Despite the elimination of roaming charges in Europe, calling, texting or connecting to the internet remains relatively expensive from a foreign country. To avoid generating an off-plan and having the unpleasant surprise of ending up with a telephone bill of several hundred euros, it is therefore better to deactivate data services while roaming on your Android smartphone..
Everything you need to know to enjoy the internet from abroad
Since June 15, 2017, the European Union (28 member states) as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein have abolished roaming charges (additional costs) applied by mobile operators. Concretely, this means that all subscribers will be able to use their mobile phone when they travel in Europe under the same conditions as in their country of origin.
Calls, SMS and MMS will therefore be billed at the same rate at no additional cost as if you were in mainland France. The agreements made by your telephone operator with their European counterparts will allow you to continue to benefit from all your advantages without changing your telephone or subscription..
Be careful however with internet connections. The data envelope available abroad is sometimes reduced. This is the case, for example, for the Free mobile operator.
The Free subscription at 19.99 euros offers 25 GB of internet roaming in Europe and in more than 65 countries such as the USA, Canada, Switzerland, Brazil, Tunisia, Russia, Mexico, Argentina etc. If the limit is exceeded, additional costs will be charged to customers..
At Orange, calls, texts and internet included in your package are available at no additional cost when you travel in the European Union but also in Switzerland and Andorra. For more distant countries, it depends on the type of subscription.
In any case, it should not be forgotten that the abolition of roaming charges only concerns the 28 states of the European Union plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Remember that Switzerland, Monaco and Andorra are not affected by this European directive. Anyway, it is better to contact the customer service of its operator to find out if you can use your package abroad at no additional cost. Here are some tips for making a call abroad.
Disable data roaming on an Android smartphone
The sun, the beach and the carefree summer. To travel with peace of mind, here is an unstoppable tip to avoid any unpleasant surprises on your telephone bill. You may not know your Android phone has a function to block its internet connection abroad.
This device can be very useful for people residing in a border region. Many forget it and yet a phone may mistakenly connect to a relay terminal of a foreign mobile operator while you are in France.
- Open your phone settings
- Select the Network and Internet option
- Click on mobile networks
- Press the roaming button to deactivate data connections abroad
- The switch must be gray
On some phone models the process is slightly different. Here are the steps to follow from your phone settings.
- Click on the heading Wireless and networks
- Uncheck the Mobile data option
- You will have to remember to reactivate the option after returning from vacation
For people wishing to use the internet abroad, know that your mobile operator will send you an automatic SMS as soon as your smartphone hooks up the relay antenna of a foreign partner operator. In this message you will find the conditions of use of your package in the country in which you reside.