Having a phone that works overseas is great and all. But it also can be a double-edged sword. With roaming charges costing an arm, a leg and perhaps your firstborn, you really don’t want to be using your domestic phone overseas that much for calls or data unless you’re the pharaoh of Egypt or have Warren Buffet’s pockets.

To avoid accidental roaming charges, some folks opt to just turn off their phone or disable all wireless features. But what if you want to simply use your smartphone’s Wi-Fi feature to browse the Web, check e-mail or use maps overseas without the forehead-smacking cost of receiving unintended phone calls or data roaming charges? For Android users, the solution is simpler than you might think.

No worries, for folks using an older Android phone. I tested this on an Android 2.1 phone so I can vouch that it works. Anywho, here’s what you need to do:

• First, tap on your Settings app (or icon if you have a shortcut on one of your home screens). It’s the one that looks like a cog or gear. This will bring up the Settings menu.
• On your Settings menu, tap on Wireless and network.
• You should now see a list of wireless-related menus. Tap on the Flight mode — also generally known as Airplane mode — to disable all wireless connections. You’ll know it’s working because you get an airplane icon on your notifications bar.
• Great, now you won’t be getting any incoming calls. But wait! Now your Wi-Fi connection isn’t working, either. Nice going, Jason, you regular Einstein. Hold on your horses, though, because we’re not done yet. On that same wireless submenu, tap on Wi-Fi settings.
• Click the option to Turn on Wi-Fi.
• Look at your notification bar on your home screen again. You’ll still have the airplane icon on, indicating that you won’t get any calls. But you will also start seeing a Wi-Fi signal icon. Voila! Now you can connect to a Wi-Fi enabled router or hot spot without worrying about getting roaming charges.

Obviously, there’s more than one way to activate Wi-Fi while disabling incoming calls. You may even find some apps that promise to do the same thing. But personally, this is about the easiest, no-nonsense way that I’ve found to do this. As always, feel free to send an e-mail if you have any questions, suggestions or comments.