Phone for using T-Mobile Unlimited International Data

[VicVinegar]

I'm going on a trip to Europe for three weeks, so I'm thinking I want to grab a used phone or a cheap phone like a Moto G LTE, and then sign up for T-Mobile service to use their "free" data and text, and .20/minute calling if I need it. I have a couple resumes out there and really just want to check email, my Google Voice messages (I'll send my Verizon calls to GV), and possibly call if I were to hear something back to at least tell them when I'll be back in the US. When I get back, I'll cancel T-Mobile. Or maybe give them a shot at home since I am tired of paying for Verizon even though I still have unlimited data. Since I'm bringing my own phone, and they don't do contracts, I'm assuming there is no penalty for using a month and canceling.

The Moto G LTE seems to have a good range of frequencies available, so it should work fine in Europe. I'm sure the Nexus 5 would too, but that would be a bit more $$.

So I'm wondering if anyone has any feedback on using this service and can suggest a phone. I've read some reviews where it seems like there is no need to mess with APNs, so I don't think I'll need to be rooted or running anything but what comes stock on the phone. It seems this is the safer option than to try and rig my VZ S3 to use the T-Mobile SIM and hope it works in Europe.

 

[Old Stoneface]

Spend lots and lots of time researching this. There are people who've gone overseas and found that, though the free unlimited data service should be available, it was not.

I cannot answer your question, re: What phone. I find the frequencies vs. country/region vs. services vs. handset maze confusing as all get-out, and I used to be a radio guy!

As for TMO vs. VZW: *sigh* You absolutely cannot beat VZW for coverage, and that's a fact. But the cost of their services and their insistence on chaining their customers to them with branded and locked devices are not acceptable to me.

 

[RumoredNow]

Any Factory Unlocked phone you get in the US should work fine over in EU. Not unlocked from a carrier branding, mind you. Especially if traveling through multiple countries.

I'd say a Nexus 4 would be about right. Features, ease of use, up to date OS. Traveling as a guest on a T-Mo SIM, you won't be getting any LTE anyway. If you like flashing and trying alternates, an N4 will serve you well after your trip. BONUS POINTS...

As for TMO vs. VZW: *sigh* You absolutely cannot beat VZW for coverage, and that's a fact. But the cost of their services and their insistence on chaining their customers to them with branded and locked devices are not acceptable to me.

True dat. CDMA is an American Corporate TOOL (pick your own meaning for that word ).


Here's a thread on topic: http://forums.androidcentral.com/t-...mple-choice-plan-when-traveling-overseas.html

 

[VicVinegar]

Thanks for the replies and pointing me to that thread. Must have been searching for the wrong key words when I tried to find some feedback.

I'm definitely thinking this is the way to go. Yes, it seems like service could be hit or miss, but all the countries I'll be going to are on the list and it saves me the trouble of finding WiFi or buying a SIM card over there that is only good for one country. I'm going on a cruise, so when I'm on land I'll be in transit quite a bit. This way I can check email while on a tour bus or whatever I'll be on and not a slave to being near a coffee shop. Cruise ship wifi is hardly free from what I understand, so those day trips will be my opportunity to conduct a little business.

I'll be hitting seven counties while I'm there, so that would be a pain. Seeing Verizon charges $25 for 100MB, I'd rather pay $50 for "unlimited" (cheapest Simple Choice plan) with T-Mo, plus the relatively reasonable $0.20/min call rate. Or use one of the apps that calls over a data connection.

Just comparing the Moto G "World GSM" vs. the G LTE radio, it seems the LTE covers the same frequencies as the so-called "world phone". It should be good. Only question is if there is any value being on a T-Mobile branded phone than an unlocked one. I know in theory it shouldn't matter, but who knows. Trying to see how that compares to a Nexus 4 or 5, but seeing conflicting data on the radio for the N5 right now.

G LTE US GSM - 4G LTE Bands 2, 4, 5, 17 (1900, 1700, 850, 700 MHz)
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz)

G "World" GSM - GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+ up to 21 Mbps (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)

Other than radios, I'd argue battery life is more important to me than speed when your on the move in Europe.

 

[Old Stoneface]

If you're talking a Moto G or Nexus device: There is no TMO branding. There is no anybody branding. The advantage to many (most? all?) TMO-branded phones is WiFi calling. I would imagine WiFi calling should work from overseas locations, but I wouldn't swear to it.

