Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Smartphones and Data Roaming
YoucantakeyoursmartphonetoEurope,usingittomakephonecalls(sparingly)and
send texts, but also to check email, listen to audio tours, and browse the Internet. You
may have heard horror stories about people running up outrageous data roaming bills
on their smartphones. But if you understand the options, it's easy to avoid these fees
and still stay connected. Here's how.
For voice calls and text messaging, smartphones work like any mobile phone (as
described under “Roaming with Your US Mobile Phone,” earlier). To avoid roam-
ing charges, connect to free Wi-Fi, and use Skype, FaceTime, or other apps to make
cheap or free calls (see “Calling over the Internet,” earlier).
To get online with your phone, you have two options: Wi-Fi and mobile data. Be-
cause free Wi-Fi hotspots are generally easy to find in Europe (at most hotels, many
cafés,andevensomepublicspaces),thecheapsolutionistouseWi-Fiwhereverpos-
sible.
But what if you just can't get to a hotspot? Fortunately, most providers offer an
affordable, basic data-roaming package for Europe: $25 or $30 buys you about 100
megabytes—enough to view 100 websites or send/receive 1,000 text emails. If you
don't buy a data-roaming plan in advance, but use data in Europe anyway, you'll pay
staggeringly high rates—about $20 per megabyte, or about 80 times what you'd pay
with a plan.
While a data-roaming package is handy, your allotted megabytes can go
quickly—especially if you stream videos or music. To keep a cap on usage and avoid
incurring overage charges, you can manually turn off data roaming on your phone
whenever you're not actively using it. (To turn off data and voice roaming, look
in your phone's menu—try checking under “Cellular” or “Network,” or ask your
mobile-phoneproviderhowtodoit.)AsyoutravelthroughEurope,you'lljumpfrom
hotspottohotspot.Butifyouneedtogetonlineatatimewhenyoucan'teasilyaccess
Wi-Fi—for example, to download driving directions when you're on the road to your
next hotel—you can turn on data roaming just long enough for that task, then turn it
offagain.Youcanalsolimithowmuchdatayourphoneusesbyswitchingyouremail
settings from “push” to “fetch” (you choose when to download messages rather than
havingthemautomatically“pushed”toyourdevice).Bycarefullybudgetingdatathis
way, 100 megabytes can last a long time.
If you want to use your smartphone exclusively on Wi-Fi—and not worry about
either voice or data charges—simply turn off both voice and data roaming (or put
