Should You Be Prepping Your Phone Before A Trip?
Carly Zinderman June 03, 2018
When you go on vacation, you depend on your phone for a lot. You need the maps to get around, the communication to check on your hotel and restaurant reservations. The New York Times has a few suggestions that might help it be more reliable when you’re on the road:
- Pack the right accessories: a backup battery and three power cables so that you can plug in: in your hotel, on the go, and one to charge the battery pack.
- A plug adapter (if you’re traveling to a country with different power outlets)
- A SIM card ejector so that you can use another country’s wireless carrier service and easily pop out your SIM card
The easiest way to travel with a SmartPhone is to pay your carrier’s roaming fees. But these can get spendy, depending on your plan. T-Mobile and Google have free international coverage in select countries.
If you want to avoid the high fees, then you need to contend with the hassle of installing a SIM card from a foreign carrier. Make sure your phone is unlocked. And order your SIM card in advance to avoid the hassle of trying to find one at an airport—it can also be cheaper.
Download any apps and maps ahead of time, in case you face spotty WiFi. And have a backup plan to access some apps that may require your phone number to log in.
You can also bring along other gadgets, like a Roku stick so that you can watch TV programs that you actually choose. Or noise canceling headphones for the flight. And other handy items.
It's generally very cost prohibitive to roam on a US carrier when in another country. And while it can be easier to get a SIM card in advance by mail, it's rarely a problem getting one on arrival. Many countries (other than USA) offer 1 week, 1 month, etc. plans for a very good rate. In Italy I recall paying $30 for something like 10GB or data and unlimited local calling/texting for 10 days. Similar in other European countries, and even in Central America. The downside is your own phone number is going to send callers from home to voice mail. You'll be making/receiving calls on whatever local number they assign. But with data you can use WhatsApp, FaceTime, Skype, etc. for making voice calls for free.