Cellphone use in Europe

If I were you, I would switch to Sprint (not prepaid). They have the same international roaming that T-Mobile has (20 cents/min calls, free unlimited 2G data and texting, probably free WiFi calling). More importantly, Sprint has an amazing deal right now for a full year of free service on an eligible device if you port in from existing service, even AT&T prepaid. I just did this (unlocked Moto E4) and it works great in the US - my monthly bill is $3.20/month with taxes and fees.

(I basically ported in from the equivalent of AT&T prepaid to Sprint.)

I have used T-Mobile overseas before and feel confident Sprint roaming would work just as well.

I'm almost certain your phone is eligible - I read about the Moto G5 at Costco but had already bought my E4 (which I'm very happy with though). But you can find out for sure here (click "Check Eligibility"), using the IMEI code/number from your phone:

https://www.sprint.com/en/landings/bring-your-own-phone.html

A few things about switching to Sprint:
1. You need to apply for the BYOD offer online or over the phone - can't do it in a Sprint store (I did it over the phone).
2. Sprint requires "auto-pay" to bring the cost down to $0 plus fees. I autopay my $3.20/month with a credit card.
3. You need to buy a Sprint SIM which is specific to your phone (unlike GSM SIM cards like AT&T's, which can be used in any phone). If you apply/order from Sprint using the link above, they'll send you the correct SIM. But you can just find out the correct SIM and buy a kit at Best But and do it all over the phone - that's how I did it.

Of course, you need to have decent Sprint coverage where you live. I do.

Anyway...if you switch to Sprint (or T-Mobile) that will make using your phone overseas easiest. Even if you don't use your phone much at home, a year of Sprint service for almost nothing must be cheaper than what you'll pay for AT&T prepaid. (you'll lose all AT&T minutes/credit as soon as you port to Sprint though.)

Otherwise: you can buy a local SIM - I've done that too. It's usually cheaper to buy a SIM when you arrive in Europe vs. buying one in advance. The thing now is that the EU has done away with most roaming fees within Europe, so if you buy a SIM in one country, you can use it in the others. (data will work for sure; local calls to EU numbers may be limited - depends on the mobile company and their plan.) You can always use Skype or Google Hangouts to make cheap local calls for a few cents a minute (even on WiFi without a SIM at all).

If you want to buy a SIM in advance, know that most countries require you to be in-country to register a SIM with your passport. A few countries like the UK and the Netherlands do not (yet) have this requirement, so you can buy SIMs ahead of time and set them up at home. I bought a Dutch Vodafone SIM on eBay last year for use in Slovenia, Italy, and France - mostly for data (didn't make any local calls). See my thread about this in the technology section:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/dutch-vodafone-sim-card-for-use-in-europe

Thank you Andrew. That is a good deal, only, as you mention, if you get good service. I just got finished parting ways with Sprint to go to AT&T because Sprint did not work well where I needed service. I would much rather switch for a short while to t-mobile and go back to AT&T when I come home.

Out of curiosity, did you use this same Moto G5 (probably pretty new) with Sprint? Because they use different bands (frequencies), and older phones may not have all the necessary Sprint bands to get good reception everywhere. If you just don't get good reception in your house, Sprint will give you a "magic box" for free to boost reception inside - or you can use WiFi calling using your home internet (I have spotty Sprint reception indoors at home but not bad enough to try WiFi calling, and it's fine outside my house and nearby).

I switched to T-Mobile in 2016 for a month just for the international roaming. But back then, you could still get a free SIM plus it was only $50/month. Now it's $75/month and $25 for a SIM(?) unless you can still find a way to get one for free. I looked at doing it again last year but $100 just wasn't worth it. The Dutch Vodafone SIM option worked a lot better for me. I used Google Hangouts for free incoming/outgoing calls to the US (even to landlines), but that worked for me because I already use my Google Voice number as my primary phone number, I already got incoming calls in Europe on the same phone number I use at home. And I didn't need to make local calls - I used the Vodafone SIM for data only (Hangouts uses data or WiFi). But you can just buy a SIM in the first country you land in, and figure out if it can make local calls to the other EU countries you'll be in. Incoming calls and texts tend to be free on those EU SIMs FYI, even if it costs to make outgoing calls in some cases.

