When the getaway is in Paris or Rome, there is no problem, but if I go further afield I have to change some settings on my Android mobile to continue enjoying its use at full power and also have the operational applications you need at that time. Although every country is a world, some areas require more change and action than others.
From certain regions of the world and while roaming
Which operator are you a customer of?. To begin with, I come from Vodafone and this telecom divides the countries of the world into different zones, each with its restrictions and prices. Zone 1 comes standard with the data rate I have, meaning I don’t have to do anything and will pay the same price as if I used my phone in Europe. Generally speaking, this band covers most of Europe and other places like the Vatican or Martinique. But if you leave Europe to go to Latin America or Asia, things become more complicated and more expensive. Other operators work similarly, so if in doubt, check their website or Google and write something like “destination country + roaming + your teleoperator”, for example “Vodafone roaming in the United Arab Emirates“to dispel doubts.
The previous explanation includes a key point: roaming or data roaming. In this zone 1 it is free, so even if you connect via the network of another operator, thanks to agreements between telecoms you will not have to pay more. But if not, roaming is expensive and other alternatives are worth it. In summary, If roaming is not free, I deactivate it.
There are two ways to deactivate roaming or data roaming and if in doubt, I use both: one from your operator’s application (in the roaming section) and the other from the mobile settings . Although the path may vary depending on your Android model, ‘Settings‘ > ‘Mobile networks‘ > ‘Data usage‘ > ‘Data roaming‘ and there we deactivate the data roaming button
If roaming is not free, it is better to buy an (e)SIM
On my last trip (I’m writing this from Dubai), the United Arab Emirates corresponds to zone 3, which means calls at more than three dollars per minute and more than six dollars per megabyte, so the best option from an economic point of view is buy a SIM for the trip in question. For convenience and immediacy, I prefer an eSIM, something I can use since I have a Google Pixel (it’s also compatible with some Samsung Galaxy). There are several international eSIMs such as TravelSIM, MiSimCard or Holafly, this is the one I chose because it is the one I used during my trip to China and it worked perfectly for me.
The advantage of an eSIM is that you buy it online at any time without having to go to a physical store and have it ready to use in just a few minutes. So, all you need is an internet connection and an eSIM compatible mobile phone. It’s better not to leave it for the last day and prepare it before you leave, so that when you arrive at your destination, all you have to do is activate it.
Installing the eSIM is quick and easy. The procedure is pretty well explained when you buy it and the main thing is that they send you a QR (this last time they left it, so I contacted the team via chat and they solved it quickly, hence the reason to do it BEFORE LEAVING Europe). In summary, as before, we repeat the process to access the SIMs. On my Pixel the route is ‘Settings‘ > ‘Networks and internet‘ > ‘SIM cards‘ and there we approach adding a SIM card.
After several steps we will have to read the QR code, so it will be advisable to open the purchase email on another device, for example another cell phone or computer to have the image. After following a few more steps, we will be left with the eSIM without activating it. It will be when we arrive in the destination country that we will slide the eSIM toggle and mark its roaming. We already have data about our destination.
Bonus: ¿VPN and VPN, eh?
An important fact. When I purchased the Holafly eSIM for China, it included a VPN, which was a luxury for me as it was a country with a fairly restricted internet connection, which was going to affect me when connecting to work . It is true that after this experience, I started using a VPN in my daily life, both on my mobile (the configuration is not really a mystery) and on my computer.
In any case, my recommendation if you go to a country where there is strong censorship and where the applications you use are in conflict with current legislation, Don’t think about it and use a VPN for security reasons, especially with public or open Wi-Fi in hotels. The configuration on an Android mobile does not
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Being careful is worth two
Even though today I no longer consider traveling to a country outside of Europe without data and using only hotel Wi-Fi, I usually have a few aces up my sleeve. in case the stars aligned against me and I got lost just when the data coverage stopped working, or in case I had to talk to the natives, because for example in China not many people knew English . Anyway, I use Google Maps and Google Translate.
In Google Maps, what I do is download the maps for offline use.. It’s as simple as entering the app, tapping the profile photo and in “Offline Maps” I select an area to demarcate the map, which I can see from the browser even without a connection.
Finally also I download the destination language in Google Translate, because even though I normally get by with English, you never know. Just enter the application and by tapping on the profile photo we will see the “Downloaded languages” option, where I choose the language of the country in which I am traveling.
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