For starters — read through our guide!

Using data? Get a plan.

If you’re an AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile/Sprint iPhone customer and are planning, at any point during your trip, to use a data network to access the web or use emails, you are strongly advised to get some sort of plan (unless you plan to buy a SIM card in Europe for your phone). Otherwise, it will cost you. (AT&T, for example, charges a hefty $2.05 per MB without a plan. Sure, that sounds like pennies, but it gets ugly quickly!)

Click through to read more about international data and phone plans for AT&T customers and for Verizon customers.

T-Mobile (and former Sprint) customers who have signed up for one of the carrier’s “Go5G” plans are in much better shape, as the carrier offers free text messaging and data use throughout Europe and phone calls for $0.25 per minute. Note that T-Mobile does not have individual plans for international use. Instead, its usual “Go5G”, “Go5G Next”, or “Go5G Plus” plans are suitable for using abroad for data, texts, and calls and are already set for international roaming.

If you are a T-Mobile customer with a Go5G plan, congrats. You don’t really need to follow the rest of this article or change the way that your phone is set up. Just know that those phone calls will be billed at an additional $0.25 per minute.

How much data do you need?

Let’s imagine that you’ve signed up a plan that comes with 1 GB of data, unlimited texting, and phone calls at $0.35 per minute. What exactly does 1 GB represent?

As I mention in this post, here are some data use estimates:

• Sending or receiving an email (without attachment): Approx. 20 KB per email; (with attachment) Approx. 300 KB per email

• Loading 1 webpage: 1 MB per page

• Streaming music: 500 KB / minute (30 MB / hour)

• Streaming video (standard quality): 2 MB / minute

I’m going to assume that we’re all steering clear of streaming music and video while traveling (when not connected to Wi-Fi), and that your data use primarily consists of checking emails, using Google Maps and pulling up an occasional web page.

If you just stick to emails (and don’t open any large attachments), you could download or send thousands of normal-sized emails with the 1 GB plan! That’s, um, quite enough for me (especially while on vacation!).

But hey, everyone’s data needs are different. Check out AT&Ts handy data calculator to estimate how much data you require. This is especially handy if you plan to browse the web or (heaven forbid!) fire up your apps.

How to set up your iPhone for international travel

Okay, you’re ready to configure your phone. The following is how I set up an older iPhone for travel. Note that new phone models may have different locations for some of the settings listed below. We’ve included instructions for older and newer models.

Also, please note: Buying a European SIM card for your phone or an unlocked phone you purchase for travel is a relatively simple and cheaper alternative to all of this. Be sure to read our guide to this option, as well.

1. Turn off data roaming.

First things first. Turn off your data roaming to stop your phone from hooking up with a data network while traveling.

Chances are your carrier doesn’t operate cell towers in the country you’re visiting. Thus, if you need to access a data network, your phone will need to roam around and find a network with which it can work. By turning this off, you’re effectively blocking your phone from joining these partner networks.

Note: When you do want to use your data plan and access these data networks, you’ll flip this button back on. But remember, as a default, it’s best to keep this off.

Older iPhones

Go to: Settings > Cellular > Data Roaming. Turn off.

(To make it easy, the iPhone even says “Turn data roaming off when traveling to avoid charges when web browsing and using email and other data services.”)

Newer iPhones

For newer models, go to: Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Data Roaming. Turn off.

2. Turn off Cellular Data.

When I’m traveling in Europe, I usually turn off my cellular data, as well. Even if I’ve been assured many times by AT&T that I only need to turn off Data Roaming, I still turn off cellular data, just to make sure that my phone is blocked from using data until I want it to use data. (Apple also suggests turning both off when traveling abroad.)

By turning off your cellular data, you effectively block your phone from accessing all data networks, restricting its use to placing calls and sending SMS text messages, although you can use all of your other features (apps, email, Internet, iMessage) when you connect it to a Wi-Fi network.

Note that if you flip the order of #1 and #2 here, turning off your cellular data first, your data roaming will also turn off. You can’t roam for data if you’ve already turned off your phone’s access to data.

