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Old Oct 23, 2013, 2:25 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: diburning
This is a user-maintained wiki — FlyerTalkers with at least 90 posts and 90 days of membership may modify and update this information.
Please edit available network carriers or LTE networks if you find the information below is out of date.

Effective August 1st, 2018 :OPTIONAL high speed data roaming for international (non Canada/Mexico) has changed to be $5 USD per day for up to 512MB of high speed data per day. This also includes unlimited inbound and outbound calls avoiding the 25c a min call charge. You can add this via 611 or this link: https://my.t-mobile.com/odf/DataPass:ALL - It is labeled as "24 Hour Global Pass". If that link doesn't works go to "Manage Data & Add Ons" in plan settings at http://my.t-mobile.com . A pass covers ANY countries in the given validity period - NOT just one country. So if you travel within multiple countries in the 24 hour period you get a max of 512MB of high speed data and unlimited calling across ALL countries prior to pass expiration. This is OPTIONAL and is not required, free 128Kb/sec or 256Kb/sec speeds are provided for users who don't pay for this extra data pack.

Effective July 15th, 2018: Calling rates for inbound and outbound calls were raised to 25c a min from the prior 20c a min when roaming internationally. You can buy a per Intl High Speed day pass for 512MB of high speed data that also includes calling at no cost during the validity of the pass.


Effective Feb 17, 2017: T-Mobile has bumped up speeds to 256Kb/sec for T-Mobile One users - this was FREE for a promotional period and required you to edit the lines with this plan to add the free or higher tier paid "T-Mobile One Plus" line item. The free line item is "T-Mobile One Plus promo" which will allow that line to be 256kb/sec and will also give 10GB of LTE North America hotspot tethering - The change can be done at my.t-mobile.com under plan for T-Mobile One customers or through 611. With the promotional period ended you can add the base $5 T-Mobile One Plus item to get 256Kb/sec

SUMMARY: T-Mobile USA on Simple Choice or newer plans (such as Select Choice) or T-Mobile One that list "Free International Roaming included" allow for free data and SMS in 210+ countries. Data and SMS is FREE; voice calls; inbound or outbound to any of the 210+ countries while roaming are 25 cents a min. Free data is NOT offered on T-Mobile essentials users outside of Canada/Mexico while SMS and 25c a min calls are still offered.

Canada and Mexico include FREE high speed roaming (HSPA or LTE full speed) as long as you are on the Simple Choice North America plan or a T-Mobile One plan. A monthly cap of 5GB for International High speed data in Canada and Mexico is now present - data will slow to lower speeds with no overage charges. Users on T-Mobile One Plus International are exempt from this 5GB cap.

You must be on a Postpaid plan, Prepay is NOT eligible nor is MetroPCS

NOTE: Devices with fully FREE data (e.g. 200MB free for tablets) and not on an additional plan are NOT eligible - switch those devices to a supported plan PRIOR to travel or you will be charged per MB fees.

WARNING: Highly suggest going to: https://my.t-mobile.com/profile.html (or login to my.t-mobile.com select profile), go to blocking and ensure "Block charge international roaming" is set to ON - keep "Ensure Block International Roaming" is set to OFF otherwise roaming will not work even in free data countries. This will ensure in countries where you are close to another country border that may NOT be part of free data roaming you will never be charged for data by ending up roaming on the adjacent country network if your phone is set to Automatic on networks.

WARNING FOR HIGH SPEED ADD ON $5 DATA PASS: Ensure you know your end date/time and heed the SMS warnings sent. You will be liable for 25c a min per call inbound or outbound if the pass expires and you do not activate another pass. Ensure you purchase another daily pass before making phone calls. As of Early August 2018, there was no method to purchase multiple days in a row.


T-Mobile FAQ:
http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-9455

Checklist for Roaming - follow this prior to leaving!:
http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-2182

Performance:
Speeds are throttled to 128Kb/sec on all supported plans, except for T-Mobile One Plus Add on (includes the Promo Feb 2017 T-Mobile One update with free One Plus Promo) which is 256Kb/sec. Connecting to the best network type possible will ensure you hitting these speeds limits (e.g. LTE). Performance is subject to the roaming carrier networks condition (is it congested or not) and how good the back-haul from the roaming carrier back to T-Mobile is. Reminder that T-Mobile Essentials users will have NO access to free data.

