My First Experience Using T-Mobile Internationally

As I first wrote about last week, I’ve finally made the switch to T-Mobile. F-I-N-A-L-L-Y. For those of you not aware, T-Mobile offers a Simple Choice International Plan, where you get automatic coverage in over 140 countries around the world, with data and texting at no extra charge, plus a cost of just 20 cents per minute for calls.

I can’t get over the fact that I’ve waited so long to make the switch. Previously I had AT&T and just didn’t use data abroad, but rather kept my phone in airplane mode and connected to Wi-Fi whenever I had the chance. For someone who works online and spends about half of their time outside the US, that’s plain embarrassing.

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It took me so long to make the switch precisely because I hate cell phone companies, and because I kept pushing off the process of making the switch, thinking it would be a total pain. What pushed me over the edge was that T-Mobile recently added an hour of free Gogo Wi-Fi per flight. While I have an unlimited Gogo membership (and will likely keep it), that’s the point at which I said “this is the carrier for me.” Free inflight Wi-Fi and free international data couldn’t be more up my alley.

While the process was annoying, it was well worth it.

One complaint I’ve long heard about T-Mobile is that their reception in the US isn’t good. That was obviously a big concern, though in my case for no reason, as it turns out. Reception has been every bit as good for me with T-Mobile as with AT&T, though admittedly I mostly travel to big cities. Some readers chimed in and basically said that T-Mobile reception is bad to non-existent when you get out into the middle of nowhere, which isn’t a situation I often find myself in.

Over the past 36 hours I’ve been in Taiwan and Singapore, so I figured I’d share an update on my international T-Mobile experience. That is, after all, the main reason I made the switch.

How has my experience been with T-Mobile internationally?

Life changing.

Before I made the switch, some people warned me “just be aware that speeds will be really slow abroad.” I would have been totally fine with that, given that slow speeds are better than no reception at all.

The second I landed in both Taipei and Singapore, I received texts welcoming me to the country and confirming I was in one of the 140+ countries eligible for the T-Mobile international plan. I appreciate that they make it so easy.

As someone who has literally never voluntarily used cell phone data abroad, I get almost the same sensation when I switch my plane out of airplane mode in a foreign country as I do when I shower on an Emirates A380. There’s something that feels almost scandalous about it, as I picture myself being billed hundreds and hundreds of dollars with AT&T.

What are data speeds like?

The speeds were about what I expected, frankly, which I’m thrilled with.

Speeds are somewhat slower than they’d be in the US, but not problematically so. I can send emails, Tweet, Instagram, etc., without issue.

Loading my Instagram timeline takes a few seconds. Loading a Snapchat takes maybe 10 seconds. Texts send easily. Sending pictures via text takes maybe 15 seconds.

But the truth is that in the US, unless I’m connected to Wi-Fi, I’m usually only doing basic stuff on my phone, like email, Twitter, etc.

The only thing I wasn’t able to easily do is load a video on YouTube that I wanted to watch.

So yes, speeds may be a bit slower than in the US, but not problematically so. I want Wi-Fi abroad so I can stay up to date on email, messaging, etc., and T-Mobile is beyond sufficient for that.

How about phone calls?

At 20 cents per minute, phone calls are a heck of a deal while abroad as well. I’ve found the phone quality to be excellent, about as good as in the US.

This is a huge benefit for me. My dad doesn’t use a computer or any sort of texting, so I’d always have to log onto Skype, Google Voice, etc., to call him. Now I can just call him the moment I land to say hi.

Bottom line

I know I almost sound like I’m being paid by T-Mobile. I’m not.

I just spent years receiving crappy service and paying ~$270 per month for a plan with AT&T while getting charged out the you-know-what for international data.

I realize there were cheaper plans I could have used, but when I called AT&T to ask, they highly recommended I keep the current plan, because it had a plan with unlimited data, and I’d never be able to sign-up for that again. That was bad and dishonest advice.

My cell phone bill now is 60% cheaper, I get the same signal in the US, I can browse the web all the time while traveling abroad, I can make phone calls internationally at a very reasonable price, and I even get some free Gogo Wi-Fi.

T-Mobile markets themselves as “the Un-carrier,” and I think that’s pretty accurate, because I actually like them. I never thought I’d say that about a cell phone provider

So for those of you who aren’t with T-Mobile, I can’t recommend making the switch enough, assuming you don’t live in a small town in the US where their service is lacking. The only other type of plan I’d ever consider is Google Fi, as Tiffany recently wrote about.