T-Mobile 55 Plus in Italy

I don't have the 55+ plan, but I have TMobile partly because their international plan is so affordable and seamless. I have used it in several countries. You just turn on the phone upon arrival and it automatically locates the provider. We're only charged for calls, which we rarely make (rates are listed for all countries on the website). Texts and data are free. In some remote areas you might drop occasionally, but I would have zero concerns otherwise.

Well, it worked well in Austria and Hungary, so I don't no why there would be a problem in Italy.

How about in Lviv?

Ukraine is on the list, but their website is acting fool today, so I'd check to confirm.

T-Mobile US doesn't actually have coverage in Europe - none of the US companies do. They have roaming partners. In Italy, the two biggest mobile companies are TIM and Vodafone, so most likely you'll roam on one of those when using your T-Mobile phone there.. They both have excellent coverage (I used Vodafone a few years ago; it's been longer since I used TIM but it has a great reputation).

Calls should be 25 cents/minute to most countries (including the US) while traveling. If your phone supports WiFi calling, you can use that feature to make free calls home to the US while the phone is on WiFi.

Install WhatsApp on your smart phone if you will need to communicate with people in Europe much - it's very popular there, and many of them will have it. That will let you chat with them without making 25 cents/minute calls.

T-Mobile gives you unlimited free 2G data while roaming - which can be slow at times but most people seem to get by with it.

You get essentially 2G coverage over most of Europe with the 55+ plan. I used it in Italy in 2017, as well as Czech Republic, Germany, Austria & Hungary in 2018. Phone calls are $0.25/minute, if memory serves. Unlimited text and data. But being 2G the speed for data is pretty slow. However, there are plenty of free WiFi spots most everywhere you go.

I have the 55 plus plan and have used it all over Italy. Phones and text worked fine but be prepared for 2g speeds for data. That's how it is in most of Europe although occassionally I get 4G.

I called T-mobile a few weeks ago to get information on their service in Italy. I don't have the 55+ plan, but all of their plans get the same coverage. The lady I spoke w/ said T-mobile has coverage in 210 countries. You don't have to buy a SIM card in Italy, or get a TIM mobile plan, which are all things I read about, and we won't need it w/ T-mobile. So hooray for me actually having the right thing for once!

This lady did text me a few things to read and provide depth to the information we were talking about. If you want that go ahead and call, their customer service is very good.

Just make sure dzta roaming is turned on and the phone should connect automatically. You will get a text message welcoming you to the country you are in.

BTW, T-Mobile is a subsidiary of the German Deutsche Telekom, which explains its euro-friendliness and more global orientation. Unlike, say, Verizon, whose phones for a long time turned into bricks in Europe because they used a different standard (obviously, that's changed).

Although it's a long thread, you may find this recent discussion worthwhile:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/t-mobile-overseas-options