On the road
Seven phone mistakes that can spoil a trip
None of them is exotic and all of them can be sorted before you leave the house. The most repeated slip-ups and what to do instead.
Nerea Aguilar 7 min Photo by Laila on Unsplash Almost every connection problem on a trip is committed at home, and almost every one of them takes ten minutes to fix that nobody spends. These seven are, in order, the most common.
1. Switching the phone on after landing without having turned roaming off
The phone has been offline for twelve hours and everything that was waiting comes out at once: email with attachments, photo backups, updates and videos from group chats. Outside your own zone, on pay-per-use, that is where part of the budget goes.
Instead: turn DATA roaming off on your own number before boarding and leave the number switched on for calls and texts.
2. Leaving photo backup on automatic
On a trip you take hundreds of photos, and many phones upload them the moment they detect a connection. It is the fastest way to empty the plan without even looking at the screen.
Instead: back up over wi-fi only, and let it run overnight at the hotel.
3. Keeping the whole phone in aeroplane mode for the entire trip
It is the reaction of someone who has been burned once, and it has a price of its own: with no number, the gate change, the hotel's call and the bank's text when you pay by card never arrive.
Instead: the number on for calls and messages, and data wherever you decide.
4. Leaving the connection until after you land
Buying a card on arrival is easy in some countries and awkward in others, and it always depends on opening hours, queues and whether the desk is open at the hour you land.
Instead: sort it before the flight, with your operator's add-on or an eSIM installed at home.
5. Not downloading anything before leaving
Maps, languages for the translator, music, series and boarding passes. All of it takes up storage and costs no data if it is downloaded over wi-fi, and it is exactly what you need in the moments without coverage.
Instead: the night before, on wi-fi, half an hour of downloading.
6. Putting everything on a single phone
If the phone breaks, gets lost or runs flat, the boarding pass, the bookings, the map and the only number go with it. And an eSIM does not move to another phone by itself.
- Take a power bank and its cable.
- Keep a copy of bookings and tickets in your email, so they can be opened from another device.
- Keep important numbers written down outside the phone as well.
- If there are two of you, give each their own data instead of depending on the same phone.
7. Handling sensitive things on any open network
Today almost all traffic is encrypted and the risk is not the one from ten years ago, but open networks still have their traps: portals asking for more personal details than they need, and fake networks with a credible name.
Instead: your own mobile data for banking and for anything that matters. It is faster and does not depend on anyone else's network.
What to know before connecting in a terminal is in free airport wi-fi.
Frequently asked questions
What is the costliest mistake when travelling with your phone?
Switching it on after landing with data roaming enabled on your own number. Everything that was waiting syncs at once on a foreign network.
Is travelling in aeroplane mode a bad idea?
As a permanent solution yes: you end up with no flight alerts, no calls and no bank texts. Better to leave the number active for calls and messages only.
What should I download before leaving?
City maps and routes, the language for the translator, music and series for the journey, and the boarding passes.
Is public wi-fi dangerous?
The risk is smaller than years ago because almost everything is encrypted, but it is wise not to trust networks with credible names that are not the official ones, and not to hand over more details than necessary on sign-in portals.
What do I do if I lose my phone on a trip?
Keep a copy of bookings and tickets in your email, important numbers stored outside the phone, and, if there are two of you, data on both phones. An eSIM does not move to another device by itself.
