draver

I've been shadowing the US Mobile Reddit posts recently and it seems they are adding some features we may find useful for travel communication. The main feature I'm most interested in, is the free WiFi calling while roaming internationally. This is different than what my main carrier, T-Mobile graciously provides. According to their staff over chat, their Shared and Unlimited plans offer free WiFi calling WHILE IN a foreign country TO a foreign number. This is very different to the $.25 a minute T-Mobile charges for calls abroad. They state that 200+ countries are available. Both plans are available on sim cards or esim. I could not find a comprehensive list of countries included, however a search page is posted. It included the usual locations, so I suspect it's similar to the other carrier listings. This is useful to me for several reasons. The Shared "Warp 5G" plan @$10 a month includes 2Gb data, unlimited talk & text on either Verizon or T-Mobile in the US. This plan qualifies for the roaming service I described. I subscribed for a trip to Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore I start tonight. That is partially a land tour and a cruise also. I will be testing this free voice WiFi plan as much as possible and will report it's performance to this forum.

Basically, if this pans out, for chump change monthly ($10 total, inc. tax & fees, Shared Plan) I will get 2Gb of VZ data with unlimited talk & text in the US. This is intended as a fallback to my current T-Mobile service. Not a big deal, not a lot of money. However, having free roaming via WiFi calling included IS a big deal, since few esim carriers have voice service for roaming. Or, they charge extra like T-Mobile's $.25 a minute fee. This seems to make a cheap US Mobile plan a win/win for both US & roaming features.

I also intend to try to configure the USM line to use IMS just because. I travel with spare phones to use as hotspots, but it would be slightly more convenient to have it all in one device utilizing IMS.

serpens

Thanks for posting this, although it does seem to fall into the "too good to be true" category.
Do you know if I could get one phone on Verizon and one phone on T-Mobile on this plan? I couldn't find anything at the US Mobile site about choosing a carrier. Also, the plan says that I can have a tablet; would that just be another SIM and the device would not have voice capability? Since additional devices are $8 per month, that's three devices with 2 GB shared data for $26 per month (and $2 per GB for additional data) all in (it says taxes and fees included). It's so amazing that I feel I must be missing something.

That implies you have an additional SIM (like Airalo) for local service, doesn't it?

I look forward to your report on the plan's performance on your trip. Thanks.

draver

I have 5Gb free high speed roaming on each of 7 T-Mobile lines, so my dual sim iPhone 15 Pro Max is a good tool for this experiment. Some feedback on Reddit from US Mobile support implies IMS should work. I have some concerns, since the Verizon USM service does not allow for carrier choice in Settings. For IMS, the voice line needs to be on a non roaming carrier before it defaults to simulated WiFi off of the data line. Perhaps since it probably has no roaming partner, it will work. Their number and available country list is impressive. They claim over 200, and the common countries were well represented. They also have very good customer service, with helpful, knowledgeable reps.

The US Mobile offerings are pretty attractive. I tested them a few months back, and the setup and Verizon service was first rate. My current trip will help me decide if it's worth the $10 to keep a backup plan for the US, and have it also provide free, included voice service for roaming trips. T-Mobile has improved coverage so much in the past 2 years, that a backup hasn't been needed where I've been.

HockeyCoachBen

While traveling abroad are you trying to call back to the US or to other international phone numbers? Because, WiFi calling while abroad on T-Mobile is FREE to the US (or your "home area" if on applicable plan). So for my plan while I'm abroad, all WiFi calling for me to the US, Canada and Mexico is free. On cellular its .25¢ per minute.

gfunkdave

Do you mean US Cellular? I've never heard of US Mobile.

serpens

I believe draver does mean US Mobile. See https://www.usmobile.com/.

draver

No, they state the WiFi service allows WiFi calling while roaming internationally to foreign numbers. I was very specific asking about that in chat and also on Reddit. Another Reddit user posted about making calls from Italy to Portugal over WiFi with no charges. Since I have T-Mobile and have been using the To/From US calling over WiFi, my interest was piqued by the in country free calling on US Mobile.

I have been a moderate advocate here on FT for IMS calling while internationally roaming for a while. This potential for expanding that feature to include foreign calls while roaming is what prompted me to start this thread.

TGarza

IMS is WiFi calling using cellular data. I am curious if IMS would work the same to international numbers. I searched the US Mobile website and couldn’t find confirmation of the free WiFi calling to international numbers when traveling.

I am a proponent of IMS, back up calling, DSDV or whatever term Apple, Google or Samsung uses. I view these as pro consumer which has saved me for my international trips which will increase in the next year.

Kgmm77

I know my own (non-US) carrier restricts ex-international WiFi calling by way of geoblocking (annoyingly). They sell the service primarily as a way to overcome cell black spots at home and in buildings (where many customers will have unlimited free minutes so it’s cost neutral whether the call uses WiFi or cell), whereas using it to avoid roaming charges when travelling internationally I guess eats into valuable revenue.

draver

The US Mobile website is very dynamic, and the WiFi calling feature has not been specifically included to my knowledge. They have recently (Past Week Or So) revised features & pricing and that will probably be included soon. They have stated on Reddit and chat that they consider a WiFi call while roaming to have originated in the US for billing purposes and they have free WiFi calling currently on their Unlimited & Shared data on Warp 5G plans.(Verizon)

HockeyCoachBen

I think you got some very bad advice from an employee. I spent a month in Europe and the Middle East this summer, made over 100+ minutes of WiFi calls back to the US & Canada and was charged a grand total of $0 on my bill.

