Originally Posted by Impreza:
“Hey all,
I’m taking my iPhone on holiday to the US next week and don’t want to get stung with roaming charges.
Just to confirm, should I just switch off data roaming within the general network settings? Anything else I need to switch off or change (eg 3G)?
Just want to make sure I’m only charged for the calls that I make/receive and the texts that I send.
Cheers for any help!
Charlie”
Just make sure that "Data Roaming" is off. That's all you need to do. I spent a couple of weeks travelling around the Western US in March/April, and all I did to prevent data roaming charges on my iPhone was make sure that "Data Roaming" was disabled (which, IIRC, is actually the default option anyway).
If "Data Roaming" is off, then it simply cannot use any roaming data, not via GPRS, not via EDGE, not via 3G. The only way it will connect for data is WiFi.
But, you should make sure that you either divert *all* calls to voicemail, or set up O2 Call Alert, as if you leave it as normal you will get charged if anyone phones you & leaves a voicemail for you while you are roaming.
http://www.o2international.co.uk/faq/Default.aspx
Originally Posted by O2:
“To divert all calls to Voicemail 901. Either use the menu on your mobile or key *21*901# and send. All your calls will then be answered by Voicemail 901, to cancel this service key ##21# send.”
http://www.o2.co.uk/support/generalh...email901abroad
http://www.o2.co.uk/support/generalh...oi/o2callalert
To use O2 Call Alert (you get a free SMS with details of each missed call) - 1710 to turn it on in place of voicemail, 1710 to turn it off again when you get back home.
Originally Posted by Inkblot:
“Well, yeah... they could turn airplane mode off when they wanted to use the iPhone as a phone, but then they'd incur charges for incoming calls and texts, wouldn't they?”
You do not get charged for incoming texts, only incoming calls. And only if you answer the call (or it goes to voicemail).
Originally Posted by skreepers:
“If they turned airplane mode off for just the phone stuff, and they haven't turned off their location servies, 3G etc there is still a big risk things could be going on on the phone..like downloading e-mails etc. Which could still cost a BOMB when they get back.
Best thing to do I'd say as someone else has, turn off all the stuff (3G etc) in the UK and don't turn it back on until you're back in the UK.”
No need. All you need to do is disable "Data Roaming".
If "Data Roaming" is disabled, no roaming data can be used at all. That's the whole point of it. The only way the phone can then connect for data use is via WiFi.
Originally Posted by dontpannic:
“Turn off Data roaming - this disables ALL DATA except WiFi, so 3G won't even connect. Also turn off location services however this is less important as there is no charge for GPS!”
If "Data Roaming" is off, I don't see why there's any need to turn off "Location Services" too. With Data Roaming disabled, it cannot use any data for the assistance server or for downloading maps unless WiFi is enabled.
Originally Posted by sla_steve:
“why are people saying to turn off location services? i plan to use this in paris to help me get about (paris offline maps app) and will be turning off data roaming. why would i incur charges using location services?
also to doubly ensure no data cost i had planeed to add a few charactes to the end of my access points before i go so they are no longer valid! Just in case!”
The iPhone 3G/3GS use
Assisted GPS, which gives a faster lock-on time than plain GPS due to connecting to an assistance server.
If "Data Roaming" is off, the only way the iPhone can then connect to an assistance server would be via a WiFi connection, as all other data is disabled.
I'm not 100% sure if if can still get a GPS fix without being able to contact an assistance server - it may just take longer, it may not work at all. Depends on the iPhone's version of A-GPS I think, whether it can work standalone or whether it needs that initial fix from an assistance server.