As with data roaming, if you want to use your data package, you’ll need to turn cellular data back on, then turn on data roaming.

For both old and new iPhone models, go to: Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data. Turn off. (Note that “Enable LTE” will also disappear as soon as you turn off Cellular Data.)

3. Cut off your apps’ cellular data connection.

Your apps can’t work without a data connection or a Wi-Fi network. Even so, you should go in through your cellular settings and manually turn your apps off to prevent them from hogging your data plan.

But wait, if you’re planning to already turn off your cellular data (by following the two previous steps), isn’t this a bit redundant? Not necessarily.

Don’t forget that many of us allow our apps to send us push notifications and to run on their own in the background. If you keep all of them activated, the moment that you turn on your data roaming in Paris to check your emails, they could kick into gear, tearing through your data allotment.

To prevent this, take a moment to scroll through your list of apps and turn off their data connection, one by one. (Note that you’ll need to do this prior to turning off your cellular data, as turning off your cellular data makes these buttons inaccessible.)

Once these apps have had their cellular data access turned off, they will still be usable over a Wi-Fi network. If you wish to use cellular data for these apps (for example, using Google Maps over cellular data, which I do all the time from abroad), simply turn them back on when you need them!

Older iPhones

Go to: Settings > Cellular > Use Cellular Data For. Turn off apps, one by one.

Newer iPhones

Go to: Settings > Cellular. Scroll down past the “Add eSim” section to the apps. Turn off apps, one by one.

4. Reset your statistics and monitor your data usage.

This one is fun and essential. At the very bottom of the “Cellular” page is a simple little link that states, “Reset Statistics”. Once you’ve arrived abroad, click this link and start tracking your international data usage. You’ll see your total data usage and your telephone usage at the top of the “Cellular” page (under “Cellular Data Usage”).

Keep track of your usage here and you shouldn’t come home to any unpleasant billing surprises, especially if you’ve purchased the right data package for your trip.

The only hiccup with this, unfortunately, is that the stats aren’t always totally up-to-date. It turns out that AT&T can have delays in reporting international data usage (as international carriers are actually providing you with the network and then, later, reporting it back to AT&T). I’d suggest erring on the side of caution here.

For both older and newer iPhone models, go to: Settings > Cellular > Reset Statistics. Click it.

5. Turn “Fetch New Data” to “Manual” to stop automatic email downloads.

When I’m traveling, I also turn off my phone’s ability to automatically check and download emails. Even if my data roaming is almost always set to “off” (preventing me from accessing emails), I still don’t like my phone automatically fetching anything the moment I turn the data roaming to “on”.

Older iPhones

Go to: Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data. Switch “Push” to “Off” and click “Manually” at the bottom of the screen under “Fetch”.

Newer iPhones

Go to: Settings > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data. Switch “Push” to “Off” and click “Manually” at the bottom of the screen under “Fetch”.

Once switched to “Manually”, you’ll be able to check and send emails by turning on your data roaming and cellular data, then opening your mail program. Simple.

6. Turn off iMessage.

This one drives me crazy. iMessage has made it quick and easy to send messages to other iMessage users on Apple devices over a Wi-Fi network without being charged for sending a text. That’s great, but iMessage uses a Wi-Fi network to send and receive your messages, so if you’re not connected to Wi-Fi, it won’t work. Your message will just sit out there, and not get delivered until you connect to Wi-Fi.

The solution? I choose to send old fashioned text messages (through SMS) when traveling. AT&T’s International Pass includes unlimited SMS texting, so these texts don’t cost me anything extra to send.

To force your phone (any model) to turn off iMessage, go to: Settings > Messages > iMessage. Turn off.

Note that you might still encounter iMessage problems, even with it turned off. Others might send you an iMessage, but it won’t be delivered until you connect to a Wi-Fi network. When I’m traveling and expecting a text from a friend and suspect that iMessage is to blame, I sometimes send them a text to say, “If you’re trying to text me, make sure your iMessage is turned off!”

