Phone Service Czech Rep

Kenny, below is some info on prepaid SIM cards in the Czech Republic. (I bought a SIM there many years when I last visited, but it's been a long time now.)

https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/Czech_Republic

On one trip, I switched to T-Mobile just before leaving the US for Europe and the international roaming worked fine, but don't count on being able to do that anymore.

FYI, buying a T-Mobile SIM in Europe is not the same as using US T-Mobile service and roaming in Europe. The US T-Mobile service gives you free data roaming but the speed is throttled to slow it down (though I think you can pay for data passes that are faster). You would not have this kind of speed issue if buying a T-Mobile SIM card in Czech Republic to work with the local T-Mobile network there. They are not the same company, though they might have a common owner.

Also, make sure your current phones are unlocked so you can use a different SIM card in them. If they are really old phones that don't have all of the latest LTE frequencies, they may not work well with any service in Europe, where many operators have ditched 3G service.

Thank you, Andrew. Both phones are the 13's and are unlocked.
Hey, you're in Portland, I grew up in Longview.

I just returned from Prague and have AT&T. I just had them turn on my international plan and paid the $10.00 a day for service. Didn't have any problems.

But he doesn't have AT&T - he has Consumer Cellular (who uses AT&T's networks), so he wouldn't be able to access the international roaming.

(Kenny, I may be going to Longview tomorrow FWIW.)

I spoke with Consumer Cellular service rep, their only international roaming option is with the T-Mobile SIM card --which they will provide for free (I have AT&T). They will switch me back to AT&T SIM card upon return to US (T-Mobile signal is weak in my area). CC rep said do not use a T-Mobile SIM purchased in Europe--it will mess up your phone.

So, the way it works is install the T-Mobile SIM card a few days before departing the US and activate international roaming. There is no service fee or monthly fee. Cost is based on call minutes, text and data usage. Rates vary per country, in Czech Rep and Austria are both $.20 per talk minute, text message, and 1 meg data. Service should be available when we land and turn phones on.

Thanks for the feedback. Andrew, hope you have an enjoyable visit in Longview.

Kenny, you mean, Consumer Cellular offers international roaming by providing you with a T-Mobile US SIM card you can use while in Europe? That' really interesting. What does it cost for data?

No, a European T-Mobile SIM card won't "mess up" your phone. I've used several international SIM cards in my phones - most recently a Dutch Vodafone SIM I've been using for years just for trips to Europe.

(Visit to Longview was brief - before exiting my car at my destination, I had to wait 15 minutes in my car because rain was coming down in buckets today! Don't you miss the PNW? LOL.)

Andrew, yes, this is what CC rep told me over the phone Friday AM. For data rates, go to the bottom of this link:
https://www.consumercellular.com/help/international-rates
Make sure to you go to the Helpful Hints under international roaming. Data rate in Czech Rep is $.20 per megabyte.

Re: using European T-Mobile SIM cards. I'm only relaying what CC rep told me. Maybe depends on phone, I don't know.

For our Czech Rep trip, we'll get the T-Mobile SIM for one phone before leaving and switch back to AT&T when we return.

I can vouch for CC paying for the SIM card changes. In 2018 they reimbursed for T-Mobile SIM card needed for international roaming and reimbursed again for AT&T SIM card on return. T-Mobile signal is weak in our neighborhood so need AT&T.

Well, without the rain, PNW wouldn't be so green. And makes you appreciate the sunny days.

Kenny, I get what you mean now: Consumer Cellular can use either AT&T's or T-Mobile's network in the US. But, if you want to use international roaming with Consumer Cellular, you need a T-mobile SIM card from them which will work in the US but also piggybacks on T-Mobile's international roaming.

But... 20 cents per MB is really expensive! 100MB would be $20. I use about 100MB per day in Europe. That's highway robbery - $20 per day for data??? My Vodafone SIM is about $16 for 4GB of data that would last me several weeks.

Sorry, but the Consumer Cellular customer service rep is yanking your chain in regard to a European SIM "messing up your phone." And you can see why: they will miss out on these outrageous data charges!!! Plenty of others in the RS forums have used European SIM cards without them "messing up" their phones.

It's true that you won't be able to use your Consumer Cellular number for calls or texts while you have a Czech SIM in place. If you want to receive texts and voicemails on a US number, sign up for Google Voice before you leave the US. (Install the app on your phone - it will guide you through choosing a new Google number, though your old number won't change.) You can use the Google Voice app to send/receive texts on that new number and get voicemail too (and making calls home to the US for free). Then give this Google number to people you need to be in touch while you are gone.

Update, we're back from Czech Rep and Vienna trip.

So, we got a physical T-Mobile SIM card in Prague and happy with the service. We opted for the 10GB plan and glad we did as we used Google maps for navigation more than expected. Cost was 299 kc ($12.25) and good for 12 months. The remaining GB's should be enough to cover the next trip.

Only problem was no service on arrival in Vienna but fixed by going to settings and, in Cellular Data Options, turning Roaming on.

A minor issue was sending SMS text messages--sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Not sure what the cause was, maybe some combination between my US and Czech phone numbers and if on WiFi or roaming (probably my fault) but phone calling (in Czech Rep and Vienna), email and internet connectivity worked well.