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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Please edit available network carriers or LTE networks if you find the information below is out of date.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 Jan 13, 2015, 6:02 pm
  #781  
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
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Originally Posted by dw
I was just in Hong Kong and my phone automatically connected to the 3 network, which worked (though at 2G speeds of course).

I just arrived in Macau, and though my phone automatically connected to the 3 Macau network, and I got a text from both T-Mobile and 3 Macau, I get an error message (something about unable to authenticate) anytime I try to access data. I also tried to manually select the CTM network, and though I once again got a text message, I get the same error message.
Reboot your phone WORST case make sure the APN is set to fast.t-mobile.com (you can also try epc.t-mobile.com )

Exact text on the error message would help also - thanks
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Old Jan 13, 2015, 10:11 pm
  #782  
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Originally Posted by NickP 1K
Reboot your phone WORST case make sure the APN is set to fast.t-mobile.com (you can also try epc.t-mobile.com )

Exact text on the error message would help also - thanks
Thanks- I've tried all the usual troubleshooting items- rebooting, verifying APN, etc.

The error message I'm getting on my iPhone is "Could not activate cellular data network- PDP authentication failure"

Unfortunately, there doesn't yet seem to be a report in this thread about data service working in Macau
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Old Jan 14, 2015, 8:20 am
  #783  
 
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Originally Posted by dw
Thanks- I've tried all the usual troubleshooting items- rebooting, verifying APN, etc.
I had similar problem last year when in Phnom Penh. My Moto G worked fine elsewhere in SE Asia during that trip but for some reason, couldn't get data connection for 36 hrs. On the way to airport to fly out, it suddenly turned on....it just happens sometimes????
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Old Jan 14, 2015, 1:59 pm
  #784  
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
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Posts: 6,699
Originally Posted by dw
Thanks- I've tried all the usual troubleshooting items- rebooting, verifying APN, etc.

The error message I'm getting on my iPhone is "Could not activate cellular data network- PDP authentication failure"

Unfortunately, there doesn't yet seem to be a report in this thread about data service working in Macau
OK this helps; please make sure LTE is NOT ON

Is this a grey market iPhone (carrier file may be out of date) [e.g. did you buy it unlocked in another region]

I know this sucks; but try the following as well

Cycle data: Do a #ROF# in dialer; wait for acknowledge, then try #RON# ; reboot phone

If still not working try a Power + Button hold down to reset phone (this has been reported to restart modem/radio more so than a power on/off and re-read settings)

FINAL; check T-Mobile has your account correctly setup; you can call intl support and have them try removing your data plan then putting it back on if this is THEIR system failing auth.

I just called roaming support for T-Mobile and they did confirm a 3G roaming agreement WITH data for CTM, Three and Smartone; can you try one of the other networks also?

Originally Posted by dtsm
I had similar problem last year when in Phnom Penh. My Moto G worked fine elsewhere in SE Asia during that trip but for some reason, couldn't get data connection for 36 hrs. On the way to airport to fly out, it suddenly turned on....it just happens sometimes????
Yup; seen this as well; don't know if it's T-Mobile side or the carrier roaming where auth fails. Noticed this tends to happen more often between 10PM and 5AM Eastern time if it happens at all so don't know if provisioning system has maint or downtime/slow response causing some roaming networks to not authenticate data. But as you pointed out it just starts working at some point.

Last edited by NickP 1K; Jan 14, 2015 at 2:08 pm
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Old Jan 14, 2015, 3:30 pm
  #785  
 
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Originally Posted by goodeats21
After many trips to Thailand with TMO data working fine, I ran into a similar problem in Thailand in December. I couldn't get data service to work. Samsung phone - Galaxy Grand Duos (dual SIM) -not LTE. Tried a lot of different things a lot of different times...turning phone off then on, restarting phone, turning data off and on, etc.

