EE Roaming in USA: Charges, Roaming Pass and How It Works in 2026

Most EE customers heading to the US assume their phone will just work. It will. The problem is the bill that follows.

EE does roam in the USA, but the cost varies wildly depending on your plan and a lot of people find this out after the fact. If you're on the wrong setup, calls run at £2.34 a minute. Data without a pass is essentially unusable. A week in New York on pay-as-you-go rates could cost more than your flights.

This guide covers what EE actually charges for roaming in the USA, which plans include it for free, how the Roam Abroad Pass works, what to do if EE stops working when you land and whether skipping EE roaming altogether for a travel eSIM is worth it.

Key takeaways

• EE roaming works in the USA but is not free on all plans, only the Full Works and All Rounder plans include it.
• Without a roaming pass, Pay Monthly pay-as-you-go rates are £2.34/min for calls and £0.93 per text.
• The EE Daily Roaming Pass costs £5/day; the 7-Day Pass is £25/week.
• Pay As You Go customers can buy data add-ons from £3/day rather than paying standard rates.
• EE roaming not working is usually a settings issue and is fixable in under two minutes.

Does EE roaming work in the USA?

Yes. EE has roaming agreements with major US carriers including AT&T and T-Mobile, which means your EE SIM will connect to a local network when you land. Calls, texts, and mobile data all work. The catch is the cost. EE places the USA in what it calls "Zone 1," alongside Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico.

Zone 1 destinations are not included in standard EU roaming, which many EE customers assume covers them. It does not. EU roaming and Zone 1 roaming are different products, and confusing the two is the most common reason EE customers get a surprise bill after a US trip.

The other thing worth knowing upfront: roaming abroad with EE does not activate automatically in a useful way. Your phone will connect to a US network, but unless your plan includes roaming or you've purchased a pass, you'll be billed at pay-as-you-go rates, which are high.

What works when you roam with EE in the USA:

• Mobile data (with a pass or add-on)
• Calls and receiving calls
• Sending and receiving texts
• Picture messages
• Voicemail (at call rates)

What does not work abroad:

WiFi Calling, EE only supports this in the UK; turn it off before you travel to avoid being charged international rates on Wi-Fi calls

EE roaming charges in the USA

If you don't have a roaming pass and your plan doesn't include Zone 1 roaming, these are the rates you'll pay.

Pay As You Go rates (Zone 1 – USA)

Pay Monthly pay-as-you-go rates (no roaming pass active)

A 20-minute call home without a pass on a Pay Monthly plan costs £46.80. This is what happens when people forget to set things up before travelling. Don't be that person.

EE Roaming Pass USA explained

The EE Roam Abroad Pass is how most Pay Monthly customers without plan-included roaming get around these charges. Instead of paying per minute and per text, you pay a flat daily or weekly fee and use your existing UK allowances: minutes, texts, and data, just as you would at home. EE Roaming Pass options for the USA:

The Daily Pass activates the moment you use your phone abroad: make a call, send a text, open an app that uses data. You don't need to manually switch it on, but that also means you can accidentally trigger it by opening WhatsApp in the taxi from the airport. If you want control, switch to airplane mode on landing and only come off it once you're ready to start a paid day.

The 7-Day Pass must be purchased before or during your trip through the EE app. At £25 for seven days versus £35 for seven daily passes, it saves £10 on a full week. For a two-week trip, two 7-Day Passes at £50 total is significantly cheaper than fourteen Daily Passes at £70.

Both passes let you use your UK data allowance while abroad. If you hit your data limit, calls are charged at £1.66/min and texts at £0.82 each, so monitoring your balance matters. Text BALANCE to 150 to check.

Go Further Add-on: Pay Monthly customers on Essentials or SIM-only plans can activate this for £10/month with a 6-month minimum. It uses your UK data allowance while abroad and continues automatically after the initial term unless you cancel it.

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Is EE roaming free in the USA?

For most EE customers, no. EE roaming in the USA is not free by default. However, two specific Pay Monthly plans do include it at no extra charge:

• EE Full Works plan includes Zone 1 roaming. Use your UK data, minutes, and texts in the US with no daily fee and no additional charge. Zone 1 covers the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico. If you travel frequently to these destinations, the Full Works plan is worth checking against your current plan cost.
• EE All Rounder plan includes one "Inclusive Extra" – a monthly add-on of your choice, which can be the Roam Abroad Pass. If you've selected this as your Inclusive Extra, roaming in the USA is included. You can change your Inclusive Extra once per month through the EE app. If you've chosen something else (Netflix, Apple Music, etc.), you'll need to pay £10/month to add roaming separately.

Plans where EE roaming in the USA is not free:

If you're unsure which plan you're on, open the My EE app, your plan name and included extras are shown on the home screen.

EE data roaming in the USA: speed and coverage

EE uses AT&T and T-Mobile as its primary US roaming partners. Both offer 4G LTE coverage across the majority of urban and suburban areas. In major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco coverage is strong and consistent. Rural coverage is more variable. Large parts of the American West and Midwest have patchy coverage even on domestic US plans. EE roaming relies on the same towers as local subscribers, but roaming customers sometimes get lower priority during congestion.

