Avoid roaming charges with your TELUS Business phone
Follow these tips to prevent unwanted charges while traveling or when close to the US border.
When you or your employees arrive at your destination you should receive a welcome notification explaining the applicable roaming rates to use a TELUS Business device. This does not mean you are actually being charged for roaming.
We always suggest you verify your coverage before traveling with a TELUS device. For more information on how to find your current travel coverage, visit our support article.
If you leave Canada while data roaming is switched on in your mobile device’s settings, then roaming charges will most likely apply. This is because most devices regularly consume data through apps that run in the background and other app features like location services, cloud back-ups and automatic updates.
If you prefer to avoid roaming charges altogether, you can switch data roaming OFF in your mobile device’s settings before traveling, refrain from making or answering calls and sending any outgoing texts.
Receiving incoming texts should not result in any roaming charges, as long as data roaming is turned OFF to avoid using mobile data for any pictures or videos that they may contain (does NOT include instant messaging).
To disable data roaming on your device, follow the appropriate device-specific instructions:
iOS (Apple) devices
Select Settings
Select Cellular
Select Cellular Data Options
Toggle Data Roaming to OFF
Android devices
Select Settings
Select Network and Internet
Select Internet
Select the Settings gear icon
Scroll down to Mobile Data and toggle to OFF
Scroll down to Roaming and toggle to OFF
Note: These instructions may not apply to all Android devices. You can typically find roaming settings within your device’s Network/Internet/Connections settings.
You can find more tips on how to avoid accidental roaming charges by visiting Understanding how you will be charged for roaming.
Sometimes if you are close enough to the US border and the signal from neighboring US networks is stronger than the TELUS network, your device could automatically connect to a US network as if you are roaming. If this happens, any usage may accidentally be billed as roaming. In addition, you will likely receive a Welcome SMS notification that makes it seem like you are in the US.
Here are some tips to avoid accidental roaming charges when close to the US border:
Turn data roaming off in your mobile device’s settings
Turning data roaming off in your mobile device’s settings when close to the US border will help avoid accidental data roaming charges.
To disable data roaming on your device, follow the appropriate device-specific instructions:
iOS (Apple) devices
Select Settings
Select Cellular
Select Cellular Data Options
Toggle Data Roaming to OFF
Android devices
Select Settings
Select Network and Internet
Select Internet
Select the Settings gear icon
Scroll down to Mobile Data and toggle to OFF
Scroll down to Roaming and toggle to OFF
Note: These instructions may not apply to all Android devices. You can typically find roaming settings within your device’s Network/Internet/Connections settings.
Manually select TELUS as your mobile network operator
Your device is set to automatically connect to the TELUS network while in Canada. If you are constantly connecting to a US network while still in Canada, you can manually select the TELUS network in your device’s mobile network settings to help avoid this.
iOS (Apple) devices
Select Settings
Select Cellular
Select Network Selection
Toggle Automatic to OFF
Select TELUS from the list that appears
Android devices
Select Settings
Select Network and Internet
Select SIMs
Scroll down to Automatically select Network and ensure it is toggled OFF
Select Automatically select Network
Select TELUS from the list that appears
Note: If you opt for a manual selection of the TELUS network, remember that you will need to switch back to the automatic network selection setting to ensure your service will work if you ever decide to roam in the US or internationally.