Taking your phone abroad for a business trip or holiday is going to be a necessity, and while there are plenty of apps that can help manage the finances of your trip, there are a few things that can catch the unwary or unprepared traveller out, leading to expensive bills, useless apps, and an empty battery. Below are some top tips to make sure you’re fully prepared for any trip and can make full use of your phone while travelling.
No to Roaming
This is easy to miss if you’re not careful, but can lead to truly astronomical phone bills if you forget to switch it off. While there have been reductions to roaming charges, they are still very expensive, and could cause a serious dent in your finances. One of the best ways to make sure your iPhone isn’t roaming is to simply leave it in airplane mode, and you can easily remember to do this if you’re flying, as it will be a requirement of travel anyway. One thing to watch out for is your phone deciding to roam on its own. This can sometimes happen even if you have turned roaming off – if your phone loses it’s internet connection, it can sometimes default to your network. You can avoid this by checking to make sure periodically, or simply try to keep phone use to a minimum if there’s no alternative.
Use Free Wi – Fi
Most places nowadays have free wifi, so why not take advantage of it? Again, this can help avoid the roaming problem, and you can easily surf online by popping into a public space, café or bar that has free wifi. Airports often have this too, as do most decent hotels.
Use Apps that Employ Caching
Having loads of GPS and travel apps is all well and good, but if they don’t cache and you lose or are unable to get an internet connection for a while, they will quickly become useless. This could be a nightmare if you have your itinerary stored on an app for example, or need to look up directions. Caching simply means that an app will temporarily store web information, so even if you do lose connection or are unable to find any internet service, the apps information will be relatively up to date. It can also be a good idea to download wifi finders, and there are also a number of very useful travel apps that can help you navigate around your destination, find the best places to stay, eat, and so on. Some of these top travel apps, as described by Iglucruise, for example, are well worth a look, and can come in very handy for business or holiday trips – especially useful are sign translators that will help you avoid stepping into a construction zone or electrified substation, or make a note of some of your favourite places that you discovered while travelling so you can come back another time.
Sync Before You Leave
Should the worst happen, and your iPhone gets lost, damaged or stolen, you could be left without all your important contacts and information. To avoid this, make sure that you sync your iPhone before you leave. While it won’t necessarily help you while away, at least you won’t have lost valuable contacts and info for good, as it’ll be waiting for you on your computer when you return.
Get the Right Power Adaptor
Running out of battery while on an international trip can be a real headache, and finding a universal adapter might not be feasible depending on your location. As we all know, iPhones can sap the juice from your battery quickly, so making sure you have the right kind of adapter for your charger will enable you to use your phone normally without having to skimp on app use or turning it off every 5 minutes to save an extra 1% of battery power.
Use Skype
If you expect to have to make a lot of calls while you’re away, then make sure you download Skype before you leave. You can chat with other Skype users for free, and the rates for international calls are often very reasonable, and will be much cheaper than using a standard domestic call plan. That said, if you travel a lot, then international contracts can be a good idea too.
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