Database Users

International Travel with my Vibrant?

Hello,
I just booked a gig for two weeks in Rome (Italy not Georgia) and I was looking for suggestions on the best way to use my Vibrant while outside of the US. My phone is sock, not rooted.
Should I try to unlock it with the process detailed on this forum last week and buy an Italian SIM card? If so, will data work over there (email is important)?
Should I call TMobile and let them know I'm traveling abroad and see if they have a temporary Intl plan?
Sorry for such a basic question, I've just read so many stories of people coming back from trips with their smartphones and getting a $4,000 bill from their wireless company.
Any information/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
NSR

I travel outside the US quite a lot, and unfortunately that's about to increase significantly for me (though most of my trepidation is related to the god-awful airlines and hours of dealing with the bad joke that passes for airport security).
Bottom line: unlock it and get a SIM card that works at your destination (probably pre-paid).
It can be difficult to find these with a data plan that is any good. Plan to spend a lot of time doing a lot of research. It probably won't be cheap. Also, spend some time to understand exactly how much data you actually use, and decide whether that is likely to increase or decrease while you're traveling, and be realistic about it. In some places I've found it's cheaper and easier to rent an entire phone that has a data plan, then just yank the SIM while I'm traveling. Be sure you understand the different types of networks and bands, not all countries are playing by the same rules. (Some parts of Eastern Europe can be downright dismal.)
Under no circumstances do you want to use your phone with your US carrier's international roaming. I bought my G1 shortly before a two week trip to Tokyo, and after a great deal of time on the phone with T-Mobile and a lot of thinking about how I use my device -- and I'm probably just a mid-level data consumer -- I calculated data roaming would cost me about $550 per week. Add my wife to the mix and we were looking at a roughly $2200 bill just for frigging data. I could almost double the length of my trip for that much.
Europe isn't quite that rough, but it's still indefensibly expensive. (Not relevant to you, but worst of all, Japan flat out sucks for mobile phone use by foreign visitors and even visa holders. Which seems pretty ironic.)
International data roaming plans are one of the biggest scams the carriers have going today. "Gouging" is too polite a word for the crap they pull to shoot you a simple wireless signal. Though I gather most of the blame lies with the foreign carriers (and maybe the reverse is true when traveling in the US, I wouldn't know). In any case: Tread carefully.

^^^^ I agree.
I am in the same process right now but researching travel to UK. I definitely plan on unlocking and getting a UK sim. Some UK pay as you go plans offer 50MB/day for reasonable rates. Europe providers can say "unlimited data" but check their fair usage policies, unlimited is anything but.

When I traveled to Europe last spring, I bought a pre-paid Vodafone SIM card for like 25 Euros in Germany (with some pre-paid minutes), popped it in my unlocked phone, and went with it through Germany, Belgium, France and Eastern Europe. All incoming calls are free, all calls to Vodafone customers (all my friends in Europe are on Vodafone) are free. The data was included.
When I traveled to my home country in Eastern Europe I used local providers pre-paid SIM's - again all incoming calls are free, in carrier calls are free, I don't think I had data though.

Be careful to set your phone to not run data when roaming! I forgot to with my G1 and when in Taiwan I turned on my phone to get to the data menu and turn it off. That costs me $6 in data in 20 seconds!

I just did this for the Netherlands. Get Tmo to unlock the SIM, and get a SIM card with data. I didn't have data and I wish I did so I could have used it for maps. Calls were easy though.
Also, definitely turn off data roaming as a setting or you will get hosed.

One option for data use I found to be satisfactory was free hotspots. If your out and about frequently, many cafes, malls and pubs have fre hotspots. Make sure you turn data roaming off, however.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

MV10 said:
(Not relevant to you, but worst of all, Japan flat out sucks for mobile phone use by foreign visitors and even visa holders. Which seems pretty ironic.)
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I can't agree there. Not that this is directly related to the topic, but every phone or SIM I've rented in Japan came with %100 free incoming calls from any location (which is all I ever needed) and relatively unlimited data options.

