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Quick update on T Mobile in Europe
10-02-2018, 06:14 AM
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#81
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Atlanta Suburb
Posts: 1,499
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Quick update on T Mobile in Europe
T Mobile in Europe review - We recently got back from Europe. We were in Austria, Germany, France and Spain. Once in Europe we traveled by train. We covered a lot of ground including large and small cities and rural areas. Coverage seemed excellent. We never encountered dead zones while in cities. T Mobile only provides 2G speeds (for a fee you can upgrade to 3G). I downloaded offline maps and navigation worked well with 2G. My wife did not download maps and navigation did not load. Simple web searches worked. Pictures took a while to download. Calls are included for 25 cents per minute. We used the free wifi calling and did not incur any call charges. Very impressed and much better than my past experiences buying local sim cards. Much easier to text and stay in touch with family since they had our numbers (no local sim card).
__________________
"Oh, twice as much ain't twice as good
And can't sustain like one half could
It's wanting more that's gonna send me to my knees" - John Mayer
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10-02-2018, 06:22 AM
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#82
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,199
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flintnational
T Mobile in Europe review - We recently got back from Europe. We were in Austria, Germany, France and Spain.
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I can add Belgium, Netherlands, Czechia, Denmark, Sweden, England, Scotland, and Iceland to your list of countries where T-Mobile has worked great for me. It is so great not to have to bother buying a local SIM any more!
__________________
I thought growing old would take longer.
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10-02-2018, 07:36 AM
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#83
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flintnational
T Mobile in Europe review - We recently got back from Europe. We were in Austria, Germany, France and Spain. Once in Europe we traveled by train. We covered a lot of ground including large and small cities and rural areas. Coverage seemed excellent. We never encountered dead zones while in cities. T Mobile only provides 2G speeds (for a fee you can upgrade to 3G). I downloaded offline maps and navigation worked well with 2G. My wife did not download maps and navigation did not load. Simple web searches worked. Pictures took a while to download. Calls are included for 25 cents per minute. We used the free wifi calling and did not incur any call charges. Very impressed and much better than my past experiences buying local sim cards. Much easier to text and stay in touch with family since they had our numbers (no local sim card).
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Pretty much although I never downloaded maps ahead of time and navigation generally worked great for me. We often had higher speeds on our phones. I’ve never paid extra for high speed internet.
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
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10-02-2018, 07:40 AM
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#84
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 17,773
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We just got back from 15 days in Spain using Verizon. DH activated its separate International pass thingie for $70 a month as he felt he needed to be available 24/7 to communicate with the prearranged drivers etc he had booked for our group of seis amigos. I used the additional $10 a day feature that uses our US allowances and got charged for four days.
(Interestingly for us, when I went to the Verizon website last month to set this up, I found we were coincidentally being offered a new domestic plan for 55+ longtime customers with unlimited everything including data for $45 a line. Done. Verizon is one of the few carriers that has coverage in DH’s hometown so we have stayed with them.)
__________________
“Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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10-08-2018, 10:20 AM
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#85
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,605
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Hi All,
Didn't want to start another thread, but did want to outline my plans to see what you all thought.
Traveling to Rome and then Sicily later this month ... spouse (iPhone 6 A1549) has a standard 5GB Verizon plan with preferential pricing through my previous employer. I (iPhone 7 A1661) have a Boom Mobile plan (uses Verizon system). Verizon coverage has been adequate in the past everywhere in US we usually travel.
I've read this and several other threads on the topic - also have a couple of airline pilot buddies who relate their very positive experiences with T Mobile in Europe.
First part of the plan is to drop my Boom month-to-month service, and get service with T-Mobile - 55+. It is $50/month for the single line and offers everything I think I need in Europe, and while the service is not as good as Verizon in my area in the US, it is sufficient, I think. It looks like I can simply switch back to Boom if I don't like what happens with T-Mobile on return.
Second part is to sign up for Verizon connectively on my wife's phone - from what everyone has said, this is $10/day IF you use it in cell mode, right? The charge does not apply if you are simply connecting through hotel wifi, etc?
Does this seem suitable to cover the bases?
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10-08-2018, 10:31 AM
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#86
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,199
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Look into it a bit more.
Verizon is mainly CDMA in the US, and Europe is entirely GSM, so your phones need to work on the right frequencies.
You can find lot of references to this, but here's a quickie:
https://www.tripsavvy.com/buying-the...europe-1507399
__________________
I thought growing old would take longer.
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10-08-2018, 10:49 AM
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#87
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,605
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braumeister,
The phones are both compatible with GSM - both dual freq ... already checked them by model number.
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10-08-2018, 11:10 AM
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#88
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,199
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I'm not quite with you yet. You said
Quote:
get service with T-Mobile - 55+. It is $50/month for the single line
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AFAIK the T-Mobile 55+ plan is $70 for 2 lines. No single line for $50 that I'm aware of.
