Roaming Charges when Cell Service Turned Off/Data Turned Off - Wifi Only

[EK]

Turned off my Cell service and Data Roaming while in Mexico - Used WiFi only - Did not make any outbound calls on WiFi-  Still was charged Roaming Fees  when my phone rang - and there was no one there - When I was with Rogers - used Wifi Calling with no issues and no Fees ( That was about 2 yrs ago) 

I have a corporate plan - 

I checked the Telus sight when I returned and from what I gathered - They do not allow wifi calling on a wifi network without charging you . Any one else go through this ? 

[Syaoran]

What do you mean by turning off your cell service? Unless you removed your SIM card or put your device in Airplane Mode before turning on WiFi and left it in Airplane Mode the entire time you were outside of Canada. Your device would still be able to connect to towers while roaming, causing the charges.

[Dwayne888]

@Syaoran Not true.

You can manually disable cellular in your phone's settings. You can keep the phone in Airplane and use Wi-Fi calling (with VPN set to a Canadian location). At this time, this works until Telus decides to block VPN ports (which is becoming more frequent now). For instance, Costco warehouses in Canada that now have Wi-Fi block VPN use. 

Another "tip" to prevent your phone from roaming is to manually select Telus within the carrier settings. Should you accidentally turn-off Airplane mode, the phone will search for Telus. Along with this, you need to disable "data roaming" in the cellular settings of your phone. 

[NFtoBC]

“when my phone rang - and there was no one there”
So you answered your phone? Then you pay roaming fees for that use. Telus does not offer Wi-Fi calling service outside Canada.

[Syaoran]

It works with a VPN.

[EK]

Oh...didn't know that .....Thanks, will definitley look at that

Did you set Canada as the home base on the VPN ?

Thanks for the reply

[Syaoran · Accepted solution]

I set the VPN to either Toronto or Vancouver.

[EK]

Thanks !

On Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 12:21:30 p.m. EST, TELUS Neighbourhood <[email protected]> wrote:

Hi EK,

Syaoran (Rockstar) posted a new reply in Mobility Services on 02-25-2024 12:21 PM:

Re: Roaming Charges when Cell Service Turned Off/Data Turned Off - Wifi On

I set the VPN to either Toronto or Vancouver.

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[EK]

I did speak with them - they explained it

When I was with Rogers - I had wifi calling - simply was part of my air time, no roaming fees

Based on my experience with Rogers, I mistakenly thoght that it would be the same with Telus

When in the UK used an e-sim so no issues.

Will be reconsidering how to manage going forward as there are more travel plans

Thanks for the reply

[Dwayne888]

@EK Currently, only Rogers and Freedom don't restrict Wi-Fi calling outside Canada. 

With a mobile device though, it can be tricky to keep your VPN enabled 24/7. If you have it on "always on" then you might lose complete connectivity. It's not reliable in my experience. 

[EK]

Thanks for the reply