EE Roaming Costs and FAQs

Roaming in Europe with EE - how much will it cost?

Since the UK left the European Union, UK networks are no longer required by law to provide free EU roaming.

As a result, EE has decided to reintroduce EU roaming charges for most of their pay monthly contracts, and all pay as you go SIMs.

With most EE contracts, you will now need to pay the following rate to use your regular allowances within the EU (EE Europe Zone):

• £2.59 per day (charged automatically when landing in an EU country)
• £15 for 7 days
• £21.50 for 12 days

However, there are some exceptions. Certain plans now include EU roaming at no additional cost:

• Essentials Plus
• Unlimited Essentials Plus
• Unlimited All Rounder
• Unlimited Full Works (also includes Zone 1 countries - see below)

In addition, if you’re on a contract that started before 7 July 2021, and you haven’t renewed your contract since, you’re still able to roam for free within the EU, just like pre-Brexit rules.

With a roaming pass, or if you're on an eligible plan that includes roaming, you'll be able to use your regular allowances as normal, including data (within 50GB fair usage limit - see below), minutes and texts. You'll also be able to make calls and texts within all eligible EU countries, and back to the UK.

If you’re on a pay as you go SIM, and you have an active 30-day plan or Saver plan, you must pay for a Roam like Home pass to use your allowance in the EU:

• £2.50 per day
• £10 for 7 days

Alternatively, pay as you go customers can pay for a data add-on for £3 for 500MB, which works within the EU and UK. A Roam like Home pass is not required when using the pay as you go data add-on within an EU country.

How will I be charged when roaming in Europe?

If you’re an EE pay monthly customer arriving in an EU country, you will automatically be billed £2.59 for a 24 hour roaming pass, unless your plan includes EU roaming, in which case you can roam at no additional cost.

Alternatively, you can purchase a 7-day pass for £15, or a 12-day pass for £21.50 at add-on.ee.co.uk. You will receive a text message with further details and options when arriving in an eligible country.

Which European countries are included with EE roaming?

The following 47 destinations are included in the EE Europe Zone.

How can I avoid EE roaming charges?

The easiest and most foolproof way to avoid roaming charges is to remove your EE SIM and use Wi-Fi whenever possible. If you have an eSIM, you can disable your EE eSIM from your phone’s settings.

Alternatively, you can disable automatic network selection and data roaming, which should also prevent roaming charges.

Either option means you won’t be able to make or receive calls/texts or use mobile data when outside the UK.

Otherwise, you may be charged. For example, if you land in an EU country with your EE phone, without taking the above precautions, you will automatically be charged for a £2.59 day roaming pass (unless you’re on a plan that includes free EU roaming).

Roaming outside of Europe

When arriving in a country outside of Europe, you’ll automatically receive a text from EE, which will give you the option to buy an international roaming pass.

Countries are divided into different Zones, which determines the price of the roaming pass, and how much of your allowance you can use.

If you choose not to buy a roaming pass, or you’re in a country that’s not eligible, you won’t be able to use any mobile data or other allowances. However, you will still be able to make calls and texts, but at £2.34 per minute or 93p per text. Of course, you'll still be able to connect to Wi-Fi for an internet connection at no cost.

Note that international roaming passes for countries outside of Europe are not available for pay as you go SIMs.

EE Zone 1

Zone 1 includes 33 countries. You can either buy a 24 hour pass or a 7-day pass.

• £5 for 24 hours
• £25 for 7 days

You will be able to use your regular allowance for data, calls and texts.

If you have an Unlimited Full Works plan, you will be eligible to roam within Zone 1 at no additional cost.

EE Zone 2

Zone 2 includes 18 countries. You can either buy a 24 hour pass or 7-day pass.

• £7.5 for 24 hours
• £37.50 for 7 days

You will be able to use your regular allowance for data, calls and texts.

EE Zone 3

Zone 3 includes 55 countries. You can only buy a 24 hour pass.

• £7.5 for 24 hours

You will be able to use your regular allowance for calls and texts, however you will only get 500MB for data.

EE Zone 4

Zone 4 includes 30 countries. You can only buy a 24 hour pass.

• £15 for 24 hours

You cannot use any of your allowances. On top of the day rate, you will also be charged £2.34 per minute for calls and 76p per text. You will receive 10MB of data, which is a very limited amount and unlikely to be of any practical use.

EE Pay as you go roaming

The rules and pricing for roaming with a pay as you go SIM are slightly different.

If you wish to roam within an EU country and you have a 30-day plan or Saver plan, you can buy a Roam like Home pass to use your regular allowances, including data, minutes and texts:

• £2.50 for 24 hours
• £10 for 7 days

You can buy a 30-day plan or Saver plan at any time, including when in an EU country.

EE will text you and give you an option to buy a Roam like Home pass when you arrive in an EU country. You must have enough credit, or else top-up before purchasing.

If you choose not to buy a Roam Like Home pass, or you don’t have a 30-day plan or Saver plan, you will be charged 70p a minute for calls and 30p per text, which will be deducted from your credit. In addition, if you wish to use data, you must purchase a 500MB data add-on for £3. You can buy consecutive data add-ons if you require more data.

Note that if you have a data add-on, you won't need to purchase a Roam like Home pass to use data within an EU country. You will however still need to purchase one if you wish to use your plan's normal allowances for calls and texts.

If you’re on a 30-day plan or Saver plan with a Roam like Home pass, but you run out of allowances, you can immediately buy another plan to renew your allowances by texting NOW to 150.

For countries outside of the EU, you won’t have access to any mobile data, and you won’t be able to purchase an international roaming pass. However, you’ll still be able to make calls and texts at £1.80 per minute and 60p per text.

Note that if you have a Safer SIM plan (child friendly SIM) roaming will not be available outside any country of the UK.

EE fair usage policy when roaming

EE has a roaming fair usage policy, which applies to either scenario:

1. Your plan’s data allowance is greater than 50GB
2. Your plan’s data allowance is less than 50GB, but you’ve added data add-on(s) to make it more than 50GB for the month

If either scenario is true, you cannot use more than 50GB. This applies if you have a roaming pass or you're on a plan that includes free roaming.

If you go over 50GB, you will be charged a hefty premium of 36p per MB, or £360 per GB. Note that EE will text you and give you enough time before this charge begins. The premium rate will continue until you return to the UK, or your monthly bill resets.

Note that if you're on a pay as you go plan, there is no fair usage policy when roaming.

Setting up your phone for roaming with EE

In order for roaming to work, you need to ensure the following:

1. Data roaming is enabled in your phone’s settings
2. Verify that the EE APN settings are correct

Without data roaming enabled and without the correct APN settings, EE won't be able to connect when you're abroad. The following steps should take no more than 5 minutes in total.

Enable data roaming

Enabling data roaming should take no more than 1 minute.

iPhone:

1. Go to Settings
2. Tap Mobile Service
3. Tap Mobile Data Options
4. Verify Data Roaming is on

If you have multiple SIM cards, the steps are slightly different:

1. Go to Settings
2. Tap your EE SIM card
3. Verify Data Roaming is enabled

Android:

Every Android phone has slightly different menus, but should be similar:

1. Open Settings
2. Tap Connections
3. Tap Mobile Networks
4. Verify Data roaming is enabled

Verify EE APN settings

EE has a simple tool to quickly download the correct APN settings to your phone. If you require further assistance, EE has a guide with more details.