Sprint "Open World" plan (replaces International Value Roaming)

[greenbastard]

I was in Tijuana Mexico, Friday and Saturday, with Open World add on, on my Moto X Pure and no issues, connected to HSPA+ on Movistar, no LTE. Whenever you cross the border you get the welcome to Open World Text. Im on the ED 1500 plan. iPhones do connect LTE on Movistar 334 050

Unfortunately, I don't think the Moto X ever got LTE roaming support from Sprint. The Nexus/Pixel were the same way but an update solved that issue for users.

 

Also, are you sure that was the PLMN that you saw on LTE?? Because 334-05 belongs to Unefon, which is the prepaid arm of Iusacell, which is now owned by At&t MX. The PLMN I usually see on my Sprint iPhone down there is 334-03 (oddly enough, only Androids show the network name for Movistar, iPhones only show PLMN).

[nexuss4g]

Were the iPhones also on Open World?

 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Yes, all phones on my account are on Open World, 4 Iphones and 1 Moto X Pure

 

Unfortunately, I don't think the Moto X ever got LTE roaming support from Sprint. The Nexus/Pixel were the same way but an update solved that issue for users.

 

Also, are you sure that was the PLMN that you saw on LTE?? Because 334-05 belongs to Unefon, which is the prepaid arm of Iusacell, which is now owned by At&t MX. The PLMN I usually see on my Sprint iPhone down there is 334-03 (oddly enough, only Androids show the network name for Movistar, iPhones only show PLMN).

Bummer that we never got an update for roaming support, but at least I get 3G when roaming, so pretty happy about it.

I will have to double check i dont recall the correct number perhaps I made a typo, I remember that before an ios update, it would display Movistar on the screen.

[Rawvega]

Where exactly? Movistar MX has almost halted their LTE expansion while Telcel and At&t are moving at full speed.

 

As a matter of fact, I'm pretty amazed at the quickness and urgency that At&t has shown in Mexico with their LTE deployment. They have almost matched the number of cities with LTE that Telcel has.

Perhaps this is why Movistar MX has halted their LTE deployment:

 

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3271711-report-telefonica-pondering-sale-mexico-unit

[greenbastard]

Perhaps this is why Movistar MX has halted their LTE deployment:

 

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3271711-report-telefonica-pondering-sale-mexico-unit

That's quite sad. Movistar was once the "T-Mobile" of Mexico with their cheap rates and rapid growth. Today, it's become the "cheap" network due to their reliability issues and fierce competition matching their prices.

 

The Carlos Slim cartel wins once again.

[Palan]

I'm going overseas (Russia), I have two options.

Option 1) Use Sprint open world (not available anymore, I'm grandfathered in) = 3 cents per MB at 3G speeds which is $30/GB.

OR

Option 2) The current Sprint global roaming = free unlimited 2G speed but can purchase speed pass at up to 4G speeds. $25 for a week but limited to 100mb a day.

I will be there for a month, I'm kind of torn on this, All opinions would be helpful.

[Oakley707]

I'm going overseas (Russia), I have two options.

 

Option 1) Use Sprint open world (not available anymore, I'm grandfathered in) = 3 cents per MB at 3G speeds which is $30/GB.

 

OR

 

Option 2) The current Sprint global roaming = free unlimited 2G speed but can purchase speed pass at up to 4G speeds. $25 for a week but limited to 100mb a day.

 

I will be there for a month, I'm kind of torn on this, All opinions would be helpful.

Option 3.  Use an unlocked phone and buy a sim while you are over there.  Do you have a phone other than the iPhone 6S?

[Paynefanbro]

Option 2 is better. I don't know if you've been following along in the Open World thread but the 64kbps cap isn't enforced that heavily. At times I get up to 200kbps.

[Palan]

Option 2 is better. I don't know if you've been following along in the Open World thread but the 64kbps cap isn't enforced that heavily. At times I get up to 200kbps.

Does facebook/email load ok?

[Palan]

Option 3.  Use an unlocked phone and buy a sim while you are over there.  Do you have a phone other than the iPhone 6S?

I actually have a 7 Plus now. It is unlocked for international but I want to have the same # while im over there.

[Oakley707]

I actually have a 7 Plus now. It is unlocked for international but I want to have the same # while im over there.

Oh okay, maybe Google Voice forwarding?  I've just heard local sims are MUCH cheaper and would obviously provide better service than roaming.

[Palan]

Oh okay, maybe Google Voice forwarding?  I've just heard local sims are MUCH cheaper and would obviously provide better service than roaming.

Yes true, but its just more convenient when I dont have to go and get a SIM.

[Palan]

Option 2 is better. I don't know if you've been following along in the Open World thread but the 64kbps cap isn't enforced that heavily. At times I get up to 200kbps.

Can you send me the link to that thread? Im not seeing it.

[mirskyc]

I'm going overseas (Russia), I have two options.

 

Option 1) Use Sprint open world (not available anymore, I'm grandfathered in) = 3 cents per MB at 3G speeds which is $30/GB.

 

OR

 

Option 2) The current Sprint global roaming = free unlimited 2G speed but can purchase speed pass at up to 4G speeds. $25 for a week but limited to 100mb a day.

 

I will be there for a month, I'm kind of torn on this, All opinions would be helpful.

 

A Little off topic for NYC

 

But option 2 is incorrect. The weekly data pass is $25 but it's unthrottled full speeds AND unlimited data the entire week. I used it in South Africa and managed to use about 15Gb in 4 days with the weekly pass. 

