wvdthree

Hello all,

I've found some threads from 2020 about T Mobile but thought I would ask for some more recent feedback. I am considering switching to T Mobile to get an iPhone upgrade and have international service without having to get a French SIM which I've done before. I will be going for three months in September of this year. I have a few questions I'd like to pose.

1) Does having an American phone number cause any issues with French businesses that may need to contact me while I'm there? My guess is no.

2) I won't need or want to stream movies but will be using data for internet browsing, email,texting,social media, calling with WhatsApp etc.. I may need to use it for navigation if my car does not have it's own GPS.
Magenta Max claims speeds of 256 kbps. Will this be fast enough?

3) I've read past reports that at some point, if you use "too much" data, they will throttle your data speed. Any truth to that?

4) What towers does T Mobile use in France? Deutche Telecom as they are owned by them?

Thanks so much for any personal experience you could share with regard to these issues.

Sarastro

1. Your American phone number will mean potential long distance service charges to anyone who calls you, even if you are in the same room. You may find a reluctance by some to call you, some might not care.

2. 256 kbps will be the top-rated speed, which is slow. What you actually receive could be less. 256 kbps should suffice for email and texting. It is too slow to guarantee usable VoIP connections or real-time map downloading, (The GPS function itself is independent of data download). Most phones allow you to preload some map data before you leave a WiFi source. This could be a solution depending upon distance traveled.

3. Throttling will be explained in your service contract along with the data cap to preclude throttling. I see this more often with US service agreements than with French.

4. T Mobile, to my knowledge, uses Orange and F-Contact networks, at least it´s Orange in Paris. This is something over which you have no control.

bilboburgler

as sarastro says, a mobile phone does not need to have a contract or a provider to access the GPS system world wide, so down load your maps from your wifi and just use GPS not data

hetismij2

As Sarastro says anyone calling you from within France is making an expensive international call to your number. They have to use the full international dialling code to call you. You could be making an expensive international call to anyone in France even though you are there, depending on T-Mobile's T&C. You need to check that.

Does T-Mobile allow you to roam for 3 months at a time? Most companies have fair use policies and limit time and data available to you.

T-Mobile like any company uses whichever tower provides the strongest signal when roaming, in theory at least, though in practice that is not always the case. DH and I are on the same provider in the Netherlands but often on different ones, with different signal strengths when travelling.
Signal strengths can be poor to non existent it parts of France. Learn how to change provider manually if you need to.
Deutche Telekom don't have towers in France.

Download any maps you need over WiFi so you don't lose navigation due to lack of signal. The only downside to that is you won't get traffic updates, diversions etc.

Heimdall

Do as you have done in the past and get a French SIM. With a US T-Mobile SIM you will still need an International roaming plan, which could be expensive over three months. Don’t expect French businesses to make an international call to contact you on a US number.

thursdaysd

No, not necessarily. The T-Mobile plan I have, which I have had for years, includes free texting and cheap phone calls in over 100 countries. I'm not sure what it costs someone to call me, but I have hardly ever needed that, I make the calls. I have found coverage patchy in a couple of places (Berlin, surprisingly!).

Coquelicot

With our T-mobile plan, you can call a US phone number from France free if you meet all three of these requirements: you're calling FROM your US phone # TO a US phone # OVER WIFI. A call to a French phone number will cost you. A call from the US to you will cost the caller.

We have a cheap second phone with dual SIMs, of which one is Reglomobile which we bought in France. It's prepaid and allows up to 1.50 euros a month for calls (I don't know what the rate above that is since we don't use it to that extent). If we're not using it, maintaining the number costs 1.50 euros a month. Easy to top it up online.

I'm pretty sure a French person/business could text you at no cost to them.

We've driven through some blank spots in France but not many. It usually happens when we really need a connection. Speed usually hasn't been a problem for us.

wvdthree

Sarastro,
Thanks so much for your response. A few follow up questions if I may. I had an inkling that folks with landlines might incur charges to call and that's why I asked.

What is a "fast" data transfer speed to a cell phone? 256 is actually their TOP speed at their Magenta Max speed. With this package they claim they will not throttle.

