As someone who loves technology, I often look at options on how to stay connected even when I’m traveling abroad.
In fact, one of the major reasons I switched over to T-Mobile was because of their free international data roaming. (To be fair, I also had T-Mobile as a service provider in the past so I knew T-Mobile had good coverage in my area).
T-Mobile’s 1-Hour Free In-Flight Internet Access
T-Mobile has a partnership with Gogo (inflight internet company). When you fly on a WiFI-enabled/Gogo flight, you can connect online. Keep in mind that this option is not supported on all airlines.
Most recently, I flew on Delta. When I connected my mobile device, I get these landing pages.
You simply have to login with your T-Mobile number, and you get your free one-hour of WiFI access.
International Roaming Data Pass
When you are abroad, T-Mobile also offers free 2G data roaming at over 140+ countries. While T-Mobile only promises 2G speed in the fine prints, I find that I can usually pick up 3G access (this varies by country).
If you need faster access, you can buy an international data pass to upgrade to “high speed data”. On a recent trip, I had to upgrade to take care of some time-sensitive things. When I log-in to my T-Mobile account, I see this option:
Of course, there’s nothing like a thank-you-for-your-order with an smiling emoji.
After the upgrade, the experience was much better. I didn’t do a speed test. It didn’t seemed like it was LTE speed, but it felt like a sufficient 3G speed.
If you end up using up your 1GB allotment of high speed data pass before the 10-days, you can always buy another one. Remember to end your current data pass first before buying the new one. Otherwise, the new data pass won’t start until the old data pass expires in 10-days.
I think the data pass is expensive for just 1GB of international roaming data, but at least the option is available for when you really need it.
Have you used the Gogo inflight internet through T-Mobile? Did it work fine for you, or have you run into any issues?
I used to leave the country almost weekly and T-Mobile never let me down regardless of where I was. Actually, in The Bahamas there was voice and sms only and it was not part of the international service so was super expensive. But after a couple of months they got them included as well. The 2g service was generally always fine for maps, iMessage, email, even some social sites.
Interestingly I did try Sprint’s international service which is also included at no cost but their service is limited to 64k whereas T-Mobile is either 128 or 256 depending on what plan you’re on. Sprint was basically unusable with everything just timing out.
>>>I used to leave the country almost weekly and T-Mobile never let me down regardless of where I was.
That’s good to hear. I agree that 2g service is fine for most basic needs. I don’t typically buy data pass, but I happened to need it this time around.
I actually had Sprint for a good number of years before I switched to T-Mobile. I actually don’t have any negative things to say about Sprint’s international roaming. To be frank, it worked just as well for me. I ended up switching because I wanted a new phone (they no longer offer the contract plans) and T-Mobile offered a better deal. I have high hopes for T-Mobile. The free international roaming is one of their best “un-carrier” moves, by far.
Thanks for your comment!