Nine Ways to Prepare Your Phone Before Traveling Abroad
Whether it’s business or pleasure, traveling can be one of the best experiences you can have. But you’ll generally only get the most out of your trip if you take the time to prepare first, and that includes making sure your phone is as travel-ready as you are.
As a tech journalist, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to several countries to attend press launches and industry trade shows, often with multiple phones in tow. While I wouldn’t say I’m perfect in my preparations, I’m now well-practiced at getting my gadgets road-ready — and here’s what’s on my checklist.
Data
Wi-Fi is more common than ever these days—you’ll find it in coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and hotels—but you’ll still need to make sure you can connect without it, which means finding out what your carrier offers in terms of cellular data access abroad.
For example, both Verizon and AT&T will let you use your phone abroad just like you do at home — for $12 a day. It’s up to you and your needs whether it’s worth the investment, but make sure you explore your options ahead of time.
eSIM cards
For many people, getting a local eSIM is the most affordable option for data abroad: on many modern phones, you can use it alongside your current physical SIM or eSIM. There are also plenty of quality providers to choose from, including AloSIM , Airalo , Saily , and Holafly . Take a closer look at the coverage for your destination. Check prices, contract length, amount of data included, usage rates, and what you can do with your data, as well as how easy it is to set up the service.
Safety
When you’re on the go, your phone isn’t as secure as it is at home, so some extra security measures often come in handy, including keeping your phone in a zipped pocket or bag, taking it out less often, and enabling biometric security on your lock screen.
Enable two-factor authentication for every account where it’s available (and use an authenticator app instead of SMS), and make sure all data is backed up and synced to the internet as often as possible—just in case something happens to your phone.
Tracking
Beyond device security, there’s also device tracking: If you somehow lose your phone, you’ll want to be able to find it and possibly reset it or lock it, so make sure you’re signed up for Apple’s Find My or Google’s Find Hub .
Ideally, you should have a second device on hand—a tablet, laptop, or even a friend’s phone—that you can use to log into your account and locate your device (but only try to return it if it’s lost, rather than engaging with the criminals).
Downloads
When traveling, you’re not necessarily guaranteed reliable Wi-Fi and cellular coverage, whether you’re on a plane or heading out into the wilderness, so make sure you’ve got plenty of audio and video material loaded onto your phone ahead of time.
Most streaming apps now do this, although it’s usually a paid feature ( like Spotify ). If you pay for YouTube Premium, you don’t even have to choose what to download — there’s a smart downloads feature that automatically saves some recommended content.
Translations
Speaking of downloads, if you’re traveling to countries where you don’t speak the language, it’s worth checking your translation apps to make sure all the languages you need are saved locally, in case you don’t have constant access to the internet.
In Google Translate on Android, tap your profile photo (top right), then Downloaded languages . In Apple Translate on iOS, tap the three dots (top right), then Download languages . Be sure to turn on the input and output languages you want.
Accessories
It’s often a good idea to outfit your smartphone with one or two travel accessories. Travel bags that you can keep close to you are a good example, or cases that give your phone a little more protection from bumps and scratches while you’re on the go.
For me, the most common travel phone accessory has been an external battery, and there are plenty of affordable options to choose from. Something like the $18 Miady 2-Pack is a good choice, giving you 10,000mAh of juice that can be fed to any phone via USB-C.
VPN
There are a few reasons why you might want to install a VPN (Virtual Private Network) app on your phone. The first is to trick streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video into thinking you’re still at home and serving you the content you’re used to.
Secondly, and even more importantly, VPNs will keep you well protected when you’re connected to public Wi-Fi networks that many other people are also connected to. Our guides to the best paid VPNs and the best free VPNs are worth checking out for this.
Applications
Some apps are only useful when you’re traveling, but then they’re really, really useful. TripAdvisor ( Android , iOS ) tells you what’s interesting to see wherever you are, for example, as does GetYourGuide ( Android , iOS ), which covers over 100,000 things to do.
Other apps are a little more specific to certain use cases: Flighty ( iOS ), which we recommended earlier , is great for staying up to date with flight schedules and delays, and is definitely worth exploring for the best taxi apps for the places you’re visiting.