I'd install Hangouts no matter what so you can call US numbers for free (e.g. your airline if you have a problem) and you can use that even on WiFi without a SIM. Even with T-Mobile 20 cents/min, nice to have Hangouts for the free US calls.

Since the EU ended roaming charges in 2016 a SIM card purchased in one member country works in all of them. There is no reason to purchase a card for each country visited. If Germany is the first country you visit and you get your card there, it’ll work in the other countries as well with no problems. Check out the “Telephone & Tech” section in Tips and Tricks on this site. For info on Sim Cards in Germany, Faust click on this link.

I picked up a World Wide SIM card from Know Roaming for a multi-country trip around Europe. Had no issues. Was very easy to install and use. Check out various reviews on the web.

Andrew,
I had a Galaxy S4 on Sprint and it needed to be replaced. I went with the Moto 5GPlus (which I love BTW) and switched carriers then. I didn't have trouble in the house but visiting my mother a short distance away - I had very schetchy reception. Besides, I had Sprint for way to many years and was fed up with rising rates and way too much stuff they were loading on my phone. I love not having all that junk taking up memory. I also got a phone with 64 GB so hopefully I will not run out. The only disappointment is that the US version of the phone does not have the ability to transfer information from one phone to another or use payment systems. I forget the initials ?NFS?. The UK version has it. I don't really do any of that so it doesn't bother me at the moment.

I have Sprint and all I have to do is reboot my iphone entering a new country to get the plan Andrew described. Works in Europe and Asia. Could not possibly be easier.

I don't do a ton of calls while on vacation, so 20 cents/min makes sense for me. If you make lots of calls then a local phone/sim may be a better deal.

tdmurphy, the "transfer" feature to which you refer is called NFC (Near Field Communications). My Moto E4 doesn't have it, either - the US Moto phones seem not to have it for some reason, which is a bummer. I wanted it too, but I guess I can live without it.

By Sprint "loading things" onto your phone, I assume you mean the "bloatware" apps that come pre-installed on a carrier-branded phone. That's a big benefit of buying an unlocked phone like the Moto E4 or G5 plus. AT&T bloats their carrier phones, too - I had a cheapo prepaid AT&T Android phone that was loaded with junk and could only remove some of it. If you switched to Sprint now with the G5 plus, you wouldn't have that same problem. The only Sprint app I installed on my phone is the My Sprint app I chose to install.

You might buy a microSDXC memory card for your G5 plus to expand the memory even more. Even 128GB cards are only about $40. 64GB of storage ought to last a long time, though, but expanding it even more means you'll have plenty of space for photos and videos. I have a 128GB card in my E4 which is full of movies and TV shows I can watch on a plane - a great way to kill time on a long overseas flight.

If you think you could live with Sprint again for a month or so, you could try to switch back to them for this "BYOD" deal, if it's been more than 45 days (I think) since you were last with them. That would probably be almost $100 cheaper than switching to T-Mobile for a month, and you'd get the same international roaming plan. I'm not trying to push Sprint too much - I just think this is a great deal. But I plan to leave them next January as soon as it expires, for another cheap prepaid carrier. It's easy to do with an unlocked phone. For now, $3.20/month for unlimited talk/text/data is hard to beat!

I prefer traveling to one country on my vacation (or at least primarily one country) and buy a local SIM card for that country. I find it's much cheaper for both calls and data than any international roaming plan our carriers offer.

For traveling between countries. Orange offers a two week card that, I believe, offers good roaming options. Check it out. If this seems right, you don't have to buy it before you get to Europe. Just visit an Orange boutique store and let them set it up for you. My biggest gripe is it's good for 14 days and I'm always there for 17-19 nights, so I have to decide when to activate it.

https://boutique.orange.fr/mobile/carte-prepayee-orange-holiday-eng