What to do before you travel
Jetting off soon? You don’t need to tell us you’re going abroad, but here are some hints to help you stay connected, control spending, and make sure your trip goes smoothly.
Pay monthly roaming checklist
Check costs for the country you’re travelling to
Use our charger checker to see how much it’ll cost to use your phone abroad.
Set up Spend Manager
Set spend limits on calls, texts and other services. If your limit is set to £0 you won’t be able to roam in destinations that aren’t included in your plan.
Save with our range of Extras
If your plan doesn't have inclusive roaming in our Europe Zone (Zone B), you can add an Extra to your plan and roam with our 8 or 15-day European Roaming Extras.
Check your roaming bars
Turn off any active roaming bars in your My Vodafone account so that you can still use your data and other services while you’re away.
Check data roaming settings
If you want to use your data while you’re abroad, make sure you turn on data roaming on your phone.
Set a voicemail PIN
If you want to use your voicemail while you're abroad, for security reasons you'll need to set up a PIN before you go.
Pay as you go roaming checklist
Check costs for the country you’re travelling to
Use our charger checker to see how much it’ll cost to use your phone abroad.
Buy a Roaming Extra
If you're roaming in our Europe Zone (Zone B), you'll need to buy one of our 8-day Europe Extras. Your Extra will start straight away so make sure you're ready to use it.
Check your roaming bars
Turn off any active roaming bars in your My Vodafone account so that you can still use your data and other services while you’re away.
Check data roaming settings
If you want to use your data while you’re abroad, make sure you turn on data roaming on your phone.
Set a voicemail PIN
If you want to use your voicemail while you're abroad, for security reasons you'll need to set up a PIN before you go.
Keep costs down when roaming
Connect to WiFi where possible
Connect to WiFi and use public WiFi hotspots when you’re out and about – for example in hotels and cafés. When you can use WiFi, avoid accidentally using your data by turning off data roaming on your phone.
More ways to control your data usage abroad
Add bars and limits
As well as the data roaming bar, you can also set bars on calling and texting, receiving calls and texts, and even bars on calling non-UK destinations while abroad.
Set up Spend Manager
If you're on Pay Monthly, you can set a spend limit for services not included in your monthly allowance, such as picture messages or international calls.
Keep track of your bill
Keep tabs on your usage or credit while you're abroad to control your spending. When you’re roaming it can take up to 72 hours for new charges to appear on your bill.
Having issues using your phone abroad?
If you’re having issues using your phone abroad, there are a few things you can try:
Connect to a local network by restarting your device
Make sure you have data roaming turned on
Check that Spend Manager is not set to £0 by logging into or registering for My Vodafone
Connecting to another country’s network accidentally when abroad
This is called inadvertent roaming. It might happen when you travel near an international border – for example between Turkey and Greece, or North and South Cyprus.
We’ll send you a message when your device connects to an international network. If you get a message that you’ve connected to a network – and it isn’t the network of the country you’re currently in – here’s some steps you can take to stop unexpected roaming charges:
Review your Vodafone Spend Manager limit in My Vodafone app
Set up a Data Roaming bar in the My Vodafone app
Manually set your network to the country you’re in. If you do this, you’ll need to manually change your network again each time you visit a new destination
If you accidentally roam, please call us on 191 (+447836 191191 if you’re abroad) to discuss with one of our advisers.
Contact us while you’re abroad
Call us on 0044 7836 191 191 free from your Vodafone mobile