Understanding How Roaming Works

[Sal00]

Hello Everyone,

I just want to clarify a lot of misinformation out there about Roaming. There has been many people claiming you get charged for simply having a signal. This is not true. Roaming is only billed on USAGE by the user itself. For example answering an incoming call, text message , calling voicemail or turning ON data roaming. 

Airplane Mode is not needed as it simply cuts you off from total contact and reachability. By following the steps above you are in control if you decide to use your phone the days you want.

As per the Rogers website it also states below:

Pay only on days when you roam  is active only on days when you make or answer a call, text or use data while travelling. Once active, it will be valid until 11:59 p.m. of that calendar day based on Eastern Time (ET). If you don’t want to use Roam Like Home, switch your data roaming off and avoid making or answering calls or sending texts.

Same goes with being on a Cruise Ship, simply do not answer anything and leave data roaming off as this falls under pay per use not covered by Roam Like Home.

I have travel multiple times for business and pleasure a year and on the days I did not need to use the daily fee I was never charged a fee. On a odd occurrence a glitch happens on your phone,  those small charges are easily disputable as Rogers will see the usage to be nil to 0.

Hope this helps! 🙂 

[57]

The Rogers Website also has the following useful information about roaming charges:

https://www.rogers.com/mobility/roaming/billing

Can I be charged for roaming if I only use my device on WiFi?

Some services like iMessage (& WhatsApp, etc) can work on WiFi alone but may still send a message as an SMS or MMS if an internet connection can’t be found. These messages will result in roaming charges. Similarly, settings like background app refresh, WiFi Assist, cloud-based backups or push emails (or GPS data) can use data and result in roaming charges. If you prefer to use your device on WiFi while travelling, turn off push notifications or options to send SMS messages to avoid these charges. (As well as checking other app settings which may cause roaming charges)

Will I be billed for roaming if I use WiFi Calling to make or receive calls on airplane mode?

Using your device to make a WiFi call or send a text to a non-Canadian number while travelling will incur roaming charges, such as the Roam Like Home daily fee.  

If the number you’re calling or texting is outside the destination you’re roaming in, you’ll also incur long distance charges.  

When using WiFi Calling, you won’t be charged for incoming calls or calls back to Canadian numbers, including checking your voicemail.  

To avoid unintended charges, turn on Airplane mode and use WiFi Calling to call Canadian numbers, check your voicemail or answer incoming calls. This will ensure that you don’t unintentionally connect to a cellular network if you lose your WiFi connection. 

For someone like @Sal00 who knows how to use his phone while travelling, his recommendations are certainly valid as he understands the meaning of the term "usage".  However, for many people who may not be as proficient in using their phones internationally and the (many) phone's settings, we have the following link recommendations, to eliminate or minimize roaming charges, which discuss utilizing Airplane mode (as recommended in the last paragraph from Rogers' website), or leaving your phone off, or removing the Rogers SIM, or purchasing a foreign SIM, while understanding the restrictions that come with those steps.

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Account-Support/Roaming-like-home/m-p/518044/highlight/true#M3...

So, if you know what you're doing and don't use your phone in the same way you do when in Canada, you should be able to avoid or minimize roaming charges.

* Underlines and Italics are mine.

[RogersZia]

Thank you for sharing your insights @Sal00 and @57, I am sure our users will appreciate the details you've both posted here :). 

RogersZia

[57]

Just to reinforce the need for a thorough understanding of roaming, below are two recent threads where people thought they were "OK", but encountered roaming charges nevertheless.

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Account-Support/Roaming-Charges/m-p/532370/highlight/true#M352...

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Account-Support/Roaming-Charges/m-p/532205

These are only the most recent of many similar threads from people who encountered roaming charges when they did not expect them.  This is why we have a summary post - link near the end my previous post (even if it is a bit conservative).

[yanrap]

Just spent an hour with a useless CSR who keeps telling me I incurred roaming charges when I disabled mobile data and roaming as well as MMS from my rogers sim before leaving Canada. I'm using an eSim for data. Got billed 100$ each for my wife and I for apparent roaming charges when I haven't made/answered any calls nor sent sms while abroad. I will have to escalate it to a supervisor and file a complaint to CRTC as many others have.

[LordDrakkon]

You don't seem to understand how your device or the software and apps on your device e work. I a fan of apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SnapChat, etc, being able to override your settings without any notification at all? No! That is why I choose not to use them. Your device checking for updates automatically, using GPS and map apps, andany, many more can all.Override the settings on your device without any sort of notification. Even things like sattelite usage, getting within 2 miles of a cruise ship, and just connecting to a foreign tower can trigger your device to activate services and things, like tracking your device in case it is ever lost without prompting you to enable your data. This is why just about everyone here and on other.forums reends putting your device in Airplane Mode or roving your SIM before leaving Canada and not taking your device out of Airplame ode or putting your pSIM back in your device until you are back in Canada.

This might be a very expensive lesson to learn but hopefully in then future, you will learn a bit more about the devices you take with you on trips outside of the country. Roaming works the same regardless of the Canadian carrier you use and you will see the same recommended on foreign carrier forums for people inquiring about traveling abroad that don't want to encur roing charges.

[57]

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@yanrap wrote:
Just spent an hour with a useless CSR who keeps telling me I incurred roaming charges when I disabled mobile data and roaming as well as MMS from my rogers sim before leaving Canada. 

