When roaming, today’s smartphones make it easy to stay connected while travelling the world. During your international holidays, you’ll likely want to share captivating photos on Instagram, connect with family via video calls, or update your WhatsApp status at any time. Additionally, finding the right locations, checking hotel and taxi rates, and downloading travel plans are all part of the trip. However, nothing is more shocking than returning from a beautiful holiday with massive phone bills in your inbox. So, be savvy and use your smartphones wisely to avoid racking up excessive charges.
Here are some tips for you to escape from those outrageous mobile bills.
Turn off your data roaming
The obsession with cellular data runs strong for all travellers. Hence, turning off your data roaming is the primary step in saving money when travelling internationally. Data roaming is when your mobile connects to a network beyond your regular network. Thus, you receive shudder-inducing phone bills. So, go to your phone settings and click on cellular to visit the data options. From the data options, select “Turn off data roaming.” This means you cannot access the internet, email, or some apps, which prevents your phone from downloading things and app updates in the background. For an additional layer of security, turn off all Cellular Data, too, enabling your phone to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi only.
Embrace the use of Wi-Fi while traveling
It is a practice to keep in touch with your near and dear ones via calls, texts, apps, and social media while on vacation. But it does not need to be through your mobile data. Find a hotel, homestay, resort, or Airbnb that offers free Wi-Fi before travel. Today, most hotels provide free Wi-Fi in their lobbies. Therefore, you can avoid cellular data charges and connect with your family back home through free Wi-Fi. You can even use public places like cafes or parks offering free Wi-Fi to contact your loved ones quickly.
Invest in a local SIM card
Sometimes, you always end up at the same destination for your leisure trips or business trips. You even opt to stay at a place for a week or more. Hence, if you want to witness considerable savings on your phone bills, invest in a local SIM card rather than international data/call packages. A local prepaid SIM card is more affordable than any plan, helping you to pay local prices. You cannot receive incoming texts or calls from your usual number, but you can also forward them if necessary.
Use Google Maps Offline
GPS makes it easy to navigate unfamiliar areas, but it quickly chews up your data, paving the way to high mobile charges. So, download Google Maps in advance, with Wi-Fi, and then use it offline. Downloading maps beforehand helps to keep the costs down instead of using them in real time. You can even go for offline mapping tools that let you download the country and the regions ahead of time. Apart from maps, stock your devices with downloaded movies and music before your trip to keep data usage charges to a minimum.
Change the App Settings
Even if you are not actively using apps, they can run in the background, consuming your data. Sometimes, people often end up downloading high-resolution videos in the backdrop too. This results in horrendous data charges and outrageous mobile bills. The solution is to change the app settings to pick the data saver option and turn off auto-play features for videos. It is also an excellent option to turn off automatic app updates or limit which apps can access cellular data separately before an international trip.
Go for an easier and cheaper option – eSIM
An eSIM replaces the standard piece of plastic you insert into your phone with an integrated chip. In the modern days, unlike purchasing a local SIM, eSIMs are the best option to control your outrageous mobile bills. eSIMs use the concept of a “profile.” These profiles provide the configuration information that describes the eSIM and how to connect, are downloaded to your device, activated as needed, and linked immediately. Companies like Airalo utilise this opportunity to save on data roaming. It has developed a marketplace of eSIM data packages for almost everywhere in the world, aimed at travellers who stay in a country or region for a few days or weeks.
So, enjoy your travel, stay connected, use your smartphones smartly, and escape from your outrageous mobile bills with the above tips. Happy Travelling!