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T Mobile Global data coverage

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Please edit available network carriers or LTE networks if you find the information below is out of date.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
Mxico: Movistar, Telcel [HIGH SPEED INCLUDED ON SIMPLE CHOICE NORTH AMERICA]
Martinique: Digicel
Nicaragua: Mobinil, Movistar
Panama: Claro, Digicel
Per: 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

Old Nov 25, 2018, 1:43 pm
  #2011  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Programs: AMEX Business Centurion
Posts: 418
Anyone here know whether the Global Plus plan is subject to T-Mobile's policy on "extreme roaming" (using 50% or more of a month's data overseas)? That is the biggest deal killer to me about ONE Plus and any of their roaming add ons, the limitation makes it infeasible for me.
tangfish is offline  
Old Nov 26, 2018, 10:15 pm
  #2012  
 
Join Date: May 2003
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Posts: 1,966
Originally Posted by tangfish
Anyone here know whether the Global Plus plan is subject to T-Mobile's policy on "extreme roaming" (using 50% or more of a month's data overseas)? That is the biggest deal killer to me about ONE Plus and any of their roaming add ons, the limitation makes it infeasible for me.
not sure on that. According to the TOS it seems the same restriction applies, albeit at this price point they may be more lenient in practice. This is NOT meant to be an unlimited plan for someone residing full time in say Canada. I think it is more for typical flyertalkers who are frequent travelers but return stateside at least once a month. YMMV


FYI the unlimited global plan is no longer offerrd. It seems those who signed up when it was announced are grandfathered in. The new plan is called Global Plus 15Gb which offers 15Gb of high speed roaming for the same $50/month. 15Gb is a lot....but depending on your usage pattern this change may be a dealbreaker.
LordHamster is offline  
Old Nov 27, 2018, 12:19 pm
  #2013  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
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Posts: 418
Originally Posted by LordHamster


not sure on that. According to the TOS it seems the same restriction applies, albeit at this price point they may be more lenient in practice. This is NOT meant to be an unlimited plan for someone residing full time in say Canada. I think it is more for typical flyertalkers who are frequent travelers but return stateside at least once a month. YMMV

There's a lot of confusion about what constitutes a violation of their policy on roaming, but I called the Extreme Roaming department and got some concrete info. If in any three billing cycles in a rolling 12 month period the user uses 50% or more data off network (i.e., outside the US) then that line of service will be terminated and the number in likelihood would be lost. Because it's a % and not a data amount, then for instance receiving even a single iMessage while overseas, in the absence of usage in the US in that billing cycle, would count as a strike. You get two strikes and on the third, you're out. This is not a big deal to people who travel for a week here and there, but for someone who spends some number of months outside the US per year, it can be a tricky game of tapdance to play with billing cycles and such. Not worth the benefits if you ask me, given the risk of permanently losing a phone number.

Originally Posted by LordHamster
FYI the unlimited global plan is no longer offerrd. It seems those who signed up when it was announced are grandfathered in. The new plan is called Global Plus 15Gb which offers 15Gb of high speed roaming for the same $50/month. 15Gb is a lot....but depending on your usage pattern this change may be a dealbreaker.
Yeah, barring clarification on the above issue, this made the deal go from somewhat of a no-brainer to those who travel a lot to a cost-benefit calculation, which frankly has more cost than benefit given the relative cost of 15GB of data on most foreign carriers. Still, some might find the convenience worth the premium.
tangfish is offline  
Old Nov 27, 2018, 2:50 pm
  #2014  
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 392
The $5/day plan is such a pain that on my next trip, I think I'll try a local eSIM. Even if there's no dollar savings, I'll save the 20 minutes it sometimes takes on the crawling data plan that's included, to get to the place where I can give Tmo more money.

I took a cab from the Hong Kong airport to Shenzhen, and I finally got the plan added just as we got to the border train. I think that was more like 40 minutes.