Filtering:
Your connection is terminated back to the US, so anything that works on T-Mobile US will continue to work. Example: China filters social media and Google services, using these services through your T-Mobile line won't experience this networking filtering. Local services in the country you are in MAY identify you as being in the US - any services that do IP geolocation will see that you are in the US.

Optional High Speed On Demand Data Passes with unlimited calling
If you want performance that is beyond the 128Kb/sec (or 256Kb/sec on T-Mobile One Plus Add ons) then a PAID optional high speed data pass removes the throttling performance limit. Effective Aug 2018 this pass is a $5 PER day for 512MB of high speed data (per day) and unlimited calling to allowed countries, waiving the 25c per min charge for inbound or outbound calls. To add, go to: https://my.t-mobile.com/odf/DataPass:ALL and add the "24 Hour Global Pass". If that link doesn't work add at http://my-t-mobile.com under Plan, "Manage Data & Add Ons" More information: http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-7261 NOTE: As of Early August 2018 you can only purchase one day at a time, so be cautious on expiration (Notified via SMS) to add another day pass to avoid getting charged 25c per phone call. A pass covers ANY countries in the given validity period - NOT just one country. So if you travel within multiple countries in the 24 hour period you get a max of 512MB of high speed data and unlimited calling across ALL countries prior to pass expiration.

Country search:
https://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/roaming

Country List at time of July 2018 update:
https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-37944

NOTE: there is no T-Mobile provided list of specific network roaming partners; you can call 611 and ask for a roaming specialist/tech and they can tell you per country roaming partners - we are attempting to capture working or problematic networks in this Wiki below also

Need Support while traveling? Read the hints below FIRST; then if support is needed call direct intl support for T-Mobile USA: +1-505-998-3793 [FREE CALL WHILE ROAMING] or if you cannot get Voice access use Skype or another service to dial.


Hints

#1 HINT: You MUST have Data roaming turned on - You will only see foreign networks on the network list - you will NOT see T-Mobile. Manually pick the networks from the list further below if you don't automatically connect.

- You do NOT have to pay for a high speed data package. 128Kb/sec (or 256Kb/sec on T-Mobile One Plus Add on) FREE throttled data is inclusive on all eligible postpaid plans

- High speed un-throttled data is also FREE for Canada and Mexico if you are on a Simple Choice North America plan or a T-Mobile One plan for up to 5GB of data per month (T-Mobile One Plus Intl users are not subject to the 5GB cap) . If you are not on these specific plans but on a legacy Simple Choice plan you will get standard 128Kb/sec FREE.

- For paid high speed packages, You can schedule WHEN optional high speed paid packages start (immediate or a time/date you set).

- On some accounts, High speed on demand data passes will will not be listed on my.t-mobile.com - under plans, "Manage Data & Add Ons". You can also contact customer care at 611 to add a data pass.

- If you purchase a package on phone or hotspot and are about to expire you can purchase ANOTHER one if you want and even though it will say "starts when your existing package date ends" it will IMMEDIATE activate it when you run out of data. Example You pay for 200Mb for one week and will eat into 200Mb, you can buy a package ANYTIME and it will future date it as being effective ONLY when the existing package date ends. HOWEVER once the existing package data amount is used up it will IMMEDIATE activate the paid pending package.

- On Demand Mifi WILL not roam at ALL if no package has ever been provisioned. Use the free data on your smartphone (or use another device with WiFi) and log into http://my.t-mobile.com Once logged in go to https://my-tmobile.com/Plan/Plans.as...vid=changeplan View plan for hotspot and and change plan, under Data Tab when viewing change plan add a package; once you confirm and submit (ENSURE before you submit you are adding to correct line!) you will get a confirmation. It was about 5 mins and then hotspot was able to connect to network.

- On demand Mifi WILL STOP working at end of time period NOT at end of data usage. So if you pick 500MB package which is 2 weeks expiration, it will actually STOP full speed at 500MB and revert to a 64Kb/sec speed till expiration; this ONLY applies to packages purchased on on demand hotspots. If you purchase a package for a smartphone you will revert to standard 128kb/sec

- Hotspots with On Demand will lose network access at end of paid period even if it reverted to lower hotspot only speed of 64kb/sec. So top up before you lose network.

