Although many now take it for granted, it’s worth emphasizing how much simpler and more convenient mobile use abroad has become since 2017. Within the European Union and several additional countries in Zone 1, roaming conditions have become significantly more favourable. While travelling, you can usually use your mobile phone under the same conditions as with your Hungarian tariff – meaning there’s no need to pay extra for data usage, calls, SMS, or MMS messages. What’s more, if your tariff plan includes a monthly allowance for airtime, texts or other usage, that allowance can typically be used while roaming as well.
Nevertheless, you should stay alert, as the situation isn’t this favourable for all popular destinations. In Europe, several countries on the Balkan Peninsula – including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo – as well as Switzerland and Turkey fall into Zone 2 or 3, where roaming charges can be significantly higher. Before travelling abroad, it’s a good idea to check the terms under which you can use your mobile phone in your destination country, as well as how much roaming data, call minutes or SMS messages are actually included in your subscription. If you expect to need more than what’s covered, you should purchase an additional roaming plan with more favourable terms.
It’s especially important to pay attention to roaming zones when travelling near national borders. For instance, while travelling in Bulgaria, your phone might automatically connect to the network of a neighbouring non-EU country – such as Serbia or North Macedonia – where higher roaming charges apply. To avoid such unpleasant surprises, it’s advisable to turn off automatic network selection in your phone’s settings and manually choose a network, ensuring your handset only connects to another operator when you explicitly allow it.
App updates, airplane mode, power bank – other things to watch out for
Automatic app updates can generate significant data usage, which may lead to higher costs while roaming. Therefore, disable automatic updates in your handset settings before travelling and perform necessary updates over Wi-Fi. During flights or sea voyages, your handset may switch to using costly satellite services, if you have previously enabled this option with your operator. To avoid this, set your handset to airplane mode – which is mandatory on flights anyway – as this blocks not only mobile data but also outgoing and incoming calls.
There’s one more important task related to flying: check the specific airline’s regulations on the use of external batteries (power banks). While many airlines don’t prohibit this handy accessory on longer journeys, its use may be restricted during travel in several cases, and sometimes it may not even be allowed on board.
You can avoid further unnecessary roaming charges by downloading necessary travel-related apps – such as maps and tourist information – before departure, so you have everything you need once you arrive at your destination. If you’re heading for a longer journey, you can also download the music, films, and series you want to listen to or watch – whether during the flight or abroad – from streaming service providers.
If you’re travelling in Europe but outside Zone 1 during the summer, you can purchase extra data: for example, Yettel’s Utazó Net plan offers 5 GB of data for 7 days for HUF 5,990, while the Utazó Net + Hang combined plan includes 5 GB of data and 15 minutes of calls for HUF 7,990, available for Balkan Peninsula countries as well as Switzerland. For the summer season, Yettel is completely renewing its offering. The prices of 3- to 7-day data plans are being reduced for numerous destination countries, and it’s also helpful that the new roaming passes can be easily activated within the Yettel app.
For more information, visit: https://www.yettel.hu/roaming