I was looking to avoid not having my phone set up before I go which is why, in part, I was considering T Moblle as I plan on going to France even more regularly in the future. Most French cell providers can not send SIMs to the US. Exception being Orange whose cards (only 14 days) I have bought through Amazon. Do you have a recommendation for a French cell phone provider that in fact can send SIMs to the US so I can have everything set up prior to arriving? Trying to avoid the stress and hassle of a SIM pick up at the airport upon arrival. I'd like at least a month initial contract/package so I don't have to top up all the time.

Thanks for any further thoughts you may have.

Sarastro

I just checked the data download speed I have with FREE - 26 Mbps. To offer a comparison, 1 Megabit per second = 1000 Kilo bit per second which is, by itself, 4 times the 256 Kbps speed you are being promised by T Mobile.

My mobile phone accepts 2 SIMs simultaneously, so I shut down the FREE SIM and switched data to my T Mobile SIM. Even with full signal strength via the Orange network, I was not receiving sufficient T-Mobile data to perform the speed test. Your results may vary, but VoIP consumes a good bit of data. At 256 Kbps, it is virtually impossible to use Whatsapp or any kind of video or other type kind of high data use.

French law requires that all service providers maintain contact information on all users, which is why they will generally not send SIMs to individuals who do not offer solid proof of identity. I am surprised that Orange has offered to send a SIM to someone in North America.

I have used T-Mobile around the globe with sufficient speed for email and texting. It's good in a pinch but, if your requirements exceed that, when you arrive in Paris, go to one of the Orange boutiques and inquire about their prepaid plans. I don't keep up on the details of these plans, but I believe that they offer a 30 day, voice/data plan that is going to be gentle on most budgets and offer the service you want.

geetika

Sarastro will reply your post, I just wanted to say it’s extremely easy to pick up a sim on arrival in CDG. Just walk into any Relay store in the terminal and buy the sim, have done this quite a few times in the past and it’s never taken more than 10 minutes, a little longer if there’s a line to pay. Agree this was pre-Covid, but don’t suppose that should make any difference.

Heimdall

Are you aware of the eSIM feature on the latest iPhones? That would enable you to set up your US plan on the eSIM, remove the physical nano SIM, and use the slot for a French SIM.

I admit I have never tried it, as I travel with two iPhones, one for my home country SIM with data roaming turned off, and the other for a SIM from the country I am visiting. You can do that too if you save your old phone for travelling.

That means I have no worries about huge bills from data usage, and can make local calls, Uber, etc with the local SIM, and still have contact from home for texts, WhatsApp on wifi networks, etc with my regular SIM.

Dukey1

I am sorry for seeming ignorant but I have repeatedly used T-Mobil in Europe I think my plan has unlimited data. I do not do phone calls back home I TEXT and tell others to do the same maybe such doesn't work for others.

thursdaysd

@Dukey1 - ditto. I also travel with an iPad so if I need to stream anything (or type, which I hate doing on a phone) I do it on hotel/etc wifi. I find Google maps works just fine on my T-Mobile account

aliced

We have had TMobile cells for years, at no extra costs in Switzerland, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, last five countries I can recall. We text and use Whats App. No problems, no issues. And our two iPhones are only $60 /month (seniors plan) -- unlimited!

Seamus

Like aliced we are also on the great seniors plan with T Mobile, $60 monthly for two lines with unlimited everything. We use Android devices, though.
Added benefit is that in Europe our calls to each other are free, and texts back to US are also free. Calls on the cellular network to the US are discounted over usual roaming rate, but we often use WhatsApp on Wifi for no cost calls.

Note that the data speed cap pertains only when you are on a cellular network. If you are on a WiFi connection (which are pretty ubiquitous) such limit does not pertain. And, as noted by a few previous posters, GPS does not operate on the data side of your plan/device.

So the only downside of just keeping your T Mobile SIM is that Europeans calling you on the cellular network will pay international rates. They can avoid that by using WhatsApp or WiFi calling or lessen costs by texting.

twk

Thanks for posting that. I bought a new Iphone last Fall (12 pro), so this looks like a great option.

YankyGal

Just piling on that we’ve been happy with T-Mobile for our international travel. Never had to do anything or buy anything when we arrive other than take the phone out of my purse. Calls are rarely a problem, and if anyone needs to get a hold of us, we just tell them to text. Never had a problem with data, but we don’t stream movies or anything like that.