T-Mobile, UMA, and international roaming
Feb 27, 2010, 9:43 am
#31
Join Date: Jul 2004
Programs: CO Gold; SPG Gold***; AvisFirst;
Posts: 3,970
So, wait, let's just summarize here. I'm a TMO BB Curve Customer and DO NOT have HotSpot@Home Service
If I'm traveling internationally and
(1) turn off the network radio and
(2) log into a WiFi connection and
(3) make a call while abroad BACK to the US
=
Taken out of bucket of minutes / not charged international roaming rates (e.g. the per minute rate for a call from the [foreign country] to the US)
(See, e.g. the UMA/Google Voice combo above)
If I'm traveling internationally and
(1) turn off the network radio and
(2) log into a WiFi connection and
(3) make a call while abroad to an INTERNATIONAL (e.g. non-US) number
=
Taken out of bucket of minutes / but charged at the international roaming rates (e.g. the per minute rate for a call to the [foreign country] from the US)
Adding the HotSpot@Home service would only ensure that the calls above are not deducted against my bucket of minutes. Correct?
If I'm traveling internationally and
(1) turn off the network radio and
(2) log into a WiFi connection and
(3) make a call while abroad BACK to the US
=
Taken out of bucket of minutes / not charged international roaming rates (e.g. the per minute rate for a call from the [foreign country] to the US)
(See, e.g. the UMA/Google Voice combo above)
If I'm traveling internationally and
(1) turn off the network radio and
(2) log into a WiFi connection and
(3) make a call while abroad to an INTERNATIONAL (e.g. non-US) number
=
Taken out of bucket of minutes / but charged at the international roaming rates (e.g. the per minute rate for a call to the [foreign country] from the US)
Adding the HotSpot@Home service would only ensure that the calls above are not deducted against my bucket of minutes. Correct?
If that's the case, then I'm definitely giving this (without adding HotSpot@ Home service) on my next international trip. I have access to a wired connection and travel with a travel router, so this should be a snap. Plus with the GoogleVoice for BB app (or even without it), I'm pretty well sorted on making international calls (e.g. "outbound" from the GoogleVoice servers in, for all intents and purposes, the US).
As noted above, upper means you're connected to BIS or BES servers. If not on UMA, this *may* affect data roaming charges.
Feb 27, 2010, 9:58 am
#32
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Tri-State Area
Posts: 4,728
Because if the phone roams off of UMA while in the call, you'll incur international roaming charges. If you're domestic, then the entire call is based on where the call started - i.e., if you connect on UMA then roam to cell, the whole thing is billed UMA (only matters if you have the unlimited hotspot plan).
On the domestic front, I agree, you need to and should turn both network radio and wifi radio on....as you correctly pointed out, if the call is initiated on wifi (UMA) and then you leave the wifi area, in theory it would transfer to the cell network, your call would remained bill as UMA the entire time.
Unfortunately, that switchover from uma to cell (network) isn't as smooth as it used to be; the call drops 90% of the time for me. I'll intentionally start a call at home on UMA and then drive off. Once I pulled out of the driveway, in the old days it would transition to network....nowadays it just dies!
May 17, 2010, 6:46 am
#33
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Tri-State Area
Posts: 4,728
UMA on BB only?
I just spoke with TMO CS to trouble shoot a Samsung T339 that I bought on eBay for one of my boys. Learned that as of Jan 2010, UMA is only supported for BB?
CS was very knowledgeable and polite - TMO apparently was getting billed for all the back-door UMA calls from overseas and had to shut it down for non-BB. They couldn't shut down UMA for BB because it's somehow tied to their international data service....
She told me the upcoming MT slide will definitely not have UMA. In fact, she said TMO will probably only keep UMA for BB only, and not tie with any Android phone. But she did mention a back-door hack for android OS...anyone familiar with this?
CS was very knowledgeable and polite - TMO apparently was getting billed for all the back-door UMA calls from overseas and had to shut it down for non-BB. They couldn't shut down UMA for BB because it's somehow tied to their international data service....
She told me the upcoming MT slide will definitely not have UMA. In fact, she said TMO will probably only keep UMA for BB only, and not tie with any Android phone. But she did mention a back-door hack for android OS...anyone familiar with this?
May 17, 2010, 9:15 am
#34
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Tri-State Area
Posts: 4,728
Don't know why CS told me what she did but I got it to work and double-checked by viewing my on-line bill. Sorry
May 17, 2010, 4:24 pm
#36
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Chicago
Posts: 578
That customer service rep must have smoked or drank too much of something. UMA certainly still works on other non-BB phones without issues. I used it on my Nokia 6086 prepaid acct./phone in Jamaica last month. I was only charged for my prepaid minutes usage. Same thing I get charged for a local call.
