Changing mobile carriers

I signed up with a contract with T Mobile last October, and since it's such a recent carrier change my phone isn't eligible to be unlocked. Luckily I can use it pretty freely in the UK, but I will want a UK number soon. What do you guys plan to do/what have you done? I'm wondering if it's possible to switch from T Mobile to EE since they're partners in the UK, but when I called T Mobile they couldn't give me an answer about it

I signed up with a contract with T Mobile last October, and since it's such a recent carrier change my phone isn't eligible to be unlocked. Luckily I can use it pretty freely in the UK, but I will want a UK number soon. What do you guys plan to do/what have you done? I'm wondering if it's possible to switch from T Mobile to EE since they're partners in the UK, but when I called T Mobile they couldn't give me an answer about it

What kind of phone is it?  I thought all the manufacturers had to provide for phones to be unlocked as some kind of EU regulation but don't quote me on that.  I'd also think you can probably get it unlocked in some dodgy phone shop. 
Once it's unlocked, buy a SIM only  plan, they are cheap as chips.  I think the three plan even includes free roaming in the states. 

What kind of phone is it?  I thought all the manufacturers had to provide for phones to be unlocked as some kind of EU regulation but don't quote me on that.  I'd also think you can probably get it unlocked in some dodgy phone shop. 
Once it's unlocked, buy a SIM only  plan, they are cheap as chips.  I think the three plan even includes free roaming in the states.

It's an iPhone 8+. Since it's US I don't know if they have to abide by EU regulations about unlocking. They can unlock it if you've been with T Mobile for long enough, but I haven't been with them long

I might just try to buy a SIM only plan and see if it works with my phone when it's locked. I looked through other posts about it and it looks like other people got lucky doing that!

I have an unlocked iPhone 6 Plus and I went with o2. For our area it’s cheaper than EE with better coverage. I have a sim only plan, unlimited minutes and texts for £20.

I signed up with a contract with T Mobile last October, and since it's such a recent carrier change my phone isn't eligible to be unlocked. Luckily I can use it pretty freely in the UK, but I will want a UK number soon. What do you guys plan to do/what have you done? I'm wondering if it's possible to switch from T Mobile to EE since they're partners in the UK, but when I called T Mobile they couldn't give me an answer about it

Our situations are a little different, but I'll reply with my best answer! I've been with T-Mobile for 2 years. I bought a brand new Samsung Galaxy S7 in 2016, and paid it off just a couple months ago in May. Because it was paid off, the "unlock" feature on my phone was enabled. I went into the T-Mobile store and they unlocked it for me right then and there. That being said, the cell phone HAS to be paid off before they can unlock it! I think since I don't "owe" them anything anymore, it wasn't an issue. I'll be canceling my T-Mobile service on the 27th August, because I do NOT want to be billed for September. My debit card is blocked in the UK so if it tries to pull a September payment it won't work and I don't want that hassle. However, I will be in the US until 4 Sept, then in France until 10 Sept, so I'll be without a network for close to 2 weeks. But since the phone is unlocked, I can get a UK number rather easily. I've also considered EE, but I might just use the carrier my husband uses to make things easier.

I know you said T-Mobile didn't let you unlock yet. Any idea how long until they do? The network SUCKS in the UK! I don't know if you've used them while traveling there. You get 2G speeds, opposed to the 4GLTE Speeds in the states. It's awful. You can use things like WhatsApp, Messenger, and the other messaging essentials, but any other network-using apps don't work anymore. Facebook, Snapchat, GPS, etc don't work on 2G speeds. That being said, I was on the North America plan. Perhaps you can adjust your plan so you have more international coverage...there are options. Good luck!!!

Our situations are a little different, but I'll reply with my best answer! I've been with T-Mobile for 2 years. I bought a brand new Samsung Galaxy S7 in 2016, and paid it off just a couple months ago in May. Because it was paid off, the "unlock" feature on my phone was enabled. I went into the T-Mobile store and they unlocked it for me right then and there. That being said, the cell phone HAS to be paid off before they can unlock it! I think since I don't "owe" them anything anymore, it wasn't an issue. I'll be canceling my T-Mobile service on the 27th August, because I do NOT want to be billed for September. My debit card is blocked in the UK so if it tries to pull a September payment it won't work and I don't want that hassle. However, I will be in the US until 4 Sept, then in France until 10 Sept, so I'll be without a network for close to 2 weeks. But since the phone is unlocked, I can get a UK number rather easily. I've also considered EE, but I might just use the carrier my husband uses to make things easier.

