Taking your iPhone abroad used to mean coming home to a nasty bill. It’s much simpler now, but there are still a few things worth knowing before you leave.

Will mobile data cost me money abroad?

It depends on where you’re going and who your network is.

Within Europe (EU countries): Most major UK networks, EE, O2, Vodafone, Three, include EU roaming in your plan at no extra charge. Your UK allowance works in France, Spain, Italy, Greece, and the rest of the EU just as it does at home. Some networks have a monthly data cap (often 12–25GB) for roaming, check your network’s website before you go.

Outside Europe (USA, Canada, Australia, etc.): Roaming charges apply and can be significant, sometimes several pounds per MB. You’ll want to either buy a roaming add-on from your network before you leave, get a local SIM card when you arrive, or rely on Wi-Fi only.

The safe option anywhere: turn data roaming off. Go to Settings → Mobile Data → Mobile Data Options → Data Roaming and switch it off. Your phone will still work on Wi-Fi and will still make calls if you have signal, it just won’t rack up data charges in the background.

Before you travel: download offline maps

Google Maps and Apple Maps both let you download areas for offline use, so you can navigate without using any mobile data at all.

In Apple Maps: tap your profile picture → Offline Maps → Download New Map. Search for your destination city or region and download it while on Wi-Fi.

In Google Maps: search for a city → tap the name at the bottom → tap the three dots → Download offline map.

Do this at home before you leave. It takes a few minutes and can save you entirely from needing data for navigation.

Wi-Fi Calling, calls and texts over Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Calling lets your iPhone make and receive normal phone calls over a Wi-Fi connection instead of mobile signal. This means:

You can call UK numbers from abroad using your hotel’s Wi-Fi at UK rates (not roaming rates)
You can receive calls and texts even if your local signal is poor
It works seamlessly, the person you’re calling doesn’t know or care how the call is routed

To turn it on: Settings → Phone → Wi-Fi Calling → toggle on. Most UK networks support it (check yours supports it first).

Using your phone on the plane

Switch to Aeroplane Mode before take-off, this is required by most airlines. It turns off all wireless transmissions (calls, mobile data, Bluetooth). You can then manually turn Wi-Fi back on if the flight has Wi-Fi and you want to use it.

To turn Aeroplane Mode on: swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Centre, then tap the plane icon.

Managing your data if you are roaming

If you do have roaming enabled and a limited allowance:

Turn off background app refresh: Settings → General → Background App Refresh → Off. This stops apps refreshing data in the background.
Only stream over Wi-Fi: Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, set these to Wi-Fi only in their individual settings.
Check your usage: Settings → Mobile Data → scroll down to see which apps have used the most data. Reset the statistics at the bottom of the page when you arrive so you can see what you’re using abroad.

Consider an eSIM for longer trips

For trips outside Europe, buying a local eSIM is often the cheapest option. An eSIM is a digital SIM card you can buy and install before you leave, no physical SIM swap needed.

Services like Airalo or Holafly sell eSIMs for most countries, typically £5–£15 for several gigabytes of local data. You keep your UK number (for calls and texts) and use the eSIM for data. Your iPhone manages both at once.

iPhone XS and later all support eSIM.

Going somewhere and not sure about your phone setup? Get in touch with Hebden Tech Tutors, we’re happy to help you prepare before you leave.