December 23, 2014
We presented the situation of Regis Labeaume, the mayor of Quebec, who had a shock when opening his phone bill and saw he must pay 20,000 dollars for roaming services. Of course, he managed to solve in somehow the problem, but this kind of inconvenience often appear when it comes to use the services of your cell phone outside the borders of your country. So, look here on a list of a few tips which might help you not to get artificial and unwanted headaches in your holidays or simply when you want to travel abroad.
First, make sure you check your settings! Every smartphone has few options which permit you to block the device from using data. Generally, you have to turn off the Cellular Data from your settings and, this way, you’ll only use voice and text options which are far cheaper than Internet usage especially when you aren’t between the borders of your country. Maybe you don’t find this option or just don’t have it. For this, you can just remove your SIM card from the cell phone so this way you’ll be sure you won’t be charged in any way. This is a good option if you have an unlocked phone and can simply buy a SIM card from your destination and use it only there.
Of course, it is a good idea to also talk to your provider and ask him about specific packages for some destinations. The prices aren’t low but at least they allow you to make an idea from the start if they worth buying or not. Also, you can ask about the full costs of data, voice and text services when you travel in another country and this way you know at what you should expect. In the end it is also good to take a good look on your bill and if something doesn’t make sense than you must go to your provider and solve your dilemma because as far as I know some mistakes can appear and I am not sure how many can be in your advantage…