You'd think they'd have a way to make the Tmo app and the website work at full-speed, even without a high speed plan . . .
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Old Nov 27, 2018, 5:06 pm
  #2015  
 
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Posts: 1,966
Originally Posted by Michael Ad
The $5/day plan is such a pain that on my next trip, I think I'll try a local eSIM. Even if there's no dollar savings, I'll save the 20 minutes it sometimes takes on the crawling data plan that's included, to get to the place where I can give Tmo more money.

I took a cab from the Hong Kong airport to Shenzhen, and I finally got the plan added just as we got to the border train. I think that was more like 40 minutes.

You'd think they'd have a way to make the Tmo app and the website work at full-speed, even without a high speed plan . . .

Or just make the day passes work like AT&T. If you enable the option, you get auto-billed the fee every day you are actually roaming... rather than having to log in constantly to re-apply.
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Old Nov 28, 2018, 12:36 am
  #2016  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
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Originally Posted by tangfish
Because it's a % and not a data amount, then for instance receiving even a single iMessage while overseas, in the absence of usage in the US in that billing cycle, would count as a strike. You get two strikes and on the third, you're out. This is not a big deal to people who travel for a week here and there, but for someone who spends some number of months outside the US per year, it can be a tricky game of tapdance to play with billing cycles and such.
My guess is that there would also be some threshold. While I've not had an extended overseas trip, I haven't worried about my global data use in the 5 years that T-Mobile has offered the service. Those who have had issues were roaming with the SIM card almost 100% of the time for an extended period of time.
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Old Nov 28, 2018, 1:15 am
  #2017  
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Originally Posted by tangfish
There's a lot of confusion about what constitutes a violation of their policy on roaming, but I called the Extreme Roaming department and got some concrete info. If in any three billing cycles in a rolling 12 month period the user uses 50% or more data off network (i.e., outside the US) then that line of service will be terminated and the number in likelihood would be lost. Because it's a % and not a data amount, then for instance receiving even a single iMessage while overseas, in the absence of usage in the US in that billing cycle, would count as a strike. You get two strikes and on the third, you're out. This is not a big deal to people who travel for a week here and there, but for someone who spends some number of months outside the US per year, it can be a tricky game of tapdance to play with billing cycles and such. Not worth the benefits if you ask me, given the risk of permanently losing a phone number.
I've got over 10 lines on a business plan in the US. One device is out of the US more than 95% of the time. It's used for occasional incoming text messages and some data, but not much. We've never heard a peep from TM about it and it's been functioning for a couple of years like this.
Xyzzy is offline  
Old Nov 28, 2018, 6:35 am
  #2018  
 
Join Date: May 2003
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Posts: 1,966
Originally Posted by Xyzzy
I've got over 10 lines on a business plan in the US. One device is out of the US more than 95% of the time. It's used for occasional incoming text messages and some data, but not much. We've never heard a peep from TM about it and it's been functioning for a couple of years like this.
Yeah, the simple percentage calculation doesn't make much sense. Pure conjecture, but my guess is that data volumes must figure into it somehow... else, I could roam 29 days a month, then come home and binge watch breaking bad season 1 on my phone in 4K, and not have an issue. Perhaps I'm overthinking it.

I just hope that they are more reasonable with Global Plus folks. For my past few months, I've been abroad more than home. Out of the country 3 weeks (across different countries) then home 1 week. While home, I'm almost always on wifi... thus not using much data. I feel like I'm the perfect use-case for Global Plus. I travel frequently enough to need roaming, but never in any one country long enough to want the hassle of hunting down a local SIM. If my scenario would cause auto-termination, I can't imagine WHO they created the Global Plus plan for.

Regardless, now that Project FI is rumored to be allowing iPhone users to be supported, I may migrate myself and wife back to Project Fi anyway.

One more update Re: Global Plus. So far I'm still pretty thrilled with it (despite it being relatively expensive). I'm in southern India this week and am roaming here on Vodafone India, and getting the same speeds as my local colleagues on their local vodafone in sims.


Update #2 : Just found out that Project FI for iPhone and non-google Android phones is official!
https://www.blog.google/products/pro...droid-and-ios/

This should give as good alternative to the Flyertalk demographic. Plus rides on the T-mobile network.

