Despite outlining the struggle I have experienced with T-Mobile and their International Data Pass, the process of adding the package may have gotten worse and Google Fi is not a better answer for the 43% of Americans that use an iPhone. Don’t they read this blog?
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Time is Money
I spent Thanksgiving in Manchester, England and later took a trip to the Philippines. I spent no less than three hours of my vacation trying to pay T-Mobile more money. On one particular occasion in England, I spent more than 40 minutes trying to add the same feature I had added the three days prior.
I mentioned this on one of my calls to add the product when I actually had a rep that was aware of the product and he credited me back $20. That amounts to enough to offset two days for two phones. But frankly, I would rather pay the $20 and have the ability to add this product to my plan over a simple text message. Each call I made still consumed at least 18 minutes per call (but on average over 30 minutes).
My time is valuable (so is the rep’s), T-Mobile should be motivated to inform their staff of the product and make it easier to re-activate once it runs out.
It Doesn’t Matter What You Call It
Some commenters mentioned that the product has a different name than I had used. I previously called it Global Pass (which I have used on the phone and seen elsewhere). There is also International Pass, International Data Pass – I have heard a few different names.
It doesn’t matter. The reps still have no idea what I am talking about. I have tried describing it by product characteristics:
- 512 MB
- 24 hours
- $5/day/line
- International
- LTE/4G
None of these characteristics seem to help the reps to find the product or select it any faster. It’s as if the concept is new every single time.
App Doesn’t Work, Phone Support Just As Bad
I have tried using the app to add the feature without success. My wife tried to use the website and it locked her out. Phone support remains dismal. I outlined above, the amount of time it takes reps to execute adding the feature and that includes when they can see what was previously added and replicating it.
Google Fi for iPhone Is Not a Solution
While Google Fi is now available for iPhones (welcomed news), not all features are. For example, iMessage is great, but friends that do not use iPhones have limited capabilities when texting iPhone users. Google has not cracked this portion of the service and a few others. One of which includes visual voicemail, meaning I have to call in to get messages left, a real pain when 75% of them tell me about how my auto warranty is expiring (I don’t have one) or that open enrollment is closing.
Further, the service still uses T-Mobile in the US, Google Fi is, in essence, a reseller. That would make the switch a lateral move for domestic calling, an enhancement for global services but a degradation of service that I otherwise regularly use (texting and voicemail).
I will wait for a more complete offering when Google Fi for iPhone leaves Beta and completes some of these product rollouts.
Have you had success/trouble with the T-Mobile International Data plan/Global Pass? Are you an iPhone user with Google Fi? Is there a better option out there?
You could have use the t mobile one plus plan, which for a fixed rate of 15 a month per line gets you unlimited data, talk and text and 215 countries at no extra charge
I have that plan, that speed is very, very slow – think dial-up speed but every website requires broadband. After struggling through it for years, I’d rather just pay for the higher speed. Secondly, talk (phone calls) are still charged at $.25/minute. Thirdly, if you pay $15/month extra, those features aren’t available at “no extra charge”, there is an extra charge and it’s $15/month. Well that is the most pedantic of responses, it’s particularly Relevant for those who travel abroad only occasionally. For example, if you only travel abroad for five days every three months then you have essentially paid $45 for five days of active service or $9/day – far higher than the $5 for LTE service you’d receive.
T mobile has a 50 dollar per month add on that works just fine .
Unless you are on the ground a full 10 days every single month, that plan is more expensive than this option. Keeping in mind that each month there are only 22 work days (on average) and that presumably travelers would spend at least a day of traveling on either side of their trip, this plan is only better for those who spend nearly every week abroad for their companies but still pay for their own cell phone bill – a narrow subset to be certain.
Boogen You forgot to mention this plan is not Lte4 based data speed when you are abroad….
The $15 feature is state side international, is intended for use while still inside of the United states not out of country.
