What to Do When Your Internet Goes Down While Traveling

In today’s connected world, having reliable internet access while traveling is almost essential. Whether you're trying to navigate a new city or stay in touch with friends and family, losing your internet connection while traveling can be frustrating. While not a common occurrence, there could be various reasons why you might suddenly lose internet connectivity while on a trip. Maybe you went out of range of the network you are connected to, or maybe the network you are using have got issues with roaming, or in some cases, it's just an outage of the network you're connected to.

The last thing that you want to be doing on your trip is to be spending a lot of time troubleshooting your connectivity issues, and there are a number of things you could do to ensure that any disruption in network will not heavily impact your trip.

1. Make sure important information is available offline

One of the best ways to prepare for unexpected internet outages while traveling is to have offline apps and features ready. Here are some key ones to consider:

• Google Maps Offline: Download maps of the area you’re visiting in advance. Google Maps allows you to navigate, view points of interest, and search locations without an internet connection.
• Taking screenshots and saving offline copies where possible: Taking screenshots of important information will ensure that you can still access these information even in the event of a network outage. Such information could include things like any reservations you have made, your e-ticket to attractions, or the addresses of your accommodation.

2. Connect to alternative networks

Most countries will have more than one telco network, and it is unlikely that all of them will face an outage at the same time.

If one of them is down, and you have the flexibility to connect to a different network, then changing your network to an alternative network could ensure minimal disruptions for you. Unfortunately, if you were to get a local SIM card upon arrival, then this is unlikely to be a possible option since local SIM cards are mostly tied to a specific telco.

If you are on a roaming plan, you could confirm the preferred roaming network for your home telcos — most of them only have one roaming partner for each country, while others might have multiple; in the event where your home telco offers multiple roaming partners at your destination, you will have the flexibility to simply switch to another network.

Similarly, if you were staying connected using a travel eSIM, check which networks your travel eSIM supports. If your travel eSIM supports multiple networks at your destination, you can quickly update the network from your device settings.

3. Use Public Wi-Fi Hotspots

In many cities and tourist destinations, you’ll find a range of public Wi-Fi hotspots in cafes, restaurants, hotels, and even public parks. In the event where you run into an internet outage when traveling, being able to tap on public WiFi hotspot where possible would be very useful to help you get the necessary information or access services such as getting a Uber ride.

Once you are connected to a public WiFi, you can also quickly buy a travel eSIM to help you tide through the period of outage. Of course, make sure that the travel eSIM that you choose uses a different network from the network that is currently facing an outage.

However, when using public Wi-Fi, always be cautious of security risks. Avoid accessing sensitive accounts, such as banking, without a secure VPN connection.

Get a Nomad travel eSIM and stay connected without worries

Most of Nomad’s eSIM plans support multiple networks in each country, and you will be able to easily switch between networks through your device settings. To be sure, it is important to check the networks of the individual plans before you make your purchase.

Nomad offers travel eSIMs for over 190+ destinations worldwide, and if you will be visiting multiple countries during your trip, Nomad also offers regional plans. A regional plan allows you to stay connected seamlessly as you travel across countries. Install your eSIM just once and you are good to go!

P.S. Even if you are not traveling, a travel eSIM could be pretty useful as a temporary solution when there is an internet outage while you are at home!