- Legacy data match for tablets or hotspots (no longer offered but still allowed for current users) support 128Kb/sec on tablets and hotspots. If your data match plan details show match with North America added in the description then you get high speed in Canada and Mexico that uses your data match limit (up to 5GB) - after than you revert to 128Kb/sec. T-Mobile One Tablet will provide 128Kb/sec by default, if a T-Mobile One Plus add on is on that Tablet line (Including the free Feb 2017 One Plus Promo) speeds will be 256Kb/sec

- You can check current usage on any paid packages my viewing on the T-Mobile Application for Android or iOS or going to My T-Mobile website and filtering data usage on the line for International Data Roaming.

- When using a T-Mobile supported international data roaming plan on an iOS device internationally (in a nation on the 'free' list), you need to turn on Data Roaming on the iPhone/iPad Settings.

Troubleshooting

- If finding no networks when in new country, go to Airplane Mode - then back off Airplane mode and try again. If this fails to work FULLY power off phone and power back on. You may need to do a manual scan of networks on your device and pick one of the KNOWN networks below in the country list.

- If still not connecting to a network do ONE more phone reboot and attempt again.

- If you do connect to a network but are failing to get data, dial in your phone dialer #RON# (or try #ROF# FIRST then try #RON#). #RON# will turn intl roaming data on, #ROF# will turn it off. Sometimes cycling will cause a network to work.

- If connected to a network for Voice/SMS but still not getting data, set phone to Airplane mode ; wait till device is actually in airplane mode (15 sec or so); then take device off Airplane mode.

- If failing to get GSM/Voice/SMS services but you have data and phone shows "Emergency Calls Only" but data is working suggestion is to switch phone to 2G and connect to a network where you get data and voice/SMS. Once connected to that network switch phone back to 3G/Auto or LTE (or similar setting) and this may correct the issue. (Your mileage may vary)

- Try to change your APN to fast.t-mobile.com per the following guide, as an alternate you can try a temporary switch to epc.t-mobile.com - more details for APN change further below

- If none of these work, dial TMO Intl support +1-505-998-3793 (from another phone or Skype) and ask for "International Roaming Support" (make sure that is who they connect you to by asking the agent if they can help on a roaming support issue) - have them check your account is properly setup and eligible for International Roaming.

To set the Access Point Name (APN) and turn on data settings, follow these steps:

Note: These settings are automatically set to the correct values with the Carrier Update when a T-Mobile SIM is inserted.
  1. From the main menu, tap Settings
  2. Tap Cellular.
  3. Check that Cellular Data is turned on.
  4. Tap Cellular Data Network.
    Important: If this setting does not appear on the device, the device is not unlocked. Refer customer to previous carrier.
  5. Enter the following information under the Cellular Data section:
    APN: fast.t-mobile.com
    Username: <Leave Blank>
    Password: <Leave Blank>
  6. Enter the following information under the LTE Setup (Optional) section:
    APN: <Leave Blank>
    Username: <Leave Blank>
    Password: <Leave Blank>
  7. Enter the following information under the MMS section:
    APN: fast.t-mobile.com
    Username: <Leave Blank>
    Password: <Leave Blank>
    MMSC: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
    MMS Proxy: <Leave Blank>
    MMS Max Message Size: 1048576
    MMS UA Prof URL: http://www.apple.com/mms/uaprof.rdf
  8. Enter the following information under the Personal Hotspot section:
    APN: pcweb.tmobile.com
    Username: <Leave Blank>
    Password: <Leave Blank>
  9. Press the Home button to save the APN and exit to the main screen.
  10. Turn the device off and back on.

Countries with reported working networks supporting data
You can call support # below to ask for other networks. PLEASE share which networks works so we can always keep the Wiki up to date. Leave any comments with performance/quality to the "Problem Carriers section"

NOTE: If you have issues connecting turn off "Enable LTE" or LTE and do 3G/HSPA(4G) only. If you are still having issues to get data but can get voice dial Intl support +1-505-998-3793 (FREE CALL while roaming). If you cannot get any service, use another phone or Skype to dial this number.