Last edited by LordHamster; Nov 28, 2018 at 9:57 am
LordHamster is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2018, 8:58 pm
  #2019  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MEX
Posts: 1,014
Originally Posted by LordHamster
Yeah, the simple percentage calculation doesn't make much sense. Pure conjecture, but my guess is that data volumes must figure into it somehow... else, I could roam 29 days a month, then come home and binge watch breaking bad season 1 on my phone in 4K, and not have an issue. Perhaps I'm overthinking it.
I think that's the way it's working...probably unintendedly.

You could binge like crazy 30GB of data over one month and then spend the next 6 months overseas using 2GB every month and you'd still be "legal."
Viajero Millero is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2018, 10:32 pm
  #2020  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Programs: AMEX Business Centurion
Posts: 418
For what it's worth, I got it from the horse's mouth (t-mo extreme roaming department) that data volumes DO NOT factor into it. It is truly a % calculation regardless of volume, which really sucks. Even 1 iMessage in the absence of domestic on-network data would trigger one "strike" toward your line being cut off and number being lost. I brought up multiple examples of why this doesn't make any practical sense to the rep, and she said she agreed but that it was this way because of the roaming agreements they have with other carriers; tmo customers MUST have their "primary" usage on their own network and in their own country to be considered within bounds of those agreements. I told her they need to renegotiate and she said they would likely take a look at this next time the contracts are up for renewal. I ended up doing one of the ridiculous scenarios I ran by her, since I'd used a little roaming data in a particular bill cycle and returned to the US with just two days left, I turned of wifi and just let some high def video run with the volume down for many hours overnight, making sure I ate up enough data to be in the clear. Not sure who compliance with this rule helps, when it makes you have to do ridiculous things like that!
tangfish is offline  
Old Jul 12, 2019, 3:14 pm
  #2021  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 1,025
Anyone try Vietnam after they added it back last year? I'm buying a pass for Singapore, HK, and Japan so if it works in Vietnam that would be great so I don't have to buy a separate sim.
phant0m is offline  
Old Jul 16, 2019, 7:11 pm
  #2022  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Neither here nor there
Programs: UA Slvr, DL Slvr, AA plt, HH LTD, MR tit/LTP at least two of those buy 10 get 1 free coffee cards
Posts: 3,419
I'm glad the extreme roaming folks at t-mo aren't paying attention then. Been using the free global coverage since they started offering it (still have my grandfathered $50 simple choice plan) and for three years of that worked 28 day rotations in Europe and Africa. 100% of my data those months was used on roaming, and never heard anything from t-mo.
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aroundtheworld76 is offline  
Old Jul 17, 2019, 8:02 pm
  #2023  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Boulder
Programs: AA Plat, CX Silver
Posts: 2,361
Does anyone know of a good way to park a TMO number while out of the country for a while? I'm currently on an old Simple Choice plan with global roaming but I'm in New Zealand for the next four months. I'm using a local SIM as my primary but I definitely don't want to use my US phone number and I still want to be able to receive text messages on it while in NZ.

I wonder if I could downgrade to a prepaid TMO plan and just pay per SMS? I don't expect many, it's mostly for accounts that use that number for 2FA.
txflyer77 is offline  
Old Jul 18, 2019, 8:03 am
  #2024  
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 392
Originally Posted by txflyer77
Does anyone know of a good way to park a TMO number while out of the country for a while? I'm currently on an old Simple Choice plan with global roaming but I'm in New Zealand for the next four months. I'm using a local SIM as my primary but I definitely don't want to use my US phone number and I still want to be able to receive text messages on it while in NZ.

I wonder if I could downgrade to a prepaid TMO plan and just pay per SMS? I don't expect many, it's mostly for accounts that use that number for 2FA.
If you don't care about the T-Mo plan, just the number, then port it to Google Voice and port it back to T-Mo when you get back. Free, and pretty quick.
Michael Ad is offline  
Old Jul 18, 2019, 9:33 am
  #2025  
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: SJC (AA PLT 2MM - Marriott LTT - Avis Preferred)
Posts: 2,024
That Google Voice workaround looks pretty cool: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-sms-wi...-phone-5316921
ntamayo is online now  

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