During the pandemic, my family switched from T-Mobile to Verizon but no more, we came crawling back.
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Verizon Has The Best Domestic Cellular Network (Allegedly)
If you have a TV or pass through a subway station, you’ve seen the endless back patting that Verizon conducts, humbly announcing that it has the best network in the US. T-Mobile says they cover 99% of the people living in America (4G LTE coverage in most cities and towns, but miss some rural areas), ATT says… and so on, and so forth. There’s coverage maps that all show their brand is the exact right service for network coverage and, now, 5G coverage everywhere you look.
The reality is, I had T-Mobile for a decade before I switched during the pandemic to Verizon. I was sick of poor reception in my neighborhood and parts of my home so I switched to “the best” domestic 5G network. I’ll let you guess what happened… nothing. Nothing happened. Verizon was not observably better or worse than T-Mobile anywhere I went.
My reasons for switching from T-Mobile to Verizon in the first place were certainly based on my personal experience with the service, but so is my reason for switching back.
In the end, I didn’t have a bad service experience with Verizon, I didn’t have calls dropped, I didn’t have service coverage issues outside of some familiar areas – but I didn’t have those issues on T-Mobile either. Yet Verizon is more expensive for the same service levels, includes fewer perks, and lastly, its international roaming plan is very, very expensive. Verizon adds Hulu and Disney Plus (we pay for that already) as well as Apple Music, Apple Arcade (on trials) but for international options, it wasn’t a good fit. It was time to switch back.
Comparing International Plans, Costs
Without factoring in other costs, we save $10/month ($120/year) just by switching to T-Mobile, but we also save on in-flight wifi and a few others perks. However, it’s the international options that caused me to switch.
Included, without doing anything else, calls while roaming internationally as well as my texts and very, very slow data are included as part of its plan. Verizon, not so much. Both carriers include Canada and Mexico as part of their post-paid plans.
Side-By-Side Comparison
At $10/day/device that Verizon offers, we might as well do the monthly international roaming package for any trip close to 10 days in length, just to avoid turning it on/off and spending more time than necessary adjusting our plan. Daily data allowances are “unlimited” but high speed data is capped at 2GB (more than enough) but then it drops to 3G data speeds, a note that lives in the very small print.
The dirty little secret of the monthly plan is that the data allowances are the same whether choosing the single-day plan or the monthly and after 14 days abroad last winter, I started to spend $20/GB on additional data. Those using lots of high-speed data might do better to add days individually depending on their trip. That said, the plan appears to have changed to unlimited data now, but now the data costs for high speed aren’t displayed, just a drop from high speed to 3G.
T-Mobile includes some high speed global roaming in their Magenta Max plans without any additional cost (up to 5GB included, then speed drops to 2G but there’s no charge.) One important note is that T-Mobile doesn’t prohibit its use for mobile hotspots while Verizon had done so in places. I couldn’t be certain if not disallowing hotspot use was a policy poorly enforced, or enabled but bad tech – either way it was inconsistent where T-Mobile was not.
T-Mobile charges for talk time over cell networks (but not over wifi), while Verizon promotes unlimited talk, text, and data (within the limits mentioned before.) T-Mobile’s lesser Magenta Plan offers high download speeds in 11 European countries but not high speed throughout the entire world.
T-Mobile offers a daily package as does Verizon, but for just $5/day, $35/10-day package or $50/month making the savings instant from our first trip. The data plans are lower for all of the packages but are considerably less expensive. T-Mobile’s monthly package offers 15GB rather than Verizon’s 20GB for the same month, but the cost is half.
But there’s another reason beyond money, and that’s the simplicity of it all. I turned the international data roaming package on from the app, but even had I not, my phone just worked everywhere. No need to even contact them, my phone will ring as soon as I land.
Switching Just Before Boarding
In the rush to get ready prior to our departure, I made a colossal error in judgment – I decided to switch cell phone carriers an hour prior to departure.
I know.
In theory, it’s a simple operation espcially since the iPhone 14 uses an eSIM and everything can be done online or over the phone. Online, the system stalled and this was not a good start at all. That forced me to call in but after waiting for a call back I was boarding the aircraft, hands full of luggage finding ways to read the IMEI number.
