Want to use your iPhone abroad?
The iPhone has some fantastic built-in features that help you save money while roaming, read below to find out more.
It’s becoming increasingly common for people to take their iPhones with them when traveling. To avoid “bill-shock” from data roaming and to make the most out of your iPhone’ features, it’s important to manage data usage in an affordable way. A popular way to control costs is by using International SIM card.
You can manage your data usage in the following ways:
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Enable data roaming
Firstly, you will have to enable data roaming on your iPhone. To do this go to Settings > Cellular > Data Roaming (leave EU internet turned off). Once complete you will be able to use data in different countries. Beware that this can be expensive and a cheap International Data SIM card is likely to save you money.
Enable data roaming -
Manage which apps use cellular data
Secondly, you must select which Apps you want to use your data for. This is a great way of ensuring you only use data when you actually want to.
Settings > Cellular > Scroll down and select which Apps you want to allow.
Manage cellular usage
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Make sure iMessage doesn’t send as SMS
As a way to save costs when communicating, you can set your iPhone to only send texts as an imessage (this will save you money by not sending SMS when data or WiFi cannot be found).
Settings > Messages > Turn off ‘Send as SMS’
Turn off ‘Send as SMS’
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Turn off Automatic Updates/Downloads
One large drain of data usage comes through Automatic Updates; this allows your updates to be carried out on your iPhone without you knowing and can easily cost a small fortune.
Settings > iTunes & App Store > Make sure ‘Use Cellular Data’ is turned off.
Turn off Automatic Updates/Downloads
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Disable app notifications
Many apps will attempt to send notifications to your iPhone in order to encourage you to use them. This is likely to be unwanted when abroad and could be using your precious data, make sure only certain apps (News and Communication) are included.
Settings > Notifications > Select the appropriate app
Cheap International data bundles are becoming more popular for travelers due to their ability to dramatically reduce international roaming charges. This service allows one SIM card to be used across the world at a fraction of the price, an essential item for anyone looking to share pictures or keep in contact with family, friends and colleagues when traveling.
