Will it work with Data roaming switched off

[lyonnesse]

I've had a quick search and can't find the definitive answer. I live in the UK but spend a lot of time travelling Europe, when I switch off Data Roaming to avoid the extortionate costs.

I'm interested in buying both the UK and Western Europe apps, but I would like to know what will be lost by having Data Roaming permanently switched off while I'm abroad

 

[mikealder]

As the application and map stays on the iPhone there is nothing lost in way of fuctionality if you turn of data while roaming in mainland Europe, the TomTom application is pretty dumb to be honest and doesn't need a data connection to work, some of the other iPhone navigation packages do offer OTA (over the air) services and would require data to be enabled but not TomTom - Mike

 

[jmgtomtom]

I live in theUS and travel to Europe and use TomTom WE all the time with roaming turned off...as Lyonesse says, nothing about this apps requires data which to me is what makes this worth paying for over many other GPS apps in the space. (I can't imagine how much a 3 hour drive would cost me on Google maps...)

 

[mikealder]

Make sure you get a tariff with built in unlimitted data then it doesn't matter if you are using OTA maps, both my 3G and 3GS have unlimitted data bundled with them (UK) - Mike

 

[Metriks]

Ok I'm an idiot

Everyone tells me if I turn data roaming off, it will prevent me from being charged in Europe for my US plan. I'm trying to test this here by turning everything off. I can't. Calls still come through. Texts still come through even though I've turned MMS messaging off. Everything I can possibly think of is off, apart from airplane mode that kills everything.

IS there a way to turn off all receiving of calls, texts, etc. while still allowing the GPS? Many thanks.

 

[daveoftruro]

I think everyone treated this question to mean does TT cost me anything, rather than does my mobile phone cost me whilst abroad. That's not unreasonable since, after all, this is a TT forum.

Turning off Data Roaming stops the phone receiving data traffic whilst out of your home carrier's area. So all Internet access, including TT Traffic will be prevented. What it doesn't do is to stop your phone behaving as a phone.

I've had a quick look through settings and can't see how you can prevent that, apart from using Airplane Mode. You could divert all calls to an answering service for which you may have to pay, but you are probably stuck with texts.

You could replace your sim with a PAYG sim from an operator here eg O2, and put a minimum amount on it. That way, your normal service will not function.

 

[mikealder]

On the iPhone its simple to disable the GPRS data service while overseas, simply go to Settings/ General/ Network and turn the "Data Roaming" option to OFF, you can still use it as a phone but any applications that need a data connection will be limited in terms of what they can do.
In the case of TomTom it simply won't use the Live services but the navigation will still work - Mike

 

[Banditwelve]

Everyone tells me if I turn data roaming off, it will prevent me from being charged in Europe for my US plan. I'm trying to test this here by turning everything off. I can't. Calls still come through. Texts still come through even though I've turned MMS messaging off. Everything I can possibly think of is off, apart from airplane mode that kills everything.

IS there a way to turn off all receiving of calls, texts, etc. while still allowing the GPS? Many thanks.

when I set mine to Airplane Mode, the TT still works fine.
Airplane mode stops the iPhone transmitting any signal, but it can still receive the GPS signal.

 

[mikealder]

when I set mine to Airplane Mode, the TT still works fine.
Airplane mode stops the iPhone transmitting any signal, but it can still receive the GPS signal.

Why are you trying to use Flight Mode:

On the iPhone its simple to disable the GPRS data service while overseas, simply go to Settings/ General/ Network and turn the "Data Roaming" option to OFF, you can still use it as a phone but any applications that need a data connection will be limited in terms of what they can do.
In the case of TomTom it simply won't use the Live services but the navigation will still work - Mike

 

[daveoftruro]

Metriks said he wanted to avoid Roaming charges whilst in Europe, including calls and texts, and simply use his phone for running TT.