I’d like to blame T-Mobile for this and it’s probably fair to do so, but I shouldn’t have chosen such a short window to make the transition. I landed in Washington Dulles and the phone had been sorted out. Verizon recongnized that the number had been transfered to T-Mobile, painlessly ended my service and sent me a final bill.
How Was T-Mobile’s International Plan Experience?
As expected, the phone worked as intended at home and abroad. I saved money on both of our phones while we were out of the country and since returning home have had comparable service to Verizon. Included in my unlimited plan are perks I can use like Apple TV and wifi on airplanes but it is far and away better for international use and cheaper at the same time. The mobile networks seem to be the same quality and coverage for our situation but perhaps your location will vary.
What do you think? Have you tried both? Which do you prefer?
I’ve been on a T-Mobile family plan for about 15 years and don’t see any reason to switch. For indoor locations where service isn’t as great they have WiFi calling (which is now common among all carriers). I enjoy the Gogo partnership and international connectivity. I also recently dumped Comcast and switched to T-Mobile home internet. With our family plan it’s only 30/mo. I think their price point makes up for any shortcomings.
Had T-Mobile when lived in the East Coast 20 years ago. Moved to the Midwest and I had no phone signal at my new home. My new company at that time had a deal with ATT and we switched. Have been with ATT now for almost 20 years and can’t complain. As for international trips, simply turn the phone on when I get to a new country and pay $10/day with a maximum of $100/month. It works for me.
The only cell service that works at all in my home is Verizon.
When I travel international my Verizon international coverage is automatic and $2 per day and only get charged if I use it.
I love AT&T’s International Day Pass. Unlike Verizon, there’s no slowdown.
You’re always better off with a local SIM for long stays, and almost always better off with the likes of Flexiroam (they do have super high ‘official’ prices but they offer deep discounts a few times per year) or Surfroam (straightforward PAYG) for shorter ones.
Unfortunately, I wanted to be able to recieve my normal US calls at the same time without spending time in a local telco setting up a second eSIM. Further, I was traveling to three countries on that trip with a connection in a fourth, so I would have had to get a plan that covered all of them (not hard to do in Europe, but harder elsehwere in the world.) I would have loved to have been able to use Google Fi but they don’t allow this for iPhone at the moment.
Can you clarify what you meant on that last point? Google Fi supports iPhone XS and newer. What’s not supported is the automatic network switching between T-Mobile and US Cellular while in the US.
I haven’t used Google fi, but both Surfroam and Flexiroam offer coverage in most parts of the world. I did struggle with Mozambique, but everywhere else has been fine.
Fi works great on new iphones. My +1 has used it without issue in UK, Turkey, Morocco, Spain, Gibraltar over the past 2 weeks.
TMobile is slightly better, only slightly, but way better priced.
I used the T-Mobile $35 10 day plan when I was in London. Worked great! I enabled it when I arrived at Heathrow, no issues.
Last year I switched from Verizon to xfinity mobile; they use the Verizon network but much better pricing. International rate is the same as Verizon-$10/day and has worked well for me in Europe and SA. I ruled out T Mobile due to their multiple data breaches.
Not in your post but I also use ATT international day pass. I can still stream the youtubes on data without slowdown.
I haven’t had ATT since the first iPhone so I really can’t comment as to the quality of the network or the plans, but I appreciate that it works relatively well for you and other readers.
Google Fi for international travel.
Would love that option on an iPhone.
@Kyle, IIRC, someone from OMAAT posted about Google Fi a few years ago (not Ben). It used to be their go-to option for international travel, but they had major, major issues that made them go back to a traditional carrier.
FWIW, I’ve had good experiences with T-Mobile. 4G/5G speeds in some countries with just the free allowance. So far, I haven’t needed to buy international data passes.
You can have Google Fi on an iPhone, they just don’t sell them. You have to BYOD and set it up through sim or esim. Google Fi is the answer to your needs for international travel. It is vastly better than other carriers however if T-mobile or US Cellular doesn’t work at your house then T-mobile or Google Fi isn’t for you. All carriers are starting to add new benefits. Google Fi now gives you Youtube premium for example.
I have used Tmobile international no cost texting and data for years of international travel to SE Asia, Europe and various islands in the south pacific. Slow but no cost on magenta plan. I just got back from Tahiti and upgraded to the 10 day extra speed for data at $35 and it was faster, but not LTE fast. I love Tmobile for this and never buy local SIMS.
