Mobile data and roaming on Pico

If your SIM is from the EU

Pico is in Portugal, and Portugal is in the EU, so nothing about the island changes the rule you already roam under elsewhere in Europe. Roam like at home switches on by itself: the calls, texts and data you use are charged as they are at home. The European Commission says you should get the same quality, including 5G if you have it at home, where the local network allows it.

Two limits are worth knowing:

• Fair use. If your home plan is unlimited or very low cost, your operator may set a data limit for roaming. It has to tell you in advance and alert you at 80% of it. Past the limit you can still use data, for a small regulated fee.
• Long stays. Roam like at home is meant for travel. If, over 4 months, you use your phone abroad more than at home, your operator may contact you and add a surcharge. A normal holiday does not come near it. For a season on the island, a local SIM is the cleaner answer.

If your SIM is from outside the EU

Roam like at home also covers Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Ukraine and Moldova. The United Kingdom left it, so a UK SIM is on whatever terms your operator sets, although some UK operators have kept the benefit. Anywhere else, check your plan before you fly, because data roaming outside the EU can be expensive.

At sea and in the air

On a ship or a plane you are covered as normal while your phone is connected to a land network, for example in a harbour or at an airport. When the phone service on board runs over satellite, the EU rules stop applying and there is no price cap. The EU's own advice is to turn off roaming or use flight mode on board. Worth remembering on a cruise ship, or on a boat out of sight of Madalena.

The networks on the island

MEO, NOS and Vodafone have each announced mobile investment across the Azores: NOS says its 5G reaches every island, Vodafone set a target for almost the whole population of the archipelago, and MEO named Pico among the islands getting new mobile sites. DIGI says on its own coverage page that its mobile service is not available in the Azores, so a DIGI SIM bought on the mainland is not one to rely on here.

None of these is a coverage map for a mountain trail. Before a remote walk, download your maps and tell somebody your route.

Emergencies

112 works from any mobile phone, and an EU operator has to text you about it when you arrive. See emergency numbers.

What this page does not tell you

No tariffs, and no coverage map. The national regulator's site was unreachable from the machine this page was checked on, and operator announcements are targets, not measurements. See practical information, public holidays for when shops selling SIM cards close, the pharmacy on duty and fuel stations.