Hi. I chose to travel in Europe for 2 weeks and will use Primasim for data. The question is, can I keep T-Mobile roaming on to get 2FA texts without charges? When I message on WhatsApp, do I need to choose eSIM or will it work automatically? Maybe I should just divert calls to voicemail and ask people to message me on WhatsApp?
Posted by
Washington DC
30105 posts
Do you have an iPhone or an Android phone? If Android, is it a Samsung?
Posted by
TX, USA
5904 posts
That was a quick decision, sharon. Just 30 min before this post you were deciding between Europe and SE Asia. Could you share which country you have chosen for your 2 weeks and why?
From your previous responses during the course of today, it sounds like you have quite a bit of experience traveling in Europe. Is this the first time you have considered an eSIM? Have you not previously used T-Mobile? It will help us to know more about your plans and your experience.
Posted by
West Michigan
563 posts
With T-Mobile, it depends on what plan you have. I have an old plan, that was Magenta, that includes free texting and calling in 214 countries. In 11 countries, I get 5 gb. of high speed data. In the other 203 countries I still get free texting and calling, but the data is very slow, 256 kbps. That actually works ok for me, but not for most folks. I can text photos to friends, but it takes some 20 seconds to send the MMS text. That's not too bad. On my Galaxy S24, I also have an esim from Roamless that gives me cheap high speed data everywhere. I can use that for high speed web surfing or watching videos. I do not think I can do Wifi Calling with the Roamless data. I've tried that recently, and couldn't get it to work. I guess wifi calling needs wifi.
I'm not familiar with WhatsApp, but if it's just sending texts or small photos, I'd think the 256 kbps data from Tmobile might work well enough. What do others think about that?
So bottom line, you need to find the details for your specific cellphone plan.
Posted by
Singapore
1110 posts
If you eSIM is activated, WhatsApp will work - no need to make any changes to the settings. Roaming is carrier specific so I can't help with that, but for 2FA, I'd suggest (if possible) switching to app based 2FA. Many banks now send a 2FA authentication request directly on their apps rather than via text, and for other things like email, you can use an authenticator app. But will depend on what your bank offers.
Posted by
West Michigan
563 posts
Yes, some sites will allow 2FA by email. That would work fine with your esim.
Another possibility, kind of inconvenient, would be wifi calling. If one of you has data from an esim, they could turn on a "wifi hotspot" on their phone. The other person could enable wifi calling, and connect to that wifi hotspot. Then they could text or call using their primary sim card, with it's "normal" phone number.
More hassle, and requires two phones, but I know it works. I did that for a week up in a cabin in the woods. I connected my tablet to a Verizon tower, and enabled wifi hotspot, then connected my normal phone to it. Then I could text and call just like normal.