How to avoid roaming charges on any holiday.
Four settings before take-off, one smart swap — and the scary bill becomes impossible.
Roaming tipsThe pre-flight checklist.
1Turn data roaming OFF — for your home SIMThis is the setting that generates the horror-story bills. Settings → Mobile Data → your home line → Data Roaming off. Do it before the plane doors close.
2Switch off automatic downloads & backupsCloud photo backups, app updates and podcast downloads quietly eat gigabytes. Set them to Wi-Fi only for the trip.
3Beware "cruise" and "aeroplane" networksSatellite networks on ships and planes charge premium rates that bypass EU-style caps. If the network name mentions the ship or airline — stay off it.
4Know your carrier's daily cap (if any)Some home carriers offer roaming day-passes. They're better than raw roaming — but usually £6+ per day for capped data. Fine as a backup; pricey as a plan.
5Then turn data roaming ON — for your travel eSIM onlyCounter-intuitive but correct: a travel eSIM uses the “roaming” switch to attach to its partner networks, yet the price is fixed before you fly. Unlimited data from £1.44/day, and nothing that can bill you afterwards.
£340
a typical “I left roaming on” bill after two streaming-heavy weeks
£84
two weeks of carrier day-passes, data still capped
MY HOLIDAY SIM
£27.72
two weeks of unlimited data on a My Holiday SIM eSIM
Illustrative figures in your display currency — exact roaming rates vary by carrier and destination.