Roaming settings

Smartphones are automatically connected to the internet, so you should be good to go. If you still want to be sure, you can change double check your roaming settings on your device within the mobile data settings of your phone. If you’re having trouble finding this, you should be able to find instructions in your manufacturer’s guide. Or, you can check our dedicated Device support section.

Turning off data roaming will stop apps running in the background. You’ll be good to go. Don’t forget – you can still make calls and send texts.

Note: if you’ve got a new Pay As You Go SIM, make sure you activate the SIM before you go away. It can't be activated while abroad.

Mobile Wi-Fi devices aren’t automatically connected to the internet when you’re roaming. 

This is to make sure you don't get charged unexpectedly. To change your roaming settings, follow the steps below: 

1. 1. Go to the homepage then and click on Connection settings. 
   • If you have a Huawei device, open a new internet browser and type 192.168.1.1 into the address bar, then press enter. 
   • If you have a ZTE device (excluding Windows 8, 8.1), open a new internet browser and type 192.168.0.1 into the address bar, then press enter.
2. Enter the password: admin.
3. Enable the Data Roaming option. 
   • If you have a ZTE device on Windows 8 or 8.1, click on Settings Charm > Network > Mobile Broadband connection> Activate Roam automatically. 
4. If you use your device abroad, the data won't come out of your monthly allowance. Instead, you'll be charged standard roaming rates, unless you're in a Go Roam destination. Find out more on our Roaming page. 

It's important to make sure that your phone is compatible with the networks in the country you're travelling to. You can find out which countries your phone will work in here. 

If you're not sure which frequencies your phone supports, go to our device support and select the make and model of your phone.  

If roaming is activated, you’ll receive a message to let you know that you can make calls when you're abroad. If it's not activated, a message will appear saying you can't make calls when you're abroad. 

To help you manage your roaming costs while abroad, we’ll text you information about call charges and roaming rates in each country. 

To prevent you from spending too much, we've also set a worldwide data roaming limit of £45 a month. We'll send you texts to let you know when you've reached 80% and 95% of this £45 limit. 

To keep track of what you spend abroad, you can log into your My3 account or check the Three app. 

If you don't want roaming cost text notifications, text 'stop' to 330. You can easily reactivate the notifications by texting 'start' to 330. 

To change your data roaming limit, you'll need to contact us. If you're not calling from a Three phone or calling while abroad, you'll be charged standard international call charges. 

Inadvertent roaming is when your device connects to a network in a different destination from that which you're currently in. This can happen if you live or travel near to an international border, or on a coastline where you may connect to maritime services. Connecting to another network could mean you potentially pay higher roaming charges.

To avoid this, you can turn off data roaming on your device and look out for any notification messages that we send you. You can check roaming costs on our Roaming abroad page.​

If you live close to the Northern Irish border, you may sometimes roam onto a Republic of Ireland network without meaning to.

To ensure there are no accidental charges applied to your monthly bill in this circumstance, we've excluded the Republic of Ireland from our monthly fair use limit of 12GB, which usually applies when roaming in our Go Roam in Europe destinations. This means you'll be able to use your data without fear of inadvertently crossing the 12GB limit.

There are no fair use limits for making calls or sending texts whilst roaming in a Go Roam in Europe destination, and the Republic of Ireland is also excluded from the daily roaming charge.

If you want to use voicemail when you're abroad, make sure you've set up a voicemail security PIN first. 

To listen to your voicemail abroad: 

1. Make sure you know what your PIN is so you can access your voicemail when you're out of the country 

1. Dial +447782 333 123 

1. Enter your PIN followed by # 

1. In some countries, you may be asked for your Three phone number and PIN 

1. Select 2 to listen to your voicemail 

If you can't remember your voicemail PIN, you may need to reset it. To do this, give us a call on +44 7782 333 333 (standard roaming charges apply). 

All calls are diverted to your voicemail for free when you're abroad. 

Standard roaming charges will apply for listening to your voicemail messages when you're abroad. This applies unless you're in a Go Roam destination with a plan that includes Go Roam, using minutes from your allowance. Find out more about Go Roam. 

Note: If you're in the EU/EEA, listening to your voicemail messages will be included in your allowance for all our plans. 

To find out how much it costs to use voicemail abroad, go to our price guide. 

Calling the UK from any of our Go Roam in Europe destinations is included in your allowance with all our plans. With Go Roam in Europe, you can also make calls between Go Roam in Europe destinations. For customers with Go Roam Around the World, any calls back to the UK will also be included in your price plan and will come out of your allowance. 

Remember, you'll need to add international dialling codes to any numbers you use. Always put a + symbol in front of the number you're calling, followed by the country code. Also, take off the first digit from the area code, which is usually a 0. 

You can chat to us easily on Live Chat. If you're using data and not connected to Wi-Fi, this will come out of your roaming allowance or cause data roaming charges. 

Chat to one of our advisors.