[Q] T-Mobile Wi-Fi calling app

Now that the update for the G2 is out in the wild, enabling tethering/hotspot and wi-fi calling....I was wondering if it would be possible to rip the Wi-fi calling app off the phone and use it on the Nexus One.

Give the dev some time, they will have something for us by the end of next week.
I feel like this is a slap in the face. I am a little teed off at Tmo for this.

305buddyluv said:
Give the dev some time, they will have something for us by the end of next week.
I feel like this is a slap in the face. I am a little teed off at Tmo for this.
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After reading more about it I doubt it's worth the time. It still uses your minutes while calling via wifi. Seems silly that t-mo would use my Comcast internet connection and still charge me for it.

Yes, it would suck coyote balls if it still uses your minutes while calling via wifi (except for those with unlimited minutes).
I absolutely cannot wait for the new whitespace to be filled with "superwifi" so we can all end this cellular carrier Kim Jong-Il madness.

I heard from a T-mobile employee that there is some discussion on internal corporate forums about bringing WiFi calling to T-Mobile 3G versions of the phone through Google. It will absolutely use your minutes (I don't see why they would change this), and will most likely be a while before we see it pushed (if at all).
I am sure there will be an .apk leaked as soon as the new myTouch launches.

[IO]ERROR said:
After reading more about it I doubt it's worth the time. It still uses your minutes while calling via wifi. Seems silly that t-mo would use my Comcast internet connection and still charge me for it.
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In theory, because your comcast connection is only the air interface and the last mile backhaul, the call still gets routed over T-Mobile's phone network.
In reality, the air interface (which uses limited and expensive spectrum) and the last-mile backhaul is the most expensive part of a wireless network. So, no, they shouldn't charge you a full minute for calling on wifi. Maybe 0.1 "plan minutes" per minute of wifi calling would be fair, but would probably confuse old and stupid people.
However, the simplistic theoretical argument is what you'd get if you asked T-Mobile.

Honestly, I don't understand why people are so 'peeved' that "WiFi Calling" with TMO:
#1. It isn't out for the N1 yet.
#2. Uses your existing minutes/plan.
For the people who are grandfathered under the @Home UMA plans, it's probably still unlimited.
The majority of people who are hanging onto their BlackBerry and Nokia handsets with UMA are the ones collectively holding their breaths, including myself with a BB 9700.
If you compare with the other carriers and the way they solved "coverage" issues with femtocells, T-Mobile's solution is the most elegant and inexpensive. Are you going to carry your femtocell to a public WiFi hotspot and find an ethernet cord, power, and a clear window so the femtocell can get a GPS lock to make sure you're in the United States so it'll allow you to use the femtocell?
There's nothing like being able to make a 'normal' call, SMS, MMS, etc. (i.e. Non-Skype) where:
#1. Someone with a Verizon, AT&T or Sprint handset has no coverage.
#2. Being at a public WiFi hotspot outside of the United States (i.e. Europe, Asia, etc.) where your phone has UMA/WiFi Calling, SMS, MMS, etc. access and billing as if you're in the U.S. without paying outrageous Int'l roaming or purchasing a pre-paid SIM-card for the country you're in.
You guys have no idea...
Cheers,
Kermee

I don't care if it uses my minutes or texts, I just want some damn cell service in my apartment!

dionysos911 said:
I don't care if it uses my minutes or texts, I just want some damn cell service in my apartment!
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agreed, it will be nice to actually be able to use my minutes

I just want to be able to call back home when I am overseas without extra fees

People that need this service dont give a rip if it uses minutes. I barely get enough coverage in my condo to send a text message (with ANY carrier). At this point I'd be willing to let it cost me double minutes. That's right I said it.
Also, as noted above, its the shiz for international calling. When we go to Mexico, I take my old BB curve so I can avoid the international rate shaft.
I'm desperate to get wifi calling on my Nexus.

smot13 said:
People that need this service dont give a rip if it uses minutes. I barely get enough coverage in my condo to send a text message (with ANY carrier). At this point I'd be willing to let it cost me double minutes. That's right I said it.
Also, as noted above, its the shiz for international calling. When we go to Mexico, I take my old BB curve so I can avoid the international rate shaft.
I'm desperate to get wifi calling on my Nexus.
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Amen. 10Char.

