Avoid mobile roaming

UK2Abroad is a service that lets you avoid the high cost of using a mobile phone abroad. It works almost everywhere and is great for travellers and business users alike.

When you take your mobile phone abroad, your phone ‘roams’ onto a local mobile network in that country. This allows you to continue using your mobile almost as you would in the UK, but your network operator charges you extortionate rates to receive calls, send texts and pick up voicemails.

UK2Abroad works by connecting your UK phone number with a local SIM card in the country you're travelling to, letting you make and receive calls at low cost. With UK2Abroad your call charges abroad can be as much as 10 less than with regular mobile roaming.

UK2Abroad links your UK phone with a local SIM card you purchase. We enable you to Keep Your Number™ for receiving calls, meaning that people just call you on your normal UK number; and enable you to make low cost international calls.

To get started just purchase some UK2Abroad credit and set up your account.

You will also need a local SIM card. If you don't have one already, then these are very easy to purchase upon arrival. We can divert all your calls to UK2Abroad voicemail in the meantime.

You just need an unlocked phone, to use with a local SIM card, and UK2Abroad credit. Additionally, if you want calls to be forwarded from your regular UK number using our unique Keep Your Number™ feature, then you will need a phone package that supports call diverting (all UK pay-monthly contracts do).

To see if your phone is unlocked, try putting a SIM from another network into your phone. If it works, then you're good to go. If not, then you just need to unlock your phone - this is very easy and can often be done instantly online.

Your phone connection needs to support call diverting in order to use the Keep Your Number™ feature. Most UK contracts support this. But you don't have to use this. We supply you with a UK landline number which will route directly to your local SIM card also.

To see if your phone supports call diverting, try this test, which will temporarily divert your mobile onto your landline:

• On your mobile, enter **21*your home phone number# into your phone and press "call"
• You should see "please wait" then "divert successful" on your screen
• Now try calling your mobile number (from your mobile phone or any other number), and your home phone should ring
• To cancel press ##21# then "call"

When you purchase UK2Abroad credit online, it is immediately available to use in your account, subject to any risk or fraud checks.

You have to take your UK SIM card out of your phone and replace it with one of a local SIM in order to benefit from the tremendous cost-savings we are able to offer. Without UK2Abroad you’ll be stuck paying expensive roaming charges for all your calls and abroad. Plus, a local SIM card will likely give you a good value data option, and a local number for local calls. You should easily be able to purchase a local SIM upon arrival at your destination.

That depends on the type of local SIM you purchase. Many SIM cards expire after a few months without use, but there are usually ways to keep them topped up from abroad if you wish, or just purchase a new one next time you travel.

UK2Abroad credit lasts indefinitely provided you top up at least once every 12 months. It can be used both with the any local SIM; and can be used for regular international calls you make from the UK. Each time you top up you extend your whole balance by 365 days, but if you don't top up for 12 months then any remining credit is expired.

All you need is an unlocked tri-band phone (most handsets purchased in the last 5 years are tri-band) to use with your local SIM card; and if you want to use the Keep Your Number™ feature, a tariff that supports call diverting.

People still call you on your regular UK number, and they won't pay any more than usual.

You divert all calls from your UK mobile to UK2Abroad; we then route the calls cheaply onto your local SIM

You can even divert all your phones (home, office, mobile) through to your local SIM, so you never miss an important call. The cost of the divert is often free (as you are diverting to a standard UK landline, so included in bundled minutes).

If you are not using the Keep Your Number™ feature see alternative options below.

If you are using the Keep Your Number™ feature then people calling you on your regular UK mobile number will be diverted to your local SIM. They will pay the same rate they always pay to call you - no difference for them. See the Rates section for details of how much you will pay to receive the diverted call on your local SIM card.

Because you have a local SIM you will also have a local phone number. Callers can reach you directly on that number also, these calls do not go via UK2Abroad.

UK2Abroad offers two ways to make international calls at low rates: Call Direct and Call Connect.

Call Direct

In many countries you can dial one of our access numbers from your local SIM card and enter the international number you wish to call. The international part of the call is billed by UK2Abroad, and the cost of calling our access number is charged to your local SIM card credit.

Our access numbers are all local landline numbers, so when you get a local SIM, try and get a package with low cost calls to local landline numbers.

In countries where we don't have an access number, you can always make international calls directly from your local SIM card, or use our Call Connect service.

Call Connect

Call Connect is available globally and enables you to trigger an outbound call via our web app or by dialling a number from your phone that hangs-up and calls you straight back.

When you pick up the incoming call, we connect you to your destination. This means that you avoid the local SIM call cost, and instead we charge you a receiving rate (as above) plus the outbound rate.

UK2Abroad is a prepaid service, buy credit online at any time. Your credit is immediately available on your account following purchase.

We accept Visa, MasterCard and PayPal (if you wish to use American Express or other funding options, purchase via PayPal).

You can also set your account to auto-recharge, meaning that we will top your balance up whenever it runs low - this means you don't have to go online and top up your account whilst travelling.

You'll just need to purchase a local SIM when you arrive in each country. These normally cost a few pounds plus local SIM credit. You can use the same UK2Abroad credit wherever you travel to.

No we don't sell SIM cards. Just purchase a SIM locally when you arrive in the country you are travelling to. These days, it is normally very easy to get a local SIM card almost anywhere. You can set up your UK2Abroad account in advance if you wish, then update your divert to direct calls to your local SIM after you purchase it.

You need to have an unlocked phone to use a SIM card from any other network.

Some mobile operators lock their phones so you can only use them on their network. This is to prevent people moving between networks and has been frowned upon by the European Commission as ‘anti-competitive’.

Unlocking allows you to use your mobile phone on any network (for the purposes of our service, this allows you to use a local SIM card in your handset). It's perfectly legal and under European regulation, mobile networks are mandated to unlock your phone on request (although they may charge and could be cheaper at your local mobile store).

Put in a SIM card from another mobile network. If it registers on that network, your phone is unlocked. If it doesn’t, then you phone is locked. If you have an iPhone your home carrier (eg. O2, Vodafone, EE) will need to have supplied you the unlock code which you activated via iTunes. Even if you bought the phone from Apple directly it would have locked the first time you put a SIM in it, so you still need to complete the above and test your phone with a SIM from another network.

Many online services offer unlocking for a small charge, or you can take your phone to your local mobile phone shop. Your network provider will also be able to provide an unlock code for a fee.

1. Purchase UK2Abroad credit and set up your account online
2. Enter the UK2Abroad divert code into your UK phone before you leave the UK
3. Purchase a local SIM when you arrive at your destination (you could do this in advance too)
4. Update your UK2Abroad divert settings to direct calls to your new local SIM
5. Swap your UK SIM card with your local SIM and start making/receiving calls

If you are using the Keep Your Number™ service, calls are diverted to your local SIM but note that texts are not forwarded. Your contacts can either text you on your local SIM phone number; or you can just swap the SIMs over periodically to check your UK SIM for texts, or use a service such as Whatsapp or Facebook Messanger.

The local SIM card will charge its own rates for texts, data, and local calls. When you purchase your SIM ensure that you get a package that offers good value data, local calls and texts. You don't need to worry about international call bundles on the local SIM, as the international part of your calls is handled by UK2Abroad.

Please get in contact with any queries - either through our contact form or via e-mail - either way will get you straight to our helpdesk.

Please do include as much information as possible so that we can deal with your query quickly and effectively.