Good morrow, fellow netizens
Does anyone have experience using T-Mobile international roaming in Italy? I recently switched to them and my plan includes 5GB of high speed data in Europe. I'll be there for two weeks next month and am wondering if I should buy a local sim while I'm there, or if the roaming speeds are sufficient? I've heard that the web traffic routes to the US and then back to Italy, so I was wondering how bad the latency was.
Any input is appreciated!
My last trip to Italy with TMobile was 2018. There and in Greece in 2019, and for several years prior, it worked perfectly fine. I think TMobile changed something in the intervening years, because this year in Spain, we were plagued by slowness. I do not think this related to location. The simplest thing is to purchase a temporary upgrade from TMobile, much easier to me than dealing with a SIM card. You can even wait and do this if you find you need it. You can do it by the day or get a ten day pass.
I suppose (and hope) they have a roaming agreement with one or more Italian companies. If you want to know which one, call T-Mobile's customer service.
Tim and Vodafone offer 4G data speed all over Italy and 5G in Milan and Rome.
Wind-3 is not bad, I have been an happy customer for years.
Iliad is hit or miss, but Iliad is a low-cost company and I doubt T-Mobile picked the cheapest EU company for a roaming agreement.
I have Magenta Max and I had no problems for my needs (gps navigation, Whatsapp, internet surfing, text messages).
5g may not be available except for maybe Rome and Milan.
The challenge is get a signal at all indoors, as masonry walls, sometimes very thick, prevent you from getting a signal unless you are near a window or outside in the balcony. But in open space, no problem.
Most of the time the phone was connected to the TIM network (that's what I phone showed), sometimes Wind3. I don't remember my phone being roaming on the Vodafone network much if at all.
https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/international-roaming-plans
https://www.t-mobile.com/content/dam/t-mobile/assets/pdf/C098652-T151075_Magenta_National_Voice_English_v3.pdf
We were in Italy for 2 months last Fall and used T-Mobile routinely without incident. Also helpful is the app "WhatsApp". It is a Wi-Fi. calling app. If there are individuals in the US you will want to contact while in Europe, they can download the app and when you have a wi-fi connection you can call or text another WhatsApp user without cost. Most Italians also seem to use this app so it is useful for contacting your landlord or local restaurant.
Since we just switched to T-Mobile last month (primarily for our upcoming Europe trip), we're hoping that the performance lives up to the advertising.
gbpakrfan1
It will work for most of your needs.
If you need to stream movies, videos, etc. maybe it will be slow, but if you have an IPad or any tablet with SIM card capability you can buy a local SIM card with TIM or Vodafone for the iPad. Tablet plans are even less than 10€ (plus the cost of the SIM card which is 10€).
Used TMobile in Portugal and Spain in May. No issues including Google Maps. You get a text upon arrival that tells you you have it, Nothing else to do. No fuss. I saw various networks but don't remember which. You do have to have your roaming on for it to work.
Love not having to do anything to activate it. Big fan.
T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom, which is why it works so well in Europe. Good move, Edwardius!
It will work fine. Dont buy the sim. If it does slow down they well send you a message and say you used up the 5G of high speed (but you still will have a slower connection). If you want the high speed back they give you a link. $5 a day and I think $20 a week or $30 a month (dont remember the quantity, but I never run out). Its just so easy it is worth it.
