Using your mobile abroad

Find out how to keep using your mobile when you leave the country

 
 

Frequently asked questions

Can you roam abroad with your Virgin Mobile plan?

Yes. You can use your phone wherever you are in the world. But remember, roaming rates will apply while roaming outside of the EU.

 

Inside the EU you can use your Virgin Mobile allowance, subject to a fair usage policy, without any extra charge.  

 

You don't need to activate roaming on your Virgin Mobile Plan, but you may need to activate data roaming on your phone settings to access the mobile internet while abroad. See our phone guides and Roaming pages for more on this topic.

 

How much does it cost to use your mobile phone outside of the EU?

That depends on which country you’re in. To see a list of rates, visit our call rates page.

How can you check your voicemail when you're abroad?

If you need to check your voicemail when you’re abroad, dial 171, or dial directly into your voice mailbox by adding a 5 after your prefix.

 

For example, if your number was 089 6123456, you need to dial 0895 6123456. This will dial directly into your voice mailbox.

 

You’ll be asked to enter your voicemail PIN. If you haven't set up a PIN yet, you can do this by calling 171 from your mobile and selecting option 3 from the main menu.

 

Good to know: if you listen to your voicemail while abroad, you'll incur roaming charges. If you'd prefer not to get voicemails when you're away, you can turn off your voicemail by calling 171 and following the prompts.

What can you do if you have no mobile network connection abroad?

When you’ve just arrived abroad, it’s time to get roaming with these handy tips. 

 

  • First, switch your phone off and on again to kick-start your roaming connection. Switching airplane mode off and on won’t do this, so make sure you power off fully for best results. 
  • Your phone will then automatically search for an available network. This can take up to 10 minutes as it searches through all of the 2G, 3G and 4G bands for each network to find the right one for you.
  • If your mobile phone doesn’t connect automatically, try selecting a network manually. Your phone will give you a few options to choose from.
  • Still have trouble connecting? Contact our customer support team and we’ll help get you sorted. Happy travels! 
    • Using Mobile Data

If you want to use data when abroad you may need to activate data roaming when you land (this should be set to “On” even when at home to get optimum coverage). Here’s how to do this :

 

  • Android – Apps – Settings – Connections – Data Usage – Enable mobile data
  • Apple – Settings – Mobile Data – Enable Mobile Data

There are individual use cases on how to activate in Phone Guides

In some cases, you may need to manually enter the APN (Access Point Names). The APN is the gateway for the phone to talk to the data part of the mobile network. The majority of phones should automatically choose the correct APN but if they do not you can manually enter the APN which is “Internet”. Details on how to do this can be found in our Phone Guides.

How can you control your data costs when going abroad?

We will send you two text messages warning of your data usage. The first when you have reached 80% of your limit, and a second when you have used the full €50 (ex VAT) worth of data abroad (outside of the EU).

 

The most effective way of controlling data costs is by switching off data on your phone, but you can also set a data cap in your phone settings. Different mobile phones have different ways to do this - take a look at our Phone Guides if you need help.

 

Here are some other ways to keep your mobile costs down when you're abroad:

 

Make (WiFi) connections

The best way to save data is to make sure you’re using WiFi hotspots. Most hotels offer WiFi networks to their guests at no extra cost (check with your hotel). The same is true with many coffee shops and restaurants.

 

Put watching videos or streaming music on hold

Streaming videos or music will consume lots of data.

Make sure that you're on a WiFi network if you want to watch videos or stream music on your phone.

Or download your playlists/movies before you go!

 

Turn off automatic App updates

Automatic App updates can burn data fast, so it’s best to wait until you are on a WiFi network before performing an update. You can change this in the settings of your App or Play store.

Is there a data roaming limit applied to your My Virgin Mobile account? Will you be charged if you go over it?

Yes, there is a data roaming limit of €50 (ex VAT), which is automatically applied to your Virgin Mobile account. If you go over this limit when roaming, your data roaming will stop working.

 

We’ll be happy to change this limit for you however. Call us on freephone 1908, or you can call our international contact number: 0035312458000, if you're abroad on and we’ll make the change for you instantly.

Will your mobile service work in all countries?

Our mobile call rates PDF has a list of all the countries where Virgin Mobile works – and the charges for them.

Can you view your roaming usage and charges while abroad?

Yes, you can view your roaming usage and charges in your My Virgin Media account. You will need to:

 

  1. Sign in to My Virgin Media
  2. In the My Virgin Media Overview page scroll down to the Mobile Usage section on the left hand side
  3. For more details click on View subscription status and settings

Here you'll see a summary of your remaining calls, texts and data for use at home and in the EU.

 

 

 

For more details on your usage, click on: See detailed usage button under the summary where you can view your individual calls, SMS and data usage.