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We already covered this in the other thread you started and it's also covered in post 2 of this thread and the links in that post, especially the second link near the end of the post.  @LordDrakkon also elaborated on the topic.  You can probably stop banging your head against that wall unless you like even more pain.

[yanrap]

The ironic thing here is that when I received a text message from Rogers saying I had incurred max roaming for my billing period, the second part said that "they would disable data access until the next period". So what I understand here is that THEY can override settings but not me! If Rogers cannot provide me a solution to disable data by myself than they are guilty of misleading people with statements like "disabling data and data roaming will prevent roaming charges" and " roaming charges will be incurred for answering /making phone calls or sending text messages". This is coming straight from their roaming section and their chat bot!

Stop telling me to remove my sim if Rogers allows people to opt out or Roam like home when there is apparently no way you can avoid roaming charges! Why would someone even consider pay per use if they're guaranteed roaming charges no matter what!

[57]

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@yanrap wrote:
Why would someone even consider pay per use if they're guaranteed roaming charges no matter what!

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I use pay-per-use all the time because I'm on a pre-paid plan. I do, however, follow the instructions we ( @LordDrakkon  and I) have provided in this and your other thread. 

I do not encounter any roaming charges (unless I wish to talk or text) and neither does the OP of this thread, because we understand how things work.  Many people do not, however, following your experience and our responses, you should now be more educated on the topic.

A person may wish to use pay-per-use because, if they use it sparingly, it's a lot cheaper than $15 RLH as discussed in my link in post 2, provided again below:

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Account-Support/Roaming-like-home/m-p/518044/highlight/true#M3...

[57]

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@yanrap wrote:
So what I understand here is that THEY can override settings but not me!

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Yes, because they can control what the SIM does/allows, in the same way they can control 4G or 5G or any other services on a phone.  You cannot.  I'm on Pre-paid and only have 3G voice access for example.

[yanrap]

I have specifically selected the data esim on my phone to be the one using data and Not the Rogers Sim card as I have disabled data and data roaming. Rogers can unilaterally disable my data but I can't?

[57]

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@yanrap wrote:  Rogers can unilaterally disable my data but I can't?

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Yep, see my post above yours.

[RDK2]

I understand that I can avoid roam like home charges by turning airplane mode on and turning wi-fi on. What about turning bluetooth on? I have tiles to track my bags, wife's purse etc. Will I be charged $15 per day (X2 phones) if I keep my bluetooth on?

[yanrap]

Just thought I would follow up on my previous reply about the incurred roaming charges during my trip to Portugal. I just received my rogers bill and guess what, NO DATA USED during the trip and NO ROAMING CHARGES INCURRED despite receiving a Rogers notification about incurring roam charges.

Just in case someone else goes through this thread, here's a recap of what happened:

Opted out of Roam Lime Home.
Purchased a data esim for travel abroad.
Prior to leaving the country I installed the esim and disabled mobile data and data roaming on my Rogers physical sim.
Deactivated MMS on the Rogers sim.
When I landed I activated the travel esim for data usage and selected NO when prompted to activate smart network switch (I guess for data usage purposes).
I did not ANSWER/MAKE phone calls not send SMS while abroad.

A few days in I received an sms from Rogers stating my wife and I had both incurred 100$ in roaming charges and that Rogers would deactivate my data access til the end of my billing cycle. This proved to be false as my Rogers bill has no roaming charges, no sms sent, no calls made and my detailed data usage graph shows no data usage during the travel dates.

This is using a Pixel 8 phone.

[57]

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@RDK2 wrote:

I understand that I can avoid roam like home charges by turning airplane mode on and turning wi-fi on. What about turning bluetooth on? I have tiles to track my bags, wife's purse etc. Will I be charged $15 per day (X2 phones) if I keep my bluetooth on?

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I'm pretty sure that if you leave your phone in Airplane mode, then the phone cannot connect to a foreign cell tower and you will not be charged for roaming.  As soon as you turn off Airplane mode, you may encounter charges as discussed in the posts above.

I've used my iPhone SE2020 to track my luggage and other items when travelling (I use Atuvos tags)  I'm on a pre-paid plan, but never encounter any pay-per-use roaming charges for the Find My functionality.

PS. I use Atuvos because they are less expensive, they can be turned on/off and they are available in 2-packs, which is all I needed.

[YuAhtung]

Hello Sal00, according to your post, if I open a message from Roger about Roam Like Home options while I'm overseas, it would incur roaming charges? What if I just don't open the message and leave it there?

[57]

@YuAhtung : please read post 2 of this thread and the link in that post - supplied again below:

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Account-Support/Roaming-like-home/m-p/518044/highlight/true#M3...

There are many ways that roaming can be triggered as discussed in the link - apps override your settings, location services, notifications, etc.

If you're interested in Cellular Data overrides, etc - check out the following thread:

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Apple/Why-Do-I-See-Cellular-Data-Usage-Even-Though-I-Have-My-i...

And the following post in that thread:

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Apple/Why-Do-I-See-Cellular-Data-Usage-Even-Though-I-Have-My-i...

If you wish to avoid roaming charges you need to remove the Rogers SIM, leave the phone off, use airplane mode and never switch out of airplane mode.  If you call Rogers and turn off Roam Like Home, you may still encounter pay-per-use roaming charges, which are very expensive.