This simple mistake can make your phone bill skyrocket, remember to deactivate the option as soon as possible!

Many users forget to deactivate this option which can quickly cost you several tens or even hundreds of euros. I experienced it myself at my own expense…

These days, there are all sorts of little options that a smartphone user can play with to make their phone bill lighter or heavier. As we've written here and there, it's often worth turning off features like Bluetooth or NFC to avoid using your phone unnecessarily. But there is also an option that can cost you dearly, especially if you are a bit of a traveler. It is called “data roaming”.

When you subscribe to a telephone plan, it is generally usable in your country, in France in our case. Some plans also allow you to benefit from mobile data in our neighboring countries, in particular in the European Union, which is often covered by the most recent or interesting plans. But some plans do not allow you to have your data outside the country where you have subscribed to it. This is generally the case for the least expensive packages that will focus on basic use, for everyday life.

But what happens when you try to use your plan outside its designated area? ? This is where the famous “data roaming” comes in. Sometimes activated by default or without you knowing it, this option dictates that your plan draws on your operator's international options to allow you to continue making calls, receiving text messages or surfing the net. Often, once you have crossed the border or the plane has landed on the track, your smartphone will tell you that you have a certain amount of call time, a certain number of text messages, or a certain level of data in the country you are about to visit. Which is something to be happy about at first glance.

Except that if your plan does not have a specific option for international communications, then you will have to pay extra for all the operations carried out! And this can cost you a lot. The writer who writes this can testify to this himself. On my last trip, I was hit with a roaming data bill of over 60 euros by leaving the feature enabled for only a few minutes!

While some operators put a payment limit on roaming data, this is not the case for all and not disabling this option could quickly cost you several tens of euros or even several hundreds. To avoid this mishap and deactivate data roaming, go to your phone's settings then to the “network and internet” section. Select the “SIM” option then your SIM card currently in use. You will find the “roaming” option there which you can then uncheck.