Where is roaming

Roaming charges can get expensive, so if you're traveling outside your cellular plan's coverage area which generally means international travel , you might want to turn off data roaming on your Android device.

Don't worry about being left without internet. Given how common Wi-Fi hotspots are, it's rare that you'll need internet access on your phone and be unable to connect to a local Wi-Fi network. With that said, here's how to turn off data roaming on your Android , and avoid expensive surcharges. Your Android will no longer try to connect to a local cellular network to send or receive data, but you can still use Wi-Fi instead. In general, text messages don't use mobile data, so you don't have to worry about being charged for them.

However, MMS messages — texts that include "multimedia" like images or videos — do use data. You can turn off data roaming to prevent MMS messages from using data while you're outside of your service area. But even if you opt to purchase a data plan at your destination, you still might want to minimize how much data you use, since it's probably more expensive than your local data plan.

An important way to do that is to disable MMS messages from automatically downloading onto your phone. Tap the three dots to the right of the search icon, and, in the drop-down menu, tap "Settings. Note that you can also control "Roaming auto retrieve" on this same page. This can come in handy if you choose to leave data roaming on for web browsing or email, but you want to prevent MMS messages from eating up your data and costing you unwanted surcharges.

For you. Turn off Cellular Data and Data Roaming. Before you go: To avoid fees and higher rates, call your carrier or visit online to shop international roaming plans.

After arrival: Open Settings. Then tap Cellular Data Options and turn on Data Roaming and other settings suggested by your carrier. Before you go: If you have an iPad with an eSIM or Apple SIM , you can browse cellular data plans from select carriers in more than 90 countries, regions, and territories. Before you go: You can usually 3 buy or rent a SIM card for a specific country or region.

Learn more from travel guides and websites related to the country or region. You'll need the original when you return home, so put your original in a safe place. If you exceed the data-usage limits of your international data plan, you might run out of data or notice slower network speeds. Then look under the Cellular Data heading. About cellular data roaming options for your iPhone and iPad Turn data roaming on or off, prepare for international trips, and more.

Ensure that the "Data roaming" option is unchecked. If it's checked, remove the check by tapping it. A lover of technology in all forms, Matt Skaggs began writing professionally in , specializing in Windows computers and Android devices. His writing has appeared on many websites providing a plethora of technology information and tutorials.

By Matt Skaggs.