I’ve just been in the Philippines the last 2weeks.Using the international plan or whatever they call it,data is so slow like dial up,even sending text messages takes minutes before it’s being sent,they can’t call you it goes directly to voicemail and you can’t access it too.I can’t even call my wife that is a few km away from me,I have to text her.It’s better to put a local sim card to your phone if you have an open phone.
Yes, a local sim card is much better
The OnePlus deal Works fantastic with me. I am grandfathered in to that only paying what it would cost for the regular T-Mobile one. I know it’s throttled international but it’s just enough to hold data calls just fine. My company uses Cisco jabber and the app works fantastic even with the throttled speeds. of course if you’re watching YouTube videos and trying to quickly browse websites there’s no doubt it’s very slow. Luckily Wi-Fi helps
I added it the day it came out. Got some one obviously in the Philippines, but was able to talk her through what I wanted. She checked with a couple of other people and voila, my phone now reflects Consumer Global Plus One. LTE wherever I go, at least in Asia. Total time took maybe 15 minutes.
You should mention that project fi nuts not a solution for iPhone users in the title. It is very misleading.
Google Fi is the answer……you just have to have the fortitude to leave the Cult of iPhones, Yes, you can do it too. Greg from frequent miler just pulled the trigger. You CAN live without blue bubbles. Don’t be afraid.
Spot on. Google Fi is awesome. In reality, it’s your iPhone that’s the problem.
Agreed.
Switched from Android to iPhone. Life is much easier. I’ll never go back. Androids are complete junk, and who cares about tinkering. I want my device to work. And this is coming from someone who does IT for a living.
Agreed on this. I switched from the iPhone X to the Pixel 3. It’s an awesome phone!
Currently in Tokyo and my cellular speeds are faster than they are in Los Angeles. (Which is already good in my area.) Crazy.
I’ve been using the app to add it and it’s working perfectly. I guess I’m lucky. I feel your pain about calling T-Mobile for help, it almost always makes things worse.
Have never had an issue on the app. Open the app, tap “account” at the bottom of the screen. On the next screen, tap plans and usage details at the top. On the next screen tap “manage data & add-ons.” The next screen is where the magic happens…about halfway under the screen you will see “one-time data pass” with two options, one for HD Video, the other international pass. The international pass is what you want.
Man up and get a pixel 3. Switch to Fi. You won’t look back.
Why anyone that travels regularly would use anything else is beyond me.
I’d get a note 9 before a pixel. Better for productivity, battery life and the spen.
Note 9 may very well be better for the things you mentioned but, like the iPhone, it’s not optimized for Fi.
Just traveled to London, Belgium, and France with T-Mobile. I have a Pixel 3 and the T-Mobile One plan. Immediately upon arriving, my data worked workout issue. It was pretty slow, so I decided to bump up to the one plus plan to double the speed. I used the T-Mobile app to do so and it was simple and worked fine. I bumped both my line and my wife’s.
There was one day that I was trying to download some things and the speed was a bit too slow for my liking. I decided to add a one day international pass to my line. Once again, I used the T-Mobile app to do so and had absolutely no problems. I received a text saying that I had added the one day pass and may need to reboot for it to take. I toggled airplane mode and I immediately has LTE speeds.
I travel for work quite a bit and have been through this same scenario many times. I’ve never had any issues with the service or T-Mobile’s app.
On the basis of your response here, I will try again to add through the app. The phone support is not worth the speed upgrade anymore.
I’m aware this sounds counterproductive, but their twitter support has been worlds better than their phone support for me.
I think thet call them “T-Force” – If the data is fast enough for twitter, try and DM them next time you’re struggling.
My way of getting around using project Fi, I use Hangouts. It allows me to receive phone calls and sms texts simply using the 4G services. Yes Hangouts still has some features not available with other texting services.
Honestly, I have never had a problem calling customer support. That said, I prefer to contact them via twitter; responses are a little slower, but it’s free if there’s WiFi.
