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International Travel Mobile Device Tips

What to do when you are going to travel internationally

  1. Be aware that international service plans must be added prior to leaving the United States. We advise adding international service plans at least one week prior to departure. Plans must be added during business hours.
  2. Know what countries you are traveling to and the dates you will be in each country. 
    Note: International service is not available in all countries.
  3. Know what devices you plan to take on your international travel (i.e., cellphone, tablet, data card) and the phone number associated with each.  
  4. Determine what service plans you want to add for each device.
  5. Submit a Help ticket with all of the information from above or call the Mobile Device Service Desk. At this time, you may also want to set your voicemail passcode so that you can listen to voicemails while abroad. If you need help, please contact one of the numbers below. ​
    • Stanford University:  5-Help (650-725-4357), option 3
    • Stanford Healthcare:  4-Help (650-724-4357), option 4
    • Stanford Children's Health:  5-Help (650-725-4357), option 3
  6. Most international plans are automatically removed within 30 days.  Please refer to your email confirmation to see if you need to call in and remove plans.  Mobile Device Services is not responsible for any monthly charges incurred if the plan has not been removed.  Please submit a Help ticket or call the Mobile Device Service Desk to remove the international service plans if needed.

Be sure and turn phones/iPads on airplane mode while on airplanes and or cruise ships to avoid high overages. Turn on Wi-Fi via settings.

Technical difficulties

If you have technical difficulties using your mobile device while traveling outside the U.S., try this simple step first: Turn off your phone for one minute, then restart it.

If the issue continues, contact your carrier directly.

  • AT&T: 1-314-925-6925. To access the plus sign (+) on most devices, press and hold the 0 key.
  • T-Mobile: 1-505-998-3793
  • Verizon: Dial the exit code for the country you're in, then dial 1-908-559-4899

Reminder: Not having an international plan could result in loss of service and high charges (i.e., overages). Changing plans during non-business hours could result in additional added fees.

More travel tips and resources

Calling from the U.S. to other countries requires an international calling plan. This plan reduces the per minute cost of calls to the countries being called. (Cost varies by country.) Please call 5-Help (650-725-4357), option 3 or submit a Help request for support. Facetime Audio on Wi-Fi is free. The cost for Facetime not used on Wi-Fi is based on your data plan. To avoid high overages you must initiate the call using Facetime and not by establishing a standard voice call and then switching to Facetime. (Check the Apple website for more information.)

Last modified June 30, 2022