Call home for pennies (or free) with the Skype iPhone app.

7. Paranoid? Put your phone in airplane mode.

If you’ve followed the steps above, you’ve now turned off your data roaming, cellular data, apps and email from running in the background. What’s still working?

Well, for starters, your phone! You will now still be able to make and receive telephone calls (provided that you’ve called your carrier and have activated your phone for international use). You will also be able to send and receive regular old SMS text messages (if you’ve turned off iMessage).

However, this might still make you uncomfortable. Perhaps you don’t want people to be able to get in touch with you. (Don’t forget that you’ll be charged for incoming calls and for listening to your voicemail.)

If this is you (and it was me for many years, so there’s no shame), you can place your phone in “airplane mode” and simply rely upon Wi-Fi networks to use the web, send emails, and use apps. This is a great solution if you want to place calls through your Skype app, for example, and never want to pay for a call.

Traveling through Europe on airplane mode does offer peace of mind, as it takes away any insecurity that your phone is secretly drinking up your data plan. However, it can also feel quite limiting, as you won’t be able to send and receive text messages in real time (except through iMessage or Facebook Messenger when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network), or place standard phone calls.

If this is for you, go to: Settings > Airplane Mode. Turn on.

If using your phone in Airplane Mode, note that you’ll need to then switch “Wi-Fi” to “On” and choose a Wi-Fi network.

Also in our Guide to using an American iPhone in Europe

Using an American iPhone in Europe… without Going Broke

Tips for AT&T Customers

Tips for Windows and Android Customers

Tips for Verizon Customers

AT&T vs Verizon: A comparison of international plans

Note: This article was updated in December 2024 with extensive new information.

The post How to set up your American iPhone when traveling in Europe to avoid a billing “surprise” appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Verizon customers heading to Europe with their smartphones have similar options to AT&T customers. Verizon offers two main international bundles, priced at $10 a day (per line) or $100 per month (per line).

Verizon’s two bundles

Some notes

A few notes on these international bundles:

• For trips longer than 10 days, the monthly plan can be a better deal but will have more limits on texts, calls, and data.

• If you plan to use any data at all during your trip (even quick email checks), we’d strongly suggest at least getting the daily bundle, as the data charges for “pay as you go” are very expensive.

• Note that prices are per line, so if you’re traveling with a significant other or family, the costs will quickly go up when you add more people.

• For the daily plan, you are only charged on days you use your phone to call, text, access data, or listen to voicemails.

• Check out this page on Verizon’s website for more information on these plans.

• Prices and plans above, as of October 14, 2021

Will your phone work in Europe?

Before leaving home, you should contact Verizon to make sure that your phone is able to work abroad. Some older phones (specifically those that are “CDMA only”) are not “global ready” and therefore will not work on Europe’s network. If your phone is built with global-friendly technology (for example, 4G LTE), it will be able to work, once it’s activated.

To determine whether or not your phone will work, answer these questions on Verizon’s trip planner website.

Note: Even if your phone is technically “global-ready”, you’ll still need to call Verizon before you leave to make sure that it’s been activated for international dialing. Don’t just head to Europe assuming that you’ll “pay as you go”. Call first to make sure your account has been cleared for international use.

Help, I can’t use my phone!

If you’re one of the unlucky ones who can’t use your Verizon smartphone in Europe, we feel your pain.

However, using Wi-Fi networks will still work. The best bet is to put the phone on “airplane mode” and turn off data roaming just in case. Then, surf away on free Wi-Fi networks. I know, it’s not great (you can’t really text or make calls, except on Skype), but it’s something.

Verizon’s “Trip Planner”

The best bet is to use the trip planner service on Verizon’s website for exact rates, plans and availability.

Also, remember to cancel the monthly international plan as soon as you return. The daily plan should only activate when you use your phone in Europe, but check for any surprise charges upon your return home. Otherwise you could be paying a hefty price for services you aren’t using.

