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Roaming Abroad, using your phone while Abroad: A Comprehensive Guide

Interestingly on this subject....

Whilst in the US, my family members kept getting the odd text from Smarty that their plans didn't include roaming there, and that a "paid add on is required for this action". Which I did think suggested something was going on, as those texts only pop through when you make a chargeable action (which is then declined due to monetary reasons).

They all use iPhones, I saw no extra charges for use on my iD bill at all.

Another oddity was the roaming partners....
My iD and Three SIMs both connected to all networks, Three PAYG was steered towards AT&T but my iD SIM seemed to pick up Verizon 5G most of the time.

Smarty was outright locked to TMobile, no other networks would connect, which I found odd given on paper they have the same agreements.

VoLTE did work on TMobile with smarty.
 
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Interestingly on this subject....

Whilst in the US, my family members kept getting the odd text from Smarty that their plans didn't include roaming there, and that a "paid add on is required for this action". Which I did think suggested something was going on, as those texts only pop through when you make a chargeable action (which is then declined due to monetary reasons).

They all use iPhones, I saw no extra charges for use on my iD bill at all.
If I wanna be cynical I'd say the outrage about this would be much more significant if Samsung or Google phones would do this. With Apple, it's probably considered a "feature" 😅
 
Currently in Tenerife and my Lebara SIM will only roam onto Vodafone ES which is annoying as Movistar is a stronger signal where I’m staying. Im also seeing a lot of Edge instead of 4G or 5G.

My contract Vodafone SIM will happily connect to Vodafone ES, Movistar or Orange and gives 5G consistently!
 
That's very interesting....
I was under the impression that the hard steering was for all VF customers!
I mean, if I select Automatic then the phone connects straight back to Vodafone ES even if the signal strength is low. But if selecting manual it will let me connect to Orange or Movistar too.

On the Lebara SIM I just get "No Service" if trying to connect to anything but Vodafone ES.

I've just been looking at the Vodafone Spain's website and they offer a 50GB prepaid SIM for €10/30 days so I might pop down to the shops in the morning - it's cheaper than Vodafone's £17 roaming fee for the couple of weeks I'm here! And as I'm not roaming I'm assuming I'll get a higher network priority.
 
Currently in Tenerife and my Lebara SIM will only roam onto Vodafone ES which is annoying as Movistar is a stronger signal where I’m staying. Im also seeing a lot of Edge instead of 4G or 5G.

My contract Vodafone SIM will happily connect to Vodafone ES, Movistar or Orange and gives 5G consistently!

I got a Movistar sim for €10 at the airport that worked well but everything was in Spanish.
 
is 3 PAYG still the best option for roaming outside the EU (specifically South east asia region). I am going to go there next month and while i do have a local sim i thought it would be interesting to see a UK carrier roam there.
Bit sad they have reduced the roaming allowance though.
 
is 3 PAYG still the best option for roaming outside the EU (specifically South east asia region). I am going to go there next month and while i do have a local sim i thought it would be interesting to see a UK carrier roam there.
Bit sad they have reduced the roaming allowance though.
Think so.
Make sure the countries are covered though on their website.
 
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Think so.
Make sure the countries are covered though on their website.
Yeah the country is mentioned. Also was reading around, people recommend getting 3 PAYG from ebay? Is there a reason not getting one from 3 itself?
Also does the ebay one turn into esim after?
 
If it was me I'd go for the one with 30GB of inclusive roaming. I wouldn't mind paying the extra.
from 3 direct? or one of the ebay ones?
Honestly I would but i have a local sim with like 200GB so it would just be a waste. I would only test it for fun.
 
I see. On ebay there are people selling £5 sims with £10 value inside the sim. Pretty tempting if its real
Yes I've done this several times when travelling to non-EU destinations. I have used a couple of sellers, it's legit, they make comissions on topups (see here for an idea of what they get!). Always been under £4.50.

Personally I move my number to it (so I can get incoming calls if needed) and use it as a chance to cycle into a new Lebara intro offer once home, but that's totally optional.


Also done a quick market recce of EU roaming "the other way" into the UK.

O2 DE confirmed this week an extension of the UK being treated as an inclusive roaming destination until at least the end of 2025 here.

Vodafone ES are changing the way their EU roaming zone works. They've removed the USA from their EU roaming zone on their cheapest PAYG plan however it remains on their plans above €15. All prepaid plans continue to include the UK, Switzerland, Monaco, Turkey and Kosovo as per the EU. Their contract plans have been reworded so the UK, US and Switzerland are merely "promotional" and their terms states this lasts until November 24, 2024. I suppose we'll see what they do after.

It's always interesting that some countries have pretty much blanket continued roaming in the UK - eg France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Portugal, Greece, Malta. Whereas others it was quickly removed: most of Scandinavia, the Baltics and Balkans.
 
Yes I've done this several times when travelling to non-EU destinations. I have used a couple of sellers, it's legit, they make comissions on topups (see here for an idea of what they get!). Always been under £4.50.

Personally I move my number to it (so I can get incoming calls if needed) and use it as a chance to cycle into a new Lebara intro offer once home, but that's totally optional.


Also done a quick market recce of EU roaming "the other way" into the UK.

O2 DE confirmed this week an extension of the UK being treated as an inclusive roaming destination until at least the end of 2025 here.

Vodafone ES are changing the way their EU roaming zone works. They've removed the USA from their EU roaming zone on their cheapest PAYG plan however it remains on their plans above €15. All prepaid plans continue to include the UK, Switzerland, Monaco, Turkey and Kosovo as per the EU. Their contract plans have been reworded so the UK, US and Switzerland are merely "promotional" and their terms states this lasts until November 24, 2024. I suppose we'll see what they do after.

It's always interesting that some countries have pretty much blanket continued roaming in the UK - eg France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Portugal, Greece, Malta. Whereas others it was quickly removed: most of Scandinavia, the Baltics and Balkans.
Do you mind mentioning the sellers? You can convert the physical sim to esim after correct?
 
Do you mind mentioning the sellers? You can convert the physical sim to esim after correct?
I've not used this seller yet but the cheapest I can find right now is this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305586661095. The previous sellers I've used are simcardwarehouse and entertainment-solutions (unfortunately the second now only offers preloaded bundles and not credit)

Yes you can swap to an eSIM either going to a Three store or contacting their support. Again not done it (I have a dual SIM phone so can't be bothered) but their website says you can.
 
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I've just seen this video by Hugh Jeffries which interests me as we have family in Australia:

I've been there before with my Fairphone 4 and used O2 roaming (I have a Plus plan with O2 travel) with no issues, we might go again in 2025 and as I might move away from O2 I was assuming to use the eSIM slot for a local Aus SIM for data and calls over there.

But by the sounds of it my Fairphone won't work at all over there anymore, and I'm not sure whether my other half's UK-spec iPhone 14 will either.

Seems like a bit of a mess to me?!
 
I've just seen this video by Hugh Jeffries which interests me as we have family in Australia:

I've been there before with my Fairphone 4 and used O2 roaming (I have a Plus plan with O2 travel) with no issues, we might go again in 2025 and as I might move away from O2 I was assuming to use the eSIM slot for a local Aus SIM for data and calls over there.

But by the sounds of it my Fairphone won't work at all over there anymore, and I'm not sure whether my other half's UK-spec iPhone 14 will either.

Seems like a bit of a mess to me?!
It's weird that they've taken away 3G and 2G with such little VoLTE support. I mean, recent OnePlus devices??? Fair phone??? Come on guys!!

Even the UK is doing better than that. VoLTE is pretty much standard nowadays so long as your device is main stream ish.
 
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