Africa
Egypt: Vodafone, Elitsalat, Mobinil
Mauritius: EMTEL
South Africa: MTN, Vodacom, Telkom

Americas
Argentina: Movistar, Claro
Aruba: Digicel (May display as 363 02)
Bahamas: BTC
Barbados: Digicel
Bermuda: Digicel
Brazil: Tim, Vivo
Canada: Bell, Rogers (Some Provinces only), Telus, Freedom Mobile (former WIND), Videotron [HIGH SPEED INCLUDED ON SIMPLE CHOICE NORTH AMERICA]
Cayman Islands: Digicel
Chile: Movistar
Colombia: Telefonica Mobiles Colombia, Movistar
Costa Rica: Movistar, Claro
Dominican Republic: Claro, Orange, Viva
Ecuador: Claro, Movistar
El Salvador: Digicel, Movistar
Guatemala: Movistar
Honduras: Tigo
Jamaica: Digicel, Lime
México: Movistar, Telcel [HIGH SPEED INCLUDED ON SIMPLE CHOICE NORTH AMERICA]
Martinique: Digicel
Nicaragua: Mobinil, Movistar
Panama: Claro, Digicel
Perú: Movistar
St Kitts and Nevis: Digicel
St Lucia: Digicel
Sint Maarten (NL): Chippie (UTS)
Saint Martin (FR): Digicel
Turks and Caicos: Digicel
US Virgin Islands: Innovative (counts toward domestic roaming allowance)
Venezuela: Movistar

Asia Pacific
Australia: Telstra, Vodafone AU, OPTUS
Cambodia: CamGSM, Cellcard, Smart
China: China Mobile, China Unicom
Guam: Guam Telecom (Guam is considered outside the U.S. by T-Mobile)
Hong Kong: Smartone, Three
India: Airtel (Most Metro areas/regions), Vodafone
Indonesia (Bali): Indosat, Telkomsel
Japan: DOCOMO, Softbank
Macau: CTM, Three, Smartone
Malaysia: MAXIS
New Zealand: Vodafone, Spark NZ (no 2G), 2Degrees
Pakistan: Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (Ufone), Pakistan Mobile Company Limited (PMCL) (aka Mobilink), Telenor Pakistan, Warid Telecom
Philippines: Globe, SMART
Singapore: Starhub
South Korea: SKT, KT, Olleh
Sri Lanka: Mobitel
Taiwan: Taiwan Mobile
Thailand: AIS, DTAC
Vietnam: Viettel

Europe
Austria: Three, A1, T-Mobile Austria
Belgium: Orange (Mobistar), Proximus
Bulgaria: Telenor BG LTE is primary, saw A1 on 2g and Mtel on LTE very briefly
Czech Republic: Radiomobile/T-Mobile CZ, Vodafone CZ, O2
Denmark: 3 DK, Telenor DK
Faroe Islands: Foroya Tele
Finland: Elisa
France: Bouygues, Free, Orange, SFR
Germany: T-Mobile DE/Telekom.de, EPLUS
Greece: Cosmote
Hungary: T-Mobile
Iceland: Nova (LTE, better in cities), Siminn (3G only, better for rural)
Ireland: Vodafone, Three, Meteor
Italy: TIM, Wind, Vodafone IT
Luxembourg: Tango
Netherlands: KPN, T-Mobile, Vodafone
Norway: Telenor
Poland: T-Mobile
Portugal: MEO, NOS
Romania: Orange, Telekom, Vodafone
Russia: MTS Global
Spain: Movistar, Vodafone ES, Orange
Sweden: 3 SE
Switzerland: Orange, Swisscom
Turkey: Vodafone
UK: EE, Three, Vodafone
Ukraine: KYIVSTAR, MTS

Middle East/Near East
Bahrain: Viva / Batelco
Israel: Partner
Kuwait: Zain
Qatar: Ooredoo
UAE: Etisalat, du

