Cellphone coverage question: for people who have Verizon or T-Mobile

We were just in Paris, Rouen and other parts of Normandy using our iPhones with the Verizon International Plan. No problems except sometimes when using google maps to navigate in the car, my iPhone which is oddly the most updated version, would occasionally be spotty on very rural roads. (I didn't download any maps as suggested by this forum, so shame on me.) But with my husband's a little older model. no problems. We had no problems with apps, texts, or even a few calls back to the US.

I have used Verizon very occasionally in Europe, including France, and never had a problem with coverage. My only issue is the cost.

We've never had a problem with coverage using Verizon in France. They do have a dedicated phone number for questions abount international plans and etc. Can't find it just now, but it should be on the web site.

I use the Verizon $10/day plan on all of my travels.
The only place that I have had difficulty with cell service was in the Westfjords in Iceland. There were a few phone calls that were spotty. Oh, there were also a few spotty calls from an Alaskan cruise. But, navigation and internet access was not an issue.

In France, I have been to Paris, throughout the Normandie region and then on to Belgium. Reliabel service and navigation.

I'll add my voice to the ones saying it's reliable. I used it for years when visiting France.

My experience in Spain, Italy and Portugal (I know, not France, but) is that Verizon works pretty much as it would in the US. In more rural areas, it might not be great; cities will be fine (with usual city caveats - tall building interference, etc). I also found this, which might be helpful: https://verizon.cellmaps.com/

No issue w T Mobile. Used it 3x in Paris in 3 years, plus my day trips to Versailles, Reims and Fontainebleau; also used in London in 2019 and this year when I got stuck (thank you for my UK compensation, British Airways lol).

Now, I do upgrade to the 10 day $35 plan, but have used it without with just slower speeds.

I have T-Mobile, and have had no issues/problems with coverage in Norway, Sicily, or points between.

I've used Verizon in all 3 with no problem except user skills in 2021 in Bordeaux, lol. That was corrected by the next trip, hahaha! Yikes. I figure out how many days I'll need it and then go for either the $10/day or $100/month.

I KNOW a Sim/eSim is cheaper. I just don't want to futz with it. I want it available when I want it.

With Verizon, you do not need to use your phone for $10/ per 24 hour time period for the entire trip. You could try a more frugal approach by being a little conservative about when you start a new 24 hour time period. We've done a few month long car trips where we've only used Verizon 24 hour time period 3-4 times. I set an alarm to remind me when to put my phone back in airplane mode. I always down load maps for Maps.me and Google prior to my trip.

The landscape has changed with Verizon on overseas cell access. I used to have to change to a SIM purchased in Europe to get reasonably priced voice/ text/ data, which was a major pain when arriving. It was sure a lot less expensive than the $10/day plan, but then Verizon offered the $100 International Plan for 30 days, and that was a big step forward.

In prep for an upcoming trip, I visited a Verizon store to get the plan set into place for our departure. Upon conferring with a sales rep, I discovered that they now offer the "Unlimited Ultimate" plan for $52/month, that includes
"Unlimited talk, text and data when traveling in 210+ countries and destinations. After 10 GB/mo of high-speed data, get unlimited 2G speeds." My previous plan was the Unlimited Plus, for $42/month, so I can get the international calls & data for only $10/month more per line. A real bargain, and also included is 300 minutes/month calling from the US to any one country, helpful with checking with hotels, etc. I will downgrade my service back to Unlimited Plus upon my return, so a very real savings and the convenience of keeping my same phone number while out of the country. Occasionally things get better for the traveler.

No problems with T-mobile. I seldom make calls. Texting worked fine and even the slow free data speeds are sufficient for using Google maps for navigation, but slow if wanting to do any internet searching. I do download maps for offline use for when coverage is spotty.

T-mobile is so simple. It works for us 99% of the time and fades only when we're in a really rural area.

While you're in France, you can call a US phone number free from your US phone if your call is over wifi.

We have T-mobile and get there international plan when we travel months at a time. We have never had any coverage issues; I think they partner with local carriers.

emi0504,
I have never had a problem with my Verizon anywhere in Europe, nor in Egypt. I didn't have a smart phone before 2017, so can't reply about other places I have been. I used the $10 per day as has jules m. Like him, I didn't use it every day, and paid attention to the 24 hour period usage. It worked out very well for us. Next time, if I am gone long enough, I will try out the $100/month program.
Coverage was never an issue anywhere. The bonus was not having to do anything extra to use my phone. I used it just as I did at home.

As a general rule, Europe has better coverage than the US (more people, less square miles). Wi-Fi is everywhere too, but you probably have to ask for the password in restaurants. I have T-Mobile now. It's good for texts and data. I rarely call; when I do, it's with Wi-Fi.

Thank you for your replies; they're very helpful.

I have Verizon and use the International Unlimited plan which costs $91/month. I've been using it for 18 months so far this time. No issues, and I travel a fair amount.

T-mobile is Telecom in the EU. I have an eSim card for them on the same phone and a local number for Germany. I use that for all calls within the EU and GB. No problems.

You will notice service can get strange when crossing a border, I usually expect a text from either, or both, companies to the fact and that's about the extent of it. I text, whatsapp, call, email, use Chrome and Safari, etc with no issues.