donnae_b

Hello, I am interested in changing my cell phone provider so I can use google maps, internet searches, email and phone calls while traveling in Europe.
(not sure if I really need "phone call" service). TMobile is my current provider.
What cell phone provider do you use? Thank you in advance.

J62

For google maps you do not need any cell service. Download offline google maps for wherever you will be and you can get turn by turn directions just like the basic garmin or tomtom gps device of yesteryear.

Since you don't need "phone" service then the best option may be to get a data only esim from airalo or simoptions, both are dot com.

donnae_b

Hi J62, Thank you for these ideas, unfortunately we aren't tech savvy enough to install a sim card without a provider's assistance and a basic garmin or tomtom wouldn't give us access to google searches or email, both are very important. Even though we don't "need" a phone, the option would be nice. Do you use all cell phone in Europe? If so, which provider works best for you?

k_marie

Check your plan with TMobile. Mine has unlimited text and data in many/most countries. In the five different European countries we visited last month, phone calls were $0.25 per minute. No need for a SIM card. As we entered each country, we received a text from TMobile—

T-Mobile: Welcome to Switzerland! Your plan includes coverage that gives you unlimited data On Us now at faster speeds up to 256Kbps, plus unlimited texts at no extra cost! Calls are $0.25/min. Visit t-mo.co/intl-roam1 to learn more and view additional calling/data options. Enjoy your stay!

J62

When I travel I use WhatsApp or facetime or facebook messenger to place calls back home, and use WhatsApp for the rare occasion I need to call a local business,

Wifi is ubiquitous a hotels, airbnbs, many cafes, and even some entire towns so I don't rely on a cell service for non-urgent things like email.

With an eSIM, you don't actually have a physical sim card. Installing (adding) an esim to an iphone or android is quite straightforward.

On an iphone, it's under settings --> cellular, than tap add eSIM....and you'll be instructed to scan the QR code that you'll get with an esim. The ones I get for europe (i buy them ahead) cost about $10 for 2 weeks usage with enough data for my needs.

The help desk at your phone co's service center could show you how to add an eSIM.

But since you already have TMobile, you may already be covered.

lavandula

T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom. It's a German company. I would be surprised if you could not use it for the things you want in Europe, without doing anything else.

Lavandula

Traveler_Nick

Do you need email and Google while out and about? If not you can use it at the hotel on Wifi or anywhere else with Wifi.

It's been mentioned but Tmobile I'm sure has some sort of roaming options. The complaint I've heard is it can be slow in some countries. But for email and google that shouldn't really be noticable. Even 2G is likely fast enough.

Where are you going? Many European countries have tourist packages. If you travel enough buying a cheap phone and a local SIM might make more sense than ditching your current provider. Unless you're not happy with your current service.

Seamus

No need to change - T Mobile is about the best US carrier for travel in Europe. As noted above by k_marie, you already have free data and text in most European countries, and voice calls are only $0.25/minute. Since leaving behind the dreaded AT&T our European travel has been a breeze, telephonically speaking.

crellston

I am based in the UK and use O2 . I have a pay as you go SIM and top up Ł10 per month which gets me free calls and texts plus 7GB of data and free roaming throughout Europe. No contract or commitment and the SIM is free.

Easy to pick up a sim on arrival in Europe and if you can't handle changing the SIM then any O2 shop will do it for you. We travel a lot and I have a drawer full of SIM cards from around the world. I ALWAYS get the shop to check all is working BEFORE leaving. If travelling for longer than a month then you can top up another Ł10 data bundle online very easily. Prices will likely vary from country to country but shouldn't be too far away from Ł10/€12

Coverage is good and speeds are pretty fast. Though like most providers, coverage may be patchy in some remote areas.

KTtravel

I wish we had T-mobile for travel purposes but it doesn't have good coverage in my home (US) neighborhood. I think you will be in good shape with your current service.

KayF

I bought a SIM card on my first day in London, at an EE store. They had a few options and as the answer to "how many gigabytes do you need?" was "I have no idea", I bought the middle one on offer. It was 15 pounds for a month and the helpful man put the SIM in for me and made sure it was working. I was tired and jetlagged so happy to have his help.
https://ee.co.uk/

bilboburgler

GPS does not need a phone signal (thank you US military)
In the UK I use O2 pay as you go and EE will be fine too
Restaurants, hotels, trains, airports normally have free wifi and I use them

hetismij2

Be wary buying a British Sim for use in the EU. Many British companies have reintroduced roaming charges following Brexit, despite declaring they would not do so.
I would check what your current T-Mobile deal offers, and see what other deals they may have.
2G and 3G have been switched off in some European countries, more 3G coverage gone than 2G, but all on the way out, so throttling of the speed is less likely.
Use WiFi when available, though not for any important communications.
Internet coverage is useful with Maps for road conditions and diversions but isn't essential, it can recalculate your route with GPS if you go off they planned one for any reason. It can be hard on the phone battery so make sure you have a charger.

bvlenci

If you are going to an EU country, you can get a SIM card from any major provider and it can be used without roaming charges in any other EU country. The amount of data may have a limit if you use it outside the country where you bought it, but it should be sufficient for normal purposes.

