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T-Mobile USA roaming on SKT / Olleh in Korea - everything works except Maps

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Old Apr 29, 2016, 2:33 am
  #1  
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T-Mobile USA roaming on SKT / Olleh in Korea - everything works except Maps

Odd one here... Has anyone else had this? Data on my phone via T-Mobile roaming is slow, but it works great for everything except Maps. It's the weirdest thing... Both Apple Maps and Google Maps won't load when over cellular. I'm on an iPhone 6S. My wife is on the same. We're both having the same problem. If I can find a public WiFi spot, the maps load just fine. And to be clear, all other data is working just fine! Curious if anyone else has heard of such a thing...
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Old May 1, 2016, 1:20 am
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That is odd. I've had success using Tmobile in both Japan and China and the maps worked, albeit very slowly. What I've done to get around this is to preload the map when I have wifi (assuming I'm in the area I want to navigate) and then later when I am on the roaming network, it seems to be enough of a connection for Maps to show me where I am exactly.
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Old May 1, 2016, 1:35 am
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Originally Posted by nme7
That is odd. I've had success using Tmobile in both Japan and China and the maps worked, albeit very slowly. What I've done to get around this is to preload the map when I have wifi (assuming I'm in the area I want to navigate) and then later when I am on the roaming network, it seems to be enough of a connection for Maps to show me where I am exactly.
Yeah I agree! We travel pretty often with T-Mobile roaming, and I've never had this issue. We were in Hong Kong last week, and the maps worked fine. Last year we were in Mexico, Indonesia, Singapore, Canada, and a few other places - no problems there either. This is very weird, as it's reproducible on both my phone and my wife's, and all other data is working just fine. We're on the bus to leave Seoul right now, onto Hawaii. I'm going to chalk this up to a one-time issue for us, unless others mention that they've seen this as well.
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Old Jul 3, 2016, 5:39 pm
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Last edited by br2k; Jul 3, 2016 at 6:03 pm Reason: move to more appropriate thread
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Old Jul 4, 2016, 3:46 pm
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The reason for this is that South Korea limits the exportation of government produced map data to other countries. Since Google stores map data in multiple centers around the world, they're prohibited from offering the full features of Maps in South Korea. Last time I checked, Google has been in talks with the ROK government to get this restriction lifted.
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Old Jul 4, 2016, 10:27 pm
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Google Maps has always "worked" for years here. Over time, the government has become less restrictive on what information they are granted access. Now, you can access basic subway/bus routes. If you can't speak Korean, then you can't use the Korean map services which offer far more detailed information.

Google Maps can work for basic directions. BUT you do need to be careful as a lot of the romanized spellings don't match addresses or other English spellings.

The government's hesitance also has to do with "military sites and security concerns."

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news...33_208414.html
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Old Jul 5, 2016, 7:49 am
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Visited Seoul in late May for 72 hours, stayed in Gangnam area and used it to walk/taxi for variety of business meetings in a 4 mile radius without a hitch.
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Old Jul 5, 2016, 8:58 pm
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Originally Posted by dtsm
Visited Seoul in late May for 72 hours, stayed in Gangnam area and used it to walk/taxi for variety of business meetings in a 4 mile radius without a hitch.
Was it live/turn-by-turn navigation? When I was in Seoul this past fall, only basic directions were available.
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Old Jul 6, 2016, 6:54 am
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You were driving in Seoul? Quite impressive!
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Old Jul 6, 2016, 6:56 am
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Originally Posted by Gradfly
Was it live/turn-by-turn navigation? When I was in Seoul this past fall, only basic directions were available.
I don't recall. We were at Ritz Carlton for quick lunch and our next appointment was within walking distance so turned on google maps to navigate a 5-6 long block walk....... The other times was to gauge approximate routing, distances and times when in a taxi.
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Old Jul 6, 2016, 12:08 pm
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Originally Posted by nme7
You were driving in Seoul? Quite impressive!
Oh no, there is no way I'd commit to that. Driving in the southern areas, like to Jiri-san or Geoje would be more my thing.

In Seoul, I wanted to use the live navigation when sitting in the back of the taxi.
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Old Jul 10, 2016, 3:03 pm
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Originally Posted by Gradfly
In Seoul, I wanted to use the live navigation when sitting in the back of the taxi.
Waze
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