Here's a quote from a T-Mobile employee on their official help site, "When you’re outside the US, you can use Wi-Fi calling to call back to the US for free. "

And a T-Mobile employee on Reddit... "[...]calling back to the US while abroad is free as long as the call is placed over WiFi."

I also just reached out to a friend of mine in senior management with T-Mobile and will post a screenshot of his response here when it's received.

TGarza

Curious the country with companies using geo blocking for WiFi calling. Is it blocked outside the country after X distance?

Kgmm77

Three Ireland for one. I presume they use a combination of IP and gps or location data (to get around VPN usage). It’s also clearly restricted in the T&Cs.

draver

My postings have never been on or about T-Mobile WiFi calling, so I apologize if they seemed to be. They are one of the carriers the MVNO US Mobile and its’ plans that are based on, along with Verizon service. Those plans are called “Warp 5G”. Currently they offer 3 Warp plans that utilize the VZ US carrier that have foreign roaming. They are called “Unlimited Starter, Unlimited Premium, and Shared Data”.

I am a fan of the IMS (Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem) function on dual sim phones that allow it. I use my T-Mobile service for the data line component of that, and perhaps that discussion is where you were confused. It has been discussed here on FT for the past 2 years or so. T-Mobile only provides the data service that is necessary for IMS capability. As I mentioned, I have several TM lines available with their included free international data roaming, and use it every trip. A search on FT or the web would probably clear up many of any questions you may have.

Roaming data is data, it doesn’t matter if it’s Airalo or T-Mobile. It is only the medium within which IMS functions. You probably didn’t mention how their roaming data was being used to your friend, or they are ignorant of it’s capabilities also.

docbert

I've been using US Mobile for about 6 months. Obviously they have a few different plans (and seem to change their plans almost monthly) so the exact details might vary, but...

You're mixing two mostly unrelated concepts here, so lets address them individually. Firstly, Wifi calling. Yes, they support it. Yes, it works (with one catch) over both wifi as well as over a data connection from a second SIM if your phone supports that. I've used this extensively in multiple different countries without issue. The catch I mentioned is that if you're on their Warp 5G (Verizon) network, then you can NOT enable 'Backup Calling' on a Google Pixel device - which means you can't make "Wifi" calls over a separate data SIM. I can't speak for other phones as I haven't tried it, but it does work fine when using the US Mobile "GSM 5G" (T-Mobile) network. (From here on, where I say "Wifi calling" I mean both over Wifi and over a 2nd data SIM)

Wifi calling has nothing to do with your location. It works exactly the same if you're in the US or in Antarctica - in fact for the most part they won't even know where you are. So that covers the "WHILE IN a foreign country" part of your question - it'll work fine.

Which brings us to the "TO a foreign number" part. All of their plans (except the Light and Kosher plans, where it's an extra $2-3/month) include international calls TO a number of countries. This is explicitly listed on their website as being "Int’l calls from US" - but if you're using Wifi calling then for the purposes of this you ARE coming "from the US", so calls to those countries ARE included, and are free - just like they would be if you were physically in the US using Wifi calling.

Put those two concepts together, and yes, you can call using Wifi calling FROM any country, TO any country on their "included countries" list for free. I've used the Wifi calling (both over WiFi and a separate data SIM) part of this from about 8 different countries now, and it's worked fine from all of them. I haven't used it to call a non-US number as I'm on their Light plan that doesn't include that, but I have sent SMS to foreign numbers which uses (basically) the same mechanism and it's worked fine.

Yes and no. T-Mobile also allow Wifi calling from overseas for free, as (as far as I'm aware) do all US carriers that support Wifi calling. The T-Mobile 25/cents thing you're referring to is for standard roaming - ie, calls going over the mobile network, not over a data network (wifi or from a 2nd SIM). US Mobile do also offer calls over the mobile network, as well as roaming data, but it's not included in their 'sharable' plans and has to be purchased separately ($15/1GB data if I recall, not sure about calls). It IS available in their unlimited plans, but those start at $29/month unless you want to pay annually.

https://www.usmobile.com/international-calling

That's not quite correct. The "Warp 5G" plan is Verizon only. The "GSM 5G" plan is T-Mobile only. ie, whilst US Mobile supports both networks, you pick which one you want to be on - you don't get both at once. You can change between them, but it involved an "internal port" and you lose the rest of your current months service and have to pay for a new month on the new carrier.

The Warp 5G plans do NOT currently have roaming data/calls. That feature is "coming soon". Only the "GSM 5G" (T-Mobile) plans have that today.

Yes and no. The problem is that no phones (that I'm aware of) allow you to make a "Wifi" call over the data channel of the same SIM. ie, If you're overseas and you have (only) a roaming T-Mobile SIM, and you make a call, it's going to make a roaming call over the "voice" network. (Technically this gets confusing because it'll actually be a VoLTE call, so technically it's over the data network as that's what all 4G calls are, but just lets ignore that for a moment). Thus T-Mobile will charge this as a voice call, and you'll get hit with roaming charges for it. If you've 2 SIMs (say T-Mobile and Airalo), and if your phone supports it, then you can tell the phone to route the T-Mobile call over the Airalo data connection, and T-Mobile sees it as a Wifi call - and it's free.