LTE verified carriers:
MUST have a device supporting global LTE bands
- Argentina: Movistar
- Australia: Telstra (requires Band 3 / Band 28 device), OPTUS (5G)
- Bahamas: BTC
- Bahrain: Batelco
- Belgium: Proximus
- Canada: Bell, Rogers, Telus
- Chile: Movistar
- China: China Mobile (TD-LTE in some regions needs appropriate device or in some regions as LTE Band 3), China Unicom
- Colombia: Movistar
- Costa Rica: Movistar
- France: Orange, SFR
- Germany: T-Mobile DE/Telekom.de
- Guatemala: Movistar
- Hong Kong: Smartone
- Ireland: Vodafone
- Italy: TIM
- Japan: Docomo, Softbank
- Luxembourg: Tango
- Malaysia: MAXIS
- Mexico: Movistar
- Netherlands: T-Mobile NL, Vodafone
- Norway: Telenor
- Sinagapore: Starhub
- Sint Maarten (NL): Chippie (UTS)
- Spain: Orange
- Taiwan: Taiwan Mobile
- Thailand: AIS, DTAC
- UAE: du
- UK: EE, Vodafone (see footnote - NOT everywhere)

Problem carriers and LTE support notes
(Do not list carriers where you cannot get basic voice service)
- Argentina: Movistar (reports of poor performance), Claro (seemed much better, but difficult to gain initial connect/registration)
- Bermuda: Reports of getting UMTS (non HSPA 3G) only
- Canada: Wind performance seems better than other Canadian carriers (Your mileage may vary)
- China: China Mobile is 2G only unless you have a device supporting TD-SCDMA (3G) or TD-LTE Band 39/40/41. China Unicom roaming returned in April 2017
- Faroe Islands: Vodafone (Voice/SMS only, NO data service)
- Germany: Vodafone Germany (Voice/SMS only, NO data service in some regions)
- Hong Kong: Smartone, had to switch to 2G get access to network THEN switched phone back to 3G/Automatic if had problems getting access to network. Three: Reports of no longer working and only Smartone working
- Mauritius: Reports of issues connecting to Emtel sometimes - YMMV
- New Zealand: 2Degrees (limited coverage w/ reports of not working at all)
- Singapore: M1, SMS MAY require manually entering M1's SMSC +6596845999 if SMS doesn't work
- South Korea: SKT may require LTE to be disabled or conneciton may not be authenticated. Olleh/KT require multiple attempts to connect to network.
- UK: EE LTE roaming returned 1/21/17 - Reports of Vodafone LTE roaming in select parts of the UK only (not happening everywhere seems to be coverage challenged areas of EE only)
- Vietnam: Viettel
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T Mobile Global data coverage

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Old Aug 1, 2018, 9:26 pm
  #1936  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: OKC
Programs: IHG Spire, National Exec, AA Plat
Posts: 2,274
Originally Posted by bchandler02
Anyone have any info on roaming in Bulgaria?
I can confirm Bulgaria works. When I landed, it was taking forever so I did a manual scan and forced it onto MTEL and got LTE. After I had a minute, I set it back to auto and it swapped over to A1 BG at 2G for a few minutes, and then found what seems to be a good spot on Telenor BG (LTE).
Wiki has been updated.

Speeds on 1+ have been around .25 up and down - absolutely usable as long as you download google maps offline, and avoid video streaming. For email, facebook, and general web it works - slightly slow but nothing painful. This is my first trip outside of North America since moving to Tmobile - so far very satisfied.
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Old Aug 2, 2018, 8:03 am
  #1937  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,784
Originally Posted by RChavez
Did TMobile just get rid of the other on-demand data passes in lieu of the 24 hour GlobalPass option for up to 512MB of data? I only see that option now, instead of the previous $20 for 1GB of data.
I only see the $5 24-hr 512MB option, but I am on Simple Choice plan. Maybe the $20/1G will show up on Tmobile One plan?
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Old Aug 2, 2018, 10:56 am
  #1938  
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,027
Originally Posted by Need
I only see the $5 24-hr 512MB option, but I am on Simple Choice plan. Maybe the $20/1G will show up on Tmobile One plan?
I'm on a T-Mobile One plan and only see the $5, 24 hr 512MB option in my account. Very disappointing.

Not very "uncarrier"

Regards
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Old Aug 3, 2018, 9:03 am
  #1939  
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Join Date: May 1998
Location: Hellsea - NY, NY, USA
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K, Marriott LT Titanium
Posts: 1,993
Originally Posted by scubadu
I'm on a T-Mobile One plan and only see the $5, 24 hr 512MB option in my account. Very disappointing.

Not very "uncarrier"
That was my fear. I am wondering whether you can keep recharging the day pass though? I saw language for max of 2 passes per 24 hours, but the second pass would reset the 24 hour clock? It was confusing terminology.

