Travelling abroad, what should I turn off?

[dacapo]

Thanks, this thread is very helpful.

Maybe it's overkill, but on my next trip overseas tomorrow to Japan, I'm planning on:

1) enabling call-forwarding to my home land line (as I board the plane)
2) turn off data roaming & 3G
3) turn on airplane mode.

Then, leave the phone like this until I land back in the States.

Hopefully this will be adequate? (Do I still need to turn off 'push' on mail, etc?)

 

[Daveoc64]

Thanks, this thread is very helpful.

Maybe it's overkill, but on my next trip overseas tomorrow to Japan, I'm planning on:

1) enabling call-forwarding to my home land line (as I board the plane)
2) turn off data roaming & 3G
3) turn on airplane mode.

Then, leave the phone like this until I land back in the States.

Hopefully this will be adequate? (Do I still need to turn off 'push' on mail, etc?)

With Airplane mode on the phone wont be able to use any sort of data, so e-mail wouldn't work and consequently you shouldn't get charged for it.

Just remember that there's no 2G network in Japan, so if you need to use your phone for calls/text messages in Japan you'll need to put 3G back on.

 

[Ehlun]

Take out the sim card?

 

[GermanSuplex]

You can turn airplane mode on to restrict all data, but then manually enable wi-fi. Your phone will not send/receive any cellular data, but can connect to a wi-fi network to retrieve things like email or to surf the web/maps/etc.

I turned Airplane mode off, then turned Wi-Fi on. I communicated via email only when I was gone. If I had Skype, I could have done that, but really, I didn't have any issues. I told everybody to contact my hotel and send me an email if there was an emergency.

When I got my bill that included the days I was on holiday, I had no charges during my overseas trip. My bill was the same as always.

 

[spotz770]

Yes....airplane mode + wifi.

Google voice gives you voicemail that forwards to email, AND gives you free texting via wifi.

The one downside I found recently (3GS) was that with airplane mode on, no GPS. I couldn't find a combo that gave me GPS with no cellular connection...but I ended up having to use some voice anyway because Skype didn't fly in most of Belize.

 

[Daveoc64]

Yes....airplane mode + wifi.

Google voice gives you voicemail that forwards to email, AND gives you free texting via wifi.

The one downside I found recently (3GS) was that with airplane mode on, no GPS. I couldn't find a combo that gave me GPS with no cellular connection...but I ended up having to use some voice anyway because Skype didn't fly in most of Belize.

I don't see how you could use Wi-Fi in Airplane mode.

With iOS4, the "Cellular Data" toggle (set it to off) and the "Data Roaming" toggle (set it to off) should be more than enough to ensure you don't get billed.

 

[dacapo]

I don't see how you could use Wi-Fi in Airplane mode.

With iOS4, the "Cellular Data" toggle (set it to off) and the "Data Roaming" toggle (set it to off) should be more than enough to ensure you don't get billed.

Back from Japan today; used my iPhone with Airplane mode and 3g off and was able to access wireless networks when available. Checked my AT&T account online and seems to have no charges whatsoever, so I'm good. Thanks for all the comments.

[On a side note, hardly anyone in Japan seemed to have an iPhone though and instead had white or silver flip-type phones, which was quite interesting.]

 

[fedup flyer]

So much bad info on this topic that has been covered many times.

Data Roaming off = No data roaming and it works well. This is all that is needed of you dont want data roaming away from your home carrier

Cell Data off = Made for pay as you go type data plans. Overkill to turn this off and data roaming if you are roaming internationally.

Airplane mode= turns off all radios on the iphone but wifi and bluetooth can still be enabled after airplane mode is engaged.

As far as the OP having call forwarding turned on and putting the phone in airplane mode is overkill. Roaming rates aren't really that high in most countries such as in Asia and Europe.

I have been using my iphone around the world for the past 3 yrs and it is a godsend with mobile data. I just wish the iphone had a better antenna and Profiles.

 

[zorinlynx]

Keep in mind that airplane mode shuts off the GPS too (which I always thought was stupid as GPS is receive only!)

The best solution is to set a SIM PIN and restart your phone. With the PIN unentered, the cellular radio will stay completely off, avoiding charges while still letting you use GPS, Wifi and Bluetooth without issue.

SIM PIN is in settings -> phone at the bottom. The default PIN is usually 1111; you can leave it set to that for this purpose.