Some smaller companies have no infrastructure of their own and are not bound by the no-roaming law.

I live in Italy, where the largest provider is TIM. They offer a "TIM Tourist" plan that costs €15 and includes voice, text, and data for a month. The voice calls can be made not only to EU countries, but also to over 50 other countries, including the US, UK, and Australia.

Coquelicot

In France, our T-Mobile plan lets us call the US free if we are (a) calling a US number (b) from our US number and (c) the call is over Wi-Fi.

We pay only for calls made to a French phone number. If we could text, say, a French restaurant or B&B there would be no charge, but I'm not comfortable relying on a text for something like that.

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kerouac

I know some US residents who keep a French number from Orange because it is cheaper than US rates, has no roaming charges anywhere in the EU and allows free calls to most of the countries in the world. I have never understood why the US has such outrageous charges for the simplest things.

hetismij2

Many (most? all?) EU providers still give free roaming in the UK, as they said they would. KPN, my provider certainly does.
The problem with a PAYG Sim is that they are not always easy to add money to, especially if you are in a different country from the one were you bought it when you need to top up.

scrb11

First of all, there is value in having mobile data for Google Maps. For instance, I stayed recently in Rome. Google Maps and other apps will show you in real time bus schedules. You put in the destination you want to go into and tap the Directions and you can find navigation instructions for car, public transport or walking. Public transport will tell you where the bus stops are and what time the next bus would arrive there.

They don't have coverage for all cities but most of the large cities with large transport systems are there. Or you can go to the transport website and they will usually have a travel planner where you put in original and destination.

Also, I used to print out maps of cities but now I just use Google Maps even to navigate on foot.

Also, GPS doesn't need a cellular signal but it performs much better, acquires location faster, with a cell signal. And unless you pre downloaded the maps, you won't get any map detail without a cell signal.

I'm on T-Mobile and I used to get unlimited 256 kbps data in all countries. But even though I didn't upgrade my plan to something more expensive, I now get 5 GB of high speed data now. I was in Italy last week, now I'm in Ticino.

However, I buy SIMs for my iPad because I like to use a lot of data and not worry about running into the limit. 5 GB could easily be hit if you let apps update over cellular.

I paid 48 Euros for a TIM SIM in the center of Rome. I got ripped off because that's about double the price. Supposedly it's cheaper if you get it at TIM stores at the Rome airport or Termini. In other parts of Italy, I typically paid 20-30 Euros for 50 GB or more of data. In about 10 days I used 20 GB.

One thing I notice, more and more stores in Europe don't want to deal with prepaid. In France I couldn't get prepaid at SFR stores in Nice earlier this year. Now TIM stores in Rome are gouging tourists. Then in Lugano, I went into Sunrise and at first they told me they don't do prepaid at that store. But then he changed his mind and gave me 8 days unlimited data for 19.90 CHF, which is the price on the Sunrise website. Speeds are great, in 5G.

It really depends on the city whether you can get better deals at the airport or in the city. It used to be better deals in the city but in the case of Rome, there appears to be just one TIM store in centro storico so they charge what the market will bear, I suppose.

I can tell you that Wifi in European hotels and vacation apartments really vary in speeds. Mobile data is now consistently faster, unless you go to less populated areas, which for me was Stresa and when you drove up to the mountains.

There are some okay deals for eSIMs but in general you pay more for the convenience of not having to install a physical SIM card. A lot of these eSIMs are roaming in the country so the speeds and latency aren't the most optimum. They will work but if you think you want to use a lot of data, for instance maybe expect to use it at the hotel instead of wifi which may be slower and less reliable, then eSIMs aren't the best fit.

bilboburgler

GPS linked to data does offer some real benefits, especially where it links to public transport or road/train problems I agree, this is where GPS is working with the internet, eg map and train time table. The GPS element of function is no faster with data.

Some people find that Google Maps is not that great depending on what you are using the tool for, certainly I use other apps for mapping and walking around (especially if walking or cycling as Google Maps really focuses on cars. Google Maps is just a fat app and consumes a lot of file data). Other apps are more focused and use less file data.

hetismij2

Google Maps for cycling isn't that bad actually, at least not here. We've compared it's routes with other cycling route planners and it is pretty good, though it can't take the size of a trike into consideration as some others can. I prefer it to using knooppunten most of the time.Haven't used it for walking around, and when driving it still throws up so odd routes, trying to shave a nanosecond of the journey, even in "green" mode.
It eats battery though.