How to keep costs down while roaming

Step 1

Have you opted-in to Vodafone Traveller? Postpaid customers can choose from two roaming options: Vodafone Traveller and Vodafone World. For the majority of countries, Vodafone Traveller is the cheaper option. Visit our roaming pricing page to check the Traveller and World prices for the country where you’re headed. Check our ‘How-to’ guide for instructions on opting-in to Traveller through My Vodafone.

Step 2

Turn off Voicemail before you leave if you won’t be needing it on your trip. You will be charged for both an incoming and outgoing roaming call if you’ve got conditional diversions setup and a call is diverted to voicemail while you’re roaming. You can turn off voicemail by dialling ##004# or through My Vodafone. Visit our ‘How-to’ guide if you want to find out more information on how voicemail works while roaming.

Step 3

If you don’t need to receive incoming calls while roaming, you can set up an all calls diversion to Voicemail. With this option there would be no charge to you if an incoming call is diverted to Voicemail. Roaming charges would apply if you need to retrieve a message. You can divert all calls to Voicemail by dialling 1212 before you leave Australia or through My Vodafone.

If you don’t want callers to be able to leave a message, you can record and set a Voicemail extended absence greeting. You can find out more information about this option using our ‘How to’ guide.

Step 4

Another option for postpaid customers is to divert all calls to our CALLscreen service. With CALLscreen set up on your account, calls are answered by a friendly Vodafone operator who greets your callers, takes their messages and then sends them to your phone as a TXT message. Additional charges apply to use this service but it may prove to be cheaper than answering calls or using Voicemail.

Step 1

If you need to use data through the mobile network while you’re overseas and you’re a postpaid customer, you might want to add a Roaming Data Bundle to your account before you leave. Roaming data is charged at a much higher rate than when you’re in Australia so a Roaming Data Bundle can help reduce your costs significantly. You can add a Roaming Data Bundle by contacting customer care.

Step 2

Turn off data roaming when you don’t need to access the internet through the mobile network. This will prevent your phone from using roaming data in the background (like checking every few minutes for emails, etc.). You’ll still be able to make and receive calls, TXT and use Wi-Fi. Visit our ‘How-to’ guide to find instructions for managing your data roaming settings.

Step 3

When you need to use roaming data, close any apps you’re not using and switch your phone to manually retrieve emails. This will help limit the amount of background data your phone is using. You can find instructions to close active apps using our ‘How-to’ guide.

Step 4

If your phone is Wi-Fi compatible, look for free wireless hotspots (free Wi-Fi) in and around the locations you visit. These hotspots are often found in airports, hotels, restaurants and cafés. Check our ‘How-to’ guide to find instructions to connect your phone to Wi-Fi.