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Yes, but T-Mobile has free services in Spain so the OP doesn't have to switch sim cards.
We do plan to get Spanish SIM cards after we get there because the T-Mobile data is slow and I think calls are 25 cents a minute (and Vodafone is so inexpensive these days). But, I wanted to be sure my family could use our US numbers as an alternate way to reach us, especially before we get our Spanish SIM cards since that might not happen for a few days.
Unless they have an upgraded plan with T-Mobile phone calls are 25 cents a minute.
I agree, but I cannot train my elderly Mom to use WhatsApp no matter how hard I have tried....unfortunately we now have the expensive ATT plan. When I was using T-Mobile a few years ago it was a much better deal. I don't think we paid 25 cents per minute then, but maybe my memory is also poor.
Always store your US contacts' numbers beginning with +1.
Is T-Mobile free to call home to the US? I have been looking to switch from AT&T which charges $10/day for 10 days per billing period. I looked into T-Mobile and I understood that unlimited data would carry over, but calls would cost per minute. If not, I need to look again because I thought I would use the data to navigate and have to use WhatsApp to call. Thanks.
Last time I checked, my T-mobile plan had free data and texts, but calls were 25 cents per minute. I do plan to get a vodafone card for use in Spain. But wanted people to be able to reach me on my T-Mobile phone from the US in emergencies.
Thank you, that is exactly what I thought. I need data and texts but calls I can do wifi calls and zoom with family and not have to pay per minute. WhatsApp should also work. Guess I have to get serious about switching!!
We have found that T-Mobile's free data in Spain is slow. But, of course, usually you have wi-fi when you need to do heavy-duty use of data so that might not be too much of a problem.
Slow while surfing or slow when using a map?
Hmmm. Definitely slow while surfing. I'm having trouble remembering about maps. Probably a little slow but I'm not sure. If you want to use it for maps, you might pre-load the maps when you have wifi.
It depends on which T-Mobile plan you have.
I will look into the Magenta Max, thanks.It depends on which T-Mobile plan you have.
I've always had one of their plans that provided free data and texting to and from US numbers, but all phone calls were 25¢ a minute. Last year I upgraded to their Magenta Max plan (though they may have changed the plan name) which gave me 5GB of high speed data while abroad each billing cycle and some free phone calls.
But back when I had the standard plan I just used apps to make free or low cost phone calls. I used WhatsApp to call people who use it, and the Viber app to make calls to businesses and people without WhatsApp. I bought $5 worth of Viber Out credits and the phone calls were about 2¢ a minute.
Cheap International Calls Worldwide | Viber Out
Make free internet calls with Viber. Call friends and family on any landline or mobile phone with Viber credit, sign up today at Viber.comaccount.viber.com
I use t-Mobile and it works just like you were at home. the caller just calls your number and your phone rings in Spain. No one has ever had a problem contacting me - including spam and nuisance calls.
are you really sure that you can call an US- number from EU without using the country code?
ATT does the same except calling and data are at the same speed/volume as my home plan. However, it’s capped at $100/month. That was worth it to me to avoid getting a Spanish SIM and number and making sure family members knew it, not to mention additional cost to them to call a Spanish number. Verizon might do something similar. That said, WhatsApp is what I used with international friends.
We have Verizon too, I just changed our plan to Ultimate Unlimited which includes international calling, data etc. $25 more per billing cycle. We will change back to the cheaper plan when we get home. We will also get an Inexpensive Orange e-sim card for 1 phone, so we can leave an in-country call back number if needed.
fi.google.com
I am an AT&T customer with an unlimited data plan. As Rmarkob says, their international plan is $10 per day up to a maximum of $100 per billing period. Having unlimited data was nice, and it was very fast in Spain. I typically use WhatsApp but I like knowing that my family & friends at home can reach me quickly and easily without needing to know a separate number.
I've been a happy user of Fi for 8 years. At home they use T-Mobile as their carrier. Overseas you can cut their 20 cent per minute rate down to around 2 cents (depends on who you call and where but generally really cheap). To do that get into airplane mode and then connect to wifi and dial. Using the Google Voice app (it's not the same as Fi) which uses the Internet for calls (either wifi or cellular data) you can call with rates similar to Fi's wifi rates.
I just saw this on the Verizon site. I just want data, as I can use Whatsapp for calls. Texts are free. Why wouldn't this be a good deal?
good point. Can't you just not answer any calls that are from unknown numbers?
With the work I do I need to be able to receive calls from a variety of unknown numbers. When it's a robocall, though, I simply block that number. Then the same spammers simply spoof another number to try to sell me something - and I block that number.
Texting is free on this $100 monthly plan. If you don't recognize a number, you just shoot em a text.