I did not receive any pop-ups or anything though. Voice worked fine.
The problem may be that your phone does not automatically set the APN for the service that you are connecting to. Often with older phones, one must actually manually set it for each carrier. Voice does not use an access point so works as does wifi in every country I have visited. Unlocked phones with local SIM often require the same APN input.

Actually had it happen here in the U.S. when I hooked up my LG AT&T phone on the T-mobile US network after porting over the number and cancelling ATT. Had T-mobile manually set APN and it has worked splendedly since.
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Old Jan 14, 2015, 6:48 pm
  #786  
 
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Originally Posted by opushomes
The problem may be that your phone does not automatically set the APN for the service that you are connecting to. Often with older phones, one must actually manually set it for each carrier. Voice does not use an access point so works as does wifi in every country I have visited. Unlocked phones with local SIM often require the same APN input.

Actually had it happen here in the U.S. when I hooked up my LG AT&T phone on the T-mobile US network after porting over the number and cancelling ATT. Had T-mobile manually set APN and it has worked splendedly since.
The scenario you describe sounds like your phone didn't auto-provision when you changed SIM cards. But that's different from roaming, in which you shouldn't have to change APN (or SMSC) at all. If you do, then something is misconfigured at the roaming partner.
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Old Jan 14, 2015, 11:48 pm
  #787  
 
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Originally Posted by tai4de2
The scenario you describe sounds like your phone didn't auto-provision when you changed SIM cards. But that's different from roaming, in which you shouldn't have to change APN (or SMSC) at all. If you do, then something is misconfigured at the roaming partner.
Data roaming problems have been encountered in Thailand, Phillipines, Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic with two different phones (admittedly older models) which required the roaming partner to input the APN manually. Also in Bulgaria, France and Romania where I did not bother and just used wifi for data.

The phones always work with voice roaming. So I disagree with your analysis.
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Old Jan 15, 2015, 3:07 am
  #788  
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I have consistently had problems with Hong Kong more than any other locale using T-Mobile. I have been here since Tuesday and my phone was never able to make voice calls while registered on 3. I kept trying to manually select different networks the last few days, along with a call to Cust Care to try to resolve.

The phone would auto connect to 3, and data worked perfectly albeit a bit slow. However the phone would not make any voice connections and SMS would not come through. It's an iPhone 6 on ios 8.1.

I tried forcing it to SmarTone, China Mobile, China Mobile (3G), CSL and PCCW. None would work. It would always go to No Service. I tried multiple power off and power on cycles, and nothing worked.

Until just a few moments ago... Day 3 without phone service. I selected SmarTone HK and while it initially said No Service for a few minutes, once I powered off the phone then turned it back on (Normally, not hard reboot), it worked immediately on coming back up. Followed by a flood of SMSes that had backed up.

I am very torn with T-Mobile. This time the lack of voice access posed significant challenges. AT&T always just worked. I never had to do anything no matter where in the world I landed.

TMobile, however, is extremely buggy when it comes to registering with the roaming network. This is the third time in HK I've had data with no voice, other times I've had voice with no data. I've also had similar No Service issues in other countries around the world. I'm really torn between the cost efficiencies of T-Mobile and the solid reliability with AT&T. Might have to switch back for a while until T-Mo sorts this out.
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Old Jan 15, 2015, 7:14 pm
  #789  
 
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Originally Posted by opushomes
Data roaming problems have been encountered in Thailand, Phillipines, Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic with two different phones (admittedly older models) which required the roaming partner to input the APN manually. Also in Bulgaria, France and Romania where I did not bother and just used wifi for data.

The phones always work with voice roaming. So I disagree with your analysis.
My statement was that the need to manually input an APN (or SMSC) when roaming indicates a misconfiguration in the roaming partner's network.

Do you disagree with that just because you have a seemingly 'large' number of examples of such misconfiguration?

The other part was that SIM swaps and roaming are different scenarios. Which part of that do you disagree with?
tai4de2 is offline  
Old Jan 16, 2015, 1:01 pm
  #790  
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: SoCal to the rest of the world...
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Posts: 6,699
Originally Posted by tai4de2
My statement was that the need to manually input an APN (or SMSC) when roaming indicates a misconfiguration in the roaming partner's network.

