T-Mobile has been one of those companies that have made an effort to make its international coverage better. They have in a way tried to fit some of the SIM card buying and things like that. As a customer, it just makes things way easier if you are able to use your phone in the same way that you would locally when you travel. For the most part, though, doing this is going to cost you a pretty penny. In a lot of ways though, it really depends on where you are traveling. There have been major upgrades to the coverage and the rates that you can get particularly in Mexico and Canada. To the point where it may even make sense to just keep your regular plan even if you are in these two countries for an extended period of time.
The big issue though is still Europe, Asia and pretty much any other country that you can imagine outside of North America. For the most part, the rates are not all that great. What is worse is that the coverage that you are going to get may not be all that great. In certain destinations, the International day coverage is going to be more expensive and less reliable than buying a local SIM card. Still, there are certain situations where you may just want to stick with your regular plan. In any case, in this article we are going to go through the rates that are offered by T-Mobile, coverage is also something that we are going to take into consideration. So, at the end of the day, you will be able to make an informed decision on what you want to do!
- Can I take my T-Mobile phone internationally and get coverage?
- The cost of T-Mobile coverage per country
- A lot is going to depend on your particular plan
- Using T-Mobile coverage in Mexico and Canada
- Pros and Cons of buying a foreign SIM card
- T-Mobile eSIM and traveling
- What is the best way to get coverage abroad?
Can I take my T-Mobile phone internationally and get coverage?
The short answer to this question is yes. You are pretty much going to be able to take your T-Mobile phone and get coverage in most countries. In reality, the list of countries is in the 100’s. Yet, they basically cover most of the common travel destinations. There are going to be countries out there where you are not going to be able to get T-Mobile coverage no matter how hard you try. If you want to take a look at that list here is the link to their site. The real question though is more along the lines of whether or not it is a good idea to take your T-Mobile phone and rely on that coverage to use it internationally. The answer to this particular question is not one that you could just give out in a straight forward manner. There are a lot of factors to consider. Where you travel is going to be one of the first things that could determine whether or not this is a good idea.
T-Mobile does have plans for people who travel a lot, especially within North America. That could actually make keeping their coverage instead of buying a local SIM card a good idea. If you are a person who travels through the continent a lot this is something that you are going to want to consider. In many other countries though, getting coverage can be a bit expensive. Especially if you want to stay abroad for a longer period of time!
The cost of T-Mobile international coverage per country
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what you personally would pay if you wanted coverage internationally. It is really going to depend on the type of plan that you have. This is something that we are going to talk about here shortly. There are simple ways though to give an estimate of what you can expect to pay. Basically, the most that you could expect to pay in any country should be the 10 dollars a day international fee. If you decide to go that route and not get an international SIM card, be sure that you are paying the 10 dollar fee. A lot of times if you let them charge you for that coverage as roaming you could end up racking up a ridiculous fee. Anywhere in Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia where you can get T-Mobile coverage you should be paying a max of 10 dollars a day. Go on your T-Mobile app and make sure that you activate this. If not contact T-Mobile directly or visit your local store before you travel.
North America gets another fee. Canada and Mexico are going to cost you five dollars a day on the same travel feature. There are other plans though where you can get coverage in Mexico and Canada for an extra 15 dollars a month on your regular plan. Again, this is going to depend heavily on the type of plan that you have with them. There is no reason though why you should be paying over that 5 dollar fee. Just as a recap the ceiling for T-Mobile international coverage is 5 dollars a day in Mexico and Canada. Anywhere else where you can obtain T-Mobile coverage the most that you should be paying is 10 dollars a day.
A lot is going to depend on your particular plan
T-Mobile has a lot of different plans available the change sporadically. So there is no use in going over each and every one of them. By the time you are reading this, things may have changed even though, we are going to try and make sure that we update this information as we go along. What usually does not change are the ways that they are going to get you to spend more money. We just mentioned that the most that you can spend on coverage are 10 dollars a day. We have to tweak that a little bit though. The most that you can spend is 10 dollars a day if you happen to have an unlimited plan. If you don’t have an unlimited plan you may be running out of data faster than you would if you were using it locally. This can lead you to have to spend more money on data or extra minutes. If you don’t have an unlimited plan you may want to keep this in mind.
On another article on this site we talked about how T-Mobile has some pretty good prepaid plans. If you are constantly traveling to and from Canada or Mexico these prepaid plans actually give you the choice to pay around 10 or 15 dollars extra per month to add coverage in these countries. You can get 4G coverage in these countries with that particular add on to your regular plan. Therefore, it is certainly a deal that could interest some of you. The fact that T-Mobile international coverage is offered in this particular plan can be great for business people. As was mentioned before if you visit these countries frequently paying that fee could be a good option.
