international phone coverage

Yes!

Actually the TMobile standard in my plan international plus WhatsApp when I get Wi-Fi (everywhere these days).

Like Mr É, I use my T-Mobile plan that includes international along with Whatsapp for those services that prefer to use Whatsapp.

Yep, Tmobile for me also. That way my normal phone number always works. If I need more data (or more fast data), I may use a cheap esim for data. I can buy a week and 3 Gb for $5. Even with a low-cost cell plan with no international coverage, one could just use WiFi calling with the hotel wifi at night and text or call that way for nothing.

I used to buy a local SIM card but now I just pay AT&T the international daily rate which is definitely more expensive but saves me time. I'm good to go as soon as we land. Now that so many services we access require 2-factor authentication it came in handy to have access to my text messages to get "the code".

Now that so many services we access require 2-factor authentication it came in handy to have access to my text messages to get "the code".

Absolutely; this is a critical consideration. But everyone should know that one doesn't lose one's ability to access texts sent to one's US number if one gets a foreign plan, assuming one does things properly.

Although I use a different cell network as I live in Canada, I use the same method as mentioned in a few other replies here.... I just pay the daily roaming rate with my home cell network. It's a bit pricey at $15 a day for a maximum of 20 days ($300) in any billing cycle but I don't find that to be a problem in the overall cost of a European trip. It allows me to access all functions of my phone exactly the same way I do at home, including calls, texts and data. Since I'm using my normal home number, it allows anyone calling me to simply dial as usual, without having to deal with a different number or long distance charges, which would be the case if I used a travel SIM or local SIM.

Easy access is especially important and useful in dealing with financial problems during a trip, which has happened a few times. I need to be accessible at my usual number. On one occasion there was a problem with my ATM card and my credit union called me at 03:00 during a trip to France. I was able to get that sorted with one call. If they hadn't been able to contact me, they likely would have "locked" my card, which would have been a big problem.

We are home more than we travel so it just makes sense to pick a phone service based on our needs at home and not those of travel. For a lot of folks adding international to their current plan is going to be expensive or impossible and that is going to mean an ESIM makes the most sense. I might argue that if you take one or two trips a year that you might do well to buy a second hand phone for the SIM so that you can travel with two phones. The backup is nice.

If TMobile works for you at home, then it appears to be among the best solutions that is not based on buying another SIM. Especially good for techo-idiots like me. It just works (in every country that I have ever visited). Period. I dont have to do anything.

Is there enough high speed international data on the standard plan? Dont know. Try it and find out. You might just find out yes if you upload all your photos on a WiFi conntection.

Oh and those international per minute prices for phone calls are zero if you do those on a wifi connection. No, I dont mean WhatsApp or Telegram, your TMobile plan will treat a WiFi connection exactly the same as a Network connection and your calls and texts will arrive and go out, free of charge.

You just gotta ask the waiter at the cafe the password for the WiFi. But if you do run out, and I have from time to time, I pony up $35 for 10 more days (or $50 for a month) and its always been more than enough. Once or twice the speed has dropped off on the last day or two, then its $5 a day for more.

I am certain there are other plans that work equally as well and are equally as cost effective if not more so. This is just the one that works for me.

OH, 2-Factor Authentication. Yes, no problem with the TMobile solution.

And another consideration that may or may not matter to you. A fair number of US websites and services are blocked if you are trying to log in on an out of US IP address. Some that block you are private, but a lot that block you are government. Drivers License for instance, or County Records, my State Professional State Licensiing Site, or maybe even your Health Insurance (dont know). Your TMobile phone will have a US IP Address and will not be stopped by those roadblocks (so far for me at least) and you can use it to watch US streaming services like your home cable channels .... okay, the data useage will add up quick because this only works on the network, not on wifi.

Thank you for all replies. We don't use TMobile but will talk with our provider to see what fees are involved. It's always nice to hear what others do - I always pick up a tip or hack.
~T

I am with ATT and just pay the $10 per day fee. It is well worth it because I am truly direction impaired and love to geocache. So, I use the data quite a bit for maps. I don't travel internationally often, so I'm OK with the expense.

The UK has very inexpensive plans available to travelers. Giffgaff often comes up in the forum as they ship physical SIM cards to the US and apparently have eSIMS too. £10 will get you 15GB and 5G access on their pay as you go plans.

I have a dual SIM phone and set it up so that I can receive texts and calls on my regular US number with having to pay for an expensive international package.

https://www.giffgaff.com/sim-only-deals/pay-as-you-go

Wi-Fi calling for those with Verizon plans is not free when out of the US. It seems like a clever way for them to get even more out of us. You can do anything else using Wi-Fi but you’ll be charged if you make phone calls.

Another advantage to keeping your US number when traveling.

I got an email yesterday that I had opened a new bank account in the US. No, I hadnt. It was identy theft. The email gave me a "800" number to call. No other number just the "800". Pretty sure you cant call a "800" number from Europe. But my US phone isnt Europe. AND, I used TMobile WIFI calling which is free so i was able to reslove the issue. Thanks to my US phone data plan last year I was also able to renew my drivers license and my profesional registration. Both impossible with a European data plan as European IP addresses are blocked by my state agencies.