I'm still gonna switch back to TMo from Verizon. I've found Verizon's international data speeds atrocious on my last few trips. I've traveled with a separate TMo phone and it outperformed VZ in nearly every destination including primary European cities. Plus VZ caps at 512MB for the $10/day option. So TMo comes out a bit cheaper to what I've been paying.
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Old Aug 3, 2018, 4:22 pm
  #1940  
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
I'm going to Switzerland next week.

Their local SIMs provide "unlimited" data for 2 or 2.50 CHF per day.

If you have an unlocked device and you want way more data and speed than the free international roaming plan, you pretty much have to look at local SIMs.

If I'm going to a country for more than a couple of days, I usually get a local SIM for my iPad, while using the T-Mobile in my iPhone. Or I will tether the iPhone to the iPad for faster speeds.

You can often get enough data that you can use as an alternative to hotel wifi, which will always be slower than LTE and even 3G in many cases.
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Old Aug 4, 2018, 9:25 pm
  #1941  
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: SoCal to the rest of the world...
Programs: AA EXP with lots of BA. UA 2MM Lifetime Plat - No longer chase hotel loyalty
Posts: 6,698
Updated the Wiki

Thanks to others who contribute to the wiki. Made the following changes

- Reflected NEW $5 per day High Speed Intl Roaming Passes that also include free inbound/outbound calling -

SHORTCUT TO ADD THIS: (from phone or desktop): https://my.t-mobile.com/odf/DataPass:ALL (add 24 Hour Global Pass)

- Edited the Canada/Mexico roaming to reflect 5GB high speed cap per month if not on T-Mobile One Plus International

- Cleaned up some of the links

Also take note that as of July 2018 more countries were added and we saw the return of Vietnam back to the inclusive data. Full list: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-37944

NEW Countries added:
- Algeria
- Angola
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Brunei Darussalaam
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Chad
- Congo
- Congo, Democratic Republic (DRC)
- Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
- Fiji
- French Polynesia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Gibraltar
- Greenland
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Nauru
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Oman
- Palestinian Territories
- Papua New Guinea
- Reunion
- Rwanda
- Samoa
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tongo
- Tunisia
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- Western Sahara
- Zimbabwe

Last edited by NickP 1K; Aug 4, 2018 at 10:15 pm
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Old Aug 4, 2018, 9:35 pm
  #1942  
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: SoCal to the rest of the world...
Programs: AA EXP with lots of BA. UA 2MM Lifetime Plat - No longer chase hotel loyalty
Posts: 6,698
Yes - Legacy passes gone

Originally Posted by RChavez
Did TMobile just get rid of the other on-demand data passes in lieu of the 24 hour GlobalPass option for up to 512MB of data? I only see that option now, instead of the previous $20 for 1GB of data.
I would have preferred they kept the old passes but lots of other people complained of the charges.

So for the same $20 for 1GB you now get 2GB over 4 days. If you were good on using less data per day then you are hosed (I could go 5-6 days on the old pass) - Sorry they made this change. I did just update the wiki to reflect the change. The one POSITIVE is - for each day you have a $5 pass active, inbound and outbound calls are free. Meaning NO 25c (yes that went up from prior 20c a min) for any calls when a pass is active.

Originally Posted by RChavez
That was my fear. I am wondering whether you can keep recharging the day pass though? I saw language for max of 2 passes per 24 hours, but the second pass would reset the 24 hour clock? It was confusing terminology.
You can have ONE pass active and one in queue - though the interface right now is AWFUL. I did ask executive response at TMO if this will change and they did say at some point multi day purchasing will become easier. For now - you need to add a pass each day - YES THIS SUCKS. Suggest at the expire interval go to my.t-mobile.com on your device and add another pass for immediate activate vs queueing one up. I've had issues on queueing up passes and using the next one. Not tried to add a 2nd pass when used up all the 512MB of data and trying to add one more pass if the 24 hour period isn't over. TMO's systems haven't been very good for these kinds of things.

HINT: if you have Twitter - highly suggest authenticating with TMO Customer Care to send DM's to them to add passes. I do this instead of the website if I have limited time.