Using T-Mobile coverage in Mexico and Canada
If we had to choose a place where it would totally make sense to use T-Mobile international coverage directly we could actually pick two. With Mexico and Canada, it makes sense for a lot of the reasons that we have already mentioned. The fact that you are going to be getting decent speed makes this option relevant without a doubt. One of the underrated reasons is the fact that you get to keep your own phone number. So you are not going to have to keep juggling two numbers and keeping track which number or SIM card you need to use to be able to call. Overall, it makes things a bit easier. The only setback could be the fact that you need to make sure that you are on the right plan. So that you can have the chance to just pay the extra monthly fee and not have to worry about a thing.
As we always try and do on this site though, there is another side to this that we would like to discuss. The thing is, buying a SIM card in Mexico specifically is super cheap. Canadain prices are pretty much on par with US prices. So, in that particular case, floating around the idea of buying a Canadian SIM card may not be as relevant. In Mexico though, you can get a SIM card for around 10 dollars that is going to give you monthly coverage. You are going to get 200 or 500 minutes depending on what type of card you buy. With 500MB of data. This is not going to sound like much for a lot of people who are used to having unlimited data. It could make sense though, just to have a local phone that you could take calls with. At the end of the day, it really depends on what you need to do with your phone.
Pros and Cons of buying a foreign SIM card
If the T-Mobile international coverage that you can hope to get abroad is not going to cut it for you what you can do is buy a SIM card that is local to the area that you are visiting. There is a lot of upside to doing this. You are going to be able to get local coverage. In most countries, you are honestly going to be getting faster internet speeds than you would be able to obtain with T-Mobile. Mexico and Canada may be the only two countries that could be considered the exception the rule. If you are going to be traveling for a long time, which, can be 2 weeks, a month or even more that daily fee starts to pile up. In a lot of ways getting a SIM card can help lower your bill. Calls to local numbers are going to be charged well, like local calls. Since the SIM card is going to give you a local number. Overall, there is some money to be saved.
The negative side of this could be the fact that your number is going to change. If you don’t have a travel phone or a phone that can hold two SIMs at once your regular calls and texts are not going to be coming in. If you use an app like Whatsapp you are not going to be getting those messages either. Since the phone number that is going to be registered on your phone is going to be a new one. That can actually mess up apps such as Whatsapp where you log in with your phone number. If you are going to make that SIM card switch it is a good idea to back up a lot of the data that you have on your phone and on apps. Otherwise, it can certainly turn into a mess. There are certainly compelling arguments for both sides.
T-Mobile eSIM and traveling
This can get pretty tricky. Not all of the foreign countries that you could potentially visit are going to have eSIMs to sell you. If you have a dual SIM that allows you to have your T-Mobile eSIM and then put in an actual physical SIM card that is going to be the easiest way to travel really. In some countries, it is not that you won’t have anyone to sell you that eSIM. At this point though, maybe only a handful of companies have them. Which, basically means that you are going to have to stick to the rates that one company offers because they are the only ones that can get you an eSIM. That is why it is a good idea to be clear about what your options are before you travel. That way you avoid those last-minute purchases where you could potentially lose money.
As far as what you can do with your regular eSIM that advice is pretty simple. We still talk about it because leaving it active in some parts can lead to roaming costs. You can get charged that daily international fee even if you are not necessarily keen on activating it. It is important to make sure that you know what SIM you are essentially working on at any given time. Especially when you want to make calls or you want to use an app or your internet browser. This can be done through your phone settings fairly easily. The exact method is going to depend on the type of phone that you happen to be using at that particular time.
What is the best way to get coverage internationally?
The main reason why we are writing this article and why the site exists, in general, is the fact that there is no one straight answer. There is no one SIM card that everyone can buy at a great price and get the most out of it. Trips are not all the same, your regular plan is not the same as the one that other people may have. You may even be the head of the family. So you want to make sure that you find the best way to make sure that when you get back home you are not going to have to pay literally thousands of dollars for the family phone bill.
Having said this, we have tried to pin down certain situations and pair them with specific options that we think work. For example, if you are someone who travels to Mexico or Canada a lot looking into that 15 dollar fee in your prepaid plan from T-Mobile can be a great option. You could be spending less money if you go out and find the right local SIM card. Just the fact though, that you won’t be needing to juggle two numbers can well be worth around 15 dollars. If you are taking a shorter trip paying the daily fee and not having to worry about anything else can also make sense. Again, are there less expensive ways to get coverage? Sure, there is no doubt about that. With that being said, it can be one of those scenarios where not having to worry about making “technical” changes can well be worth the price that you pay. In this case, it can be around 20 or 30 dollars for just a couple of days.
If you are set on buying a local SIM card that can totally be an option. It is usually going to be the less expensive option on the menu when it is all set and done. It is also going to be the one that requires more “tech support” if you will. At the end of the day, it really depends on how comfortable you feel with having to switch numbers and things like that. Obviously, your budget also comes into play here as well!