Higher data roaming charges are part and parcel of foreign travel. Unlike other countries, Switzerland cannot abolish roaming completely. Find out why here. However, you can avoid high mobile bills with the following tips.
1. Switch to the inOne mobile subscriptions
With the inOne mobile subscriptions go and premium, you can use your mobile phone abroad just as you would at home.
- The inOne mobile premium subscription offers unlimited surfing and calls in 100 countries worldwide.
- inOne mobile go offers unlimited surfing and calls throughout the EU/Western Europe.
- inOne mobile basic offers unlimited calls and SMS/MMS in the EU/Western Europe as well as up to 2GB surfing.
2. Purchase an Intercontinental Pack
Are you planning a holiday in the USA or Canada? Purchase an Intercontinental Pack in addition to your inOne mobile go subscription for unlimited surfing, calls and SMS at your holiday destination. Simply register before you go on holiday and unsubscribe when you return. Swisscom bills you for the days you use, rather than the full month.
3. Use your data allowance
Swisscom’s inOne mobile subscriptions XS, S, M, L and XL (with the exception of inOne mobile light) include an international roaming allowance: giving you access to at least 30 days of Internet, SMS and telephony within Europe. Depending on the price plan, 100 or 1000 MB annually, and 1000 SMS monthly, are included outside Europe. Use up this allowance first before you buy an additional data package.
4. Suitable data packages
Buying an additional data package is probably worth your while if you:
- don’t have a flat-rate subscription.
- you have used up your data allowance for this year.
- are travelling in a country not covered by your subscription data allowance.
You can buy data packages in the Swisscom Cockpit. The Cockpit also provides details of prices and how much data you have already used. Using the app and accessing cockpit.swisscom.ch are also free abroad.
5. Switch off COMBOX®
If you are abroad, you may be charged for messages on your COMBOX®. To avoid this, you can deactivate all call forwarding to your COMBOX® while you are abroad. Enter the key combination #21# on your mobile phone or go to the Swisscom Cockpit. If you use Visual Voicemail (VVM) for your mobile phone, please note that you will need mobile data. Using VVM with data roaming may incur costs.
6. Use maps offline
Using maps and navigation on holiday can be a costly business. However, most apps can also be used offline. For instance, you can mark all the places you want to visit on holiday on MAPS.ME before you leave. If you’ve already downloaded the city maps you need while you have Internet access, you can set a few pins, and even without the Internet the app will take you to the sights, recommended bars or market on the other side of town.
7. Switch off auto start
Many apps play back videos or animations even as you scroll – like Netflix, Youtube, Twitter or Instagram. If possible, switch off this auto start function in the app or use these apps less when abroad.
8. Deactivate automatic updates
Make sure that automatic background updating is deactivated in your smartphone’s basic settings. You should also switch off automatic app updates (i.e. the automatic installation of new app versions). This way, you can prevent data being used unnoticed.
9. No sytem updates abroad
Check whether your smartphone is due for a system update before you go. Otherwise, your smartphone may suddenly want to install new software while you are on holiday. If a new update is available during the holidays, do not install it until you get home.
10. Do not upload large files to the cloud
At home, uploading photos to the cloud is practical and useful. However, you should deactivate this function during the holidays and only activate it manually if a secure WLAN is available. Most smartphones offer you the option of limiting synchronisation to WLAN in the basic device or app settings. Tip: Swisscom offers customers free unlimited access to its own cloud, called myCloud.
