iOS Cellular Roaming Setting
 

Does the iOS Roaming setting not work? Mine is set to Off but while driving near the Canadian border last weekend I got a text from Verizon welcoming me to Canada.

I'd just chalk it up to the general iOS 9 bugginess but was wondering if others had experienced this too.

Well, roaming is really only about data and not general cellular..so you shouldn't have attached to a roaming data network, but if the phone is on and connecting to cellular networks - and don't have international turned off at the CARRIER level, then you'll connect and get text messages when you connect to a new network carrier.

Um, no. Roaming is attaching to a foreign (i.e., not the home) network. It doesn't matter what services you use. There are separate settings for voice and data roaming in iOS, in any case, and both are off. It should have said No Service if it couldn't latch on to Verizon. This is what it has done in older iOS versions, and how it should work still.

Where exactly do you see the area for voice roaming selection, other than for LTE attachment.

if you are on verizon, there MAY be a different selection for voice that isn't on GSM network phones.

it would seem that the ability to turn voice roaming off is only on CMDA devices in the US (so verizon, or possibly sprint)


https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201299

Hmm, that is oddly bad documentation from Apple and doesn't match what's on the phone.

These screen grabs are what I see. First one is the main Cellular menu, then the Roaming screen, then what happens to that screen when you turn Roaming on.

yes, that is probably the CDMA specific cellular settings, whereas the GSM settings (from the apple site) are only what is available as of now for those devices..

If you're on a CDMA network phone (verizon or sprint in the USA) then you seem to still have a voice roaming selection option in ios - which frankly I haven't had on a GSM ios phone for MANY versions of ios (like since 5 maybe)

If all those options were off, it should not connect to a voice network at all, and yes you should have moved to a "no service" setting, but since all phones today technically have ALMOST all GSM network radios and frequencies onboard, there might only be a way to turn off that network access the carrier level.

I know, it would seem that all off - including voice - should turn it all off, but it doesn't appear that this is happening. OR, it could be that the network you attached to in Canada was a "domestic roaming partner" so it just connected automatically to that network.

I have VZ and always have voice roaming turned on as I need it when traveling. I turn the data on only when I need it.

But perhaps as this is a CDMA only option maybe the voice part only applies to other CDMA networks? I'm not sure where else there are still CDMA networks though except perhaps legacy networks in Japan and Korea?

The CDMA roaming setting only appears if you turn on voice roaming. I think Bell in Canada has a CDMA network still. Might have latched onto them.

You can have your roaming turned off properly and still get that welcome text. They want you to turn it off and use their service. That text will not cost you anything.

It happens in most countries we travel to.