Using iPhone when overseas.

[Mal]

Still come some of the "dialers" around today.

They are pretty rare these days since most people have moved from dial-up to broadband, hence no modem ( in the dial-out sense) connection required.

They also exist for some mobile phones as well.

 

[greenfrog86]

Add me to the list of people who have successfully used their iphone (and blackberry for that matter) overseas with the data roaming turned off.

I used both my phones in the US last year with data roaming turned off, but wifi enabled. Used free or 'free because they didn't put a password on their wifi' lots and didn't get charged anything for data roaming.
I would argue that blackberrys are more data hungry but its 'data off' switch worked well too.

As others have suggested, there is no need to toggle data roaming on/off when using wifi. I turned it off and left it off the whole time.

Would really recommend taking your iphone as the maps etc over wifi are a great tool when planning where to go etc.

One poster was thanking starbucks for free wifi - we found that you had to pay for it, but it was free for customers of a local phone carrier. Just keep an eye out gor open wifi networks - many many people still seem a bit slow about putting passwords on thewir connections!

 

[drewbles]

One poster was thanking starbucks for free wifi - we found that you had to pay for it, but it was free for customers of a local phone carrier. Just keep an eye out gor open wifi networks - many many people still seem a bit slow about putting passwords on thewir connections!

On the note of 'free wifi', there's often a lot of T-Mobile hot spot offers floating around on the internet. I managed to pickup a free 30 day pass, which was infinitely useful (considering all the Admirals Clubs have T-Mobile hot spots and they don't hand out the free cards anywhere except the Flagship lounges, unless you're an A/C member). Have a look at where you're going to be, and check out T-Mobile, AT&T and other hot spots around your area, then, scour the net for some voucher codes.

 

[js]

I've had some good and bad experiences with iPhone overseas. The bad bits were some damn expensive lessons The other downside is being overseas and knowing how useful iPhone could be (in particular GPS) and having to decide whether or not to use it due to costs.

Good experiences: Voda AU SIM works very happily everywhere I've been, just too expensive to use for data apart from in "emergencies".

In UK/Europe, getting a T-Mobile UK SIM seemed to be particularly good value when I looked around. Got a cheapish SIM-only plan (I think it was GBP25 or thereabouts) with free unlimited UK data and European data at a (relatively) very good rate - about 1/10th of what it would have been with Voda AU roaming.

My worst experience was in Japan recently, when I got a Softbank SIM-only plan that purported to have unlimited data. On day one of using it, I got a warning text message (in Japanese) saying I'd exceeded JPY30,000 usage. I stopped immediately. Total bill ended up being in excess of JPY160,000 (about $2,000). Never got a straight answer for how it was calculated, other than a "number of packets" and a "per packet" rate.

The only justification Softbank could give was their SIM had been used in a non-Softbank phone, but nowhere did their terms say this (in English at least), and in any case, what sort of oddity is selling SIM-only services if they can only be used with a carrier's existing handsets.

Can't imagine even Voda AU roaming would have been anywhere near this as I really didn't use it for very much. Never managed to get this bill reduced or waived. Such complete B.S., as I could have easily bought an identical iPhone 32GB 3GS there with unlimited data for about $30 a month on 2 year terms..... Certainly put a dampener on the rest of the trip (although I didn't find out the true cost of that day's usage until about 45 days later when the first bill arrived).

 

[djc0]

Use airplane mode!

I've travelled all over the world with my iPhone and never had a problem. The key is to turn airplane mode on, then turn wifi back on. I'm amazed this has only been mentioned once in this thread so far!

If you're not planning to use your phone for network stuff (calls etc - if you are then you need to put a contingency plan into place anyway, e.g. buy a sim from a local company) why would you not do this? You're saving your battery for one thing (otherwise the phone will be constantly searching for something that's not there), and zero chance of an unfriendly bill upon your return.

Simple to do, works like a charm, and worry free. There's no need to ever have a problem if you do this.

[posted from Spain where by iPhone is doing just fine!]

 

[colin5353]

I'm one of those people that learnt the hard way! A trip to HK cost me $700 to Telstra, & Hawaii was about $400 tho I thought I'd done the right thing and was only using the hotels free wi-fi but hadnt turned off data roaming.

