T-Mobile International Data Roaming: Didn't (and Apparently Can't)

Exercise for the reader

1. Buy an iPad (or pretend to have) for T-Mobile’s network.
2. Try to sign up for a plan on T-Mobile’s site that is a Simple Choice plan without buying another device. Hint: start here.
3. With this non-existent opportunity, you will get free international global data roaming. Isn’t that special?

Exercise 2 for the reader

1. Buy an iPad configured for T-Mobile from Apple.
2. Wait extra fucking weeks to get the damn thing because T-Mobile.
3. Activate your 200MB free data. Woohoo!
4. Oh. You want to travel. Add a paid plan.

Guess what? Your international plan, even though it costs the same amount of money, will not get you international data, and that is not disclosed.

Leave the country. Visit a capital city of another country. Note that you do not have data roaming. Contact T-Mobile support.

Hello Deirdre, I reviewed your account and I do see it set up correctly with no restrictions. Unfortunately we are not always able to guarantee full functionality while overseas.

Even. Though. The. People. With. T-Mobile. Voice. Plans. Are. Having. No. Issues.

Come home. Contact T-Mobile support before your new trip.

Get the following e-mail.

Our apologies but for Pay in Advance accounts (including your prepaid data plan), international data roaming is not available at this time. We do hope to see this change in the future, but for now, you would be unable to use your iPad internationally on a Pay in Advance plan.

Even. Though. It. Costs. The Same. Amount. Of. Money. As. The. Other. Plan.

This from a company that doesn’t even believe in plans.

And, from another e-mail.

In order to use the tablet while internationally roaming, we would need to have this attached to a postpaid voice line […].

Which — it does not say on the page I linked to, does it. Maybe that’s the way to “patch” the current non-functional plan I have, but, if I bought my device directly from T-Mobile, I’d be able to have, for the same amount of money as the plan I did purchase, a plan that covered international data.

Because the thing I really want to do when I’ve been jerked around by a company is give them more of my business, right?

There’s nothing polite I can possibly say here.

• travel

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