One of the things I love about my T-Mobile data plan is that I get free texting and data abroad in 140 countries around the world. Since I go to Canada often, I love the fact that I can use my phone there the same as I do when I’m home in the U.S. The unlimited talk-and-text allotment is the same (up to 5GB of 4G LTE data) in Canada as it is at home (and Mexico, too). The data outside North America is just 2G, so my phone isn’t fast, but at least it’s free. Phone calls are also $0.20 a minute when I’m outside of North America.
However, this week in Toronto my wife and I were both having problems getting our T-Mobile data to work unless we were on Wi-Fi. This meant that we couldn’t check emails, FaceTime or surf the web unless we were on the Wi-Fi, which wasn’t very convenient. I called T-Mobile’s hotline (dial 611) and a friendly representative tried to troubleshoot my problem but ultimately couldn’t. Since my wife and I both have iPhone Xs, the representative said the problem wasn’t on our end and so transferred me to a specialist.
Here’s how the specialist fixed it. He told me to:
- Dial #766# as it turns on data roaming.
- Reset your network settings (on iPhone you go to Settings >>> General >>> Reset and select Reset Network Settings). This erases all your stored Wi-Fi passwords, which is kind of a pain. The phone will then automatically restart (be sure to turn data roaming on again in Cellular when it turns back on).
Once the phone was back on, it worked! But a couple days later, our phones stopped working again. This time, I restarted my phone and dialed #766# and it worked again. The same thing happened every few days while we were in Toronto and each time we needed to repeat the process, which wasn’t ideal (it seems like something is up with their system), but this did fix it each time.
Here’s T-Mobile’s page on troubleshooting international service problems. Hopefully, this helps.
Related:
- T-Mobile Adding More Countries to Its Global Coverage
- You Can Now Send Free Messages Over Wi-Fi on Delta Flights
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I have used the T-Mobile While roaming internationally (+1-505-998-3793) number and just wanted to let fellow T mobile customers know that even though the area code is 505 you are not charged for the call. On a trip to Ireland I had trouble connecting called the number and the rep was great he got my phone up and running and even called a few hours later to make sure it was still working correctly.
Good to know!
Hi Johnny, Re: T-Mobile, you write: “The data outside North America is just 2G, so my phone isn’t fast, but at least it’s free.” My husband and I used our T-Mobile phones during the two weeks we spent in Rome last year and learned that for $10/per phone per month you can upgrade to 4G while overseas. Definitely worth it!
Yes, you can! Glad you did it.