smot13 said:
People that need this service dont give a rip if it uses minutes. I barely get enough coverage in my condo to send a text message (with ANY carrier). At this point I'd be willing to let it cost me double minutes. That's right I said it.
Also, as noted above, its the shiz for international calling. When we go to Mexico, I take my old BB curve so I can avoid the international rate shaft.
I'm desperate to get wifi calling on my Nexus.
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Wait... if I'm overseas and have wifi, I can call back to the U.S. using the app and ONLY be charged my minutes?!

uansari1 said:
Wait... if I'm overseas and have wifi, I can call back to the U.S. using the app and ONLY be charged my minutes?!
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Hold on there partner. I'm only speaking from experience with UMA and Mexico to US. They may have closed this loophole with the change from UMA to Wifi calling *shrug* idk.
On the other hand, it very well could be identical and they only changed the name. That would be ideal, as it worked perfectly before... just nobody knew what a UMA was

From what I've seen so far, I'm guessing it's UMA-Lite (GAN). The only functionality that's missing is the seemless hand-off from WiFi to a GSM tower when you leave a WiFi area. The call would just drop instead of being properly handed off to the nearest tower.
I doubt TMO would treat UMA-Lite any different from how they handle existing UMA handsets.
Cheers,
Kermee

T-mobile really needs to push this feature onto all their phones and start advertising it. It will really give them a leg up on the competition, and people will stop associating tmobile as being the cheap carrier with lousy reception.

Wifi Calling uses plan minutes?

So I installed one of the two 2.2 builds out, and Wifi Calling works. It says that is uses the plan minutes. Is this correct? If so, what good is wifi calling?

jzero88 said:
So I installed one of the two 2.2 builds out, and Wifi Calling works. It says that is uses the plan minutes. Is this correct? If so, what good is wifi calling?
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It's for if you are in an area that has no cell reception but you have WiFi, yes it uses minutes.

Ok thanks for the info. That sucks, wish you could use wifi calling like VOIP

jzero88 said:
Ok thanks for the info. That sucks, wish you could use wifi calling like VOIP
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If that were the case, you'd never use any minutes ever. LOL
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Skype works on the 2.2 builds.... it's still an annoyingly crappy app, but it works.

Lol...that will never be released by any cell carrier. Tmobile just wants to make sure you have the ability to use as many of your mins as possible.

cappysw10 said:
If that were the case, you'd never use any minutes ever. LOL
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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This is how the uma wifi calling on my blackberry worked. I don't see the problem with it. You're still paying for a minute plan, and someone's paying for the internet you're using to make calls. There's rarely a time where I'm in an area that can get high speed internet service but not cell service. I do see the usefulness though, but it's not quite as cool of a feature when it uses your minutes.

lol. I also thought that wifi calling won't be using any of your minutes.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

And I was going I to cancel my cell plan and only pay for data

Personally I love it and was really hoping it would come to the Vibrant. The reception at my house is spotty, so this will help immensely. I'm glad that it's a free add on, and they're minutes I would have been using anyway so no big deal.

Ahhh, I thought it didn't use your minutes aswell. I thought it was just like the blackberry uma... oh well.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

sano614 said:
Ahhh, I thought it didn't use your minutes aswell. I thought it was just like the blackberry uma... oh well.
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UMA on my blackberry always used minutes.
If you have a T-mobile USA plan and you are in Europe connected via Wifi, are your plan minutes counted as if you are in the USA or are you charged international minutes?

FreydNot said:
UMA on my blackberry always used minutes.
If you have a T-mobile USA plan and you are in Europe connected via Wifi, are your plan minutes counted as if you are in the USA or are you charged international minutes?
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Last time I have read about it, it was free. People stopped talking about it, since T-mobile did not support the feature anymore.

