UK roaming question

Forums › One NZ (including Farmside) › UK roaming question

BFP1387

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#311221 24-Dec-2023 12:47

Hello helpful people!

My partner is off to the UK in a few days and I'm trying to help her figure out the best option for having access to mobile data while she's away. She has an iPhone SE and we're on a One NZ plan.

She could just use the $8 a day roaming and continue using her NZ plan, but this will add up a bit as she's away for ~3 weeks. If she did go this route, is she likely to get decent performance/coverage from the network in the UK?

She had planned to sort an eSim through a company like Holafly and use this for data only (probably around $100 for the time she's away). But I understand that we can't exactly turn roaming on her phone off so would she likely be hit with the $8 a day charge on some/all of the days anyway?

It's important that she's still able to receive texts from NZ for things like 2FA/bank approvals, but if we can avoid having to spend $160+ that'd be ideal. Putting her phone in flight mode and just using wi-fi calling probably wouldn't suit, as that limits her ability to use things like WhatsApp and Messenger while she's out and about.

Any thoughts/experiences would be appreciated.

nztim

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TEAMnetwork

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#3175201 24-Dec-2023 13:25

We were in the US for four weeks just coughed up the $8 per day

Means stuff like FaceTime, iMessage and Apple ID didn’t get stuffed up.

Expensive but saved hassle and that was worth it to me.

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lxsw20

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#3175234 24-Dec-2023 16:28

I used an airalo eSIM for my month in the uk. Worked perfectly and also didn’t stuff up iMessage etc. note it’s a data only solution

Martynnz

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#3175237 24-Dec-2023 16:59

We bought a sim card with three for £10 with 10 gb data (and unlimited calls and txts). You can evidently go in store to use it as an e-sim ( we used physical cards). Good deal with good service. It roams in europe if any side trips are made and in other countries (such as Singapore) if any stopovers are made.

shk292

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#3175247 24-Dec-2023 18:26

Surely if you have dual SIM with the UK SIM as an eSIM and set it for all calls and data, you won't be stung for roaming charges unless someone actually calls your NZ number? You could even turn off the NZ SIM except when you need to receive a SMS or are on WiFi.

tigercorp

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#3175249 24-Dec-2023 18:34

If the iPhone supports dual sim (a quick search says the first gen didn't but later versions did) then picking up another sim card for data and local calling is the best solution. I can also recommend Three, I do a yearly trip to Ireland and the UK and get the 4 week unlimited data for $20 euro plan. I'm also with One so I still get the occasional $8 charge when an incoming text or call happens, but there's no way to avoid that other than disabling roaming.

If there's no dual sim and all the MFAs can't be changed from SMS then she's going to have to wear the $8 daily roaming plan.

konfusd

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#3175257 24-Dec-2023 20:17

These are the tips I usually tell people to reduce their Daily Roaming charges:

- Receiving TXT is free
- WiFi calling is free to/from NZ numbers (it’s treated as if you’re back here). Check the network banner to make sure you’re actually on WiFi Calling.
- Turn off Data Roaming (Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options or Settings > Mobile > Mobile Data Options)
- Only answer or make a call if you absolutely have to
- If a call goes to voicemail there is no charge unless you check the message. You could set a holiday message asking callers to text or email you instead.
- Remember DR is counted in NZ time - so in the UK it will reset in the middle of the day (11am if my math is correct)
- iMessage/FaceTime and third party chat/call apps use data so they are free over WiFi and/or a local SIM

I volunteer my time on here, and all opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

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SpartanVXL

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#3175265 24-Dec-2023 20:38

Yep receiving txts is usually free in most countries. Vodafone wifi calling/txt are also free if you jave that enabled.

On iphone if you have dual sim/esim you can choose which sim is the primary for phone and data and force it to only use that sim and can disable roaming on individual sims.

Get an esim with cheap data and keep the nz sim in to receive 2fa txts. iMessage also doesn’t screw up nowadays as it keeps your registered number unless you deregister it (it stays in settings if you remove the physical sim, new dual sim isn’t registered automatically).

