Using your phone abroad

Help and support

Using your phone abroad – Help and Support | O2

Roaming on your phone

When you use your phone abroad for data, calls or texts, it’s called roaming. While you’re travelling, we’ll send you a series of messages to make you aware of your roaming options.

This page is for Pay Monthly customers. There is a separate help page for roaming on Pay As You Go.

Travelling in our Europe Zone

We’re the only major network that isn’t bringing back EU roaming charges for up to 25GB. Wherever you fancy going in our Europe Zone (40+ destinations), you’re free to call, text and use data just like you would in the UK, subject to a roaming limit. You can check your roaming usage on your My O2 homepage.

Find out more about roaming in Europe.

Travelling outside our Europe Zone

Outside Europe, countries are divided into three roaming zones: Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 3.

We offer different products, like O2 Travel, O2 Travel Inclusive Zone, and Data Roaming Bolt Ons to help you roam in different zones. We have another page where you can see the options for a specific country.

O2 Travel Inclusive Zone

If you're a Volt or Pay Monthly customer on selected plans, you may be eligible for the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Bolt On.

It gives you unlimited minutes, texts and data roaming in Zone 1 (27 destinations outside Europe, including the USA, Australia and New Zealand).

If you have an Ultimate Plan, it will include O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Ultimate, which gives unlimited minutes, texts and data roaming in the 75 destinations in Zones 1 and 2.

O2 Travel

The O2 Travel Bolt On covers roaming Zones 1 and 2. That’s 75 destinations outside Europe, including the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, China and Hong Kong.

You’ll get unlimited minutes, texts and data for the fixed price of £6 a day, on the days that you use it.

Standard rates and Data Roaming Bolt Ons

Outside our Europe Zone, if you don’t have any of our O2 Travel Bolt Ons, or you’re roaming in a destination not covered by these services, you’ll be charged our standard roaming rates for calls and texts. We have another page where you can see the rates for a specific country.

To use data, you’ll need to add a Data Roaming Bolt On. Just head to My O2 and browse Bolt Ons, or we’ll send you a link when you land.

Check roaming rates in different countries

Using voicemail abroad

Before you travel, you'll need to make sure you know your voicemail PIN.

Calling 901 as usual works in most countries. If it doesn't, call 1780 free from your mobile, or +44 7802 090 100, and we'll text you the right number to call.

Depending on which country you're in, you'll either go straight to your messages or you'll go to your voicemail greeting. If it's your voicemail greeting, press * and enter your PIN.

If you forget your PIN when you're abroad, contact us and ask us to reset it. You'll then need to change your PIN before you can listen to your messages. It costs the same to listen to a voicemail abroad as it does to make a call to the UK. There's no charge for receiving a voicemail if you don't listen to it.

How do I prevent accidental roaming?

Accidental roaming occurs when you're in an area close to a national border and your phone picks up the network across the border. If this happens, you may be charged as though you were roaming in the country across the border.

You can prevent this by choosing manual, rather than automatic, network selection on your phone and then choosing the O2 network. This way if you lose our network, your phone won't try to connect to a different one.

For help with turning off data roaming, go to our interactive device guide.

O2 Travel Inclusive Zone FAQs

Which destinations are in the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone?

The O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Bolt On covers the 27 countries in Zone 1:

Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Greenland, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Mexico, Myanmar, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Rwanda, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen

Which destinations are in the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Ultimate?

The O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Ultimate Bolt On covers the 75 countries in Zones 1 and 2:

Albania, Anguilla, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Bermuda, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Greenland, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Montserrat, Myanmar, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turks & Caicos, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia.

What if I flex my data down to a tariff that isn’t eligible for O2 Travel Inclusive Zone?

All tariff changes made on your flexible tariff will only take effect from your next bill date. If you move to a tariff that doesn’t include roaming in the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone, then you’ll lose that benefit, but you can still buy our full O2 Travel Bolt On for £6 a day in selected destinations. Or you can choose to roam at standard international roaming rates.