FreydNot said:
UMA on my blackberry always used minutes.
If you have a T-mobile USA plan and you are in Europe connected via Wifi, are your plan minutes counted as if you are in the USA or are you charged international minutes?
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Last time I have read about it, it was free. People stopped talking about it, since T-mobile did not support the feature anymore.
Nevermind!
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1618892-Overseas-UMA-calls-now-being-billed-as-roaming?daysprune=365

Im excited about the feature cause I have no cell signal at work (at all)
Will it work for ATT users though?

T-Mobile used to give you the option of paying an extra $9.99 per month for unlimited Wi-fi calling. They took that away so wifi (or UMA) calling uses your minutes. It is still helpful to me for overseas or certain areas that have spotty T-mobile coverage. I travel a lot and it comes up. Which is one reason I've held onto my old blackberry for when I travel. Now that the Vibrant is getting this feature I can finally ditch that thing.

maybe I am blessed But
i use and pay for a no contract unlimited plan, Since then my recurring costs are a constant 75 month. That really is not that much, unless you are really really broke. I use this phone for EVERYTHING and 75 month. I do like the wifi hookup I have used my phone in reverse to call (call on my computer using tethering) and that works very well. But I just did it to make sure i could, BTW I called out of the country........ and still 75 month

mhseraph said:
Im excited about the feature cause I have no cell signal at work (at all)
Will it work for ATT users though?
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Do you have to have it enabled during? Like If I'm at work and I have bad cell reception, should I just turn it on? I guess I'm asking is there some automatic way to switch back and forth?
[Edit]
Looks like if you leave it on, under connection prefs you choose "Cellular Preferred" which calls will route through wifi if there is no cell service...

How would this work out in another country? If I travel to say Europe or Australia and have a WiFi connection can I call from my US number to other US numbers? Can I receive calls to my US number?

NWolf said:
How would this work out in another country? If I travel to say Europe or Australia and have a WiFi connection can I call from my US number to other US numbers? Can I receive calls to my US number?
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Yes. Basically wifi essentially becomes an US T-Mobile tower.
Wi-Fi calling/UMA is one of those features that make or break a phone for me. I have ZERO T-Mobile service at home. My current main phone (BB8700) has UMA so I get perfect reception in my house, top floor or basement.

I am LOVING the wifi calling!

That OTA update came just in the nick of time. I pushed it myself after I read about how to do it and still hadn't received the update. I left for Manila on Friday the 12th and have been loving the wifi calling here!! It has been a life saver in terms of paying for international calling. There is zero lag and the call sounds just as good as if I were on the network in the states. I can't really imagine a use for it while in the country since it still takes minutes, but I guess if you are in an area without TMobile but yet still has a wifi connection with a fast enough speed to carry the call, then it could be useful. I just don't know where that place is... All I can tell you is that it has been working amazingly well in the Philippians and I have been able to make and receive calls without interruption all week. My colleagues who have needed to pack an extra phone with international calling abilities have been absolutely green with envy as I'm still able to do business easily in the office without needing to be on a landline or paying extra to use my cell phone in the hotel. What a great innovation!!! Even texting has worked just as if I were still in the states. Everybody I call and text have had a hard time remembering that I'm out of the country since it is still not totally normal to be receiving calls and texts from the same US number even though I'm abroad.
Anyway, I thought I'd share. I tried it while I was in the states, but didn't know if the clarity or quality of the call was influenced by being near the TMobile network anyway. I can tell you for sure that it is a great thing with no downside. You do need more than just a wifi signal though. If the signal isn't strong enough then the phone won't register to the TMobile network and it won't work. Oddly enough, when it says the signal isn't strong enough to make calls, they still come in just fine. Maybe just a couple bugs to work out, but this has definitely made me glad I went with TMobile and not Sprint when I was shopping for a new Android.

Are you sure you're not still paying for international calling? I thought T-Mo was going to charge you.
As for "getting an international phone", the G2 probably could have been unlocked (barring S-OFF issues) to work with the GSM there just fine.
I just took my G1 to Australia after getting the unlock code from T-Mo, and it worked great there, 3G with an Australian SIM.

dancingwombat said:
Are you sure you're not still paying for international calling? I thought T-Mo was going to charge you.
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I remember someone on this forum confirming that if you use Wi-Fi calling, your phone is treated as though it's roaming in the states, which makes it extremely useful for those who commute internationally, like the OP.