I know you said T-Mobile didn't let you unlock yet. Any idea how long until they do? The network SUCKS in the UK! I don't know if you've used them while traveling there. You get 2G speeds, opposed to the 4GLTE Speeds in the states. It's awful. You can use things like WhatsApp, Messenger, and the other messaging essentials, but any other network-using apps don't work anymore. Facebook, Snapchat, GPS, etc don't work on 2G speeds. That being said, I was on the North America plan. Perhaps you can adjust your plan so you have more international coverage...there are options. Good luck!!!

Somehow my dad talked T Mobile into unlocking it! No clue how he did it since we haven't been with them long enough but he did it lol. Which is great because I've had the same bad experiences you have with their network speeds in the UK, it's awful. Hopefully you can get a new carrier soon! Have you decided which one you're going with? I was looking online today and SIM only plans are crazy affordable compared to the US

Somehow my dad talked T Mobile into unlocking it! No clue how he did it since we haven't been with them long enough but he did it lol. Which is great because I've had the same bad experiences you have with their network speeds in the UK, it's awful. Hopefully you can get a new carrier soon! Have you decided which one you're going with? I was looking online today and SIM only plans are crazy affordable compared to the US

I had T-Mobile when I first moved over and it was just as good as any of the other carriers where I live in the East Midlands, so it must have changed since then. Even at that time they were a part of EE, I had 3G and could use all my apps, (hangouts, iMessage to my friends who had iPhones).
I wonder why they downgraded it? I had T-Mobile from 2014-16.
What I hated was the UK didn't have visual voicemail on the iPhone like the US and it STILL didn't have it in 2016. I wonder if that changed yet?

Wow i'm surprised they unlocked it considering the phone hasn't been paid off. Since that's their only guarantee, like a collateral. Maybe your dad secretly paid it off as a gift haha

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Somehow my dad talked T Mobile into unlocking it! No clue how he did it since we haven't been with them long enough but he did it lol. Which is great because I've had the same bad experiences you have with their network speeds in the UK, it's awful. Hopefully you can get a new carrier soon! Have you decided which one you're going with? I was looking online today and SIM only plans are crazy affordable compared to the US

That's wonderful! No, I haven't thought much about it....I know that EE is like a "sister company" but since I'm cutting ties with T-Mobile, that fact won't really matter anymore. I might join in on Tom's plan...or his carrier just to keep them the same. I'll be without a network for a couple weeks and to be honest, I haven't given it much thought yet! I just want to get over there LOL

Glad you got it unlocked. In the past, I went to the mall to one of those independent cellphone kiosks and they unlocked a previous iPhone I had right there. So there are definitely ways to do it outside of the carrier. But I'm glad you were able to get it done.

The 3 times I've traveled over to the UK, I also bought the pre-paid SIM cards and popped them in. You are right, SO cheap compared to our ridiculously expensive cell companies here. I've tried O2, EE and I think Verizon? I can't remember. I still have the SIM cards at home. O2 was horrible for when we were traveling. So sporadic when we'd have coverage.

I definitely think its a good idea to ask around like this and get peoples opinions based on where you'll be. Someone in one part of the country may have a completely different experience with the same company as someone in a different part of the country.

If you'll be having cable tv/internet you may be able to get a sim card with that company. We have Sky broadband and they gave us an unlimited text/voice sim (with some data, which we don't use) for 5 pounds a month. We've also used EE pay-as-you-go and were happy with it. Right now I have an 02 sim for our second "dumb" phone, and have put 20 pounds credit on it. Any outgoing calls/texts I make are debited off that balance - which is fine, as it's pretty much a "for emergencies" or "I took the wrong bus, where the hell am I? " calls. And as long as I use it at least once in six months, it'll roll over indefinitely.