Mar2010

Q: Want to use my phone on wifi, but not to make calls when on vacation

I would like to use my iphone 3gs to blog on my travel journal while on vacation. How do I ensure that I am only using wifi for my once a day postings and not roaming or receiving/making calls? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

MacBook Pro, Iphone 3gs

Posted on Mar 18, 2011 12:57 PM

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Q: Want to use my phone on wifi, but not to make calls when on vacation

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  • Helpful answers

  • by brendan002,

    brendan002 brendan002 Mar 18, 2011 1:04 PM in response to Mar2010
    Level 3 (550 points)
    Mar 18, 2011 1:04 PM in response to Mar2010
    Just go into settings, general, network and turn off Data Roaming and more importantly Mobile Data (Cellular Data on some) and then you can still just turn wifi off but the carrier data stays off.
  • by Allan Sampson,

    Allan Sampson Allan Sampson Mar 18, 2011 1:12 PM in response to Mar2010
    Level 10 (123,447 points)
    Mar 18, 2011 1:12 PM in response to Mar2010
    Enable Airplane mode followed by turning on wi-fi access. All iPhone radios will be off except wi-fi making it impossible to place or receive any calls, the same for SMS/MMS, and the same for internet access via the carrier's cellular network. Turning data roaming off, which is off by default, and turning cellular data off does not prevent the iPhone from placing or receiving any calls and the same for SMS/MMS when roaming internationally.
  • by diesel vdub,

    diesel vdub diesel vdub Mar 18, 2011 1:26 PM in response to Mar2010
    Level 7 (22,030 points)
    Mar 18, 2011 1:26 PM in response to Mar2010
    Settings > Airplane Mode - change to ON.
    Then toggle Wi-Fi on.
  • by brendan002,

    brendan002 brendan002 Mar 18, 2011 1:29 PM in response to Allan Sampson
    Level 3 (550 points)
    Mar 18, 2011 1:29 PM in response to Allan Sampson
    Missed the bit about not wanting calls, so yes you are correct Allan. To the OP when you turn on Airplane Mode it automatically turns off the wifi, but then you can manually turn it back on and the Airplane mode stays as it is.
  • by scubarich13,

    scubarich13 scubarich13 Mar 18, 2011 3:07 PM in response to Mar2010
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Mar 18, 2011 3:07 PM in response to Mar2010
    The easiest way to avoid international roaming fees is to call up AT&T and suspend service. They will suspend and reactivate for free. The detraction to this is voicemail cannot be received and if a call really needs to be made, the phone cannot connect. I think that dialing 611 from the phone even when the service is suspended will still work.

    I did a search on the net and found this link from AT&T

    http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/iphone-travel-tips.jsp

    It describes most of what I did to eliminate international charges. Here's what I can come up with:

    1) Put the phone in Airplane Mode under Settings
    2) Enable Wi-Fi under Settings
    3) Disable 3G and Data Roaming under Settings > Network
    4) Disable fetching data Settings > Mail,... > Fetch New Data then select Manual under Fetch
    4a) Set each account to Manual under Settings > Mail,... > Fetch New Data > Advanced
    5) Disable pushing data Settings > Mail,... > Push
    6) Reset usage statistics Settings > General

    Be sure to check the usage statistics Settings > General > Cellular Network Data. If the values next to Sent and Received are not zero then charges are being incurred. If you can't figure out how to shut off whatever is connecting to the cellular network at least you'll know how much you're using or can shut the phone off.
  • by Jonathan Milenko,

    Jonathan Milenko Jonathan Milenko May 7, 2016 4:29 AM in response to scubarich13
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    May 7, 2016 4:29 AM in response to scubarich13

    I know this is five years old, but I wanted to convey.

    If your plan is to use your phone on wifi once a day & not the rest of the time, the easiest, and most obvious, approach to this is to turn your phone off while your not using it.

    Someone should have posted that the first time around, but too many people can't fathom the idea of turning off their phone.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair May 7, 2016 6:33 AM in response to Jonathan Milenko
    Level 9 (58,370 points)
    iPhone
    May 7, 2016 6:33 AM in response to Jonathan Milenko

    Jonathan Milenko wrote:

     

    I know this is five years old, but I wanted to convey.

    If your plan is to use your phone on wifi once a day & not the rest of the time, the easiest, and most obvious, approach to this is to turn your phone off while your not using it.

    Someone should have posted that the first time around, but too many people can't fathom the idea of turning off their phone.

    The flaw in this solution is that, once the person turns the phone on, if cellular data is still enabled, data is going to get used. Even if WiFi is available, if the phone screen locks and the phone isn't plugged in, it reverts to cellular data. Notifications come in over cellular data. If the WiFi drops for some reason, the phone will use cellular data. So, while there's nothing wrong with turning the phone off, it won't really solve the OPs issue.

     

    I'd also bet that someone who's blogging about their vacation is using their phone to take pictures. Hard to do that with the phone off.

  • by Jonathan Milenko,

    Jonathan Milenko Jonathan Milenko May 7, 2016 6:45 AM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    May 7, 2016 6:45 AM in response to Meg St._Clair

    Your right about using the phone to take pictures, but back in 2011 iPhone cameras weren't that good, and the o.p. was probably carrying around a separate camera. 

    Also, there is the option to turn cellular data Off.  Oops, I just used phone addicts least favorite word.  

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair May 7, 2016 6:53 AM in response to Jonathan Milenko
    Level 9 (58,370 points)
    iPhone
    May 7, 2016 6:53 AM in response to Jonathan Milenko

    Jonathan Milenko wrote:

     

    Your right about using the phone to take pictures, but back in 2011 iPhone cameras weren't that good, and the o.p. was probably carrying around a separate camera.

    Also, there is the option to turn cellular data Off.  Oops, I just used phone addicts least favorite word.

    However, the people reading the response now have an iPhone with a fantastic camera.

     

    Yes, turning off data was mentioned in a couple of the responses. The word "off" has also been used repeatedly. I'm not sure what has provoked this attitude on your part. Most of the people who post here are smart enough to know how to turn off their phones but want options to use some of the features while not incurring charges.