Overseas for 6 Months, How to Receive SMS Easily

FreeAFBoi on 02/01/2025 - 10:11

Hi Ozbargain,

I’m heading to Asia and Europe for 6 months leaving in Feb. I’m worried about potentially needing an SMS 2fa code for my banking/logins etc. My current carrier does not support roaming, only works in Aus.

I’m wondering if anyone has bought an Optus/Telstra $2 sim, transferred their number to that, load $10 of credit and then been able to activate roaming overseas and receive SMS’s for free. I wouldn’t be sending sms/phoning/using data, only turning on the sim when I need to receive a code.

I will purchase eSims along the way with local carriers for my data usage, so hopefully wont need to top up any credit.

Let us know your experiences, or any other suggestions. Cheers

Mobile

Comments

  • bobbieb on 02/01/2025 - 10:24
    +3

    On the majority of carriers and resellers, you don't require roaming to receive SMS.

    There are only a small number of aussie providers who deliberately go against the international convention for SMS delivery, so it's worth double checking whether you really need to do anything special with your existing, regular SIM.

    • bobbieb on 02/01/2025 - 13:15

      Wow…that thread scared me for a second there, but it seems to be a bit blown out of proportion.

      Did some digging (shocking, I know. 😆) and it looks like Optus transitioned to a model similar to Telstra's roaming add-on.

      Optus

      If I'm understanding the page correctly, when it boils down to it, nothing's really changed when it comes to receiving SMS. Roaming is auto-activated the moment your phone connects to a foreign carrier that Optus has an agreement with… If you do nothing other than the below, which includes inbound texts, it should cost you nothing.

      Usage types that aren't charged and won't trigger Optus Daily Roaming include but are not limited to the following:
      * Calls to Optus Customer Care on +612 8082 5678
      * Calls to emergency services
      * Receiving SMS
      * Accessing My Optus app

  • WilliamDGH on 02/01/2025 - 10:55

    Another alternative would be to use a cheap android mobile phone, setup a automation with APPs like MacroDroid to automatically forward any SMS you have received to your email address.

    And then as you said just transferring the number to a cheap sim and load $10 on it. Plug in the mobile phone and leave it at home.

    The advantage of this method is that you will not be worrying about whether your sim roaming will work in any of the countries you are planning to visit. I experienced an issue with my sim not having any signal in South East Asia once, took 2 days of back and forth with Optus support to reslove this.

    • OMGJL on 02/01/2025 - 13:31
      -1

      so you gonna leave a phone plugged in and un-attended for 6 months straight?

      battery could get over-charge and be on fire.

      not viable to leave it at friend's place either, cuz you can't expect them to plug-in and un-plug on a schedule for you every second day.

  • askvictor on 02/01/2025 - 10:56

    One option is to get a cheapie android and leave it at home, with your current SIM+number, then use Google's Messages for Web on the phone you actually travel with (it works well enough in a mobile browser). The main downside is if the phone with your actual number goes offline for any reason (e.g. restarts itself due to update and needs to be unlocked, runs out of battery) then you'll be without access to said SMS (i.e. that phone needs to be powered on, past it's unlock-on-boot, connected to internet, and connected to the mobile carrier for this to work). If you have a friend/family you can leave it with who can ensure those things, it might work.

  • Bayleaf on 02/01/2025 - 12:19
    +2

    I would suggest porting out to Amaysim, their "Pay As You Go" plan is $10/year. I have been with Amaysim for many years and I'm able to receive SMS while I'm overseas. Just make sure the international roaming is switched on in the app/website, no extra cost is required unless you make calls/send sms/switch on mobile data.

  • goingsomewhere on 02/01/2025 - 13:21
    +1

    I have a Telstra Prepaid Sim that allows me to receive messages abroad. You can also activate Telstra Wi-Fi calling to receive calls by connecting to Wi-Fi.

    I recharged my phone for 1-year and it allows me to receive SMS, and when connected to Wi-Fi send SMS and make phone calls without roaming charges.

    • ericc on 02/01/2025 - 15:02
      +1

      same. I use Wi-Fi Calling on Boost. No need to purchase roaming add-on at all.
      I believe if you have a 2nd sim from local with 4G/5G, it will also help the Aus sim to receive calls and SMS

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