Technically speaking, an iPhone or Android phone is said to be in Data Roaming Mode, when it connects to cellular towers that are not owned or operated by your mobile service provider (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc.).
Depending on the terms specified in your mobile service plan, you may incur data roaming charges when you travel to another area within the same country or travel outside the country.
Hence, it is highly recommended that you read and understand all the “Terms and Conditions” of your mobile service plan and find out when Data Roaming charges come into play.
Data Roaming Charges Can Be Excessive
Considering stories of outrageous Data Roaming Charges, it is important that you understand “Data Roaming” and how to enable or disable Data Roaming on your iPhone or Android Phone.
Apart from voice calls, roaming charges apply to text messages, uploading pictures, accessing the internet and practically any activity on your mobile device that makes it connect to a cellular network.
In-fact, simply leaving your phone switched on while travelling outside the Country can result in Data Roaming charges, if the apps installed on your mobile device end up using Data for background activities.
1. Disable Data Roaming on iPhone
All that is required to disable Data Roaming on iPhone is to go to Cellular Settings and disable the Data Roaming option.
1. Go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options.
2. On the next screen, move the Data Roaming slider to OFF position.
If your mobile service provider does not have good reputation or has a bad past record, you can go to the extent of totally switching OFF Cellular Data on your iPhone, while travelling.
This will ensure that all the data usage on your iPhone is restricted to Wi-Fi and no Cellular Data is used by any of the Apps installed on your iPhone.
Note: Disabling Data Roaming will also disable international or out of area text messages on your iPhone.
2. Disable Data Roaming on Android Phone
The steps to disable Data Roaming on Android Phone as provided below may vary a bit, depending on the manufacturer of your device.
1. Open Settings > scroll down and tap on Mobile Networks.
2. On the next screen, move the slider next to Data Roaming to OFF Position.
Tip: You can make use of free Wi-Fi networks and apps like WhatsApp, Google Hangouts and others to reduce your cellular data usage.