T-Mobile

I can verify that this is true. I love it!

It works just as advertised. i used mine last May/June in Iceland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Several places the data speed was better than advertised. In a few rural areas the data speed was only Edge (i.e., very slow). IMNSHO, it's a great deal.

I used it in France, Spain, and England last year. It works like a charm. They do have a optional plan that will speed up the data, but I didn't need it. I tell everyone going to Europe with a smartphone to get this plan.

Thanks for your replies. I'm happy to hear it works as advertised. I'll be in Europe for 6+ weeks and it will be great to be able to communicate with people when necessary and not have to pay extra.

I also switched from AT&T to T-Mobile for a trip we took last fall to France. One of my traveling partners went with the option of a burner phone, registered in the UK, but it seldom worked as a phone and was sometimes dicey even for texts (her brother was traveling in Belgium at the same time, and she had hoped to be able to chat with him). On the other hand, my iPhone 6 (and you do need a newer iPhone/Android that has wi-fi calling and an international calling capability in order to take advantage of the functionality) was a champ, particularly for Google maps, as we had a car in the Loire and the Dordogne. We even used it as pedestrians in cities we were unfamiliar with.

Initially, I thought the T-Mobile thing was too good a deal to be true, but honestly, the coverage there was better than it is back home (at least for me). I was texting pictures all over the place!

Oh! Forgot to add, if you have wi-fi calling enabled on your phone and have a wi-fi connection, I don't think you have to pay the .20/minute, but check...

It's true that if you call on wi-fi you avoid the 20 cents per minute. Sometimes I am able to call on wi-fi from Europe on TMobile, but i often have trouble keeping the wi-fi strong enough to hold a call. I usually give up and just call over the TMobile network. I use my phone A LOT while I travel and I make calls freely and it never really amounts to much at 20 cents per minute. It's worth trying to make your calls over wi-fi because sometimes it works out, but not always.

Adding to the chorus---I have used T-Mobile in Albania, Macedonia, Greece, France, England, Turkey, Italy, etc. over the last few years and it works just exactly the way T-Mobile says it does. I also thought the Simple Choice plan sounded too good to be true but guess what? It is true! I didn't need the upgrades, either.

This is all very encouraging! I have an iPhone 6s, so obviously the technology is up to date. They told me that wifi calling is free. On my last trip to Europe I discovered that you can call people over Facebook for free, which worked great when wifi was available.

Yes, I used T-Mobile too on my last two trips to Europe. On my trip they weren't yet covering Slovenia, Montenegro, and Bosnia but now it seems they do - great news!

The only real downside in Europe is that data is limited to 2G speed (even if your phone says it is connected at 4GLTE, they slow down your data). You might find that slow for some things - I did - but if you are on WiFI at hotels, etc. it's not a big problem.

I used WiFi calling too and it worked pretty well as long as the WiFi was good.

I've since dumped T-Mobile, though - just not worth the extra cost of T-Mobile to be able to use my phone in Europe when I visit occasionally. People who travel more may find it more valuable than I would. I'm happy to use Google Hangouts and buy local SIMs as I travel and use WiFi.

The only real downside in Europe is that data is limited to 2G speed
(even if your phone says it is connected at 4GLTE, they slow down your
data). You might find that slow for some things - I did - but if you
are on WiFI at hotels, etc. it's not a big problem

In my experience the speeds are all over the place. Sometimes it does get throttled down to 2g, but more often than not it's 3G, once in a while you get 4GLTE. When I'm out sightseeing I typically use the data connection for google maps, and the slower speeds are very functional without needed to purchase the high-speed pass they offer. The weird thing is that I'm typically not connected to TMobile instead it's one of their competitors even though TM is a dominate carrier in Europe (there is no surcharge).

When using your TM Iphone 6 outside the US, make sure "data roaming" in the cellular settings is turned on.

Michael: "In my experience the speeds are all over the place. Sometimes it does get throttled down to 2g, but more often than not it's 3G, once in a while you get 4GLTE."

Were you doing speed tests? What kind of speeds were you seeing? As I said above, just because your phone connects at 4GLTE doesn't mean you are getting real 4GLTE speeds. T-Mobile has the ability to throttle your data consistently (e.g. this is how they throttle you once you have gone over your monthly "fast data" allowance in the US). For example, my phone almost always connects to T-Mobile's 4GLTE network in the US, but I'm throttled to 3G-type speeds (because of the cheap plan I have), and I've verified this a few times with speed tests. (Before I dumped T-Mobile, I had much fast data speeds.)

I think you might get better speeds connecting to a 4GLTE network than to a 2G "Edge" network even when the 4GLTE network speed is throttled.