KiwiSurfer

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#3175270 24-Dec-2023 21:03

BFP1387:

She could just use the $8 a day roaming and continue using her NZ plan, but this will add up a bit as she's away for ~3 weeks. If she did go this route, is she likely to get decent performance/coverage from the network in the UK?

From experience I had good performance when roaming. Even Netflix worked fine despite the data being routed all the way back to NZ. Not sure if it's changed since the reband to One, but generaly roaming customers to the UK can roam on most (if not all) the networks there. Coverage might actually be a plus for roaming. A local SIM only works for their home network while foreign SIM can usually roam onto a number of different networks. This means while roaming, if another network happens to have coverage where the current network doesn't then the phone will usually jump to the better network -- which isn't possible if you happen to have a local SIM with the 'wrong' network.

Yes roaming is expensive but the peace of mind may be worth it. If it was someone like my mum I'd recommend roaming and just accept the daily charge as a cost of travelling.

If your partner doesn't mind fiddling around with her phone then yep a local SIM or eSIM may be the way to go.

I personally purchased an EE UK SIM some years ago which is still going. I've used it for several European trips (pre-Briexit). I'm not sure whether newly issued SIMs have the long validity mine had but if more trips to Europe are expected then a local SIM may be a good investment.

Handle9

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#3175330 25-Dec-2023 09:46

lxsw20: I used an airalo eSIM for my month in the uk. Worked perfectly and also didn’t stuff up iMessage etc. note it’s a data only solution

Airalo has great deals from now until New Year’s Day.

US$11 for 10GB and US$18 for 20GB with 30 day expiry. I’m using one right now in London and it’s great.

Handle9

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#3175331 25-Dec-2023 09:50

BFP1387:
. But I understand that we can't exactly turn roaming on her phone off so would she likely be hit with the $8 a day charge on some/all of the days anyway?

Roaming is enabled or disabled per SIM. You disable it on your main SIM and enable it on your secondary eSIM for data.

You can still get texts etc on your main NZ number and use data on your secondary eSIM.

BFP1387

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Wannabe Geek

#3175540 26-Dec-2023 13:00

Thanks everyone! Super useful information.

Based on everything above I think she's going to grab a cheap eSim (the Airalo deals look good) and use that for data, while turning off the roaming on her primary sim.

If she has to cop the $8 a day charge here and there if she needs it then that's all good. Just wanted to make sure we could avoid a situation where she pays for the eSim and still ended up paying $160ish for roaming too.

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prevaljo

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#3178393 6-Jan-2024 13:47

We went to London and Sweden pre covid with a pre-pay account on Vodafone. Bought the weekly roaming option. That worked well except my daughter ran out of Txts and data occasionally which is just life I guess. She went to Australia recently pre-pay with One and had no end of issues trying to get mobile data, she had voice and Txts. In the end she abandoned the effort and stuck an Optus Sim in her phone. She was not happy with the experience.

SpartanVXL

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#3178467 6-Jan-2024 15:19

Unless something has changed recently, australia is pretty bad in terms of coverage if you get the wrong provider. You can be fine in one area, turn a corner and get no signal.

Btw if anybody is curious, iMessage will let you keep using your phone number as main contact for 30days if you disable the sim that provides it. It keeps a little warning banner at the top to remind you. Re-enabling the sim and allowing iMessage to confirm the number brings it back which can be done over wifi or other data source (esim etc.).

lchiu7

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#3178587 6-Jan-2024 22:40

As I noted in another thread I started

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=40&topicid=311312

I am overseas and kept my Kogan SIM in my phone but did not buy any roaming. I am still receiving SMS on it. On the other SIM in the phone I have an eSIM that has all the data I need but has no number. So while I cannot make calls on my number I can receive SMS which is all I wanted to do. If I need to call anybody I can use a VoIP service I have.

I could have purchased a locall SIM but that would mean I would to swap out my Kogan SIM with the local one and then have no inbound SMS. At the airports I am not sure they offer eSIM as an option. On my Oneplus Pro I had two physical SIM cards so I could have keep the NZ SIM in the phone and inserted a SIM from the country I was in.