The problem here is the iPhone. Fi works great. Get yourself a pixel 3.
I am thinking about it, frankly. I have had an iPhone since they first launched (and Apple products since 1998) so the question is how well a Pixel 3 will work with the rest of my Apple products.
I expect you will find things that don’t lineup perfect but if you are using Google products (chrome, search, maps, Gmail, translate, etc.) There shouldn’t be any major issues.
I recommend getting a free data only sim for you iPhone and carrying both your new pixel and iPhone for a few months while you transition. There are solutions and workarounds for things you will miss on your iPhone for a few months.
I agree it must be your phone. We have used the International plan with T mobile in the past and have never had issues. We stopped usjng it because we switched to Skype and Facebook messenger free.
You never had any issues adding the plan? I’m confused.
The problem is your iPhone
Majority of the things you do on your phone are Google related.
You Google search, not Apple search
Google Maps, nobody uses Apple Maps
Gmail you don’t Apple mail
Google Translate, No Apple here.
Google Fi, Apple pie
Using an iPhone is like trying to order Italian food at an Indian restaurant.
Google’s approach to the Android store is not great, most apps come out first for App store and may never come out at all on Android and who is picking Google Fi over Apple pie? That’s just poor judgment.
The truth is, this is an antiquated way of thinking. Android is makes up the majority of the mobile is market now. So, developers have the incentive to build the apps for Android. And, I’ll have sweet potato pie before apple pie, or Google fi, any day.
According to market research, Android does not yet make up the majority of the market. That’s remarkable because of the limited iterations of iOS (by comparison to Android) and the limited market fragmentation of the iOS lines when compared to Android peers. Google Fi would not work on all phones on all Android operating systems and even if they do in theory, in practice it would be a terrible user experience.
Please address what core apps only exist in Apple store and not Android. I’m waiting on the edge of my seat.
Link 1: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/android-vs-ios/ “The Play Store still has a higher percentage of free apps than the App Store. But the best mobile games still land on iOS first and they don’t always come to Android. Ultimately, quality beats quantity and so this is a narrow win for iOS.”
Link 2: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ios-apps-still-better-android-apps/ – This article outlines how much more coding is involved with Android vs. iOS and covers the dramatic market segmentation on Android when compared to iOS.
Separately, I also like that you added the qualifier “core” to the descriptor of the apps.
Kyle, dont rationalize why you stay with Apple, you sound like a battered wife. Just take the leap. You’ve got this!
I have the Tmo 55+ plan and just added the international data option via the website when the other person on my plan was in Japan. He reported that high speed data kicked in almost immediately and worked great while he was there for three weeks.
Fi actually works well with iPhones as long as you install Hangouts and set it up to handle your SMS, MMS, and voicemail.
+1 on this. My wife and I have had Fi for 2 years and LOVE it. We have used the service in 20+ countries with no issues. She’s on an iPhone and I have a Pixel. Hangouts integration is the key to using Fi on iOS. That is the only way you get SMS and visual voicemail for the time being – figured that out through the process of setting up her unsupported (at the time) iPhone after she refused to switch to Android. IMO it is a small price to pay for extremely reliable service that doesn’t require add ons for international travel. It’s one less thing for us travel junkies.
It is called T Mobile ONE Plus ($15 extra) on my website dashboard.
iPhone has trapped you, but you CAN break free. I finally did and haven’t looked back since.
I switched from an AT&T iPhone to a Finger Pixel and love the move. Fi is the best for international travellers and the Pixel is a solid phone. I don’t miss the iPhone.
Have you tried using T-Mobile’s Twitter support? That is indeed fantastic! But, that said, I switched to T-Mobile because of their One plan. If your phone supports Wi-Fi calling, you can call anyone in the US, Canada, and Mexico for free (you have to be on WiFi, though!). Plus, I get free 2G data that, for me, is sufficient for Hangouts, WhatsApp, or Skype messaging. I use an Android phone, however, and have had no issues.