May 17, 2010, 4:42 pm
#37
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Tri-State Area
Posts: 4,728
Anyway, happy to learn i was wrong. My eBay purchased T339 works like a charm and will be sending to my son shortly.
May 19, 2010, 10:34 am
#38
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
Posts: 14,231
I actually had a very lengthy telcon with her. She said TMO sent letters out late last year, advising effective 1/1/10 non-BB phones would no longer work with UMA????? She said they had to shut it down because tmo being charged international roaming when folks like us were calling back stateside on uma....
It makes no sense to me that T-mobile would get any charges for "international roaming" over UMA. All that's happening (unless the system is especially Byzantine) is that the cell phone sends GSM packets over TCP/IP to a T-mobile server in the USA. That server is connected to the phone network and translates the packets into calls just like a cell tower would.
I think the rep didn't know what s/he was talking about.
May 20, 2010, 7:25 am
#39
Join Date: Jul 2004
Programs: CO Gold; SPG Gold***; AvisFirst;
Posts: 3,970
I just spoke with TMO CS to trouble shoot a Samsung T339 that I bought on eBay for one of my boys. Learned that as of Jan 2010, UMA is only supported for BB?
CS was very knowledgeable and polite - TMO apparently was getting billed for all the back-door UMA calls from overseas and had to shut it down for non-BB. They couldn't shut down UMA for BB because it's somehow tied to their international data service....
She told me the upcoming MT slide will definitely not have UMA. In fact, she said TMO will probably only keep UMA for BB only, and not tie with any Android phone. But she did mention a back-door hack for android OS...anyone familiar with this?
CS was very knowledgeable and polite - TMO apparently was getting billed for all the back-door UMA calls from overseas and had to shut it down for non-BB. They couldn't shut down UMA for BB because it's somehow tied to their international data service....
She told me the upcoming MT slide will definitely not have UMA. In fact, she said TMO will probably only keep UMA for BB only, and not tie with any Android phone. But she did mention a back-door hack for android OS...anyone familiar with this?
Then again... who knows.
I actually had a very lengthy telcon with her. She said TMO sent letters out late last year, advising effective 1/1/10 non-BB phones would no longer work with UMA????? She said they had to shut it down because tmo being charged international roaming when folks like us were calling back stateside on uma....
Anyway, happy to learn i was wrong. My eBay purchased T339 works like a charm and will be sending to my son shortly.
Anyway, happy to learn i was wrong. My eBay purchased T339 works like a charm and will be sending to my son shortly.
May 21, 2010, 7:34 am
#40
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Tri-State Area
Posts: 4,728
Apologies
I guess I was duped by TMO CS. Fortunately she was wrong, UMA is alive and kicking on non-BB phones. Just bought a second Samsung T339 for my wife to use when she travels overseas - she can than call home without international roaming fees.
Now, if only HTC/Android/UMA would marry, we'd all be in heaven ^
Now, if only HTC/Android/UMA would marry, we'd all be in heaven ^
Jan 8, 2011, 6:04 pm
#41
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: CGK/LAX
Programs: KF,JMB, OZ, SPG,AA,UA,AS
Posts: 1,163
I just stumbled across this thread. Like others, I was able to use the UMA function on my BB while in Brazil in December. I was not billed any roaming charges. I simply just unchecked "mobile network" under the "manage connections" icon before connecting to a wireless network. It worked like a charm.
Good work T-Mobile!
Good work T-Mobile!
Jan 8, 2011, 7:32 pm
#44
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Detroit; Formerly Dubai
Posts: 3,652
I think the fight about roaming has ended, but my wife works abroad a great deal and has two US phones-- a data only Blackberry (with voice enabled at something like $0.35 a minute which is for emergency use only); and a Tmobile Samsung slider with UMA. We turned international roaming off on the slider and she uses that for UMA calls all over the world and have never been billed anything. We don't have Hotspot at home because she never used all her minutes and our home, my Asterisks box (with call director), and her mother are all FAVs. We never had a surcharge.
Jan 8, 2011, 7:49 pm
#45
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Tri-State Area
Posts: 4,728
From their website re MT4G:
Expand your mobile coverage. Send and receive calls and messages over any Wi-Fi network, whether at home or on the road with Wi-Fi and Mobile Calling—even in areas that have little or no network coverage.