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The article explains how to avoid roaming charges. Nowadays, traveling without internet access is practically impossible. We use our phones for navigation software, for contacting Airbnbs and even for scanning QR codes for restaurant menus. Follow the steps below to avoid big ‘roaming’ phone bills.
When you occasionally travel outside the country where you live or have reliable connections, such as when you work or study abroad, you use your mobile phone Roaming. Therefore, you are considered to be roaming as long as you spend more time in home than you travel or use your phone more in home than you do abroad. As a result, you will pay domestic tariffs for all calls, texts and data used in the EU. “Fair use of roaming services” is what is being used here.
Your mobile The provider must send you a text message whenever you cross an EU border, alerting you that you are roaming and informing you of their fair use policy. Here are the steps are given how to avoid data roaming charges.
7 ways to avoid roaming charges
Check roaming charges
Before activating the roaming service, you should check the rates and coverage depending on the country you are visiting. If you live in the EU, you can use the RoamingEU calculator to see estimated roaming costs. If you are outside, visit your Internet Service Provider for more details.
Compare different plans
There are companies like T-Mobile and Sprint that offer postpaid international/global roaming plans with unlimited text messaging and 2G speed. They can be used in over 140 countries and the call costs US$0.20 per minute. On the other hand, there are only two pay-as-you-go operators that allow international roaming beyond North America: Google’s Project Fi and MetroPCS.
With Google’s Project Fi, you’ll pay $10 per GB and be charged only for the data you use, plus unlimited text. Voice rates are $0.20 per minute and can be cheaper over Wi-Fi. MetroPCS offers World Calling which costs an extra $10 per month and you get 200 minutes of talk time and 200 text messages (incoming unlimited). Also, you get 200MB of data while in countries like Mexico, Canada, Spain, Japan and some others.
Turn on WiFi
You can try putting your cell phone phone in flight mode and connect it to a Wi-Fi network whenever you get the chance. There are many places like cafes, malls and parks where you can connect to a Wi-Fi network completely free of charge. You don’t have to worry about high roaming fees then.
Restrict your time on the Internet
Making and receiving calls or text messages can be very expensive when traveling as much as surfing the Internet. Restrict your time on the Internet to avoid roaming charges that will hurt your wallet. Also, you can make a list of the most important things you need to do, so you don’t waste your time and money getting connected to the internet.
send text messages
Yes, it’s true, texting is kind of annoying sometimes. It’s cheaper than calling, so you should consider that a text message costs $0.50. It’s really useful when you don’t have data roaming and need to communicate with friends/family or even work. Also, you should keep in mind that there are social networks like Facebook and Twitter whose personal status can be updated just by sending a single text message. Yea! You can update your status with a text message if you have already linked your phone for the web page or application.
Download a data monitor
There are smartphone apps that monitor your data usage and let you know when you’re about to hit the set limit. With these apps, you won’t exceed your limit to avoid extra data roaming charges. Two of the most famous data monitors available for Android and iOS are Data Usage and My Data Manager. Both allow you to monitor mobile, roaming and Wi-Fi data usage. They support custom usage alarms to avoid overcharging and show which apps consume the most data (while active or in the background). If you can’t decide which one is best for you, here are the recommended ones.
Get a prepaid SIM card or eSIM
These types of cards offer cheaper rates than any international roaming rate. You can make calls, send text messages or browse the internet at the lowest prices. And here you have very good news: if you receive any of these services it will be completely free! Yes, you will not have to pay anything if someone calls you or sends you a text message while you are out of your country. In addition, these cards are available in over 195 countries.
Conclusion
Here they are final from our article how to save roaming costs. It is common knowledge that roaming can occasionally be very expensive. When preparing to travel to another nation, it is crucial to keep this in mind. The article is finished and now you know how to reduce roaming charges.