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We were just in Canada in early September. As soon as we crossed the border, AT&T send me a warning-text saying, "you're roaming now, data is $15/mb, so heads u

We were just in Canada in early September. As soon as we crossed the border, AT&T send me a warning-text saying, "you're roaming now, data is $15/mb, so heads up." (Obviously paraphrased, but the number is real.) However, it was still hard to know when we were and weren't using data. There are options in the iPhone to turn cellular data on/off (which needs to be on to use GPS), and not to allow data roaming, but I still was unsure of when it was being used. Our bill ended up being $217 for the month. It could have went much worse.

azim 16y ago
You can turn cellular data off on the iPhone and still use the GPS. Airplane mode, however, will shut off the GPS. What really kills you is that visual voicemail runs over the data network, and it's non-trivial to turn that off. I spent last month backpacking through Europe with my iPhone, using GPS every day, without unexpected charges by leaving data off. A friend of mine on the other hand turned data on for 5 minutes to check his email for a phone number. That triggered 10mb voicemail download and a nearly $200 bill for the month.