Also I did note a SIMPLER URL to add the daily pass:

https://my.t-mobile.com/odf/DataPass:ALL

Last edited by NickP 1K; Aug 4, 2018 at 10:15 pm
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Old Aug 5, 2018, 12:01 am
  #1943  
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: bay area, ca
Programs: UA plat, , aa plat, marriott LT titanium
Posts: 4,833
are there any free hi speed trips given out?

Used to have t-mo, but currently have sprint. I've been surprised to be notified on some trips that I had FREE hi speed for the trip (but usually it was in a country that I was only in transit so never really used it) BUT on my latest trip to Japan I got this notice and it really gave me hi speed for the whole 2 weeks!
Is there anything like this at t-mo?
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Old Aug 5, 2018, 1:50 am
  #1944  
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: SoCal to the rest of the world...
Programs: AA EXP with lots of BA. UA 2MM Lifetime Plat - No longer chase hotel loyalty
Posts: 6,698
Originally Posted by estnet
Used to have t-mo, but currently have sprint. I've been surprised to be notified on some trips that I had FREE hi speed for the trip (but usually it was in a country that I was only in transit so never really used it) BUT on my latest trip to Japan I got this notice and it really gave me hi speed for the whole 2 weeks!
Is there anything like this at t-mo?
At time YES, like the World Cup in Russia. Considering SoftBank (Japanese company) owns a big chunk of Sprint right now wouldn't be a shocker.
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Old Aug 5, 2018, 7:08 am
  #1945  
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Join Date: May 1998
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Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K, Marriott LT Titanium
Posts: 1,993
Originally Posted by NickP 1K
I would have preferred they kept the old passes but lots of other people complained of the charges.

So for the same $20 for 1GB you now get 2GB over 4 days. If you were good on using less data per day then you are hosed (I could go 5-6 days on the old pass) - Sorry they made this change. I did just update the wiki to reflect the change. The one POSITIVE is - for each day you have a $5 pass active, inbound and outbound calls are free. Meaning NO 25c (yes that went up from prior 20c a min) for any calls when a pass is active.
At first I thought I would have preferred, but with the introduction of unlimited calling, I think that's a net positive for me as I'm coming over from Verizon and already paying $10/day.

The calling though, does that include calls between included countries as well? When I was last with TMo $.20/min was the rate if I called within country, back home, or to another included country. If this is now included in the daily pass, this is a no brainer for me.

Originally Posted by NickP 1K
You can have ONE pass active and one in queue - though the interface right now is AWFUL. I did ask executive response at TMO if this will change and they did say at some point multi day purchasing will become easier. For now - you need to add a pass each day - YES THIS SUCKS.
Having just recently come back to using TMo, the interface to adding passes got much worse than a couple of years ago when you could bookmark a URL and quickly add the passes even on the 2G speeds. The last few times it took me many, many, many attempts to get it done from my phone and then ultimately had to go to my laptop to add it. It was so frustrating!

Originally Posted by NickP 1K
HINT: if you have Twitter - highly suggest authenticating with TMO Customer Care to send DM's to them to add passes. I do this instead of the website if I have limited time.

Also I did note a SIMPLER URL to add the daily pass:

https://my.t-mobile.com/odf/DataPass:ALL
Thank you for both of these tips! Both will save me frustration and time! ^
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Old Aug 5, 2018, 9:59 am
  #1946  
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Occasional 20 cents a minute calls are fine but I’d rather use something like Viber.

Going to Switzerland, where you can pay around 2 or 2.50 a day for a lot more or unlimited LTE data.

These US carriers are depending on their customers being unaware or unwilling to look into local SIMs.
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Old Aug 5, 2018, 11:47 am
  #1947  
 
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Originally Posted by RChavez
The calling though, does that include calls between included countries as well? When I was last with TMo $.20/min was the rate if I called within country, back home, or to another included country. If this is now included in the daily pass, this is a no brainer for me.
I don't have a direct data point, but calling between included countries when in an included country has historically been 20˘/minute. It's a bit strange if you don't otherwise have an international calling plan on your line because calls from the US to these same places would be considerably more expensive. One corner case is Wi-Fi calling while in an international location is billed at 25˘/minute, even if you have a stateside international calling plan. Wi-Fi calling should be considered like the call originated from the US, regardless of location.

