I would appreciate feedback from anyone who is currently using Consumer Cellular when you travel internationally. Does it work well throughout Europe (including Eastern Europe)? I saw older posts that shared difficulties but I wonder if that hasn't been resolved at this point. I just returned from a trip to Estonia and Latvia during which I used Airalo and had an absolute nightmare of problems throughout the trip, to the point that I will never travel with an eSIM again so I am looking for alternatives. Thank you for your help!
Posted by
Northern Minnesota
1125 posts
I had the international roaming turned on when we went to Norway in 2023, but it didn't work well. I also turned on roaming when we traveled from six countries in 2024, but I only tried it to search on the internet (which didn't work great). Based on my experiences I wouldn't recommend it, but maybe it's better now. I don't have an expensive phone, so that might be the reason for my problems with it.
I hope others will respond so I know what to try for next time.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
13835 posts
What network does my service use?
To provide the widest reaching wireless service possible, Consumer Cellular utilizes multiple network providers. When you sign up for our service, your network is assigned based on the strongest signal available in your geographic area.
The network providers we use combine to deliver cellular service to 99% of the U.S. population. If you have specific questions regarding your network coverage, please call our Customer Support team at (888) 345-5509.
https://www.consumercellular.com/help/plans-and-usage/coverage/what-network-does-my-service-use
I think it is primarily AT&T, but I know that at one time T-Mobile was also used. (Not sure if that is still true.)
I discovered that when one day one of our phones didn't work and saw on the news an outage on T-Mobile. Checked the card in the phones and found they had different cards.
EDIT
Didn't mean to imply that one would be on AT&T in Europe, just that that is the US network and that it would be their partner(s) that would be used.
Posted by
Chicago
4584 posts
It won’t be AT&T in Europe. It will be whatever the local network is.
Posted by
Los Angeles
1993 posts
It won’t be AT&T in Europe.
Correct - it will be a local provider or providers - and names you would recognize. I've used CC international roaming in Italy, Poland, Budapest, Vienna and London without issue - and the charges for a recent week in London were almost negligible. Once it's set up you just turn your phone on or come out of airplane mode upon arrival and you have service.
Posted by
Arlington TX
1115 posts
I’ve used it several times in France and Italy and it’s worked really great. I’m a BIG user of maps while I’m out touring and look stuff up on various sites while I’m visiting them during the day so I really rely on it. I used Airola several times and, 1 time was great, 1 time I had minor problems and the last time it quit working after a week and a half and I ended up having to scramble for another service while I was in London. So I decided to give CC a try and I’m very pleased. We’ve used Consumer Cellular as our cell service for years at home.
In fact we both just returned from a long trip driving to AK from TX and had the international coverage after we crossed the border and it worked like a charm. Turned out to be 15GB and approximately $37. The European trips were cheap too. We are going to Germany for 3 weeks in October and will use CC again.
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6997 posts
We used Consumer Cellular this year in Italy, France, and England. We had international roaming on for the 7 weeks of our trip. Our extra charge was about $3.00.
Now, we (obviously) don't use much data, but had no problems with CC. I think the only reason we paid anything at all was some friends from home joined us in Paris, and I had to keep data roaming on to catch their texts that one week.
Posted by
OP
Crown Point, IN
8 posts
This is so encouraging! Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm so relieved to hear that Consumer Cellular is working well in so many countries.
Posted by
Atlanta
2736 posts
I have an iPhone 14Pro, will Consumer Cellular work on my phone while I’m in Europe? The TV ads make it look like it’s only for low tech phones. I currently have Verizon and feel I pay too much.
Posted by
Arlington TX
1115 posts
JudyB, I had an iPhone 12 on my European trips and it was fine. The last trip when we drove through Canada I had my new iPhone 17e and my husband has an iPhone 13 so that will definitely not be an issue.
fivefortee, I will add that when you call CC to arrange the international usage they will read a big statement about how expensive it could be if you aren’t careful. I have found it to be so reasonable that I really wonder about this disclaimer. I leave it in roaming every day when I’m out and about and a 3 week trip for my single phone has never exceeded $40. Some people on other plans pay $10 a day while they travel. Big difference.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
13835 posts
JudyB
Consumer Cellular sells Samsung Galaxy Z flip 8, and iphone 16e up to iphone 17pro max; not my idea of 'low tech'