I have been a TMobile customer for 10 years, and use my phone in Australia where I live most of the time, keeping a US number only for convenience. For $15.60 a month it operates seamlessly with wifi calling, as a secondary eSIM line.
I’ve been on T-Mo for a long time now, and I’m a big fan. Fair pricing. But the inflight WiFi and international service are absolutely terrific.
I can tell no meaningful difference in coverage between T-Mo and Verizon (AT&T is worse.).
But you just can’t beat that Canada and Mexico are included, that texting and data are free in most countries worldwide. Yes, the data speed drops, but it’s enough for maps, messaging, email and browsing. What I really need.
25c/min for voice is acceptable, especially since WiFi calling is free if I’m on WiFi.
The one thing that I wish were better is service in Alaska. I do not understand why, but it’s literally worse being in Alaska than being in Europe or Asia. I don’t understand the limitations.
Well, at the end of the day, Deutsche Telekom (from whose name the ‘T’ comes from) isn’t an Alaskan company!
I’m well aware that Deutsche Telekom is the majority shareholder. It doesn’t explain why they don’t have workable roaming agreements in Alaska, or why it should be worse than any where else in the world.
Better with Simple Mobile. Unlimited data and 5g(gig) hotspot. $50 and I can use in Mexico w/o paying extra. Plus free roaming in the Americas.
For Europe, my sister gave me her old iPhone 8 which I cleared back to zero and then brought it back to my Apple iCloud environment.
I then bought a euro carrier SIM card (Orange) which provided a Euro phone number and gobs of data, message, and voice compared to what Verizon offered. Just send a text from this phone to your primary contacts letting them know that if they need you, reply to the text. Then you can call back via the Euro chip. Worked perfectly while in France and England.
I was just in Germany last month and my T-Mobile service was LTE and blazing fast everywhere I went and I drove from Frankfurt to Strasbourg, back to Baden-Baden, Heidelberg and over to Mannheim. I think the service I had was better, faster and more reliable than at home in Florida. The 4 minutes of phone calls made without the benefit of wifi cost me one dollar more on my monthly bill. Last months bill showed usage of 7.15 gb of data costing $60 for 2 lines (plus the extra dollar for phone calls). I also used their free WIFI on my Delta flight coming.
In the FWIW department, I got such bad service at my 2nd home in rural Indiana that the local TM store gave me (read free!) a signal booster to use in my home that combines wifi and data signal to broadcast inside and it has worked fabulously for the past 6 years. I’m on the TM bandwagon and I intend to stay.
I used to be a Verizon customer back in the day (2002 – 2004). Back then, their service was really outstanding, and they had the high price to back it up. In July of 2005, I switched to T-Mobile. Price was a deciding factor when I switched, but I was also hopeful that T-Mobile will improve their service down the road. I’m glad I stuck it out with them. Anyway, Verizon allowed me to test drive their network for 30 days, recently. The switch from T-Mobile was seamless. I only had to use my unlocked phone to activate an eSIM profile and I was immediately on Verizon’s network. Unfortunately, that switch only lasted for a couple of hours before switching back to T-Mobile. LTE and 5G speeds in general were comparable to T-Mobile, but in most cases, they were slower. 5G coverage in my area was also worse than T-Mobile. Oh, and the amount of pre-installed third-party apps that came with Verizon, was ridiculous. T-Mobile has come a long way since 2005, and I honestly enjoy their service and the included perks that come with my Simple Choice grandfathered plan. I do some international travel every once in a while, and their unlimited text and data with low-rate cost for calls has been very useful during my travels. The one calling feature that I wish T-Mobile would provide, which Google Fi does, is the free international calling to select countries from the U.S. This is the one feature that could make me seriously reconsider staying with T-Mobile.
In November 1995, I was the first GSM customer in the US, on one of the predecessor companies that in the end were rolled up into T-Mobile at the end of year 2000. I have been on the unlimited international T-Mobile plan since it came out in the Fall of 2013. It has never failed me once, and it remains totally superior to the competition. Not even close.
If you have a business – Business Mobile Preferred is a great option from AT&T. Unlimited 256kbps in the day pass countries. In practice some are not throttled at all, and others are a more reasonable 10mbps. A true international carrier.
@Tavon – 256kbps is what T-Mobile includes free in all plans no matter where you go with no add-on.