You could also do this: This is the next best thing to T-Mobile WiFi calling on your Google Nexus 5 or Moto X - Pocketables , or you could use a Google Voice number through Google Hangouts.

 

[VicVinegar]

I guess the announcement the other day says "Simple Choice plan holders with T-Mobile phones will be able to make and receive phone calls, or send and receive text messages, from anywhere in the world as long as they’re connected to WiFi."

So maybe it would be worth it to buy a used T-Mobile Galaxy S4/5 and activate that for free calling.

 

[Old Stoneface]

So maybe it would be worth it to buy a used T-Mobile Galaxy S4/5 and activate that for free calling.

Maybe. Personally, I've become kind of Samsung-averse, but I cannot say that would not be a solution to your advantage.

 

[VicVinegar]

Maybe. Personally, I've become kind of Samsung-averse, but I cannot say that would not be a solution to your advantage.

Unfortunately when it comes to T-Mobile branded phones that would be available on the used market, there aren't a lot of options. Sony Xperia Z1 is kind of a wild card I guess. About to head over to that forum to see how people like it. Basically I want something I can resell, and if it is a great phone for the short time I have it, bonus to me. Not looking to mess with it too much. Load up my Android profile, link up my Google Voice account, and hop on a plane to Stockholm.

 

[raptir]

Just keep in mind that you're technically violating T-Mobile's terms of service, since they say the majority of usage needs to be on T-Mobile's network in the US. I'm not saying you will run into an issue, but if you do you won't have much of a leg to stand on in terms of getting support.

You do need to look at band support. Some T-Mobile branded phones are really locked to T-Mobile frequencies and won't support much overseas. Even if you can't take advantage of 3G/4G speed, it's still better to be connected to that higher speed network as you'll likely get lower latency and more reliable service. Band I is pretty common for 3G network in Europe, and some phones like the HTC One don't have support. A good cheap option with good band support and wifi calling support would be the Samsung Galaxy Avant.

 

[Old Stoneface]

Here's another thought: Why not just buy a decent, but relatively inexpensive tablet and use that for gmail (using either IMAP or browser) and Google Voice (using Hangouts and Hangouts Dialer) via plain old WiFi connections?

You'll have to check, but I think you can even call U.S. and Canadian numbers from overseas, via GV.

 

[RumoredNow]

Here's another thought: Why not just buy a decent, but relatively inexpensive tablet and use that for gmail (using either IMAP or browser) and Google Voice (using Hangouts and Hangouts Dialer) via plain old WiFi connections?

You'll have to check, but I think you can even call U.S. and Canadian numbers from overseas, via GV.

Makes a lot of sense... I'm under the impression that WiFi is common as fleas over there. Heck, your cruise will probably be pumping out WiFi for the guests.

Nice little 7" tablet + Vonage or Google Voice. Might be just the ticket and it's a device you'd still use when you get back to the States.

I say Old Stoneface has got something there.

 

[VicVinegar]

Cruises charge for WiFi. On Celebrity, the prices start at $29 for 40 minutes.

I'll be on the move when on land and going to castles and such. If I was wandering around downtown, maybe WiFi wouldn't be an issue. Cellular service will be valuable.

And if T-Mo gave me trouble, I could be planning to switch to them. Most of the service in that case would be here. Just to start, it will be in Europe for a bit. To be honest, I'd consider switching, which is part of the reason for this exercise. I'm going to see how the phone performs at home too.

 

[Bob61]

Different country, but I was in South Korea recently and the country is on TMo's list as supported for data. It was not. Don't take that because TMo shows as supported that you'll get the service.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[LuvMusic]

I'm on Tmo and use their International Roaming Service all the time and my experience has been excellent. Since the beginning of the year I have been to Switzerland 3 times, London twice, Paris, the Cayman Islands and a four hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany. The international plan has worked exactly as advertised. My longest trip was 19 days, so almost three weeks.

To use the service all I have to do is turn on my phone (a Sony Z1s). When I turn on the phone I immediately get two texts that remind me that I have 1) free unlimited texting and 2} free unlimited data with high speed data available for an extra charge and .20 cents a minutes for calls. On one trip I took the train from Zurich, Switzerland to Paris, France. When I crossed the Swiss boarder into France I got the text messages.

Be aware that unlimited data is of the slow variety. That said it was more than adequate for texts, email, Google maps and light browsing like when I would read news feeds while eating alone. Definitely not for streaming media or downloading larger files. For data intensive tasks I use wi-fi.

