Prepare Android Phone for International Travel

[mdman2021]

Does anyone have a Macrodroid macro they would like to share which will prepare a smartphone for international travel (I have a Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra). Also, a macro to reverse the process (for return to the USA) would be extremely helpful. Obviously, the reverse macro would have to be written knowing what was done in the "prepare" macro so everything can be reversed. Also, I know I can locally buy a pre-paid SIM card and use it but my goal in this post is to explore saving money using the phone's settings.

If no existing macro can be located then I suppose I will have to build my own macro to include...
1) Either turn off Roaming -OR- turn on Airplane Mode. Either one will prevent phone from using cellular plan.
2) Turn on Wi-Fi -AND- turn on Wi-Fi Calling. This will allow me to continue to make phone calls and use the internet (when I have a Wi-Fi connection). Also, use WhatsApp (via Wi-Fi) to make phone calls if Wi-Fi Calling is blocked.
3) etc., etc.

 

[dhj49er]

I think there is probably no set of macros that will meet your specific requirements.
I have attached some of the macros I use, to demonstrate how I configured Macrodroid to handle changing locations.
I use variables to set or clear features, such as airplane mode. There is a corresponding macro which uses any change to the variable as the trigger and the macro actions set or reset the feature.
The key macros for international travel are the first and last.
Service availabile macro runs to get the country code.
Service availabile apply country settings macro is setup to reflect I have an international roaming SIM, which provides in plan calls & data in Europe & many countries around the world. I travel to USA, so is included, as is Europe, otherwise if calls & data are not in plan, I elect to turn on Airplane mode. I can add individual countries by code, if I go to other countries.
Another key aspect is the use of Profiles in Macrodroid.
I have profiles for each Macrodroid mode and have included Home and Abroad as examples.
Hopefully this may help you develop your own macros.

 

[dhj49er]

I forgot to include screenshot of Home profile in my previous message.
Have attached here Home and Away profiles.
The Away mode is when I'm in the UK, not at Home or in the Car. I don't have a Work profile....I retired 15 years ago!!

 

[mdman2021]

Thanks dhj49er. I retired Dec 31, 2019 -- Lucky us!

I'll probably do the following... Create a button on my main screen to run the macro. Start the macro with a prompt asking me to "Prep for Intl Travel" or "Prep for Return to USA". For every idea below, figure out how to do it using Macrodroid (or Tasker).

I'll probably include the following in my "Prep for Intl Travel" macro (and reverse actions for "Prep for Return to USA"):
1) Turn Airplane mode ON. Next I'll turn Roaming OFF in case, from habit, I turn Airplane mode OFF when getting off the airplane.
2) I wonder If I can temporarily set WhatsApp as my DEFAULT messaging App while overseas then switch it back when returning to USA. If I can set WhatsApp then can I do it via Macrodroid?
3) I suppose turning off auto-updating of App's should also be done.
4) Turn off auto-sync email.
5) Turn off Cloud auto-syncs.
6) Turn NFC off.
7) Do you know if Macrodroid can invoke Tasker macros? Maybe Tasker can do some critical steps that Macrodroid cannot do.
8) I might not always be near a power source for recharging so Turn on Medium Power Saving Mode -or- Full Power Saving Mode.
9) Turn VPN on.
10) Can you think of other things to be done to avoid pages of International charges on my phone bill?

 

[Elenkhos]

7) Do you know if Macrodroid can invoke Tasker macros? Maybe Tasker can do some critical steps that Macrodroid cannot do.

It should via app shortcuts.

 

[dhj49er]

Some thoughts on your steps.
1. Turning Airplane mode on disables the phones radio and turns off WiFi, Bluetooth and data. Controlling roaming is only prertinent if airplane mode is off and data is on.
2. The Android default messaging app is for sms. I don't believe there is an option to select WhatsApp as it's not an SMS app.
3. I never have auto update apps enabled - disabling it is one of the first things I do when I setup a new phone.
4. Why turn off mail auto sync? Surely when abroad you will get mail via WiFi, so keep it enabled?
5. I used to use a few clouds, but dropped the ones that didn't provide end to end security. Disable access if you don't need to use them abroad.
7. Not used Tasker, so don't know anything about tasker macros. Don't forget Macrodroid can do stuff not possible in Tasker eg control Airplane mode with the screen off (on non rooted phone).
8. An alternative to the power saving modes...power bank. I go camping in the UK and take a power bank for charging my phone, smartwatch and bike computer.
9. I use VPN for all non secure WiFi networks. My only secure WiFi network is the one at home.
10. WiFi calling, if used, only works in home country.
Finally, using buttons to activate the macros requires manual operation. Using the country code could make invoking and switching setups for different countries fully automatic. That's how my macros work.
Good luck & have fun developing your macros!

 

[dhj49er]

As an alternative to using buttons, have you considered using Macrodroid drawer?
I find it very useful for displaying settings (via Macrodroid variables) and running macros.
Attached is a screenshot of my Macrodroid drawer.
I'm on Android 11, use gestures for navigation and swipe to open the drawer from near the bottom left hand edge of the screen - I'm left handed.

 

[Jacob L]

See if this helps to reduce general data usage anyhow: https://www.macrodroidforum.com/index.php?threads/data-saver-ultimate.20/