How do I ensure roaming is set up?

Having trouble connecting to a network while you're overseas? This guide will help you solve all your international roaming issues.

Having trouble connecting to a network while you're overseas? This guide will help you solve all your international roaming issues.

1. Check that airplane mode is switched off

It’s an obvious one, but it’s a good place to start. If you’ve done the right thing and turned on airplane mode when you set off on your journey, don’t forget to switch it back off! If you can see a little airplane symbol at the top of your phone, go into your settings and turn it off.

2. Check that roaming is activated on your iD Mobile plan

Like we said, all iD Mobile plans come with roaming already activated. But if you’re having issues, it’s worth double-checking this. Log in to the iD Mobile app or My Account online, go to the services page, and make sure ‘Roaming’ is toggled on.

3. Turn your phone off then back on

You’ll be surprised how often this works. Turn your phone off for a couple of minutes, then turn it back on, and your phone will search for a local network.

4. Still no joy? Try to manually select a network

When you’re in one of our 50 Inclusive Roaming destinations you should automatically connect to one of our partner networks.

Here’s a breakdown of them by destination:

If you don’t automatically connect to one of those networks, try to do it manually.

If you’ve got an iPhone

1. Go to ‘Settings’
2. Select ‘Mobile Data’, then ‘Network Selection’, and turn off ‘Automatic’
3. Wait until the available networks appear. This can take up to two minutes
4. Select one of our partner networks (see table)
5. That’s it! Your iPhone should now connect to the network.

If you’ve got an Android phone (Samsung)

1. Go to ‘Settings’
2. Select ‘Connections’
3. Select ‘Mobile networks’ or ‘Mobile data’
4. Select ‘Network operators’
5. Select ‘Search networks’
6. Wait until the available networks appear. This can take up to two minutes
7. Select one of our partner networks (see table)
8. That’s it! Your phone should now connect to the network.

If you have an Android phone other than a Samsung and can’t find your manual network selection option, check out our settings tool on instructions on how to do so using your device.
If none of the above steps works and you can’t connect to a network overseas, ask below and one of the members of the community will assist you.

Please note: Roaming relies on overseas mobile networks. They're outside our control so we can't guarantee the quality or availability of the roaming services they provide.

1. Switch your phone to 2G/3G only

We’re a 4G network, but it’s not available in all countries. In fact, a majority of countries still run on a 2G network. If your phone is set up as being ‘4G active’ in its settings, it may be only searching for a 4G/3G network which is why you’re latching on to a weak network.
Go to your phone settings and switch your phone to 2G/3G only – this should hopefully pick up a stronger signal.

2. Manually select a network

Sometimes we have more than one network partner in the same country, and you might find that one network has a stronger signal than the other. You can view available networks by country and find out how to manually select your preferred network by following step 4.

1. Make sure data roaming is enabled on your phone

Data roaming can be switched on and off in your phone settings. Sometimes it’s off by default, so check to make sure it’s turned on.

2. Check your APN settings

If you can make and receive calls and texts, but not use data, it’s most likely because your APN settings are not up to date.
Go to your phone settings and select ‘Mobile Data Network’ to open your mobile data settings. Then in the APN field, make sure ‘id’ is entered. This should hopefully solve your data issue!