 

edit: Also Russia is one of the countries that has LTE data. 

[Paynefanbro]

Does facebook/email load ok?

 

Yup. And thanks to things like Google AMP and Facebook Instant Articles, a lot of web pages load very fast.

[ingenium]

Does anyone know if Option 2 would carry over between countries? For example, if I'm going between several countries over the course of a week, will a single weekly pass work? Or do you need a separate pass for each country?

 

So far I've been keeping the grandfathered Open World because I suspect they won't honor the pass between countries.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[mirskyc]

Does anyone know if Option 2 would carry over between countries? For example, if I'm going between several countries over the course of a week, will a single weekly pass work? Or do you need a separate pass for each country?

 

So far I've been keeping the grandfathered Open World because I suspect they won't honor the pass between countries.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

I don't know for sure. But if I had to guess it will carry over. The throttling is done on Sprints end in the states. All data gets pushed to the states and then back to the country you are in. This is the reason for high pings. You still have high pings when you buy a pass. I think the pass simply removes the throttle on sprints end so any data from any country will pass through unthrottled. 

[grapkoski]

Does anyone know if Option 2 would carry over between countries? For example, if I'm going between several countries over the course of a week, will a single weekly pass work? Or do you need a separate pass for each country?

 

So far I've been keeping the grandfathered Open World because I suspect they won't honor the pass between countries.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

I asked this question to International Support and they said it should carry over as long as you are in the same price point. So basically, if you're going to China you'll need to pay that rate.

[jamesinclair]

I'm going overseas (Russia), I have two options.

 

Option 1) Use Sprint open world (not available anymore, I'm grandfathered in) = 3 cents per MB at 3G speeds which is $30/GB.

 

OR

 

Option 2) The current Sprint global roaming = free unlimited 2G speed but can purchase speed pass at up to 4G speeds. $25 for a week but limited to 100mb a day.

 

I will be there for a month, I'm kind of torn on this, All opinions would be helpful.

 

Remember, once you drop Open, its gone forever.

 

Do you have any plans for Latin America?

 

1GB free 3G + free calls is not matched by the new plan at all.

[jreuschl]

I'm sure that swapping to some of my non-gsm capable phones will remove "Open World" forever, so I better be careful. I pretty much just use my iPhone on Sprint exclusively these days.

 

Sent from my K88 using Tapatalk

 

it will.  I tried to temp change to a Galaxy Prime and Sprint's website warned me international services would be removed.  I backed out!

[ingenium]

Open World roams on T-Mobile LTE in Germany.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[snowmobiler487]

The wife and I are travelling to China.

She uses a Pixel XL, and I use a Nexus 6P.

Would really appreciate some opinions on how to go about using our phones in China.

I'm assuming Google services are still blocked.

 

Should we each get local SIMs or just pay some $ for high (full?) speed data?

We'll be there around 10 days.

 

Not sure if you have already traveled to China or not but be careful using google maps in China.  

 

Since google services are blocked for the majority of people there, maps is not as up to date or as accurate as we are used to in the US.  I saw this when I visited last spring.

 

On my iphone I found that Apple maps even has a special version that is only available in China.  Using the Chinese version,China is very detailed but the rest of the world lacked a lot of detail (As I zoomed in to Wisconsin, satellite view disappeared before the state even filled the screen).  As soon as I connected to a VPN, I was back on the version I was used to in the US and the China map lacked detail.

 

I'm not sure what the best maps solution is for Android in China but I would recommend searching Google a bit before you go. (oh, the irony  )

[skid71]

Not sure if you have already traveled to China or not but be careful using google maps in China.  

 

Since google services are blocked for the majority of people there, maps is not as up to date or as accurate as we are used to in the US.  I saw this when I visited last spring.

 

On my iphone I found that Apple maps even has a special version that is only available in China.  Using the Chinese version,China is very detailed but the rest of the world lacked a lot of detail (As I zoomed in to Wisconsin, satellite view disappeared before the state even filled the screen).  As soon as I connected to a VPN, I was back on the version I was used to in the US and the China map lacked detail.

 

I'm not sure what the best maps solution is for Android in China but I would recommend searching Google a bit before you go. (oh, the irony  )

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.  We are going to China later this year.

Map of China in the Play Store is highly rated and updated.  No need for data while in use, just GPS.

Not sure what to do about data while over there.  China data through Sprint is pricey, but what the heck, it's vacation.

 

[jreuschl]

Open World roams on T-Mobile LTE in Germany.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

Any speed test by chance?

[ingenium]

Any speed test by chance?

No, since it's pay per MB I didn't do any speed tests. It was quick though. The airport has a DAS, and I was just there for a layover, so I can't speak to coverage and speed outside of there.

 

Also LTE roaming in Singapore (screenshot below) and Cambodia.

 

 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[ingenium]

Roaming in Indonesia is now XL (Excelcom), HSPA+ max (ie no LTE). Surprising since XL is apparently a primarily LTE network from the quick research I did.

 

My bf's phone (Nexus 6P, with Open World, profile update done 2 weeks ago before leaving) will not roam here though. It just says emergency calls only. XL does not show up in the network list, just the MNC MCC combination for it. When I select it, it gives an error about the SIM being incapable of registering on the network. It's possible it requires a newer SIM than the one Sprint uses for the 6P? My Pixel is using the BYOD SIM and works fine.

 

EDIT: Screenshot showing the 6P refusing to connect to all networks Sprint roams with, Indosat and 510 11 (XL)