• 5G: EE does support 5G roaming on some US networks, but availability is not guaranteed and depends on your device, your plan, and the specific network in your location.
• Hotspot / tethering: Using your phone as a mobile hotspot while roaming in the USA counts against your data allowance. It works with both the Daily Pass and 7-Day Pass, but it will burn through your UK data allocation faster than regular phone use.
• Data speed limits: EE's fair use policy may apply to data used abroad. Heavy users may find speeds throttled after high daily data consumption, though EE doesn't publish a specific cap for roaming data.

Why EE roaming may not work in the USA

"EE roaming not working in the USA" is one of the most searched EE-related queries. In most cases, the problem is a settings issue rather than a coverage or network problem. Work through this checklist before contacting EE support:

• Data roaming is switched off. This is the most common cause. On iPhone: Settings → Mobile Data → Mobile Data Options → Data Roaming (turn on). On Android: Settings → Connections → Mobile Networks → Data Roaming (turn on).
• Your plan doesn't include roaming and no pass is active. If you're on an Essentials or No Frills plan without a Roaming Pass, your data won't work in the USA regardless of settings. Check via the My EE app or text ROAMING to 150.
• Your spend cap is blocking charges. EE customers with a low spend cap may find roaming charges blocked automatically. Log into My EE or call 150 to check and adjust your spend cap.
• Automatic network selection is off. Your phone needs to be set to automatically select a network in the US. On iPhone: Settings → Mobile Data → Network Selection → Automatic. On Android: Settings → Connections → Mobile Networks → Network Operators → Select Automatically.
• WiFi Calling is interfering. EE's WiFi Calling is UK-only. If it's enabled and you're abroad, it can cause call connection issues. Turn it off before travelling: Settings → Phone → Wi-Fi Calling.
• Your SIM has international roaming disabled at the account level. New EE accounts or those with past missed payments sometimes have roaming disabled by default. Text ROAMING to 150 to enable it, this is free.
• Device compatibility. EE operates on specific frequency bands. Most modern iPhones and Android flagships are compatible, but older or unlocked non-UK devices may not connect to EE's US roaming partners on the right bands. Check your device's supported LTE bands against AT&T (Band 17, 14, 2) and T-Mobile (Band 71, 4, 2).

If none of these resolve it, call EE on 150 from a UK number or +44 7953 966 250 from abroad.

How to activate EE roaming in the USA

Do this before you board the plane. Trying to sort roaming issues from a US airport with no data is a poor experience.

• Step 1: Check your plan. Open the My EE app or log in at ee.co.uk. Confirm whether your plan includes Zone 1 roaming or whether you need to purchase a pass.
• Step 2: Enable roaming on your account. Text ROAMING to 150. This activates international roaming at the account level. Free to send.
• Step 3: Set your spend cap. If you're using a Daily or 7-Day Pass, make sure your spend cap is set high enough to cover the pass costs. Adjust in My EE.
• Step 4: Enable data roaming on your device. iPhone: Settings → Mobile Data → Mobile Data Options → Data Roaming. Android: Settings → Connections → Mobile Networks → Data Roaming.
• Step 5: Set network selection to automatic. This lets your phone find AT&T or T-Mobile when you arrive. iPhone: Settings → Mobile Data → Network Selection → Automatic. Android: Settings → Mobile Networks → Network Operators → Select Automatically.
• Step 6: Turn off WiFi Calling. Settings → Phone → Wi-Fi Calling → Off.
• Step 7: Purchase your pass if needed. If your plan doesn't include roaming, buy a 7-Day Pass via the EE app before you travel. Or leave it and let the Daily Pass activate on first use, but know it will charge £5 the moment your phone connects to a US network.

EE roaming USA vs eSIM: which option is better?

EE roaming works, but it has real limitations. Daily charges add up, pass management requires attention, and the cost per GB of data is high compared to alternatives. Here's how it compares to a travel eSIM like Yesim.

When EE roaming makes sense: You're on the Full Works plan and it's included. Or you're making a short trip (1–2 days) and a single £5 Daily Pass covers everything you need.

When a Yesim eSIM makes more sense: You're traveling for a week or more and want predictable data costs. You're visiting multiple countries – USA plus Mexico or Canada, for instance – and don't want to manage separate passes per destination. Or you want a large data allowance without burning through your UK plan.

With a Yesim eSIM for the USA, your EE SIM stays in your phone and keeps receiving calls and texts on your UK number. The eSIM handles data. You get the best of both: your regular number stays reachable, and your data costs stay reasonable.

Conclusion

EE works in the USA and the network coverage is solid. But the cost without a pass is high enough to matter: £2.34/min for Pay Monthly customers without roaming isn't a rounding error on a week-long trip. The Roam Abroad Pass brings costs down to a manageable flat rate, and if you're on the Full Works plan, you're paying nothing extra at all.

The setup steps are straightforward if you do them before you leave. The problems almost always come from people who don't check their plan, skip enabling data roaming in settings, or forget to buy a pass in advance.

For longer trips or multi-country travel, a Yesim international eSIM is worth the comparison. No daily charges, no zone confusion, and a single plan covering 200+ countries from €4.5. Your EE SIM keeps working alongside it, you don't have to choose one or the other.

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