How to prepare your phone for international travel

Abroad, your phone does the work of a map, a wallet, a translator, a boarding pass and the way your bank proves it’s you. Almost everything that makes it useful there has to be done before you leave, on home Wi-Fi, with your home SIM still working. Leave it to the arrivals hall and you’ll be downloading maps on airport Wi-Fi while a taxi driver waits.

This guide takes you through it in the order that matters, with an evening’s checklist at the end.

How will you get mobile data abroad?

You have four realistic choices. The right one depends on how long you’re away, how much data you use and what kind of phone you have.

A few rules of thumb:

• Check the phone is unlocked first. On an iPhone, go to Settings › General › About and look for "No SIM restrictions". If it’s locked to your carrier, a travel eSIM or local SIM won’t work.
• eSIM-only phones can’t take a local SIM card. Apple’s iPhone Air is eSIM-only everywhere, and iPhone 14 models and later bought in the US are eSIM-only, along with some newer models bought in Canada, Mexico, Japan and parts of the Middle East. Google’s Pixel 10 and later are eSIM-only in the US. If that’s you, choose an eSIM or roaming.
• Inside the EU and EEA, check whether "roam like at home" covers you. EU and EEA plans can be used in the 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and since 1 January 2026 in Ukraine and Moldova too, at no extra charge (with a fair-use policy). UK plans aren’t covered by that rule any more; GOV.UK says a default data-roaming spending limit of £45 a month applies, with alerts at 80% and 100%.

How do I keep getting bank codes while I’m abroad?

This is the part most guides skip, and it’s the one that can lock you out of your money. Your bank, Alipay, airlines and most apps send sign-in codes by SMS to your home number. If you swap your SIM out, or switch the home line off completely, those texts don’t arrive.

The fix is to keep two lines working, with each doing a different job:

• Your home line stays on for calls and texts, with data roaming switched off, so it doesn’t run up charges.
• The travel eSIM or local SIM carries your mobile data.

Apple says Dual SIM "lets you keep your home number and add a local travel plan", and that both lines can send and receive SMS while only one uses mobile data. On an iPhone, set this in Settings › Mobile (or Cellular): choose the travel line for mobile data, then tap your home line and turn off Data Roaming. On a Google Pixel, go to Settings › Network & internet › SIMs, where calls, texts and mobile data can each be set to a different SIM. Most recent phones work the same way; the menu names differ.

Two caveats:

1. Receiving texts while roaming may cost something on some plans. Check with your carrier.
2. Where you can, move important accounts to an authenticator app or passkeys before you go. Then a lost SIM or a dead phone isn’t a lockout.

What should I download before I go?

Downloads need Wi-Fi and time. Do them at home.

Offline maps. In Google Maps, search for your city, open the menu and download the area. Know the limits before you rely on them: offline maps don’t give transit, cycling or walking directions, only driving directions without live traffic, and the whole route has to sit inside the downloaded area. Downloaded maps also expire, so open them before you travel to let them update. Offline maps aren’t available in some countries. In mainland China, Google Maps is blocked on local networks and its street map is shifted by several hundred metres; see does Google Maps work in China for what to use instead.

Offline translation. In Google Translate, open the language list and tap the download icon next to each language you’ll need. If there’s no download icon, that language isn’t available offline. Camera translation of menus and signs works offline only for some languages, so test it in aeroplane mode at home.

Your destination’s apps. Every country has its own: the taxi app, the transit app, the train booking app, the way people pay. Sign up while your home number is working, because many of them text a code. In China, for example, you’d set up Alipay or WeChat Pay, Amap and Railway 12306 before you fly; our guide on how to use Alipay as a tourist walks through the payment set-up. Amicly’s country guides list the apps for Japan, China and 16 other destinations, marked "set up at home" where it matters.

Your documents. Save boarding passes, hotel confirmations and tickets to your phone’s wallet or as files, not just as emails you’ll need signal to open. Save your hotel’s address in the local script too, to show a driver.

How do I avoid a big roaming bill?

Three settings do most of the work:

1. Data roaming off on your home line (Settings › Mobile › your home line › Data Roaming on iPhone). Your phone then can’t use expensive roaming data by accident.
2. The right line for mobile data. If you’re using a travel eSIM, make sure it’s the line chosen for data, and that data roaming is on for that line, since technically it’s roaming too.
3. Wi-Fi Assist and background refresh can quietly use data. Turn off automatic app updates over mobile data while you’re away.

If you’re using your carrier’s pass, you don’t need to change much, but read the terms. Verizon’s TravelPass, for example, runs in 24-hour sessions with 5 GB of high-speed data, then slows down; AT&T caps its day-pass charges at 10 days per line in a bill period.

Is my phone safe on public Wi-Fi abroad?

Treat it with caution. The US State Department advises care with public Wi-Fi and suggests updating your devices before you leave and turning on device tracking. Practically, that means:

• Update the phone’s software before you go, on home Wi-Fi.
• Turn on Find My on an iPhone, or Google’s Find Hub (formerly Find My Device) on Android, and know how to use it from another device.
• Use mobile data rather than open Wi-Fi for banking.
• Back up the phone, so losing it costs you a phone and not your photos.
• Write down two or three key phone numbers on paper, in case the phone is lost.

Your phone checklist before you fly

At home, on Wi-Fi, a few days before:

• Check the phone is unlocked
• Decide on data: roaming pass, travel eSIM or local SIM
• Install the travel eSIM (but leave the line off until you land, if the provider says so)
• Download offline maps for each city, and open them once to check they’ve updated
• Download offline translation languages and test them in aeroplane mode
• Install and sign up for your destination’s apps while SMS codes still reach you
• Move key accounts to an authenticator app or passkeys where you can
• Update the phone, back it up, turn on Find My or Find Hub
• Save tickets, bookings and the hotel address offline
• Pack a charger, a power bank and the right plug adapter

On landing:

• Switch mobile data to the travel line
• Check data roaming is off on your home line
• Open your maps and transport app once while you have a connection
• Delete or switch off the travel line when you’re home (with iOS 26, Apple says the iPhone turns a travel eSIM off automatically when you return)

Amicly’s Travel Kit keeps this list next to the apps your destination needs, so you can tick things off at home and open it on the trip without signal.