What if I flex my data up to a tariff with free O2 Travel Inclusive Zone?

All tariff changes made on your flexible tariff will only take effect from your next bill date. If you move to an eligible tariff, the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Bolt On will be added automatically, and you’ll be able to use your O2 Travel allowance in our Inclusive Zone from your next bill date.

What if I move SIM only tariffs?

If you bought a 10GB 12-month SIM Only tariff on or after 3 May 2018, you’ll be eligible for the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Bolt On when you move to a £20 or more 12-month SIM Only tariff.

If you’re on any other SIM Only tariff, you won’t be eligible, even if you move to a higher tariff.

Why can I see roaming charges in My O2?

At first you may see unexpected roaming charges on your My O2 account. Don’t worry, as long as you’re within your allowance, these charges will correct themselves within three hours and won’t appear on your bill.

You’ll still see roaming charges for use that isn’t included in your allowance, like calls to premium rate numbers. These will appear both in My O2 and on your bill.

Can I get O2 Travel Inclusive Zone on Pay As You Go?

Pay As You Go tariffs are not eligible for O2 Travel Inclusive Zone, so standard international roaming rates will apply. Find out more about travelling abroad on Pay As You Go.

O2 Travel FAQs

How do I get O2 Travel?

If you’re on Pay Monthly but don’t have the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Bolt On, you can add the O2 Travel Bolt On. Before you set off, sign in to My O2 to check if you have it.

Get the O2 Travel Bolt On by texting TRAVEL to 23336, or add it in My O2. Alternatively, if you already have the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Bolt On but are visiting Zone 2, you can add the O2 Travel Zone 2 Bolt On.

How does O2 Travel work?

O2 Travel is a free Bolt On that you can add to your account if you're on Pay Monthly. You can use it if you're travelling to destinations in our roaming Zones 1 and 2 – there’s a list of these below.

If you already have the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone Bolt On, but are travelling to Zone 2, you can use O2 Travel Zone 2.

For £6 a day you’ll get all the data you need, plus unlimited minutes and texts to use within your travel destination and back to the UK.

You'll only be charged on the days you use O2 Travel. The daily charge will apply from midnight to midnight, local time (based on the capital city of the country you're in), and won't be triggered by receiving calls or texts.

O2 Travel provides a separate allowance of data, minutes and texts to use while you're away. Your standard UK tariff allowances won't be affected.

What does O2 Travel not include?

Premium rate numbers, MMS and non-standard texts won't be included in the daily charge and will be billed at standard roaming rates.

Which countries are included in O2 Travel?

The O2 Travel Bolt On covers the 75 countries in Zones 1 and 2:

Albania, Anguilla, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Bermuda, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Greenland, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Montserrat, Myanmar, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turks & Caicos, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia.

What if I don't want O2 Travel?

If you don't choose our free O2 Travel Bolt On while you're away, you'll be charged for any minutes, texts and data usage at the standard rates for that country.  

If you're already signed up for O2 Travel and feel it doesn’t meet your needs, you can opt out at any time by texting NOTRAVEL to 23336 or removing the O2 Travel Bolt On in My O2. 

Can I get O2 Travel on Pay As You Go?

Pay As You Go has a different version of O2 Travel. Find out more about travelling abroad on Pay As You Go. 

Will I see O2 Travel on my bill?

If you're an O2 Travel customer and have used your device in an O2 Travel destination, you'll only be charged the daily rate of that destination for the days you've chosen to use the service. You can find details of how O2 Travel works above.

We'll try to include all your overseas call charges on your next bill, to help you keep track of your costs. If we don't get the details of calls you've made from another network for a while, this can delay us billing you for them. This doesn't happen often, and it's more common in the case of calls made from countries with smaller networks.

With My O2, you can manage your account and bills online. You can check your usage abroad at any time, without waiting for your next bill.