Originally Posted by wco81
These US carriers are depending on their customers being unaware or unwilling to look into local SIMs.
I have never purchased an international data plan from T-Mobile, but I would if the need arises. In my case, it's convenience over having to search for a local SIM card. There are some locations where it's easy, and SIM cards are freely available from vending machines in airports, etc. However, if I'm only in a location for a few days and/or there might be a language or other barriers preventing a non-local getting a SIM card (Japan comes to mind), the data pass is the clear no hassle option. I can't even remember the hours I've wasted trying to get a foreign SIM card to connect and then being frustrated when the plan I was sold didn't measure up to what the salesperson at the store had told me and ultimately being unable to use the SIM card the second I crossed the border into the next country.
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Old Aug 5, 2018, 11:58 am
  #1948  
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If you're staying in a country a day or two, no it doesn't make sense to get a local SIM. Though with EU abolishing roaming surcharges when you cross borders between EU countries, it may make sense to get a SIM in the first country if you plan to visit several EU countries over a week or more.

It takes a little research to find out what the local SIM options are. There's are threads on FT and frequently updated info on the web. Then you find stores near where you'll be staying. I just consider it a part of planning and researching the trip.

I've never had problems with local SIMs not being as advertised. It can be a hassle in some stores, where you have to wait for a clerk who will sell you the SIM, activate it for you.

Now if you only need occasional email, web and Google Maps, while you're away from hotel wifi, then the free T-Mobile international data is enough. But I often find, regardless of the size of the hotel, that hotel wifi is unreliable. It's either off or congested or whatever. So if the mobile data isn't too expensive, I'd rather have that at least as a backup.

Of course some people can say, why do you want to even try to have the same kind of Internet speed and reliability as you would at home. Relax, you're on your vacation!

Well if that's how one approaches it, they probably wouldn't be in this thread or other threads about getting connected overseas.
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Old Aug 5, 2018, 12:27 pm
  #1949  
 
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Originally Posted by wco81
If you're staying in a country a day or two, no it doesn't make sense to get a local SIM. Though with EU abolishing roaming surcharges when you cross borders between EU countries, it may make sense to get a SIM in the first country if you plan to visit several EU countries over a week or more.

It takes a little research to find out what the local SIM options are. There's are threads on FT and frequently updated info on the web. Then you find stores near where you'll be staying. I just consider it a part of planning and researching the trip.
Yes, I take the same considerations into account and will get a local SIM if I'm staying in a location where I can use it more than a few days or if there is a vending machine at the airport with a reasonable cost. I have had misunderstandings and dubious sales staff helping me in the past. There was one case I remember about five years ago months before T-Mobile introduced the included roaming where I bought a Vodafone SIM card at Frankfurt Airport. The person told me it was €1/day for 1 GB and 10 cents/min calling to many countries, including to the US. I was staying about a month, so I loaded the card with €40 thinking it would meet my data and calling needs. Taking this information at face value, I used the card indiscriminately until I lost the data connection 3 days into the trip. I checked and to my dismay had a €0 balance. I went to another Vodafone store where the staff there told me that whatever I had been told at Frankfurt was wrong.

The T-Mobile plan works for me internationally, even for some moderate social media use/picture sharing. I save the heavy usage activities for when I'm back at the hotel, but it's gotten me through my travels for the last five years without having to buy a local SIM card. It has had a few hiccups, but largely I've found the feature works as advertised and allows me to hit the ground running, not even having to stop at the airport phone store/vending machine along the way.
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Old Aug 5, 2018, 12:35 pm
  #1950  
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Originally Posted by estnet
Used to have t-mo, but currently have sprint. I've been surprised to be notified on some trips that I had FREE hi speed for the trip (but usually it was in a country that I was only in transit so never really used it) BUT on my latest trip to Japan I got this notice and it really gave me hi speed for the whole 2 weeks!
Is there anything like this at t-mo?
I wasn't notified, nor did I expect it (in fact anticipated buying passes a/r), but my T-Mobile line got 4G for the entire month of May while I island hopped in Greece. The only time I had slower speeds was when I went outside of Cosmote coverage areas (rare). Btw, all calls were 20 cents/min. - inside Greece, to other European countries, or to US; mobile or landline.
These features are baked into my unltd. data, text, and (North American) voice plan (Simple Choice).
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