Apple iPhone 7 Tutorial: Manage International Roaming Settings on your iPhone 7 iOS 10

It is highly recommended to manage and configure international roaming settings on your iPhone before travelling abroad to avoid incurring extra fees and higher rates. If you don’t want to incur roaming charges when you reached your destination with no international data plan, you may opt to disable to turn off Cellular Data and Data Roaming features on your iPhone 7.

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However, if you would opt to use your network services and don’t mind getting extra charges when travelling internationally, then you can just activate data roaming services and your iPhone 7 cellular data options. With the iPhone 7 cellular data and data roaming features, you can use various network services while travelling abroad for extra costs. This post will walk you through configuring and managing international roaming settings on your iPhone 7 should you need some more inputs while prepping for your overseas travel.

How to access and manage international data roaming options on your iPhone 7 iOS 10

Apple’s iPhone 7 originally comes with the iOS 10 platform, which comprises a lot of new and enhanced features from the prior versions. Among the key features it integrates is Data Roaming or international roaming services. As the name implies, this feature is associated with cellular data and is designed for use when travelling abroad.

In iOS 10, these features can be accessed through Settings-> Cellular-> Cellular Data or Mobile Data on your iPhone menus.  Apps and services utilize cellular connection when Wi-Fi is not available, given that cellular data is turned on or activated. This may then result to incurring possible charges for using certain features and services through cellular data. For more information on possible charges, data roaming policy, or other cellular data settings, contact your carrier.  

Disable/Enable Cellular Data and Data Roaming on your iPhone 7 iOS 10

If you want to limit apps and services from using the cellular network when connecting to the Internet, you can configure your iPhone 7 to disable or turn off cellular data.

  • To disable the feature, just tap on Cellular Data Options and turn off Cellular Data and Data Roaming. Or go to Settings-> Cellular-> Cellular Data or Mobile Data menu.

When you disable or turn off cellular data, mobile Internet services including web browsing, email, and push notifications will require wireless connection to go through.

Manage Data Usage on your iPhone 7 iOS 10

There are different ways for you to manage data usage on your iPhone while traveling abroad. Depending on your carrier, you may opt to set up and manage travel plans with your iPhone 7 according to your preferences. Carriers usually offer international data plans for you to choose from. Hence, it’s best to consult with your carrier about which plan is best applicable to your destination and your needs prior to traveling.

Should you decide to use your network carrier’s cellular service while traveling abroad, here are some helpful tips that will help you manage your data usage.

The first thing to do when you get to your destination is to turn on Cellular Data on your iPhone 7. Doing so will activate cellular data on your iPhone as well as other associated services your network carrier offers.

Steps to enable or turn on Cellular Data on iPhone 7 iOS 10:

  • Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  • From the Settings menu, scroll to and tap Cellular.
  • Toggle the Cellular Data switch to enable cellular data or mobile data on your iPhone.
  • Tap Cellular Data Options.
  • Tap Roaming.
  • Scroll to Voice & Data Roaming and make sure it is enabled. If necessary, toggle the switch to turn it on.

Note: If you don’t see this screen, it means that Voice & Data Roaming is already turned or enabled on your device.

  • Tap to enable Data Roaming and International CDMA.

Check Data Usage on your iPhone 7 iOS 10

To ensure that everything on your cellular services are set accordingly and that you haven’t exceeded any data-usage limits of your international data plan, check and monitor your iPhone’s data usage. A common indicator that you might have ran out of data is a slower network speed or slow browsing issues.

Steps to check data or call time usage on iPhone 7 iOS:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Tap Cellular.
  • Select Cellular Data or Mobile Data.
  • Navigate to the Cellular Data Usage section.
  • Scroll down to a list of apps that use cellular data. Beneath each app is the amount of cellular data used in the current period.
  • If necessary, turn off cellular data for certain apps. Doing so will prompt the app to use Wi-Fi for data instead.

Steps to view cellular data usage for individual System Services on your iPhone 7 iOS 10:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Tap Cellular.
  • Select Cellular Data or Mobile Data.
  • Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and then tap System Services.

Steps to view cellular data usage of your Exchange ActiveSync account on iPhone 7 iOS 10:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Tap Cellular.
  • Tap System Services.

Note: Your device may continue to use cellular data when processing Exchange ActiveSync emails even if you disable cellular data for Mail and Calendar.

Reset Mobile Data Usage Statistics on your iPhone 7

If you want to have a clearer view of how much data usage you’ve incurred for a certain period, like per week or month, then you can reset mobile data usage statistics on your iPhone periodically. Here’s how:

  • Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  • Tap Cellular from the given options.
  • Scroll to the bottom of the screen and then tap on Reset Statistics.
  • Tap on Reset Statistics again to confirm action.

What to do if you cannot connect to cellular network while traveling abroad

If you are having trouble using cellular data like you cannot connect to cellular network while traveling abroad, verify and ensure that Airplane mode is off and data roaming is enabled on your iPhone 7. Here’s how:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Tap Cellular.
  • Select Cellular Data Options.
  • Toggle the switch next to Data Roaming to turn the feature on.
  • Restart your iPhone the usual way.

If after the restart, you still could not connect to cellular network try to re-install the SIM card. To do so, power off your iPhone completely, remove the SIM card from the SIM tray using a SIM eject tool or small paper clip, check the SIM card for any signs of damages like scratches. If you see no signs of possible damage, re-insert the SIM card. Be sure to place it back to its original position. Once you see that the SIM card is secured, push the SIM card tray back in. Turn on your iPhone and then try to connect to cellular network again.

You can also try to turn off International CDMA on your iPhone 7 in case you have problems with poor messaging and data performance on your device while using it in another country. Here’s how:

  • Tap Settings from the Home screen, to open the Settings menu.
  • Tap Cellular from the given options.
  • Tap Cellular Data Options to continue.
  • Tap Roaming.
  • Toggle the switch next to International CDMA to turn it off.

If you see that the green button turns gray, it denotes that International CDMA is disabled on your iPhone 7.

If that won’t work either, contact your carrier and make sure that your iPhone is not blocked from getting cellular services and that is set up with the correct data plan. Also make sure that your iPhone 7 supports CDMA network. Other iPhone 7 models do not support CDMA networks.

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