Using wi-fi for free voice and texting is really not new to TMo's offering, it has worked on all my trips. I think they are just reinforcing the marketing message. Just make sure you register your device before you leave by making a call using wi-fi then you are good to go (this is for calling only, doesn't impact the wireless piece).

I have not had issues with TMo's international offer and it is free.....I have not seen any additional charges on my bill and I don't have to mess with swapping SIMS and changing APN's.....totally awesome. The only charge I got from Tmo when traveling internationally was $1.00 because my wife called me when I was on wireless so I got hit for the .20 cents a minute for a five minute call. In the past on other carriers, I have been hit with roaming fees of $5.00 - $10.00 just for turning on my phone. Not pretty.

If you travel internationally, TMo is an excellent deal.

 

[yeah yeah]

I'm on Tmo and use their International Roaming Service all the time and my experience has been excellent. Since the beginning of the year I have been to Switzerland 3 times, London twice, Paris, the Cayman Islands and a four hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany. The international plan has worked exactly as advertised. My longest trip was 19 days, so almost three weeks.

To use the service all I have to do is turn on my phone (a Sony Z1s). When I turn on the phone I immediately get two texts that remind me that I have 1) free unlimited texting and 2} free unlimited data with high speed data available for an extra charge and .20 cents a minutes for calls. On one trip I took the train from Zurich, Switzerland to Paris, France. When I crossed the Swiss boarder into France I got the text messages.

Be aware that unlimited data is of the slow variety. That said it was more than adequate for texts, email, Google maps and light browsing like when I would read news feeds while eating alone. Definitely not for streaming media or downloading larger files. For data intensive tasks I use wi-fi.

Using wi-fi for free voice and texting is really not new to TMo's offering, it has worked on all my trips. I think they are just reinforcing the marketing message. Just make sure you register your device before you leave by making a call using wi-fi then you are good to go (this is for calling only, doesn't impact the wireless piece).

I have not had issues with TMo's international offer and it is free.....I have not seen any additional charges on my bill and I don't have to mess with swapping SIMS and changing APN's.....totally awesome. The only charge I got from Tmo when traveling internationally was $1.00 because my wife called me when I was on wireless so I got hit for the .20 cents a minute for a five minute call. In the past on other carriers, I have been hit with roaming fees of $5.00 - $10.00 just for turning on my phone. Not pretty.

If you travel internationally, TMo is an excellent deal.

Works in Paris? Nice, very good to know!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[LuvMusic]

Works in Paris? Nice, very good to know!

Posted via the Android Central App

Oui!

 

[VicVinegar]

I'll follow up on this for anyone who may be interested. I just returned from my trip yesterday.

Service was great IMO, seeing I was paying nothing extra for it and how much Verizon would want to charge me for the same thing. Overall I used about 600 MB, which in Verizon world would be $150. So far, my T-Mobile bill is showing no additional charges.

When you turn the phone on in a country, you get a text from T-Mobile telling you it is covered under the plan. I imagine if it wasn't you would get a text telling you that. I never was in a non-covered country. After I got over the hump of realizing it was OK to turn on "Roaming Data" by making a free call to T-Mo support in the US, I used the data in Copenhagen, Denmark; Zurich, Switzerland; Stuttgart, Germany, in several cities in Turkey, but primarily Istanbul; Burgas, Bulgaria, Bucharest and Constanta, Romania; and Mykonos and Athens, Greece.

Most of the time the Galaxy S4 showed a 3G connection, and would hop from provider to provider sometimes (in Turkey, it was "AVEA" and T-Mobile Turkey). In Germany, where you would think it would be on T-Mobile all the time as Deutsche Telekom is well established, I noticed it was on O2 DE a few times.

Speeds were good enough for everything I did. Email, checking news and other websites, using translator apps, some Google Maps to navigate streets. I was rarely sitting there waiting for something to load. No more common than what I noticed here at home with T-Mobile or even Verizon sometimes. I'd say it was worth the price of service and a 5 point ding on my credit score to open up the account.

It also lets you make calls to the US for $0.20/minute or for free on WiFi calling. I didn't need to use it, but I was concerned I may have to conduct some business back home, so I liked having it available. I did send a few texts which were free.

Now I just need to see if I can suspend the account rather than cancel. Not sure the performance of T-Mobile here at home is worth me giving up an unlimited data Verizon account, but I may want to turn this back on again.