__________________
I thought growing old would take longer.
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10-08-2018, 12:02 PM
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#89
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 141
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stephenson
Hi All,
Didn't want to start another thread, but did want to outline my plans to see what you all thought.
Traveling to Rome and then Sicily later this month ... spouse (iPhone 6 A1549) has a standard 5GB Verizon plan with preferential pricing through my previous employer. I (iPhone 7 A1661) have a Boom Mobile plan (uses Verizon system). Verizon coverage has been adequate in the past everywhere in US we usually travel.
I've read this and several other threads on the topic - also have a couple of airline pilot buddies who relate their very positive experiences with T Mobile in Europe.
First part of the plan is to drop my Boom month-to-month service, and get service with T-Mobile - 55+. It is $50/month for the single line and offers everything I think I need in Europe, and while the service is not as good as Verizon in my area in the US, it is sufficient, I think. It looks like I can simply switch back to Boom if I don't like what happens with T-Mobile on return.
Second part is to sign up for Verizon connectively on my wife's phone - from what everyone has said, this is $10/day IF you use it in cell mode, right? The charge does not apply if you are simply connecting through hotel wifi, etc?
Does this seem suitable to cover the bases?
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My husband and I have traveled extensively in Europe the past couple of years (and are currently experiencing the beautiful city of Budapest!), and here is what we've learned with regard to cell phone use while traveling. Verizon is our cell phone provider (because of its superior coverage in the U.S.). Our first couple of trips to Europe were fairly short (a week to 10 days), and the Verizon $10/day international service was very convenient, if a little expensive, and we were able to use our phones just as if we were in the U.S. However, I discovered that there must be a daily limit on how much data that can be used, and there were a few days on our last trip that we used this service that I received a message from Verizon that I had exceeded my daily allowance and my phone stopped working. It didn't seem that my data usage amount was very accurate either on a couple of those days, but I'm not sure why. I use my phone extensively when we travel, so this was very inconvenient!
So if you aren't going to be gone for long (and don't experience the data allowance problem), Verizon's $10/day service is the way to go. You only pay $10 on the days that you actually use cell data, not wifi.
Since our latest trips have been for over a month each, the $10 plan has been cost-prohibitive, and we take a mobile wifi that allows us two options: it has slots for multiple local SIM cards, or we can use the device's proprietary cloud-based international data plan. Installing and using a local SIM card is the cheaper way to go, although it is takes a bit of time to buy and activate the cards. On this current trip, we have both turned our phones on airplane mode and are using exclusively cloud-based data packages, which cost a little more than the local SIMS but are super convenient. We just order and pay online for our data package and order more data, as necessary as we go. Here is a link to the device we use: https://www.glocalme.com
We both have iPhones, so we can use Facetime and iMessage on wifi, and also make and receive calls and messages on any internet-based service, including Whatsapp, Ooma, etc. In addition, Verizon has a service called VZW WiFi, which allows us to receive and to make (to U.S. numbers) regular phone calls while we're connected to wifi, including our mobile wifi device. The only thing we can't do with our mobile wifi and all these services is call/SMS text an international phone number.
This is probably way more than you wanted to know, but these issues are complicated, and we've learned a lot the past couple of years. Good luck!
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10-08-2018, 12:23 PM
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#90
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,605
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braumeister - just confirmed T Mobile price for single 55+ line is $50/mo inclusive.
IR - thanks - since our travel this time is only 15 days we will split phones with her on Verizon Travel (daily $10 if used - already signed up for), and me on T Mobile.
If T Mobile works sufficiently well on return, we'll swap her iPhone 6 to T Mobile for credit and update her at then have twofer for $70/mo which is cheaper than the combined Verizon (and $40 me + $52 her = $92) ... and have flexibility for me to bail out of T Mobile back to Boom if there is an issue with coverage at home.
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10-08-2018, 12:36 PM
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#91
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 141
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Just an FYI for future reference, a couple of the new iPhones just introduced last month allow for dual SIM cards. This will likely be the route we go in the future for international travel when we want to upgrade our phones.
https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-brin...to-the-iphone/
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10-08-2018, 01:17 PM
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#92
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Atlanta Suburb
Posts: 1,499
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stephenson
If T Mobile works sufficiently well on return, we'll swap her iPhone 6 to T Mobile for credit and update her at then have twofer for $70/mo which is cheaper than the combined Verizon (and $40 me + $52 her = $92) ... and have flexibility for me to bail out of T Mobile back to Boom if there is an issue with coverage at home.
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T-Mobile greatly expanded their US network over the last couple of years. They did this using newer frequencies. Make sure your phones are compatible with the new frequencies to get the best US coverage. My Moto G6 is compatible. After about 6 months of use, T-Mobile seems as good as or better than AT&T in the areas I frequent.