However, just returned from SFO where for the week I turned off 3G roaming, and only used wi-fi connections, there are loads of unsecured public and private wi-fi's in SFO. Lots of people have unlimited downloads at home and dont bother with passwords on their home networks. Loads of stores/cafes have free wi-fi. And the City of SFO have public access wi-fi in some areas, eg: Union Sq.

For calls/SMS I bought a T-Mobile Nokia ($15USD) and used that. Having just checked my Telstra phone bill, I have no data downloads for the week, and only 3 SMS prior to getting the T-Mobile sim.

 

[holdenvxman]

You can check "Cellular network data" in your usage section of your setting. I'm in Bali as I write this and no data has been used... Using skype on wifi if a great feature

 

[Harry G]

like other posters, I am not familiar with the I phone but you have to contact your network provider to "switch on" international roaming so if one is experiencing difficulty in "finding" on the iphone where to switch off data download, I would think that a call to the network providor to turn off data download to the phone would be the way to go....... when back home from overseas, switch it on...I should not assume but I assume data is a seperate entity on whatever plane you are on and yes, is a real GOOD moeny spinner for the greedy phone companies who certainly prey on people who do not undertsand how it works!!

 

[drewbles]

Re: Use airplane mode!

I've travelled all over the world with my iPhone and never had a problem. The key is to turn airplane mode on, then turn wifi back on. I'm amazed this has only been mentioned once in this thread so far!

If you're not planning to use your phone for network stuff (calls etc - if you are then you need to put a contingency plan into place anyway, e.g. buy a sim from a local company) why would you not do this? You're saving your battery for one thing (otherwise the phone will be constantly searching for something that's not there), and zero chance of an unfriendly bill upon your return.

Simple to do, works like a charm, and worry free. There's no need to ever have a problem if you do this.

[posted from Spain where by iPhone is doing just fine!]

The reason this hasn't been mentioned is that this turns your iPhone into an iPod Touch.

The OP wants to use his iPhone o/s as a phone.

Disabling roaming data is all that's required to ensure you do not rack up data bills.

 

[nh123]

Good news - from 22nd February 2010, Vodafone (VHA) is offering International Roaming Data Bundles for corporate customers who roam using Mobile Broadband, Blackberry smartphone, iPhone or other mobile

I have just returned from overseas when I used my iphone all week for email on one of these plans to avoid hefty fees (although I have not seen the bill yet to confirm!).

A couple of points of caution though - before you depart make sure you put the plan in place and check on the Vodafone site that the countries you are travelling to are covered.

 

[drewbles]

Good news - from 22nd February 2010, Vodafone (VHA) is offering International Roaming Data Bundles for corporate customers who roam using Mobile Broadband, Blackberry smartphone, iPhone or other mobile

I have just returned from overseas when I used my iphone all week for email on one of these plans to avoid hefty fees (although I have not seen the bill yet to confirm!).

A couple of points of caution though - before you depart make sure you put the plan in place and check on the Vodafone site that the countries you are travelling to are covered.

These aren't so new...

They're also very poor value compared to what is out there. It's still cheaper than pay-as-you-go roaming, but it's still a rip off ($49/month for 25mb? yeouch).

 

[drron]

Just be careful what you use it for-
Rape charges dropped after evidence gleaned from iPhone

 

[Flashback]

Just be careful what you use it for-
Rape charges dropped after evidence gleaned from iPhone

The keyboard logging cache means an expert can retrieve anything typed on it for up to 12 months. Its internal mapping and ''geotags'' attached to photos indicate where a user has been.

Kind of scary! :shock:

 

[significance]

The other problem with Vodfone data bundles is that they don't pro-rate. My monthly bill cycle starts on the 8th. Recently, I had an overseas trip from the 2nd of July until the 14th. After a few inquiries, I found that a $50 roaming pack would have cost $100, as I'd have needed to pay in full for the months on both sides of the bill cut-off.

So I did the sensible thing and bought local sims. $40 in Canada bought me a sim and much more data than the roaming pack offered. $20 in NZ achieved the same effect. The only minor problem was having a different phone number in each case.