Does wifi calling/texting count as data charge (becouse if it does, I'll be able to text for free anywhere there is wifi)
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

WiFi Calling feature uses plan minutes and plan txt messages... there are no extra charges unless you go over your limit

I was unaware it used plan minutes. Sounds pointless now unless I have bad signal in the house

greengoldmello said:
I was unaware it used plan minutes. Sounds pointless now unless I have bad signal in the house
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As soon as you turn it on, it says it uses plan minutes.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Yeah, unless you just don't get a good signal in your house, there isn't much point to the wifi calling since it still uses your plan minutes. From here it works just like I'm in my office at home. I can call and text local numbers without having to dial any other weird country codes or anything. And people at home don't even need to know I'm out of the country since they just call my number and my phone rings just like normal.
Typically I have just used skype to call for free computer to computer since using it to call a phone number costs money. But now I can use the wifi and that is so much better! However, my hotel doesn't allow the phone to register with Tmobile, so some servers are going to put the kabosh on using this type of thing. I'm just wondering if it would work from the plane when I'm flying domestically and have the wifi available to me... FCC regulations prohibit using a phone during flight even if you are connected to wifi, so it doesn't really matter I guess.

Delta105RUS said:
Does wifi calling/texting count as data charge (becouse if it does, I'll be able to text for free anywhere there is wifi)
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
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The texting still counts as texting and not as a data charge. So it basically just uses whatever you already have on your plan. If you are out of text messages or minutes, then you will get charged for going over just like usual. I've got an unlimited plan for all that, so it isn't something I really keep track of.

dancingwombat said:
Are you sure you're not still paying for international calling? I thought T-Mo was going to charge you.
As for "getting an international phone", the G2 probably could have been unlocked (barring S-OFF issues) to work with the GSM there just fine.
I just took my G1 to Australia after getting the unlock code from T-Mo, and it worked great there, 3G with an Australian SIM.
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I'm sure it could have been, but that is why I'm glad the wifi calling update came when it did. It saved me the trouble of needing to do it. Anytime I've been away from the office where I haven't had a wifi signal to attach to has been times when I don't really want to talk on the phone anyway. Especially here... I really don't want people seeing me with a G2 in my hand when it is a pretty lusted after phone here. Everything is uber cheap here, but I was at a less than legitimate item mall yesterday and they had a G2 in the same case as an iPad. I can get a 32GB ipad for less than a G2 here.

International Calling...

So... my girlfriend is going to Trinidad for 2 and 1/2 weeks. I wanted to know what options do we have as far as making calls on our cell phones go?
We're trying to avoid data roaming and she has no access to wifi, so skype is definitely out of the picture... I know it's hard but I'm guessing we might just have to pick up the international plan with sprint or stick to calling cards right?

It seems they have cdma service there, so if she has a sprint or verizon phone, it will work. However it will be roaming. If you are going to be here, calling her phone wont charge you, but it will charge her for roaming. Not sure what sprint charges for roaming in that country, you will have to call and find out.
Also be aware, she will get charged per text, and per kb of data, which can really add up. Make sure she turns off 3g on her phone, to avoid that.

yeah, i plan on locking down her phone after she calls to say she's there safely. thanks for the reply, i'll call sprint and find out what their rates go for. thanks

dragoniusFUZE said:
yeah, i plan on locking down her phone after she calls to say she's there safely. thanks for the reply, i'll call sprint and find out what their rates go for. thanks
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Make sure to come back with your findings. Just curious since I will try to make it to Puerto Rico this year, eventhough I think Puerto Rico it won't be roaming since I can call for free to my father, I don't know if it will differ once I'm on the island.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

No problem, she leaves this Sunday, as far as it goes, the rates in Trinidad are $1.19/min and $4/MB of data. I know for one, she'll use the phone to call me when she gets there, after that I hope she shuts it off.
Puerto Rico I do believe in within the line of U.S. territory so I don't think it should be a problem, but you could check at sprint.com/international for the rates if any.