Hello Spirit84,
Welcome to the community!
The Fido Roam charge incurs when your device uses Fido Services abroad. That is, the charge will incur when you make/receive calls, send text messages or use data outside of Canada (see here). I understand you will be turning your data roaming off. You should note that disabling data and/or roaming data does not prevent roaming charges for calls and/or SMS.
While receiving SMS would not incur the roaming charge, it's worth mentioning that the data contained within MMS (incoming or outgoing) would be considered roaming data and charged accordingly. You should note that MMS are not solely restricted to pictures or video messages. Messages with subject headers or group messages etc are also considered MMS.
You might consider disabling any MMS auto-retrieve settings on your phone. You would then receive a SMS notifying of a MMS (no charge) but the data contained would not download automatically. You could then choose whether or not to download the associated data contents.
As already mentioned, making or receiving calls will incur the Fido Roam charges. While letting calls go to voicemail does not incur any charges, you should note that checking your voicemail would incur charges. I posted a brief summary here in response to similar questions.
There seems to be some misunderstanding regarding Wifi-calling. I'm not sure how people have gotten the impression that Wifi-calling does not use the networks. However, that is not true. While the calls and messages do not transmit via cellular towers, they still use the networks via the internet gateway (see image here). The cellular towers and Wifi are merely alternate means of accessing the networks. Calls and messages would not be able to complete or get sent/received without the networks. As such, using Wifi-calling is technically using Fido services. However, they have allowed certain usage to be free from additional charges. All the messages and calls you receive (from anywhere in the world) will be taken from your plan's voice minutes and messaging limits. As well, all Wifi-calling messages and calls you make to a Canadian phone number while abroad won't incur long-distance or roaming charges (see link above).
Generally using Wifi for regular internet access will not incur Fido Roam charges. In order to prevent unintended roaming charges, it is usually recommended to enable Airplane or Flight mode for the duration of your trip. You could then manually enable Wifi when required. That said, I do understand those modes would not likely allow you to use your device with a local eSIM.
If you did wish to use your device with a local eSIM, you would need to know how your device behaves when roaming. If your device is dual-SIM, that functionality is not standardised. It may not operate the way you think it does. You should also note that some phones might consider certain system data differently from user data and continue to allow the former usage despite data and roaming data settings disabled. The mobile providers can only know a device's usage. They have no knowledge or access to a device's settings. If a device uses services without the customer's intent, it is still considered usage and would incur roaming charges.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
Hello Yorkman,
Welcome to the community!
Firstly, you should note that the Fido Roam is already enabled on most current plans. In addition, the Fido Roam charges will incur if your phone uses services -- make or receive a call, send a text message or use data abroad. If you did not wish to use Fido Roam, you would need to opt-out of the feature. In doing so, any usage would be on a pay-per-use basis. You can view those rates in the link provided above.
When using the feature, all Wifi-calling messages and calls you make to a Canadian phone number while abroad won't incur long-distance or roaming charges. However, that assumes your device does not also connect to local cellular towers. If, for example, your Wifi signal is spotty and your device connects to the local towers for services, that usage would be considered roaming usage and charged accordingly.
In addition, it should noted that some phones might consider certain system data differently from user data and continue to allow the former usage despite data and roaming data settings disabled. For example, while disabling data and roaming data should prevent data usage on foreign networks, some mobile manufacturers (ie Apple) does seem to allow some data usage despite those settings disabled. And no, it doesn't seem to be a Fido issue. It happens with multiple providers as well (see here).
That is why it would be recommended to keep Airplane or Flight mode enabled on the device to prevent unintended roaming usage. That said, I understand that in doing so it would also prevent using a local SIM with dual-SIM devices. If you choose not to enable those modes, you would need to ensure your device does not use other Fido services.
@yorkman wrote:
... I don't know how if making local calls will use the local eSim or do I have to somehow change something on my iPhone to make sure it doesn't try to use roaming or Fido sim when I make local calls in Poland....
Unfortunately, there is no standardised dual-SIM functionality between phone manufacturers. You may need to search other venues to see how it works on your particular device.
@yorkman wrote:
...Can I force Fido to block anything that would incur extra charges while I'm in Poland for the duration? ...
In lieu of opting-out of Fido Roam, some customers have requested roaming blocks on their lines. However, in doing so, Wifi-calling abroad may not be available (see here).
You should note the forums are community-driven and not intended as a venue for customer services. If you wished to discuss your matter and/or opt-out of Fido Roam (or apply roaming block), you would need to contact customer service. In addition, they can also be contacted via Live Chat, Facebook, or Twitter. Those methods can be accessed via the contact page posted above.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
