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I'm heading out internationally and do not want to drum up a large phone bill by taking calls while I'm away, yet I would like to have the phone to use over WiFi - FaceTime, iMessage etc.

Is there a way to turn off the phone function while keeping the ability to receive SMS messages?

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Turn on airplane mode. Then activate Wi-Fi. – gentmatt Apr 1 '12 at 8:35
I will not be able to receive messages, its just the calls I do not want. – Graeme Hutchison Apr 1 '12 at 8:36
You were talking about iMessages tough. Then you should edit your question and add SMS. – gentmatt Apr 1 '12 at 8:36
one step ahead. – Graeme Hutchison Apr 1 '12 at 8:37

1 Answer

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Set call forwarding to forward calls directly to your voice mail or your home number (assuming you have an answering machine). As long as you do this before leaving the country it should not result in huge roaming bills. You will still get SMS though, and data roaming may cost a lot as well.

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I will not have data on I can turn that off, so the charges for 3G should not apply, does recieving a Voicemail result in data use> – Graeme Hutchison Apr 1 '12 at 8:41
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I haven't tried this yet but I think Voicemail gets delivered over data (and not over WiFi). Best to try this before you go for the trip. – patrix♦ Apr 1 '12 at 8:44
Surely that would only apply if your service provider provided visual voicemail? In my case it doesn't. – Graeme Hutchison Apr 1 '12 at 9:33
That is correct, but the assumption has to be made without knowing otherwise, as it is seen as a default feature. – stuffe Apr 1 '12 at 11:20
If your carrier doesn't support visual voicemal, you won't "receive" voicemail (in the sense of having the actual audio transmitted to your phone). – patrix♦ Apr 1 '12 at 14:59

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