Of course, you mention T-Mobile, but what about AT&T and Verizon? They offer plans but you have to pay extra, just like you have to with T-Mobile. For the One plan on TMO, I have 4 lines and I pay $140 a month. So, if I have to pay extra for getting an LTE plan abroad, I would still choose T-Mobile over the other carriers. And, like I mentioned above, I can chat with TMO reps on Twitter.
Also, I rarely call TMO to add anything to my plan. I use their app and everything can be done from there without having to be frustrated by reps.
Finally, there is a reason I stay away from the iPhone. I don’t like their excuses (“you are not holding the phone right, that’s why you are experiencing signal problems!”). I see my daughter struggle with something or the other on her iPhone almost on a daily basis. I am not confident that if I use that phone abroad that I won’t have any issues. Maybe, just maybe, the use of an iPhone is exacerbating your problems. That said, I know people who use their iPhones abroad and have n0 issues.
In a nutshell, please use the other carriers and write an article that compares the 3 carriers. I think that will be extremely useful and you will be doing everyone a big service.
Great advice and good questions posed. Verizon and ATT are substantially higher for the same usage across our plan before adding their much higher daily rate for international calls. Verizon’s coverage is much better in the US but the cost difference on a monthly basis before adding in LTE coverage for days I spend abroad will lead to hundreds of dollars annually in additional spending. I’d rather T-Mobile just trained their reps on their products.
But, Kyle, I still am not sure your problems can be attributed to the iPhone or Google Fi or TMO. I think you should analyze your needs and pick a plan that gives you the most value with the least expense. But, I believe the newer TMO plans are much more international travel friendly than their older ones. Further, if you travel abroad frequently, then using a local SIM might work better. You did mention Thanksgiving travels but do you travel that often to justify using the TMO plan you are currently on?
Your post does bring-up an interesting question: why haven’t US carriers been able to make the use of our phone service abroad a simpler process? Maybe some plans are more conducive for international travel while others are not. I am not familiar with the TMO plan you are on and your frequency of international travel. Take these and other factors into account in determining what’s best for you. And, do write to John Legere on Twitter and make your voice heard.
I have the T-Mobile One Plus plan at no extra cost and it works fine for travel out of the country for 2-3 months out of the year. I see my coworkers paying $10 a day on Verizon and AT&T to use their data and send and receive text messages.
Welcome to China! Your T-Mobile ONE Plus feature gives you data at 2X the speeds of our T-Mobile ONE plan, up to 256kbps, unlimited texts, and calls at 25 cents/min. Visit t-mo.co/intl-plus1 to learn more and view additional data options. Enjoy your stay!
But that speed is very, very slow! The plan I am talking about for $5/day would deliver 20-40x that speed.
I mainly use my phone for the maps when I travel around and that speed works fine. For the most part, I am working out of a hotel that has WiFi so that is why the plan works. I am cheap and don’t want to spend the extra $5 for faster speeds.
What a half baked post. Regular SMS works with iPhones on Fi. Yes, you have to update some carrier settings manually but that’s a one time thing and then it works. Second, I understand the pain of not being able to use the iPhone’s visual voicemail, but any voicemail you receive is transcribed and messaged to you via text.
Thanks Matt!
1) SMS still works but so do telegraphs, But we can both experience that it’s not a modern form of communication and should be avoided if possible.
2) I still have a google voice account and get the same transcription. They are bad and have not improved in the nearly ten years I’ve had it.
Different Matt here. I started using Fi on iPhone this week and not sure I understand your rebuttal to point 1. Isn’t that a primary complaint– that you can’t get SMS (texts)? Not sure how that’s an outdated form of communication… isn’t that what every non-iPhone in the world uses?
