Does it cost to receive a text message whilst in USA

[Megan107]

I don't need to use my phone to make calls or texts in USA but may need to be able to receive text messages from US numbers when we are booking table reservations at restaurants. 

Are there any charges for this and do I need to enable anything on my phone in advance. 

[XRaySpeX]

Receiving texts from anywhere is free wherever you are.

Are you on contract or PAYG? Did you use that SIM for making calls or texts in UK before you left to go abroad?

If you are on contract, did you activate roaming on your EE a/c before you left UK by texting ROAMING to 150? Having a roaming add-on doesn't of itself activate roaming on your a/c.

Often just rebooting the phone is the simple remedy. Also try selecting a network manually rather than auto. Otherwise login to your MyEE account online & go to Menu > Account Settings > Parental and Data Controls > Roaming Abroad and also Call Abroad and Premium Rate. They will show as ticked if roaming and calling abroad is activated. If not ticked, can you activate these settings?

If you can't enable the Roaming Abroad and the Call Abroad & Premium Rate settings of your online MyEE, you will need to call CS. Try calling CS on the Freephone no. in my sig. via Skype over WiFi. It should be free.

PAYG is auto enabled for roaming as long as you've used it in the UK previously. You won't see any of those settings & don't need to change anything. If outside EU, do you have enough credit for making calls & texts from abroad?

[Megan107]

Hey thanks for the reply.

I am on a contract and I have enabled roaming by texting 150.

Do I need the roaming pass add on to do what I am wanting or is that only if I want to call/text as if I was in the UK? WiFi will be readily available in the hotel and parks so I do not want/need internet access whilst out and about. I do not want to get any additional charges whilst abroad so should I also turn off mobile data?

[XRaySpeX]

No, you don't need to buy the Roam Abroad Pass unless you want to make calls, send texts or use mobile data while in US.