Phone charges voice mail

The solution seems straightforward. Before your trip remove the SIM for your work number, plug it back in when you get home. If the work number is an eSIM then it can be deactivated before your trip.

Thanks. It is eSIM. Will the number still “work” while I am away? Meaning will folks be able to seamlessly leave voice mails and texts without issue? That’s the part I am not tech savvy with.

Sheila, you are correct that calls will not go through if you turn off the eSIM. So if you want your clients to be able to leave messages for you, you will need to leave it on and just pay for a plan.

Who is your cell phone carrier?

I’m with t mobile. In the past I’ve eaten the $50 to ensure I don’t miss a new client - benefit outweighs cost. It sounds like my instincts have been correct. Thought it was worthwhile to see if I was missing anything. This forum is a wealth of time saving info.

Just to clarify how T‑Mobile handles this: you don’t get charged simply because someone sends you a text or leaves you a voicemail while you’re overseas. Incoming texts are free, and if you don’t answer a call, it gets routed back to your U.S. voicemail system without creating any roaming charges.

The only time you’d pay is if you actually pick up a call while roaming, or if you call in to check your voicemail from overseas. If your work line is an eSIM, you can just switch that line off while traveling. Calls will still go to voicemail normally, and nothing gets billed. Any texts sent to that line will show up once you’re back and turn it on again.

You’d only need an International Pass if you plan to use high‑speed data or make/receive calls on that line while abroad.

Sheila, I have T-Mobile too, and unless I get an eSIM, I usually wind up paying the extra $50 for the additional international plan on top of the free one that they offer. I just got back from a three-week trip to Iceland, Sweden, and Norway, and I went through their paltry 5GB in about 4-5 days.

Will the number still “work” while I am away? Meaning will folks be able to seamlessly leave voice mails and texts without issue?

When your eSIM is deactivated, your phone has no active connection to the carrier's network for that line. From the network's side this looks the same as a phone that's turned off or out of coverage. The carrier's switch sees the subscriber as unreachable and routes the call to voicemail the same way it would for any unanswered/unreachable call.

You can test this right now. Deactivate your work eSIM, then call your work number from another phone and see what happens. Note that deactivate is different than erase. By deactivating you are just turning it off temporarily and can easily check the box to turn it back on. If you erase it you'll need to download it again from your carrier (don't do that!)

As for being charged if instead you leave the work eSIM active and simply don't answer an incoming call, here is what T-Mobile says:

While roaming internationally, you won't be charged for voicemails left in your inbox if your phone remains powered off or in airplane mode. However, you will be charged for the following:

• If your phone is on when you get an incoming call, even if you don't answer it and it goes to voicemail: The call is charged one minute for the call coming into the phone. (There are no charges at all if your phone is turned off.)

• If your phone is off and receives incoming voicemails: When you turn it on while you are roaming internationally, the call is charged one minute for the voicemail coming into the phone.

From https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/international-roaming-checklist