Data add on for use when I travel to Australia ?

[gumdrop61]

I wish to add extra data to my existing SIM only pay monthly plan on a temporary basis whilst visiting Australia for a few weeks later this month.

An EE adviser that I spoke to today told me that it is possible to do so but I must buy the add-on before leaving the UK.

After some discussion we agreed that the most appropriate option would be a 5GB Data one-off Add-on which she advised would cover Zone 1 (i.e. including Australia), cost £18.28, and will last for a month.

I have since searched for Roaming Add-Ons using the EE app on my phone and within the bullet point detail for the above add-on, it states "Data add-ons can be used in the UK and EU"

So seeming not Australia?

Although interestingly it does not actually say  "..can ONLY be used in UK and EU"

The same text occurs within the details on all the available roaming data add-ons listed on the app.

Have I been misinformed regarding the scope of use of this add-on beyond the EU ?

If so, does an option actually exist for me to increase the data available to me beyond my current data plan whilst in Australia (or any other non EU country for that matter), other than making a contractual change to a new plan with a higher data amount included?

[XRaySpeX]

When you arrive there you should receive a Welcome msg offering you roaming & data add-ons.

Are you on contract or PAYG?

[gumdrop61]

Hi

I am on a sim only rolling monthly contract.

As I understand it, under the new roaming options from 4th December, when I land I will receive a text which will enable me to purchase a one day or 7 day pass which will enable me to utilise my UK plan minutes, texts and data. Not any additional data.

My question is regarding the ability to purchase data additional to that which I have in my UK plan.

I would want to have access to this additional data in Australia, as potentially my UK data allowance will be insufficient. 

I was given the impression that any additional data must be purchased before leaving the UK.

Waiting for a text message on arrival in Australia seems to me to be the direct opposite of this advice.

Hence my concern that if I cannot get clarity on this before I leave, I may have to pay the outside of a plan rate for data if I go over my UK plan allowance whilst overseas, or worse still, have no access to data at all.

[Peter_W]

Good afternoon @gumdrop61, welcome to the EE Community!

Do you know which plan it is you're on at the moment, and how much data do you usually receive per month?

With roaming we don't charge you uncapped for usage, so if you were run out of your usual allowance whilst using a pass, you would then need to opt-in to a further add-on.

Peter

[gumdrop61]

Hello Peter

I am on a 5GB data, unlimited texts and calls, rolling monthly contract sim-only plan.

You state that if I use the 5GB within my billing month the I would need to opt in to a further add-on. 

How would I do that, and more importantly how much would it cost?

As stated in my first posting, all the add-ons that I can see listed on the EE app under "Roaming and Data" seem to be for UK and EU use only, unless I am misinterpreting the text within each add-on detail.

[Peter_W]

I'm going to get this one double checked for you @gumdrop61, when is it you head away?

It's possible that the Guide you were speaking with was promoting one of our standard recurring UK data add-ons as a means of increasing your allowance for once you get abroad, but you would still need to purchase the pass on top of this. 

There's also the option of increasing your current plan data too, which would give you more to use with the Zone 1 pass too.

Peter

[gumdrop61]

I am perfectly happy to pay the £25 per week roaming charge to use my existing plan.

As already stated, I am unclear how to obtain, when to obtain (now in UK or on arrival) and how much any data add-on would be.

It is surprising to me that this information is not readily available, as I cannot be the only person wishing to know how to purchase additional data for use in any non EU country.

[_MrR_]

As a side note, I’d text the word ROAMING to 150. You’ll get a text back confirming you’re good to roam globally.

There seems to be a lot of posts where people seem to have issues accessing data because roaming isn’t live on their accounts. 

[gumdrop61]

I have done this and have checked by logging into my EE account that it contains written confirmation that roaming is set up.

However thank you for taking the trouble to point this out, as I agree, is does seem to be a common oversight.

[XRaySpeX]

Your EE a/c does not tell you roaming is enabled. It might tell you that you have a roaming add-on but that not the same thing. It does not itself permit you to roam but will help pay for it when you do.