 

[joycelyn]

About to (well hopefully) head off overseas for the first time since getting my new iPhone.

Given i'm sure plenty of you use them, does anyone know a 100% effective way of ensuring that it doesn't attempt to source any data while roaming. The last thing I want is to come home to a $5000 data bill...

I know in settings you can turn off "data roaming", but does this work for every application, email etc etc? I'm guessing that the phone detects its "roaming" overseas and just doesn't use the data stuff? I've just checked mine and it's had "data roaming" off since I started using it and obviously has been online.
I recently returned from a trip to New York to a $1600 data a bill. Amazing as I used Wi- fi the entire trip. Unfortunately I did not realise that the so called smart phones Blackberry and Iphone latch on to the stronger signal. Long Story short last week I had my data blocked while I was in Bali. The advice I received from my carrier is to block data before you leave.

 

[Flashback]

About to (well hopefully) head off overseas for the first time since getting my new iPhone.

Given i'm sure plenty of you use them, does anyone know a 100% effective way of ensuring that it doesn't attempt to source any data while roaming. The last thing I want is to come home to a $5000 data bill...

I know in settings you can turn off "data roaming", but does this work for every application, email etc etc? I'm guessing that the phone detects its "roaming" overseas and just doesn't use the data stuff? I've just checked mine and it's had "data roaming" off since I started using it and obviously has been online.
I recently returned from a trip to New York to a $1600 data a bill. Amazing as I used Wi- fi the entire trip. Unfortunately I did not realise that the so called smart phones Blackberry and Iphone latch on to the stronger signal. Long Story short last week I had my data blocked while I was in Bali. The advice I received from my carrier is to block data before you leave.

Blocking data at the carrier level before I go is what I often do and it works a treat.

 

[drewbles]

About to (well hopefully) head off overseas for the first time since getting my new iPhone.

Given i'm sure plenty of you use them, does anyone know a 100% effective way of ensuring that it doesn't attempt to source any data while roaming. The last thing I want is to come home to a $5000 data bill...

I know in settings you can turn off "data roaming", but does this work for every application, email etc etc? I'm guessing that the phone detects its "roaming" overseas and just doesn't use the data stuff? I've just checked mine and it's had "data roaming" off since I started using it and obviously has been online.
I recently returned from a trip to New York to a $1600 data a bill. Amazing as I used Wi- fi the entire trip. Unfortunately I did not realise that the so called smart phones Blackberry and Iphone latch on to the stronger signal. Long Story short last week I had my data blocked while I was in Bali. The advice I received from my carrier is to block data before you leave.

As of iOS 4.0, there is an option in the Network Settings to disable data altogether. This will cease all data services, not just roaming. When you get home, just turn data back on.

 

[ksthommo]

Telstra now unlock Iphones for free no longer attempting to charge $150

Telstra removes unlock fee for Apple iPhone for jet-setting Aussies - iPhone 4, Next G | Telstra Exchange

Got mine done a few months back before this came out, (no charge as we have the
ripoff telstra home phone).

 

[Dougal]

I am also one of the unlucky people who came home to a hefty bill for $6,200 and was in shock for days as I too hadn't turned off the data roaming not knowing I had too as
we had only bought the phone a few days prior from Telstra Business Centre and told them specifically why we wanted it. We had used it so sparingly whilst away in Europe for 5 weeks to be told when we rang the office 6 days before we came home that we had a bill for $4,200 and would be wanted to talk to Telstra. Turned it off and didn't used it again but by the time we got home the bill had amounted to $6,200. Alls well that ends well though and a very friendly person from Telstra said we should never have been sold this and should have been told of the dangers, we ended up paying $300 which was a fair call for our actual usage.

 

[Lawlass]

As others have said, simply turning off data roaming avoids any data charges and still allows you to use it as a phone and to use the net at wifi hotspots.

What surprised me is that even with data off, I was able to use the location tools in TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet (i.e. click on "what's nearby" for hotel/restaurant locations in your immediate vicinity) and they didn't cost a cent. I guess the GPS function is different to the data, but the iPhone Maps function needs you to be wifi connected.