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another i-phone question

I will be in Europe for three weeks with my parents and two daughters in May. For the majority of the trip we will all be together so all phones will be off, but for two days one of my daughters will be staying in Paris while we are in Normandy. My question is this..can I turn of data roaming and leave cellular data on so that if necessary we can call each other? I dont like the idea of not being able to contact her if really necessary. I am not to terribly concerned about other people calling either of us as everybody that would otherwise call knows we will be gone. Would turning off data roaming but leaving cellular data for those to day work for us to call or text each other if necessary without the phone using lots of data?

Posted by
10179 posts

You don't need cellular data to call or text. I would turn your data off before you leave home.

Posted by
87 posts

So as long as it isn't on airplane mode I can turn off cellular data and data roaming and still make and receive a call or text?

Posted by
10179 posts

Yes. Phones don't need data for calls and texts. You are correct that you wouldn't want it in airplane mode.

Posted by
9110 posts

Turning off cell data kills data roaming at the same time. No need for two steps.

In fact, if you turn off data first, the roaming toggle disappears.

Try it and watch.

Posted by
32173 posts

Tracy,

As the others have mentioned, turning off cellular data and roaming will prevent use of data. You'll still be able to access E-mail or whatever using Wi-Fi.

One point to mention though. On my trips to Europe over the last few years, I've noticed that text messages sometimes won't function unless data is switched on. The texts have often been sent hours before, but only received when I have access to data. I haven't been able to figure out why this is occurring or under what conditions, but will try and narrow it down on my next trip. One possibility is that text traffic on the older GPRS frequencies has become excessive, so the networks have moved some or all of this to the faster data portion of the network.

I also travel with an iPhone these days, and have opted to travel with some data coverage (which has been quite useful on occasion), but I usually try to leave data switched off unless I need it.