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Overseas Travel: How can I avoid incoming call costs but still use free text/data roaming while abroad?
We're planning to travel to Europe later this year and would like to take advantage of T-Mobile's free international text/data roaming. However, I saw that incoming calls are charged at one minut...
Great question. The easiest way to do this is to enable unconditional call forwarding. This will tell the network to immediately forward the call to a selected number without trying to pin you first which is where the charge comes from.
To enable unconditional call forwarding, you will need to follow these steps https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-4041#secondheading
Dial **21*18056377249# from your phone to enable CFU and ##21# to turn it off when you are back in the states and want to resume being able to get calls.
The 18056377249 number is the same number that your calls are forwarded to when you do not answer the phone so that the people calling you can leave a VM. Since we are enabling unconditional call forwarding, the call will be automatically routed there instead of ringing your phone first.
https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/international-roaming-checklist still says as of 8/2022:
Calling while abroad
Incoming calls are routed automatically to your phone...
Your voicemail password & charges
Great news, there's no extra charge for people leaving a voicemail in your inbox when you are roaming internationally. However, you will be charged for the following:
If your phone is on when you get an incoming call, even if you don't answer it and it goes to voicemail, the call is charged one minute for the call coming into the phone. (There are no charges at all if your phone is turned off.)
If you call your voicemail from your mobile phone to listen to messages, that call will be charged at the international roaming rate of the country you're in.
If you don't want to be charged for listening to your messages, you can access your voicemail from a landline or other phone. You'll need your voicemail password (the one you selected during voicemail setup). If you've forgotten your password, you can reset it by contacting T-Mobile Customer Service.
From a landline or other phone, call your mobile number and have it go to voicemail.
Interrupt your voicemail greeting by pressing * (the star key).
When it tells you to, enter your voicemail password.
Follow the menu options to check your voicemail messages.
Note: Keep in mind, the landline or other phone you're using may charge you long distance fees when calling your phone to get your messages. Check into that ahead of time so you know what to expect.