Scrap all this… and buy a SIM card in Europe

Instead of buying a special international plan for your phone, you could also buy a SIM card in Europe (a small electronic card that’s inserted into your phone that controls your phone number). Buying a SIM card from a European carrier is a very cost-effective way to use your phone abroad, although it requires an unlocked phone (most Verizon smartphones are unlocked, but you should check) and will mean that your phone number will change (unless you bring along another phone specifically for use with the SIM card).

Read all about this in our guide to buying a SIM card in Europe.

Our Guide to using an American iPhone in Europe

Using an American iPhone in Europe… without Going Broke

Tips for AT&T Customers

Tips for Windows, Android and Blackberry Customers

Setting up your phone to avoid a billing “surprise”

AT&T vs Verizon: A comparison of international plans

The post iPhone in Europe: Information for Verizon customers appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

If you’re an AT&T customer planning to use your smartphone abroad, you have some choices to make before you leave home. These will impact how you use your phone and how much you’ll be charged. These choices include whether or not you expect to use your iPhone abroad to:

• Phone: place and receive international phone calls

• Text: send and receive text messages

• Web: browse the web and check emails on your phone

• Apps: use iPhone applications.

AT&T offers one comprehensive “package” to address each issue. Note that AT&T recently made some big changes to their international offerings when they introduced the add-on International Day Pass package. If you were used to the old options (separate packages for texting, calling, data, etc.), you’re in for a surprise, as they’ve all been bundled together.

Also, please note: If you’re serious about smartphone savings while traveling, be sure to read our guide to buying a SIM card in Europe for American phones. Using a European SIM card requires you to unlock your phone (or bring along a cheapo unlocked phone to use), and can lead to big savings.

AT&T’s International Day Pass

AT&T offers one add-on plan, called the International Day Pass, for international usage. This package is added on top of whatever monthly charges you currently incur. To get these rates, call AT&T before taking off and have them add the package to your plan. You may also log in to your AT&T account and add the International Day Pass yourself. It is possible to have them add the plan from abroad, but it’s a better idea to set it up before taking off.

(Note: This package does not expire. Instead, it only activates when you use your phone outside of the U.S. However, double check once home to make sure that the plan has paused and that you’re not still paying for it!)

Here are the details for AT&T’s International Day Pass plan for iPhone and Android phone use throughout Europe:

• Price: $10 per day for up to 10 days, and 50% off each additional line. After 10 days, each additional day is free so long as you are within one billing cycle. The pass resets during a new billing cycle.
• Text: Unlimited SMS
• Calls: Unlimited to the U.S., within the country you are located, and countries included in the International Day Pass list
• Data: Unlimited if you have an unlimited plan, otherwise, it’s the same amount as your current data package

Note that the International Day Pass charges you $10 each day that you use call, text, voicemail, or data features on your phone. Once the 24 hours are up, it resets and will only charge you another day if you access those features. You won’t be charged if you take a digital detox for part of your trip.

Another crucial thing to note is that this pass works with your billing cycle. If you pay for a full 10 days and then your billing cycle resets and you use the International Day Pass for another 10 days, the cost will apply to each billing cycle.

For more information on the International Day Pass stipulations, check out this FAQ from AT&T.

Making telephone calls from abroad

If you plan to use your phone to make and receive calls, the International Day Pass allows unlimited free calls to the U.S., within the country you are staying, and to more than 100 countries included on this list.

Cheapo tips

• Placing and receiving: Don’t forget that you’ll be charged the International Day Pass daily fee for placing and receiving calls. Even if you answer the phone and say, “Don’t call me, I’m in Florence! (click),” you’ll be charged $10 for the following 24 hour period.

• Voicemail: Yes, listening to your voicemail will cost you, as you’ll need to connect to your carrier.

• Use Skype instead of calling: For calling home, I prefer to use the Skype app on my phone when I have a free Wi-Fi connection. Using Skype (or other apps, such as Google Talk), you can call another user for free, or call a telephone for just pennies per minute.

• Texting: I recommend using text messages in place of short phone calls, whenever possible, but note that the International Day Pass includes unlimited SMS texts only, not iMessage. Using iMessage on your iPhone will count toward your data package, which may or may not be unlimited depending on your usual plan. More details on this below.

