T-mobile warning

I have Verizon. Could explain the SIM card piece a bit? Do you buy it in the U.S. or in Europe? I've always only used my phone in Europe where there was free wifi to do internet searches and read email. I've never used it for calls or as GPS etc though there have been times when it might have been helpful. A few times when I turned on my phone I've received texts from home, but I'm not even sure I was charged for them. I have an iphone. It is a few years old maybe its a 3S?? My husband has a "dumb" phone. He really only carries it to make emergency calls or to make phone calls when we return to the airport at home. For the most part, I like to be a bit "off grid" on vacation and I wouldn't want to pay much for the international service. Thanks

I have T Mobile plan and have used my phone for the last four trips. I have never had a problem, except sometimes data is a tad slow. I am a long time user of T Mobile.

Alison, I switched to T-Mobile in May 2016 right before my trip to Europe and it worked fine. If T-Mobile had cut my service off while I was there, I would just have called their excellent customer service and get it turned back on. This is why installing something like Google Hangouts on the phone (so you can call US landlines for free, from WiFi if need be) would be so helpful.

I have used T-Mobile for years. Never a problem in Europe. I use it mostly for email, text and calls. The data is slow, I don't think you could watch video with it.

I have Verizon. Could explain the SIM card piece a bit? Do you buy it in the U.S. or in Europe?

You can do either. It is a little more tricky to buy a SIM before you go in the US, but you can. Amazon now sells a French SIM card from Orange that (last check) was $50 USD for two weeks use and 10GB of data plus some calls. I guess that's a lot cheaper than Verizon's $10/day plan for two weeks, but it still seems expensive to me. Last year I bought a Dutch Vodafone SIM on eBay for $8 and put 20 euros on it to have data for 2.5 weeks in Europe (because EU roaming is mostly free now, it worked in other countries - I never even used it in the Netherlands). Some people have had success buying UK SIMs ahead of time as well.

If you can wait until you get to your first country, just take the phone into a mobile store there and have an agent who is selling you the phone take care of it. Know that your phone must be unlocked (as of now, Verizon phones are unlocked, phones from other manufacturers may not be) and that when you replace your Verizon SIM with one from another country, you'll have a new phone number in that country until you put the Verizon SIM back in. So you won't receive calls on you Verizon number while the Verizon SIM is out of the phone.

Sprint has the same roaming plan as T-Mobile (20 cents/min calls, free 2G data, free texting). I just got back from Portugal. I was able to use my Sprint service there to roam, but I found the data really slow. I put 10 euros on my old Dutch Vodafone SIM and used that instead - was much faster, more than enough data (2GB) for nine days. I could have lived with the Sprint slow data but didn't feel the need to.

I have used T-Mobile literally all over the EU (last trip to Portugal and Spain on the Camino and touring both countries) and Turkey with no issues. Have had more issues in NC than I've had overseas.

I have found, and most posts on this forum confirm, most people who work for cellular companies, banks, credit unions...... don't have a lot of experience or knowledge when dealing with international issues. To be scared off by one salesperson who heard about another customers experience seems overly cautious to me.

I agree, Richard. Hate to be harsh, but some of the people working in those stores are clueless about issues related to international travel.

Like most of the others replying, I have also used TMobile in Europe for years with no issues. But then, I have have been paying TMobile monthly for years, too. If you decide to switch, when you do, be very clear that you plan to take and use the plan overseas. I've never had an issue with making calls, using data, texting or any other typical phone function. Oops....looks like you made your decision to stay with Verizon. Oh well, maybe all the info here will be of use to others wondering the same thing.

If you decide to switch, when you do, be very clear that you plan to
take and use the plan overseas.

There is no reason to do this, all post-paid plans include international coverage automatically; it's built in.

Thank you for the reassurance, Michael. There was a time.........

I have T Mobile plan and have used my phone for the last four trips. I had problem last month and i called to icustomerservice and they solved my problem immediately if any problem and warning in future you can also go to https://icustomerservice.net/t-mobile-customer-service/

The only reason I stay with T-mobile is their international service - it has been nothing short of awesome. 16 countries and I’ve never had a problem.

For the past several years, I have been impressed with T-Mobile when used internationally. If fact, I the service and coverage may be better in Europe than the USA! We used it in Ireland, UK, Scandinavia, Russia, and France and then in Mexico and Central American ports on our coast to coast Panama Canal Cruise this year. We found the service to be very good when texting and use the 20 cents per minute phone charges minimally, but that said, it was great to have the service for a family emergency and other brief calls! The data use was good which we used for internet for maps, information, and e-mail. We didn't try streaming movies etc. To be safe, we always called in advance to alert that we will be travelling, as we do our banks. It may not make a difference as the service is always up when we arrive at the airport or in port. As a caution, we always switch to the airplane mode while we left port on the Panama and Scandinavian cruises as we did not want to pay roaming charges for non-T-Mobile services. To conclude, the international T-Mobile service has motivated me not to seek other providers as it has worked so well.

When I think about mobile service when traveling overseas, I think of it as part of the total cost of my phone service for the whole year at home. T-Mobile has worked great for me in the past overseas, but at home it's far too expensive for my regular phone needs. I don't qualify for a "senior plan" or a "family plan," so my best bet is probably a $70/month plan (on autopay) - maybe $60/month after a rebate if I don't use much data. That's still a lot more expensive than I need - $720/year? Last year I used Tello and wound up paying something like $12/month - $144/year? (I don't make a lot of random calls and make free unlimited calls on WiFi with Google Hangouts). And I have the Vodafone SIM to use overseas. My cost of mobile phone service last year was just under $200, including overseas use.

This year I'm on Sprint's "free BYOD 1 year unlimited" promo plan which is costing me about $3.80/month in taxes/fees. Sprint has the same international roaming plan that T-Mobile has, but I found my Sprint phone in Portugal pretty slow at the "2G data" speed, so I used the Vodafone SIM instead and it was much faster. Still, by next year I will be back with Tello or some other budget carrier for domestic use after the Sprint promo expires. Paying $720/year for mobile service isn't worth getting free T-Mobile overseas data once a year when I go to Europe.

OP here...
Just went to a different T-Mobile branch with a different salesperson and was given the same warning. In the past month 2 customers had their accounts cancelled by T-Mobile when they went overseas soon after opening the account. The big kicker is that, when the account is closed, you lose your number.

As they say... you're mileage may vary, but I'm not willing to risk that, so.... sticking with Verizon til after the next trip.

There is a really simple solution to this issue. Most phone companies such as Verizon will allow you to put your account on “hold” for up to three months. This means you pay no bill...it might extend your contract by that amount though.

Just walk in to a Phone Carrier in whatever country you are in and get a new sim. Have the person install it and set it up and you are good to go. In France this will cost you about 20€ in Italy about the same and in Bulgaria...really cheap 6 Lev or about 3 USD.

This has worked for me in France Italy Bulgaria Turkey and Greece so far.

OK I may have to apologize to T-Mobile store employees......From the terms and conditions for reasons you can get canceled:

Results in more than 50% of your voice and/or data usage being off-net (i.e., connected to another provider’s network) for any 3 billing cycles within any 12 month period;

This could be a problem for someone with a new phone OR who doesn't use a lot of data at home but goes on a trip and uses a lot.