I agree Tmobile does throttle down speeds regardless of what kind of signal you get. But in practice it's typically not as bad 2Gesque speed, it averages out to 3G speeds. Do a Google search for Tmobile's overseas service on other travel/mobile boards and you will see similar observations from other US customers.
2g signals don't exist anymore, they have been dismantled to free-up bandwidth spectrum.

There are still plenty of "2G signals" on T-Mobile's network and partner networks around the world. In Europe last year, my phone (an old Android I've since replaced) could connect ONLY to 2G "Edge" networks in every country I visited with it (e.g. The Netherlands and Germany). In the US it connects to 3G networks (there are different data standards and frequencies used in Europe vs. the US). Even my newer 4GLTE Android occasionally downshifts to a 2G network depending on where I am (in an area with poor 3G or 4GLTE coverage). I can do this manually and choose 2G-only connections if I want, in the phone settings.

Connecting to a faster mobile network like 4GLTE doesn't mean your "average" speed is higher. Throttling your data means they set a maximum data speed whether you are connected at 2G or 4G. If T-Mobile says your maximum speed is "2G" and they define 2G is 512Kbps (just a guess, because I think "3G" is considered to be 1Mbps), then you'll get a maximum speed of 512Kbps no matter where you are or what network you connect to. (It may be even slower than that if your phone connects to an old, slow EDGE network like my old phone did) You won't get faster than 2G speeds when you connect to a 4GLTE network if you are throttled to a maximum speed.

But your greater point is valid: even 2G speed is probably acceptable for email, maps, modest Facebook, etc. You may notice the slower speed when you are trying to stream videos, because video streaming uses a lot of bandwidth.

You won't get faster than 2G speeds when you connect to a 4GLTE
network if you are throttled to a maximum speed.

Like I said in my previous post, that's not my experience and not the experience of lots of other Tmobile customers.
I'm on the TM 1G plan and some months go over the my data allotment and get throttled down to 2g for the remainder of the billing cycle. My experience is that TM's "2g" in the US is completely useless for anything but email.
Whereas when I'm in Europe that "2g" is much more functional, for things like facebook, maps, skype, and web browsing, which leads me to the conclusion that the speed are closer to 3G. I'm very familiar with the difference between 2g,3g,4glte, and what can be done with each.

Well, we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I have made my point - expect slower data in Europe on T-Mobile than you are used to in the US - and I doubt the OP really cares about the technical details, anyway.

You're right, I'm not too concerned about how fast the connection is. I'll just be happy to have one! I've done various things for phone service in Europe. I have gone from just using AT&T, to buying SIM cards in different countries, to buying a UK SIM card that had a US and UK number, to using AT&T with an international plan that included 50 text messages and $1.00 per minute phone calls. The T-mobile plan is so much better than any of those options were.

T-mobile doesn't seem to work as well at my house, but they are sending us a booster.

Andrea, see if your phone supports WiFi Calling; if it does, enable it now so you can use your home internet to make/receive T-Mobile calls over WiFi to compensate for the poor coverage at home.

I have an iPhone 6s, which does support wifi calling. T-mobile is sending us a booster too.

ive used it from Istanbul through Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, France, UK; without a hitch. Actually better reception over there, than here.

My T-Mobile connection speed did vary from country to country. It was fine for my purpose of Google Map navigating, web browsing and e-mailing, etc.

I did lose internet connection once, and got no help from the local stores (whose network was used by T-Mobile). I was able to call T-Mobile support directly with my hotel's wifi to resolve it.

In China, our tour group's phones were blocked by the Great Firewall. Two of us using T-Mobile had no such problem, and were able to use Gmail, etc. Never figured out why :-)

In China, our tour group's phones were blocked by the Great Firewall.
Two of us using T-Mobile had no such problem, and were able to use
Gmail, etc. Never figured out why :-)

Yeah, the Chinese government doesn't censor internet traffic via the mobile networks. Instead they strictly control which apps the locals are allowed to download....censorship is via the apps.

"T-mobile is sending us a booster too."

One other perk of T-Mobile Simple Choice, besides being able to use it internationally for cheap calls and free texts/slow Internet/Wi-Fi calls, is that they will give you a high-end wireless router for only a refundable $25 deposit. The router costs about $180, and an equivalent one from other companies would be at least $100, so this is a great deal.

Here's where I learned about this (scroll down to near the bottom, for "The Uncarrier's Hidden Gem": http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/07/technology/personaltech/wirecutter-best-routers.html?_r=0

Oh, and I used T-Mobile in Israel and Spain, and it worked just as advertised.

I just posted about my experience this summer in great detail. You can find it here:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/my-experience-using-t-mobile-when-traveling-through-europe