• Data roaming: If you don’t want to be charged the $10 fee for the International Day Pass on certain days, don’t forget to deactivate your data roaming. (See more tips for how to set up your iPhone when traveling abroad.)

Sending and receiving text messages

As for texting, without a plan, it costs $.50 to send text messages throughout much of Europe ($1.30 if the message includes a photo or video). However, AT&T’s package offers free unlimited texting. This is good news for those of us who rely upon texting to communicate while traveling.

What about receiving text messages? You’ll pay for these just as you would for receiving a text message back home. If you have unlimited texting, you’ll be able to receive unlimited texts abroad at no extra charge.

Cheapo tips

• Using iMessage: What about just using iMessage or another messaging app to send text messages while traveling? You could do that, but don’t forget that you’ll only be able to send and receive these messages when you’re running the app. Thus, either you have to fire up the app and use expensive data (not recommended unless you have an unlimited data package and thus unlimited data for the International Day Pass), or you’ll have to connect to a Wi-Fi network. The latter option will work, but it prevents you from sending and receiving when you’re out and about, resulting in delays in receiving messages.

Using email, browsing the web, and using apps

If you plan to send and receive emails, browse the web or use applications (such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram), you’re going to want to have the International Day Pass, as you’ll be using data. If you don’t have a package, then you’re strongly cautioned to only use these features when connected to a Wi-Fi network!

AT&T’s International Day Pass offers the same amount of data you have on your regular phone plan. If you have unlimited data, no problem. If you only have a certain amount, here are some estimates of the amount of data required to:

• Send or receive an email (without attachment): Approx. 20 KB per email

• Send or receive an email (with attachment): Approx. 300 KB per email

• Load a webpage: 1 MB per page

• Stream music: 500 KB / minute (30 MB / hour)

• Stream video (standard quality): 2 MB / minute

Cheapo tips

• Using data? Get a package: If you plan to at least check your email every once in a while (without a Wi-Fi connection), I recommend getting the International Day Pass. Checking your email even occasionally without a package will quickly become very expensive.

• Maps use data to load: Maps are confusing, as they require data to initially load, but your GPS location can load without data. Got that? For example, using Wi-Fi, you could load up a map of your neighborhood in London and then, without any data use, pull up that map later and see your location. However, to load a new map with a Wi-Fi connection (or do a search or zoom in), you’ll need to use data. I find this one of the handiest data uses, and another good reason to sign up for the International Day Pass.

Sticking to Wi-Fi

Of course, if you just stick to Wi-Fi for the duration of your trip, you don’t need to add on the International Day Pass. For years I traveled in “Airplane” mode, with my telephone basically disconnected, but my Wi-Fi fired up. This allowed me to use emails, maps, Facebook, Skype, and the internet only when I was connected to a free Wi-Fi network.

That’s still an option. However, be aware of the obvious drawbacks of relying on Wi-Fi: You’re lost without a connection.

These days I opt for the International Day Pass, take advantage of the unlimited texting, make infrequent and short phone calls, and use data to check emails (but never open attachments) and use Google Maps. And I never open other big apps (like Facebook, Skype or Twitter) unless I’m connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Monitor your usage

Even if you opt for the International Day Pass, it’s a very good (even critical) idea to monitor how much data you use, especially if you do not have an unlimited plan for data. Checking data usage is easy on an iPhone. You can see your Cellular Data Usage by clicking into “Settings” –> “Cellular”. Once abroad, the first thing you should do is scroll to the bottom and click on “Reset Statistics”.

You’re set — now stick to your plan, or upgrade if you’re about to go over!

Also in our Guide to Using an American iPhone in Europe:

Using an American iPhone in Europe… without Going Broke

Tips for Verizon Customers

Tips for Windows, Android and Blackberry Customers

Setting up your phone to avoid a billing “surprise”

AT&T vs Verizon: A comparison of international plans

The post iPhone in Europe: Information for AT&T customers appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.