In most cases, your BT Mobile SIM is already set up to use abroad - data use and overall connection varies from country to country. Please check your destination against the lists on this page. Generally, You won’t need to do anything.
Get ready to roam
To get the best network coverage, make sure your handset can automatically select a network.
There's no need to use a UK country code (+44) to call home.
BT Mobile is restricted in some countries
BT Mobile works in most countries. There are a few places where you can't use data roaming although you can still make calls.
These are:
- Angola
- Bahamas
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Djibouti
- Equatorial Guinea
- Ethiopia
- Falkland Islands
- Gambia
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Guinea Bissau
- Iran
- Kyrgyzstan Republic
- Libya
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Monaco
- Nepal
- Niger
- Papua New Guinea
- San Marino
- Sierra Leone
- St Pierre and Miquelon
- Suriname
- Sudan
- Swaziland
- Syria
- Togo
- Tonga
- Turkmenistan
- Uzbekistan
SIM Only plans - bought since 1 September 2020 come with SIMs that are 5G ready, so you’re all set to make the most of everything 5G has to offer. You just need to use the SIM in a 5G device and be in a 5G area.
Family SIM plans - bought since 13 November 2020 come with SIMs that are 5G ready. To make the most of everything 5G has to offer, you need to use the SIMs in a 5G device and be in a 5G area.
If you bought a 5G device handset plan before 1 September 2020 and you're in a 5G area, you can get speeds that are around 10 times faster than 4G.
Roaming won't be initially available for your 5G plan, so if you use your 5G phone abroad, you might not get 5G data speeds. Your phone will still work, but could be using 4G, 3G or even 2G, depending on the network in the country you are in.
We can't guarantee that BT Mobile Parental Controls will work when you use your phone abroad.
Parental controls only apply when connected to a mobile network and not whilst on WiFi.
When you go abroad your BT Mobile phone will work just like it does at home. But to connect to some networks in certain countries you may have to manually turn off 4G and use 3G instead.
Once you've done that, just pick a network from the list on your phone. If there are no issues with the networks in the country you're visiting, you may need to change your network settings.
Find out how to change the settings on your phone >
The countries and networks where this applies are:
| Country | Network |
| Angola | Movicel |
| Czech Republic | Telefonica O2 |
| Dominican Republic | Orange Dominicana |
| Finland | DNA |
| Germany | Deutsche Telekom |
| Hungary | T-Mobile |
| Japan | eAccess |
| Latvia | LMT |
| Mauritius | Emtel, Orange |
| Namibia | MTC |
| Philippines | Smart |
| Poland | Mobyland / CenterNet |
| Saudi Arabia | Zain |
| Singapore | StarHub |
| Slovak Republic | Telefonica O2 |
| Slovenia | Si.mobil |
| UAE | Du, Etisalat |
| USA | T-Mobile |
| Venezuela | Digitiel |
- Ascension Island
- Christmas Islands
- Cocos Islands
- Comoros
- Diego Garcia
- East Timor
- Eritrea
- French Polynesia
- Kiribati
- Marshall Islands
- Mayotte
- Micronesia
- Nauru
- New Caledonia
- Niue
- Norfolk Island
- North Korea
- Northern Marianas
- Palau
- Rodriguez Island
- Ross Island
- Samoa (US)
- Western Samoa
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- St Helena
- Tokelau
- Tuvalu
Using other mobile provider when I'm roaming abroad
You might have read about something called local breakout (known as LBO) that lets you take your data services (but not texts or voice calls) from another provider when you're roaming in an EU country.
There are no alternative roaming providers working with BT Mobile. BT Mobile should give you all you need to roam abroad.
Using your plan allowance abroad
You can use your plan in over 40 destinations. Depending on your plan, you may be charged for making calls.
What you need to do before going abroad
• You need to use your SIM card in a device that receives text messages. This is so we can send you information about using our services abroad. We'll also messages you to help you keep on top of your mobile spend.
• To help you keep on top of your mobile spend.
• Different countries charge different amounts for data, texts and calls. So, l check international rates before you travel..
• To stop, you having an unexpected bill, we cap the amount of data you can use when abroad to £35. You can change this by going to www.bt.com/mymobile >.
• You might want to think about a BT Mobile data add-on for when you're abroad. It can help keep costs down because you buy several MB of data in one go so the price per MB is lower.
• Or you can simply turn off data in the settings section of your phone.
• Find out about how we can help you manage how much you spend on your mobile when you're away.
Roaming while in the USA
To minimise disruption to your roaming experience, we have made 4G Calling available while in the US. However, this is dependent on the US operator’s network availability and device compatibility.
4G Calling will allow you to continue to make and receive calls and SMS over the US network’s 4G network. So with more network capacity this will improving call setup times, call quality and allow you to continue to use your data roaming at faster speeds.
• 4G Calling works with iPhone 6 and above, if you have a mobile plan with us.
• 4G Calling may also work with some Android phones, if you have a plan with us.
To access 4G Calling abroad, you’ll need to make sure your phone is updated to the latest software version and you have Voice over 4G available whilst in the UK.
4G might not be available in some areas, in these cases we advise you to connect to T-Mobile, using the device’s manual selection within the settings menu.
Customers who do not have a 4G calling compatible device are advised to ensure their device is on the T-Mobile network (2G) which would allow voice and SMS, however please note call quality will be lower as a result and data service may be paused during the call.
Data roaming
To make sure you can use your devices while abroad, we work with partner network operators around the world to enable roaming access to their networks.
Many operators are looking to upgrade their networks to expand 4G and 5G coverage or services and to do so requires the switch of older technologies.
Unfortunately, this is out of BT’s control, however we will continue to ensure 4G Calling is made available.
How do I turn international roaming on and off?
Log into www.bt.com/mymobile > to turn international roaming on and off.
Having problems using mobile data abroad
When you first get BT Mobile, we'll text you some instructions to guide you in setting up your device.
Before you go abroad:
• Manually set-up your phone to work with BT Mobile.
• Check if the country you’re in allows you to use roaming pass.