Anyone have TMobile and get free texting and data while on the Ocean? Transatlantic?

[lauraapp]

Looking especially for Transatlantic.

[Biker19]

17 minutes ago, lauraapp said:

Looking especially for Transatlantic.

It is very unlikely you will have outbound texts on any ship go out, but depending on the ship, you might get some inbound texts leak through (via ship Wifi) without a Voom package (assuming you have wifi calling enabled).

Edited February 17, 2023 by Biker19

[Cigar King]

You will not get free access from T-Mobile.  They list the locations where they provide coverage, and the ship is not one of them.  You may want to look into wifi if this is important to you.

[nimbex1970]

I have T mobile and called them, they cannot promise coverage, roving and extra costs will apply if you get connections. I suggest using the ship wifi, as these costs when you turn your phone on can start.  Whenever you take your phone off airplane mode, you can encur charges.  It's quite a gamble and they would not be specific as to the charges per minute as the ship triangulates coverage from various spots on a trans-atlantic. 

 

[time4u2go]

It will most definitely NOT be free (included).

[Engineroom Snipe]

On Oasis in September of 2022, T Mobile user, Veteran Magenta Plan, out of the roaming range of any identified T Mobile area both foreign and domestic.

 

There was a family emergency. I purchased a one day ship internet package. All text had a $0.50 charge for outgoing and incoming messages using the ship package. The charges were billed to my T Mobile account and there were no charges on board beyond the one daily internet fee.

 

Should you not have an emergency, I would advise anyone who has purchased a ship internet package to use "emails" instead of texts as there are no additional charges for emails (I sent emails as well as texts during this period and was not charged for emails).

 

I did not try to make any voice calls during this period.

 

I hope this information helps.

[crzndeb]

41 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

All text had a $0.50 charge for outgoing and incoming messages using the ship package.

I usually get the ship internet, and I have never paid for any texts, in or out. Does it make a difference if it was via IMessage? And I have TMobile.

Edited February 18, 2023 by crzndeb

[Engineroom Snipe]

8 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

I usually get the ship internet, and I have never paid for any texts, in or out. Does it make a difference if it was via IMessage? And I have TMobile.

 

I used standard SMS texts which would not be IMessage. SMS texts are relayed through the mobile servers and do not use a third party app. This might explain why your experience was different from mine.

 

It could be that IMessage is Internet Protocol (IP) based which again only uses the ship service like an email. IMessage, to the best of my knowledge, imitates text messages through their App but is like sending an email with all of the framing information stripped out through the App and thus appears as a text message to the user. Both users must have the App installed on their device and the information is routed through the IMessage servers. Apple uses the same type of service for their messages which use Apple servers.

 

I do not want to bore people with technical details so I will end it at that.

 

 😉

 

 

[crzndeb]

30 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

I do not want to bore people with technical details so I will end it at that.

No worries…I retired in 2010 after almost 40 years in Tellecommunications. My last few years were spent provisioning the VOIP network for AT&T across the US. After I retired, I wiped my brain of all technical knowledge…LOL

[ARandomTraveler]

4 hours ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

On Oasis in September of 2022, T Mobile user, Veteran Magenta Plan, out of the roaming range of any identified T Mobile area both foreign and domestic.

 

There was a family emergency. I purchased a one day ship internet package. All text had a $0.50 charge for outgoing and incoming messages using the ship package. The charges were billed to my T Mobile account and there were no charges on board beyond the one daily internet fee.

 

Should you not have an emergency, I would advise anyone who has purchased a ship internet package to use "emails" instead of texts as there are no additional charges for emails (I sent emails as well as texts during this period and was not charged for emails).

 

I did not try to make any voice calls during this period.

 

I hope this information helps.

I also have the T-Mobile Magenta plan. I paid for wifi on the ship and as long ans I was connected to wifi, texts were free. 

In fact texts are free on all the Caribbean islands as well, mexico, Canada, and Europe, and that's without being connected to wifi at all. 
 

If you're on the ship though, you have to use wifi because you won't be able to connect to a land-based data network in order to get free texting. Free texting is not available in the middle of the ocean, unless you're connected to a wifi network. 

[brillohead]

4 hours ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

On Oasis in September of 2022, T Mobile user, Veteran Magenta Plan, out of the roaming range of any identified T Mobile area both foreign and domestic.

 

There was a family emergency. I purchased a one day ship internet package. All text had a $0.50 charge for outgoing and incoming messages using the ship package. The charges were billed to my T Mobile account and there were no charges on board beyond the one daily internet fee.

 

Should you not have an emergency, I would advise anyone who has purchased a ship internet package to use "emails" instead of texts as there are no additional charges for emails (I sent emails as well as texts during this period and was not charged for emails).

 

I did not try to make any voice calls during this period.

 

I hope this information helps.

I think the difference would be whether you had originally signed up for Wi-Fi Calling on your phone before you left.  

I enable Wi-Fi calling on every phone I have and I keep it turned on at all times.  (I have bad cell reception at my house, so I use Wi-Fi calling there -- my phone automatically chooses the strongest signal and routes the call via Cell or Wi-Fi, whichever is better.)  

I've been on cruises with Verizon and with Google Fi as my provider, and have never been charged for calls or texts placed over Wi-Fi on the ship, because those messages weren't going through the cellular system.  

[Engineroom Snipe]

I think from the responses, I need to do some more research. In general, I enjoy turning technology off during my vacations. I so enjoyed "airplane mode" while flying as it gave me an excuse to "disconnect" for a few hours. Thanks to all for the advice if I need to do it again onboard. 😊

[marvelous35]

To summarize, apps like imessage and whatapp are internet based.  So if you have ship wifi, you can use them and there will be no charges.  Leave you phone on airplane mode, to guarantee it cannot search for cell service.

[lakelorain]

As long as you have phone that will support it, and the correct T-Mobile plan along with the ship's wifi, texting and data should be free.  I've done many trans-Atlantics and trans-Pacifics with no problems and no charges.