__________________
"Oh, twice as much ain't twice as good
And can't sustain like one half could
It's wanting more that's gonna send me to my knees" - John Mayer
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10-08-2018, 01:53 PM
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#93
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,605
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flintnational - the 600 MHZ expansion will fill in some gaps where T M wants desperately to compete with Verizon. Neither my iPhone 6 nor iPhone 7 Plus has the new frequency.
IR - I'll be doing the dual SIM upgrade in the next year or so ... it will make everything MUCH easier!
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10-09-2018, 04:46 PM
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#94
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 551
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Quote:
Originally Posted by braumeister
I'm not quite with you yet. You said
AFAIK the T-Mobile 55+ plan is $70 for 2 lines. No single line for $50 that I'm aware of.
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T-Mobile has a plan for military members, including reservists/national guard, and retirees. The cost for one line including all taxes/fees is $55. It also includes streaming Netflix.
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10-09-2018, 05:08 PM
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#95
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,558
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Quote:
Originally Posted by imnontrad
T-Mobile has a plan for military members, including reservists/national guard, and retirees. The cost for one line including all taxes/fees is $55. It also includes streaming Netflix.
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I pay $32/mo for my AT&T monthly plan but it does not include the international texting aspect. My concern is Verizon's coverage. The Netflix inclusion is interesting - it looks like it is Netflix standard which goes for $13.99/mo. So the bundle is $55, with the price for the monthly service with international texting and some roaming of ~$41/mo.....
I may switch...will see. Thanks for posting this info.
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Deserat aka Bridget
“We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.”
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10-09-2018, 05:22 PM
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#96
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 4,661
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We have Verizon and during our six weeks in Greece and Amsterdam, coverage has been great. We did not use the $10/day plan every day, but probably did use it 3/4 of the days. So it cost us $300-$350 for six weeks. In the scheme of things, this is a small cost for a lot of convenience - no SIM card changes, no special equipment, etc. Our plan allowed for 1/2 gig of data per day. We only exceeded the limit once, and were given the option to spend an extra $10 for more data that day but declined.
This approach worked really well for us. We wanted cell access on the go a lot of our days. We were doing a lot of spontaneous exploring so downloading Google maps and accessing them offline would not have allowed us to experience many of the spontaneous things that we did. It was worth it to us to spend the price of a couple of drinks to get data access whenever and wherever we were. But YMMV
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10-11-2018, 11:11 AM
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#97
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,605
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In the category of FYI ...
Was talking to some friends a couple of days ago - found out one of them was exceptionally loyal to Verizon - would not even consider changing to T Mobile and didn't care that using T Mobile internationally was easier and cheaper. VERY concerned about any change.
Anyone else feel this way? Perhaps I am a bit too opportunistic, but it seems so easy to switch between carriers now that it makes sense to buy their product the same way one would groceries - as long as the performance is the same or better.
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10-11-2018, 11:22 AM
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#98
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,199
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stephenson
Anyone else feel this way? Perhaps I am a bit too opportunistic, but it seems so easy to switch between carriers now that it makes sense to buy their product the same way one would groceries - as long as the performance is the same or better.
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I think most of us here make our decision on price, coverage, and service. Brand loyalty seems like an outmoded concept these days.
__________________
I thought growing old would take longer.
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10-11-2018, 12:20 PM
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#99
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 4,661
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stephenson
In the category of FYI ...
Was talking to some friends a couple of days ago - found out one of them was exceptionally loyal to Verizon - would not even consider changing to T Mobile and didn't care that using T Mobile internationally was easier and cheaper. VERY concerned about any change.
Anyone else feel this way? Perhaps I am a bit too opportunistic, but it seems so easy to switch between carriers now that it makes sense to buy their product the same way one would groceries - as long as the performance is the same or better.
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I would change in a heartbeat if I were convinced that coverage, service, etc. warranted it. I’ve had AT&T, Sprint, T Mobile, and Verizon in the past. Now with Verizon and have been happy. Thought we’d go to the T Mobile plan for 55+ until they told us we needed new phones to use their network. When we upgrade our phones, we’ll check again. We have 4 cellular enabled devices so whatever plan we choose needs to accommodate that.
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10-11-2018, 12:26 PM
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#100
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Southern Cal
Posts: 4,032
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We had Verizon in Europe for 2 months, but only turned on twice to make emergency call to British Airways regarding rebooking cancellation of flights. We didn’t change to another local sim as we did previous trip. We’re simply was tired of that process. So we ended up put on airplane mode the whole time. My husband did download Google map of certain location using WiFi and used GPS if there’s no Wifi. It worked out perfectly. The more I travel, the more I want to simplify my life.
I now don’t use cell phone as much anyway, even in USA.
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