Pretty sure you cant call a "800" number from Europe.

You can certainly call 800 numbers from Europe. But they aren't toll free. They cost the same as any other call to the US.

Thank you for all replies. We don't use TMobile...

Hi, Theresa, it would be helpful to know what cell phone carrier you use, as we could give you better advice. For example, T-Mobile offers a free international plan (depending on your monthly plan), Verizon and AT&T offer international plans as well, but at a hefty cost (some consider the convenience worth it), and others, like Consumer Cellular, offer a pay-as-you-go plan.

If your phone is unlocked and newer than a 2018 model, you can buy an eSIM that is very easy to install. There are other avenues as well, but it would help to have more information from you.

jphbucks, i tired once but that was about 15 years ago and it wouldnt work. But I believe you. Yesterday for the fraud thing I used TMobile wifi calling so the 30 minute discussion was free. The real saver has been the IP address thing. I pretty much live over here, but still maintain my everything in the states so the seamless communication is pretty important.

Update on fees, ATT is $12/ day now.

I use a combination. On arrival, departure, and once during my trip I use ATT international plan .
. The remaining days I use an ESIM and what’s app. I find departing and arriving travel days I often need real time regular service to deal with irregular ops or airline notifications.

Update: the thread on travel pants had a link to Dicks Sporting Goods. Blocked to European IPs. Took my US phone off the wifi and turned on the network connection, and Dicks opened.

We have T Mobile and were very pleased with their service when we visited Italy last month. Cellular data wasn’t super fast but it worked, and enabled our teenage daughter to use Snap and WhatsApp wherever she was. Voice calls had a per-minute charge, I’m thinking $0.25, but we didn’t need to call anyone.

When I was a regular global traveler, I used a company provided ATT international plan that worked well everywhere I went (Asia, Europe, Africa) but not so well out West. I used to joke that I had better coverage in Tunisia than I did in the Tetons. The downside to the ATT plans are that they are foolishly expensive. Verizon must have used ATT as their business model.
On our last trip to Europe I decided to try T-Mobile.
It was money well spent. The service was good, the support was good, the technology worked without complication..... and when I was home, I simply went back to my normal carrier.
I would recommend T-Mobile.

On our last trip to Europe I decided to try T-Mobile.

@Mack, did you select a T-Mobile plan without a contract? Were you able to discontinue T-Mobile easily when you returned to the US?

jphbucks, you do not need a contract to sign up for T-Mobile. If you bring your own phone, you just sign up for the plan you want, use it and then go back to another one when you are done. I haven't done it, but I know others who have.

Thanks, Mardee. Looks like the T-Mobile plans are well-priced and give 5 GB data per month, which is probably plenty for many or even most travelers. It isn't for me, though.

I'm still planning to get a European plan of some sort, including a European phone number, for 5 months this summer. (Yes, I know summer is only 3 months. So sue me.) Will report back.

If the 5GB isn't enough, use it till it runs out, then $35 will get you another 5GB in a 10 day period or $50 for 25GB in 30 days.

I carry (already) and unlocked Android, so changing plans is not too hard to do.
As has been noted, the T-Mobile service I used did not require a "plan". I signed up for a monthly account that I terminated when we returned. The person I dealt with at T-Mobile (I chose to go to their brick and mortar) was very helpful and professional...He installed the Sim card on my phone and tested it before I walked out of the store. He also gave me a month of free service that allowed me to use T-Mobile for a while before travelling. I'm glad he did. I found out that the number they had assigned me had been used previously....that showed up when I tried to use the new number for one of my credit cards... He took care of that problem in a matter of minutes. I still have the Sim card handy to swap back into my phone if I need it again.
If I ever decide to change telephony, based upon this experience, I would definitely consider T-Mobile. The transition to international service was mind numbingly easy.
What I loved about this was that everything I have installed on my phone was immediately available....

Mack, Ive used TMobile for years and years and years and never had an issue. The service is as you said, very good. The one problem I do have relates to the fact that I am living in Europe. TMobile doesnt like that. They leave me alone while I am here, but the minute I land in the US they will cut my data service. To reinstate it I have to go to a TMobile store and tell them what I have been up to and in about 15 minutes I am up and working again. So getting that first Uber requires wifi.

As for the data, the 5GB usually only lasts me a week. Then I pony up the $35 for the additional 5 for week two. Now, if I were careful and asked the waiters for the restaurant wifi password before making my WhatsApp calls and before sending photos I suspect I could make the 5GB work for a month. After all, on the street, its just for google maps.

I also enjoy the fact that there is no website in the US my US Tmobile can not connect to. Thats not true with a European plan. Many government agencies and a few commercial businesse block all but US IP addresses. The latest was Dick's Sporting Goods. There is another thread about good travel pants with zippered pockets, had to use my US phone to check them out.

And if you can find Wifi, TMobile will place the call/text or receive the call/text from the US through the wifi and the call is free. My US phone stays home now and its my home phone .... using the wifi in my home.