Travel & international roaming
What to configure before the trip, during, and if a device is lost abroad.
Before the trip
- Add a travel data plan — T-Mobile includes international in most plans; Verizon/AT&T sell TravelPass or similar. Cheaper than paying per-MB roaming charges from a scam.
- Download media for offline — Netflix, Spotify, Kindle books. Long flights + no WiFi = bored kids.
- Enable Find My / Family Link location — both ways.
- Back up photos to iCloud/Google Photos before departing; airports lose bags.
- Add emergency contacts and the destination’s local emergency number to the kid’s phone.
- Review destination-country cell plan — some countries block services (VPN access in China, Disney+ in others).
On arrival
- Connect to hotel WiFi — set your family DNS (NextDNS, Cloudflare Families) if your kid’s devices can carry their own DNS setting.
- Don’t use airport/café WiFi for banking; use cellular.
- Turn on auto-update for devices (they sync security patches from WiFi).
Public WiFi safety
- Public WiFi in airports, hotels, cafes — assume it’s monitored. Use a VPN on financial/sensitive traffic, but note: some countries ban VPN apps. Research before the trip.
- Airdrop/Nearby Share on the kid’s phone: set to contacts-only. Strangers have been caught sending nude images via Airdrop on flights.
Lost or stolen device abroad
- Use Find My / Google Find to locate or remote-wipe.
- Change the Apple ID / Google password immediately.
- Report to local police if stolen; get a report number for insurance.
- Contact your carrier to suspend the line.
- Contact your credit card issuer about any attached payment methods.
Data-plan scams
Kids sometimes turn off airplane mode at the destination and rack up thousands in roaming. Set the data plan explicitly before leaving (carrier-specific); explain to the kid that “just checking Snapchat” could cost $500.