the SIM connects to the network.

 

To help prevent unexpected out-of-plan roaming charges in the future, we strongly recommend setting your bill cap to £0 before travelling. This blocks chargeable usage outside of your plan allowances unless you choose to increase the cap.

 

If you'd like us to investigate the charges in more detail, please contact our Live Chat team, where one of our agents will be able to review the usage on your account and assist you further.

 

Owethu