Do you disagree with that just because you have a seemingly 'large' number of examples of such misconfiguration?

The other part was that SIM swaps and roaming are different scenarios. Which part of that do you disagree with?
I have hit half of the countries listed by poster you comnented on (and another 15 more) and NEVER changed my APN. I'm using fast.t-mobile.com as my APN and my account had data reprovisioned once. Since then NEVER had a roaming failure (other than the ones in the Wiki; e.g. Smartone takes a few attempts to get voice in addition to data)
NickP 1K is offline  
Old Jan 18, 2015, 5:39 pm
  #791  
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 125
I had to change my APN only once, with assistance from customer service, when I brought my Nexus 4 over from Straight Talk to T-Mo when Simple Global began. After that my Nexus 4 worked fine in multiple countries in Asia and Europe. I would occasionally manually select a network to see what worked best, but I never had any problems. Are people changing their APN's w/o contacting T-mo customer service, if so then I would guess that the problems are of their own making.
gpf590 is offline  
Old Jan 18, 2015, 7:59 pm
  #792  
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: SoCal to the rest of the world...
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Originally Posted by gpf590
I had to change my APN only once, with assistance from customer service, when I brought my Nexus 4 over from Straight Talk to T-Mo when Simple Global began. After that my Nexus 4 worked fine in multiple countries in Asia and Europe. I would occasionally manually select a network to see what worked best, but I never had any problems. Are people changing their APN's w/o contacting T-mo customer service, if so then I would guess that the problems are of their own making.
Agree: you should ONLY be using on standard plans EITHER;

fast-t-mobile.com
or
epc.t-mobile.com

Anything else may fail roaming international
NickP 1K is offline  
Old Jan 20, 2015, 6:38 am
  #793  
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Florida
Programs: UA 2MM
Posts: 1,917
Originally Posted by NickP 1K
I know this sucks; but try the following as well

Cycle data: Do a #ROF# in dialer; wait for acknowledge, then try #RON# ; reboot phone
This worked for me in the British Virgin Islands last year. Once I did THIS, data worked fine.
BangkokTraveler is offline  
Old Jan 21, 2015, 12:14 pm
  #794  
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Florida
Programs: UA 2MM
Posts: 1,917
I saw this posted on the T-Mobile site.

--
Important information regarding Vietnam

On January 1, 2015, customers roaming in Vietnam will have their data experience slowed to 2G speeds. On January 13, 2015, data roaming access in Vietnam will be blocked. At this time, voice calls and text message (SMS/MMS) access is not scheduled to change. This was an independent move by the Vietnamese government, and T-Mobile is working to get the rates back down.
--


Guess I'll have to get a local SIM for data coverage there next month. I think the Vinaphone one has a package for 25MB per day for less than $1/day. And I was about to get rid of my 2-sim Samsung Core, I guess I'll keep it for awhile.

.

Last edited by BangkokTraveler; Jan 21, 2015 at 12:20 pm
BangkokTraveler is offline  
Old Jan 22, 2015, 10:28 pm
  #795  
 
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: 6,699
Originally Posted by BangkokTraveler
I saw this posted on the T-Mobile site.

--
Important information regarding Vietnam

On January 1, 2015, customers roaming in Vietnam will have their data experience slowed to 2G speeds. On January 13, 2015, data roaming access in Vietnam will be blocked. At this time, voice calls and text message (SMS/MMS) access is not scheduled to change. This was an independent move by the Vietnamese government, and T-Mobile is working to get the rates back down.
--


Guess I'll have to get a local SIM for data coverage there next month. I think the Vinaphone one has a package for 25MB per day for less than $1/day. And I was about to get rid of my 2-sim Samsung Core, I guess I'll keep it for awhile.

.
Unlocked hotspot is option for using local sim and still keeping a better device to use while out of country
NickP 1K is offline  


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