Forum Discussion
Deployed overseas coverage
My son is on my phone plan and is soon deploying to Romania with the Army. I just want to know do I need to add anything extra to be able to communicate with him? Or will I be charged extra if he calls me or I call him?
Sí.
In theory, you can call him (US number) , but his line will get charged for receiving.
IF he’s using ‘WiFi’ for calling/receiving, it won’t cost.
Bigger issue - 2 months of international roaming = getting the boot from T-Mobile.
At this point, we need to know what phone he has and if it is SIM-locked or unlocked. Unless you are on a military plan, T-Mobile will stomp on him for excessive roaming after a couple of months, and he could get his service canceled. He can avoid this by getting a local prepaid SIM and using it for all his data. Some phones (e.g. recent iPhones) allow you to run multiple eSIMs and have your T-Mobile SIM look like it's using WiFi Calling. This keeps T-Mobile happy and allows virtually unlimited overseas usage.
Thank your son for his service from us 😁
formercanuck wrote:
Sí.
In theory, you can call him (US number) , but his line will get charged for receiving.
IF he’s using ‘WiFi’ for calling/receiving, it won’t cost.
Bigger issue - 2 months of international roaming = getting the boot from T-Mobile.
formercanuck is fantastic for sharing the roaming link that shows you the price for usage. Your son will want to be aware of this when using his phone while in Romania.
drnewcomb wrote:
At this point, we need to know what phone he has and if it is SIM-locked or unlocked. Unless you are on a military plan, T-Mobile will stomp on him for excessive roaming after a couple of months, and he could get his service canceled. He can avoid this by getting a local prepaid SIM and using it for all his data. Some phones (e.g. recent iPhones) allow you to run multiple eSIMs and have your T-Mobile SIM look like it's using WiFi Calling. This keeps T-Mobile happy and allows virtually unlimited overseas usage.
Getting the phone unlocked and putting in a Romanian sim can be easier, but I don't know what their rates are for calling back to the US. Keeping the T-Mobile sim and using Wifi calling to and from the US is going to be the most cost effective way to stay in touch.
We do have policies for excessive roaming because we are a US company and should be used primarily in the US, BUT there is an exemption for members of military on active duty. You can send me a direct message and I will get you the info you need for that excemption process.
