Recently whe I was travelling in Europe, I had a 100mb data pack with Telstra.

Recently whe I was travelling in Europe, I had a 100mb data pack with Telstra. I have an iPhone 6 and turned off cellular for most apps except Maps and WhatsApp.

75% of my data went to 'System services' which you have no choice to turn on or off which was slightly annoying.

Does anyone know of any phones which I could look at for the next time which might not use as much data or might allow it to be turned on and off?

Whenever I'm travelling overseas and wish to conserve data usage on the iPhone I toggle the 'Mobile Data' setting to 'Off '(ie. 'Settings > Mobile > Mobile Data')'. This will prevent the iPhone from consuming any data from the cellular network.

It can be easily toggled back on again when you wish to use data services (such as send/receive email, access a web page, check a map, or make a voip call).   

Note: Disabling 'Mobile data' does not prevent you from using WiFi hotspots for connectivity. It also does not prevent you from making / receiving mobile calls via the carriers cellular network.  

I might throw one idea out there for you to consider.   There are a number of smartphone products on the market running the Android and Windows Phone operating systems that support dual-sims. These may provide a more cost effective roaming solution for you in the long run.  You can keep your Telstra sim card in the first sim slot (so that you can still keep receiving your normal phone calls from Australia when travelling), and fit either a Travel sim or local Pre-paid sim card in the second slot which can be used for data services. You can purhase a pre-paid sim in most European countries over the counter (showing your Passport for ID).  Hope that helps !

All phones will send some form of data to fetch different settings, updates or features

If you are that concerned about mobile data then you should not be using it

That being said I use a Nokia Lumia 625 and it handles data really well with very little background data ever used

It also comes with full turn by turn navigation where you can download the maps over wifi so it does not need internet 

Alternatively, you may not be aware that Telstra have recently introduced some great new international Travel Passes, which include - unlimited calls to and from Australia, unlimited SMS, and 50MB data per day, all for just $5 per day (Zone 1), $10 if you're in Zone 2.

You may want to consider a local pre-paid SIM. The data allocations with a local SIM are measured in GB - the financial risk with roaming SIMs and their associated data costs just isn't worth it. Things like software updates will eat your roaming data allocation (which is usually only tens or hundreds of MB, not GB). I think roaming data allocations of 100MB or thereabouts are a joke.

As for keeping your phone number, one option is to use Skype, ie. get a local number (ie. in Oz) and have it re-directed to your Skype account, which then goes to the Sype app on your phone. People in Oz then just call your Oz landline (ie. the one Skype gave you). Or you re-direct your Oz mobile number to your Oz Skype landline number. Lots of options, and you've capped your financial risk (eg. if you exceed your data allocation on your local European prepaid SIM, you just buy another one, rather than getting stung by extra charges).

Can I make another suggestion?

I have an ipod touch, but you can have a ipad, which is better than an iphone to save money, while overseas.

Yes, the screen is larger than an iphone, but, there/here is the but.

Have a mobile broadband pocket wifi device, Telstra charges $200 a year, for 12GB, but from this, you can buy an Aud$29 worth of 100mb data block to use overseas, this is not tied to an iphone call charge credit, this is purely to use on data only.

If going away for a month, this is the best policy.

I use my mobile phone, cheap one with Optus, but my data is with Telstra prepaid mobile broadband, and $29 for 100mb does last me a while, though the max time to use it is a month, you can recharge while overseas by transferring your prepaid credit to buying a roaming block.

I keep note of my usage, and its 10mb here, 5mb there, 2mb here and there, and I use it for mobile on the go maps in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.

Thanks everyone.

I have local sims and data packs etc, I was wondering if anyone knew of any specific phones that use less data for system services or allowed more control over thich system services accessed data.

I am not absolutely crazy about my iPhone and would love to hear what sort of tech everyone else is using.