Being charged for international day pass when using wireless calling and text

I thought it was supposed to text you.

Depending on the phone, there may be an option where, if wi-fi is weak, to use cellular backup.  Which may trigger the pass.

In addition to turning off roaming, etc, if you weren't using a local SIM I would have put the phone in Airplane mode.  THEN turned on wi-fi.  

Roaming data is not going to affect calls or texts. If a foreign carrier detects that you are connecting to its towers and relays that info to AT&T, you will be charged for the IDP. 

To ensure you are not charged when you don't intend to use cellular service, keep your phone in airplane mode. 

Hi,

Thanks for the answer, but it would make so much more sense to have a part of the app where you can elect 24 hours of IDP.  That way I could know exactly when I'm not being charged.  The current way necessitates so much guess work!

The current way necessitates so much guess work!

Not really. Note the time you take your phone out of airplane mode. You won't be charged again until 24 hours later. 

If they allowed you to buy just 24 hours at a time, you'd have to do the same thing, except instead of $10 for another day, you'd be charged the high roaming charges if you go over.

I've seen enough complaints through the years of people getting bills for several hundred to thousands of dollars before ATT offered this plan.

And I've personally warned a relative on a trip to Canada once to keep her phone in airplane mode, she forgets, then is calling ATT trying to reduce her bill after the fact.

Since keeping a phone in airplane mode, or careful configuration if you buy a local SIM, you can avoid the fees the $10+tax is a small price to pay for a mistake.

The text is really hit or miss.  It doesn't always send. Again, I feel like ATT should allow for this to be turned on in an application.  Otherwise it just feels like the angle is to create confusion for accidental triggers of the app, and therefore to charge.

Also, there is very bad documentation for Wifi calling and texting. It's super unclear when I'm calling or texting through WiFi. I've triggered the pass at least twice assuming that my phone would default to Wifi calling/texting because I set that option in my phone. 

assuming that my phone would default to Wifi calling/texting because I set that option in my phone. 

Bad assumption. You aren’t on WiFi calling unless you see “AT&T WiFi” as the carrier. If you see anything else, you are roaming.

Otherwise it just feels like the angle is to create confusion for accidental triggers of the app, and therefore to charge.

It feels like you're making it more confusing than it is. 

1. Phone in airplane mode: No IDP charge.

2. Take phone out of airplane mode: Assume the phone will connect to cell towers immediately for background data, if nothing else, and trigger IDP at $10 for 24 hours. Set a calendar reminder or alarm for 23 hours and 55 minutes if you're concerned you'll forget.

3. 24 hours after taking phone out of airplane mode: Another $10 charge for 24 hours of IDP. 

4. Want to make or receive WiFi calls without triggering IDP: Keep phone in airplane mode.

Wifi calling makes the calls as if in the USA.  So calls to USA are free.  Calls to other countries are at long distance rates. 

This right here...

@MicCheck That’s if you leave data roaming on. I’ve never been charged as soon as I turn airplane mode off and connect to a carrier as long as I make no calls or send any texts. I need to take the additional step of turning data roaming off. Airplane mode guarantees no IDP charge but I have found it easy to control IDP charges by only controlling data usage. Since incoming texts don’t trigger the IDP charge, there may be times you don’t want to be in airplane mode but still not get charged.