No Roaming Charges When I Roam

How to Minimize Roaming Charges

Smartphone Settings for Offline GPRS

If you are one of those people who leave their mobile phone or SIM cards when they leave for an out of the country trip or have burned hotlines from your network provider because they charged you for GPRS/Mobile internet service you supposedly used but unaware of: you might want to read this blog entry and maybe I can help you. But for those willing to pay those charges, well you're one rich kid! Lol! Well, this is not for you. ; ) If you're looking for a way to cheat on your network providers, I don't do that and I can't do that too.

I simply cannot move around without my mobile phone, not because I am having separation anxiety when are apart, but because my phone connects me to my family, and my source of income. That is the reason why leaving my mobile phone at home while on vacation is not an option. But having a shock when I receive my bill when I get home scares me. So I researched and called my service provider for things I should do before stepping on that plane:

1.	To bring my smartphone on roaming.
2.	Set-up my phone for call barring. (I use Viber, Kakao Talk, WeChat, Skype and Facebook Messenger as an alternative to long distance calls and text/SMS. The internet I use are rented out pocket WiFi, prepaid SIM cards with Internet on my companion's mobile phone or WiFi in Hotel)
3.	Turn-off GPRS on my phone.
4.	I have to set-up a DUMMY mobile internet settings to make sure I don't get charged for this service in case I accidentally activate/on my GPRS. (My husband thought of this one, so this isn't really mine. I'm just sharing this because it worked for me and I had no worries!)

The first 3 things are easy human language, but the fourth one I know is somewhat gibberish and too technical to some.

The first step, you have to make sure you bring your own smartphone. Please call your service providers to make sure your phone's roaming services are on or activate it if it's not. While you are on that call, ask your customer service representative about what network to connect to receive SMS/text messages for free. They always tend to have a network partner in each country, which can give you access to this free service.

You can do this second step before stepping on the plane. But I advise you learn to do this before that day. Just go to your Call Settings and activate Call Barring for Incoming Calls.

The third step I assume you know already since you use a smartphone. ; )

To some of you, this third step I might need to give you a step-by-step guide. I am using a Samsung S3 White, so I'm using my phone for the screenshots. Here is the guide:

1.	Go to Settings
2.	Then, More Settings
3.	Go to Mobile Networks
4.	Go to Access Points
5.	Press + New APN
6.	Set a Name for the new access point (I named mine Dummy)
7.	Press OK
8.	Press APN, and type . (period)
9.	Press OK
10.	Leave everything else blank, then exit
11.	Use this mobile settings and access point when you are about to board the plane.

There you go! Enjoy your next trip!

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