As for 2, I had no idea voicemail was such a big deal to so many people. Maybe it’s because I’m younger, but when I don’t answer my phone, most people just text their request/tell me to call them back. For our generation, if it’s not important enough to do that, not important enough to warrant follow up.
That’s something I really appreciate about millennials– no voicemails! My dad gets/listens to about 15 per day. Never once is one more useful than a text asking for a callback or a simple yes/no. Huuuuge waste of time listening to someone ramble about something you have to call back for anyway.
Having access to email and Google/apps outweighs voice calling and all of its features for the majority of people I interact with in business and personally, so while your points are well taken, they might not be as determinative as you purport.
This is why I went with a Google phone and Fi. It’s been seamless internationally. The best phone experience for the worldwide traveler.
A more accurate title would be “Google Fi on iPhone not the answer”. In my experience, Google Fi is absolutely on top of things unlike the T-Mobile experience you had (sorry btw. I’ve worked for carriers before and know exactly what how frustrating that is). And on the Pixel it has always exceeded my expectations.
I made the switch from AT&T to Google Fi with my iPhone XS. What you mentioned is absolutely true, but I miss the WiFi calling in addition to the absence of Visual Voicemail. WiFi calling is so important since T-Mobile’s coverage is poor at times and I often see 0 bars w/ Google Fi around town.
It’s really hard to complain about the lower price of Google Fi when compared to AT&T’s shenanigans. Hopefully Google will fix these issues soon.
I’ve had an iPhone from the beginning and an Android tablet until recently. There is NO WAY I’d switch to an Android phone, ever. I’ve never had an iPhone lose functionality three years after purchase, and iOS does the trick for me. It’s just a question of WHEN will Google add these missing iOS features.
Since you already have a Google Voice number, you could get a Pixel and port the Voice number as a trial. If you can’t live with it, cancle the service (this will restore your Voice number) and return the phone.
We were in the UAE, Oman, and Maldives in Oct/Nov. Never had a problem once adding the $5 int’l plan.
Logged into the website using our phones, adder the $5 data pass, done.
Takes about 5 minutes over 2G data.
Not sure why you are having so many problems. It’s easy.
If anyone is interested in signing up for Google Fi, get free $20 credit if you use my code YXF42R. It will also help me out and I would greatly appreciate.
Been using the $5 international pass on T Mobile for about 9 months now for international trips (used about 20 instances).
Always easy to find it by logging into T Mobile on my phone (not the app – the website). Go to plans, then plan add-on. There is a radio button to select and then confirm. Then it’s done and the speed generally goes up to 4G LTE instantly. This has worked for me in Guatemala, Greece, Italy, UK, France, Germany so far,
I generally find this worth the deal – as you get free calls during the 24 hour period. Just be mindful of Icloud or Google auto back-ups of your pics… this could eat into your 512MB allotment.
The new T-Mobile International Data Pass – introduced to replace T-Mobile’s previous offerings in July 2018 – is *not* LTE. Instead it seems to be restricted to 3G/HSPA signals. Which means that it’s a complete waste of money. As soon as I paid for the pass, my phone stopped connecting to LTE signals, and would *either* connect to a 2G (edge) signal, or what T-Mobile labels “4G”, which is basically a 3G signal.
I spent most of the 24hrs of the pass in the UK last December on a 2G signal.
As soon as the 24 hrs was up, my phone was able to find LTE signals again, albeit at throttled speeds. Sorry, but the new offering is worthless.
I wrote to T-Mobile, and they refunded the pass, but I’d rather they kept the money and brought back the old passes.
My office and home in Manhattan is stronghold of Sprint with excellent data speed. When I used Pixel, I was able to get the best of two world from Sprint and T-Mobile. Now I switch to IPhone, I was miserable stuck to super slow horrible service of T-Mobile at my office and home. Called Google, they said IPhone user were only allowed to register to T-Mobile network, no auto switching to US and Cellular. Dial coding to force switching doesn’t work either. They can’t do anything about it.