Roaming Tips for Travellers

Using your GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) cell phone while roaming will be a breeze with these handy tips!

1. Check your phone handset compatibility. Ensure that your handset will work in the country you are travelling to. Remember that some countries operate on dual band networks, while others use tri-band or even quad-band networks. Find out which kind of network your phone is designed to use. However most of smartphones can support dual band networks!

2. Check that the roaming feature is enabled. Call your telco customer care  you leave to ensure that international roaming is enabled.  If you wish to have your roaming feature permanently disabled, please request that Customer Care make this change. Note: if you would like to be able to turn data roaming on and off at your own discretion, you may usually do this by selecting “Data Off While Roaming” in your Mobile Network Options.

3. Take control of your voicemail. Calling your voicemail while roaming costs the same as making an international roaming call back to Malaysia. It is important to remember that you will be charged every time someone leaves a message on your voicemail, even if you don’t check the message. If you want to avoid these charges completely, however by activating Flexiroam service you will only need to pay for call forward service (the cost is as you're in Malaysia, depending to your telco) + RM10 Flexiroam credit per day.. You can talk UNLIMITED time, remember! :)

 

4. Alert your operator immediately if your phone is lost or stolen: If your phone is lost or stolen when you are abroad remember that you could be liable for the cost of the calls made in that country. Make a note of the contact details of your operator before you travel to ensure that you can get in touch with them as soon as possible to report the loss.

5. Learn how to switch between networks. If you are traveling to multiple destinations, you may need to turn your phone off and then turn it on again to recognize the new wireless network. If you prefer to choose your roaming network manually, please consult your phone manual for assistance. 

6. Make use of Wi-Fi to save on data roaming. You may choose to turn data off while roaming and access data in Wi-Fi hot spots only. Note: Not all phones are Wi-Fi capable. Check your manual or your mobile company customer support to verify the specifications for your handset. Many hotels, airports and cafes offer free Wi-Fi service, but others may charge you a fee for Wi-Fi access. However it is advisable for you to use local carrier to on data network, for example if you're travelling to China, you can buy China simcard, activate Flexiroam service and start using China sim but keeping your Malaysia number, refer to previous entry for how Flexiroam works

7. Check your prepaid credit. If roaming on a prepaid phone, be sure to top up before you travel. If you need more Flexiroam credit while abroad, you may top up online at http://flexiroam.com/my/

8.Check the power supply. Make note of the voltage and plug type for your destination. You may need to bring an adaptor set for your charger.

Happy Roaming!