They also upgraded international roaming for Magenta and Magenta Max. Now 256K unlimited international roaming is free for everyone. I read many threads that say it is perfectly fine for maps/navigation, email, text message and light surfing.

I am on a Magenta Military plan with other family members and it works out to $20/month all-in per line. How can anyone beat that for unlimited 5G data? T-Mobile is much improved in urban areas, but rural coverage can be spotty. I would say Verizon is better for broader coverage but T-Mobile is winning the 5G race for now.

I think latency is more important than speed. Most of the world is already in the process of dismantling their 3G networks and LTE Is fast. As long as I get LTE latency, but speed restricted to 256k, it's doable, but not ideal if you're doing heavy browsing. Having said that, the fine print does say the plan is primarily for use in the US. Heavy roaming is discouraged and could result in the suspension of the user if primary use isn't in the US.

I'm assuming you're not using this through your TMO plan?

Indeed, I think this is very exciting news, but TMO doesn't really like people roaming heavily on their plans. If TMO doesn't disconnect people for not primarily using it in the US, then this could be the ultimate travel plan.

I�m a T-Mobile plan member for over five years when I travel extensively never had an issue, I�ve read a few disconnects on the T-Mobile blogs. But those were the outliers. If you travel regularly don�t worry at all as long as you come back to the US every once in a while. If you�re living abroad for six months that�s a different issue

That's what I'm reading. Like I said earlier, if I have four lines, and I'm the only one that is living and roaming extensively outside the US, will it be just my line being disconnected or the entire account is canceled? I wish TMO would just make it easy for its users to use it however they want even if they're roaming extensively.

I think the big question is how long do you plan on being outside of the USA roaming for a period of uninterrupted time Without coming back to the USA

What if the travel situation is fluid? My understanding is not so much about travel outside the US uninterrupted, but rather how much of the usage is outside the US. Let's discuss what you posted for a bit. Let's say I am flying back to the US every month, but 90% of my usage is outside the US. What happens next? It's still not apparent to me whether my line will be disconnected or the entire account is canceled. I'm guessing no one here knows.

To T-Mobile’s credit, a clause similar to the current clause that explicitly disallows usage of your device that “results in more than 50% of your voice and/or data usage being Off-Net (i.e., connected to another provider’s network) for any 2 billing cycles within any 12-month period” has been present in T-Mobile’s Terms and Conditions since June 28, 2008. Most cell phone providers have a similar clause in their Terms and Conditions — T-Mobile is simply choosing to enforce it.

"free" considering that the difference between the post and prepaid plans are around 2X for the same data/voice packages. this is what is called paying for the 'free'.

All speculation aside regarding high usage risking cancellation, the subject of this post is the 256kbps data roaming. Who here thinks T-Mobile will activate their "Black Ops" team for this? I personally think those on either the 128k, or 256kbps will draw a pass on the excess data 51% rule. I suppose if you never use data except while overseas it could happen, but who does that?

sau54,
You could just run up your data usage when you return to the US to balance out the overseas amount. Heck, I've ran some zippy speedtests that used over 1Gb in one test on 5G.

Are they also taking aim at prepaid accounts that stay off US domestic mobile phone service network for months at a time but connect via WiFi calling from abroad? While those don�t get free international data, it seems like some of those prepaid TMobile accounts have had weird connectivity problems as of this year.

WiFi calling does not use T-Mobile data, so this is a non issue. You can turn off cellular and still use WiFi calling while roaming internationally. This is actually the best system since you cannot accidentally connect to cellular for your call. I do this on cruises frequently as a matter of fact.

I guess there is only one way to find out. I'm really tempted to sign up before the end of this summer to coincide with my tpac flights. Hopefully, TMO and UA will have everything sorted out by then.

I think it�s gonna be more like end of the year before T Mobile and United align

T-Mobile still has their trial 30 day, 30Gb FREE line available on their website. Why not enlist in that and see if your local service is something you can live with? You can download an esim from the app if your phone is compatible. Otherwise they will send you a free hotspot for the test. Here is a link to explore:

T-Mobile Test Drive

Some of the additional charges are offset with included perks per month, like Netflix = $10, AAA = $5, Apple+ = $5, Paramount + = $5, a free Samsung (Up To 4) 5G phone, and others. And I only pay $117 a month for 12 lines, 4 are free. I am now getting the 5Gb free high speed global data roaming on each line with 4 flights of unlimited WiFi. I don't think prepaid gets free lines ever, do they?