I have T-Mobile, and data+messages are free overseas. I've used the data in China before and it was very slow. Felt slower than 2G. Websites would not load, but maps , Imessages, Viber, Whatsapp all worked great.
Has anyone used T-Mobile in Italy? How's the data speed? I google a lot and I need Google maps to function -- I'll feel blind without this.
I used T-Mobile data in September and October in Sardinia and then from Rome> Assisi> Parma> Ravenna> Vicenza> Padova> Verona> Rome. With the exception of some remote areas in Sardinia, I always had good service. I estimated that I had 2G speed 20% of the time, 3G 50% of the time and 4LTE 30% of the time. I never had a problem using Google or Google Maps. I downloaded maps of Sardinia (I split the island into overlapping halves.) and when I had no service, it seamlessly switched between on and off line maps and I noticed no difference in speed between the two. Used in cars, trains and on foot. I have a Garmin GPS. With lifetime Europe maps and I've stopped packing it and only use my iPhone.
Ah awesome. Did you ever use wi-fi calling?
dzdang, you may already know this but unless you arrange with T-Mobile ahead of time, and pay more $, they limit you to 2G when you're out of the US. 2G is very slow. I assume Philip paid for increased service?
I did not know this. I spoke with them last week. I thought they said I'l have somewhere between 2-4G.
Maybe you have a different plan than we do? If it were me, I'd call T-Mobile again 😊
yes, I used voip and it worked fine. That using the MagicJack app. There is no upcharge to get faster service through T-Mobile. They just guarantee at least 2G service. Last summer they ran a promo guaranteeing 4G at no extra charge. As I wrote, since I did not use it for streaming vids, I had no problems due to various service levels.
they limit you to 2G when you're out of the US.
While Tmobile advertises 2G service, in practice it's usually faster. I haven't the the opportunity to use Tmobile in Italy, but I have in Austria, Germany, UK, Holland, Hong Kong, and Japan and in all locations it was much faster than 2G. Never had the need to pay Tmobile extra for "certified LTE" speed.
We switched to T-Mobile just before a trip to Asia in November and were told by the T-Mobile rep that they only guarantee 2G service unless we paid more.
From what I understand, speed is also dependent on the infrastructure. If you're where the infrastructure is good, your speed could be faster than 2G (w/o paying more).
In Asia (Thailand/Cambodia), speed was very slow. In Paris 10 days ago, speed was good. Paris was still slower than here at home, but faster than Thailand/Cambodia.
I have used it in Rome, Florence, Milan and Lake Como and it was good to great depending on the location.
No experience with Italy. But I used T-Mobile in the UK in September 2016. Since I was curious, I did frequent speed tests. My phone said "3G" at all times, and I got speeds between 0.3 and 2.7 mbps. These were all faster than the 0.128 mbps that some have said is the top speed.
Mapping and Google worked fine, although of course not as fast as on a real 4G LTE connection.
There's no need to decide in advance, if you don't mind T-Mobile's price for faster data; you can buy it once you're there (you get a text telling you how).
I second what Joe said. We have used T-Mobile in Italy, France and Spain with good to great service. And you can't beat the price.
Currently in Italy with T-mobile. As soon as I turned off airplane mode I got text from TM, "unlimited 2g data" However depending were I happen to be, phone has shown anywhere from 2g to LTE. I have been using google maps without any issues. Have also made Wifi calls without any issues as well. There's no need to notify TM, just set your phone to do wifi calls under your settings Currently in Florence & in a few hours off to Assisi.
Last year I used T-Mobile in Italy, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and France. I always had a minimum of 2G, often faster. I used Google maps as a GPS for driving for 4+ weeks in Italy and Austria. It was so much more convenient and up to date than bringing a GPS, as I have on other trips. I have no complaints about how T-Mobile functions in Europe.
There is no extra fee to pay for faster service in Europe with T-Mobile. If you want LTE in Canada or Mexico you can pay for higher speed. I did that last summer in Canada.
There is no extra fee to pay for faster service in Europe with
T-Mobile.
No so. If you want guaranteed LTE service you can pay Tmobile extra for an overseas data pass. But as described above, it's not necessary for most people.
If you want LTE in Canada or Mexico you can pay for higher speed
Not so. For our northern and southern neighbors Tmobile includes LTE coverage same as in the US. Been that way for a couple years.
I travel frequently to Europe and I have the free overseas data plan as well. I've had awesome coverage all over Europe, including Italy (remember T-mobile is or was Deutsche Telekom). It is definitely local infrastructure dependent, ie Germany is better than Montenegro, but have had better coverage on the top of mountains and remote valleys in Switzerland than I've ever gotten here in the States. VoIP calling is just fine (I generally use Skype) but they will throttle data. Its bad sometimes, but still manageable. In terms of maps, I've used google maps without an issue and even with the throttling its just fine. Like others have said, download local copies of the maps just in case. Also, if you ever get in a bind, wifi hotspots (often free) are everywhere in Europe.
Where in Sardinia did you use T-Mobile data? Cagliari (southern)?
