[Artemis68]

If your someone calls your voicemail, your charged for 1 minute of Int'l roaming. Int'l messages are $0.35 for outgoing, and $0.25 for incoming. Plan or no plan.

Is there anyway to temporarily block SMS and incoming calls when abroad so you won't be charged? I would just make outgoing calls when I wanted to talk to someone.

[soxwrx]

yes on the tmobile website there is an option to block all chargeable messages while you are overseas. you can call 611 and have your voicemail turned off as well im not sure what happens to the calls thought.....i only used my tmobile phone for data and outgoing UMA calls overseas

[Scream_At_Chaboi]

Is there anyway to temporarily block SMS and incoming calls when abroad so you won't be charged? I would just make outgoing calls when I wanted to talk to someone.

There is two ways to block SMS temporarily:

#1 - Go onto your mytmobile account on the web and under "My Account", "Change Services", select "Block Text and Picture Messages" or

#2 - In your blackberry settings, "Options", "Security Options", "Firewall", Change Status to "Enabled" and select which ever form of block incoming messages in the check boxes (i.e. SMS, MMS, BIS)

[mattglobal]

Okay so i ditched T-mobile yesterday and switched to verizon....unlimited international data for 70 a month. i had to get a storm which i wasnt too happy about because i was in LOVE with the 8900 but oh well. I went to the tmobile store to ask why i was getting charged for data on my unlimited plan and the woman in the store assured me i wouldnt be billed even though i was showing roaming charges on the website. she acutally showed me a page on the tmobile computers where it lists web and messaging as unlimited under the international email plan!!! talk about confusing for the sales people! so i asked for an explanation of my roaming charges and she accused me of making phone calls and texting wish i had assured her i didnt do. she assured me that i wouldnt ever be charged for ANY data and it was all unlimited. so i picked up my phone and called customer service.....after about 15 min on hold the guy comes back and says were sorry its 15/MB for data outside of emails. we are sorry the salesman misled you...we will credit you the roaming charges this time but from now on you know your plan is email only. So i told the CC rep that doesnt cut it for me i want out now no fee and i want to keep my phone . He comes back 10 mins later and says okay all set your account is deactivated you receive a bill in the mail for only the prorated domestic services you used. Thank you! i went back to the woman at the counter told her what the CC rep told me handed her my sim card and told her to make sure she informs everyone that works in her store about this before someone sells another phone under false pretenses.

When did you add the international data/email plan with T-Mobile? I'm trying to figure out if the charges are being incurred by everyone or just those that have added the international plan beyond a certain date. I'm hoping that there's something about the plan I have (since 2007, when it was still $20/month) that keeps me from being slapped with roaming charges. As I've said before, I've never been charged a dime for using 100s of MBs in Europe and Asia, but I was last out of the country in September so I haven't had a chance to test the waters recently.

[markbb99]

I've travelled overseas most months and roamed using a T-Mobile BB. Since January i started getting charged for data used (I've always added the the BB Unlimited Email) - so as soon as I figured out I was getting charged for anything other than email I quit using Google Maps, etc overseas.

Except it's not that simple! This past month I've been to Ecuador, and then another trip to London. On both occaisions I have charges every 6 minutes of 0.024KB at a time. I can't figure out what app is using the data! I've gone through and turned everything off, uninstalled apps, etc. I am not trying to get out of paying a bill where I have used data - but T-Mobile don't seem to be able to find out what this data use is. Thet have opened a ticket to look at the issue and now my online roaming data usage for this current month has disappeared. They did suggest that perhaps the unlimited email is not getting billed as unlimited and are looking into it...

I will be back in London next week - and will give things another try. Some have suggested disabling all data while roaming but then this obviously turns off email too which is kinda the whole point of a blackberry!!! I hate to be the guy who goes overseas, uses his phone a whole lot and then complains about the bill, but it seems like this add-on for t-mobile has become less useful.

[mattglobal]

Thanks for the info.

That is very disappointing. T-Mobile has been very good to me in a lot of ways, but under these terms I could potential rack up $500 or $600 a month when I'm overseas for extending periods of time. I would hope that T-Mobile would take notice and come up with a plan that is at least competitive to AT&T's. I was AT&T a long time ago, and I wouldn't look forward to going back, particularly because every other aspect of my plan with T-Mobile is fine, and to get similar services would cost an additional $90 a month. But I'll do it if I need to.

[Jen.Babe.87]

To be honest your best bet is going to be turning your mobile network off, and just using everywheres Wi-Fi. Emails and IM will wome through wifi if mobilenetowrk is off, and you wont be able to use your service if it isnt free. Think you can use UMA and Wi-Fi. You jsut will not be able to recieve calls, unless connected to UMA. For all the people using the international email, tmobile has made a lot of updates and iphones and unsupported devices can no longer use the less expensive data plans. They are starting to track AND notice exactly what kind of data is used. So if you have avoided these charges before, you may not anymore. It can also take 1-2 months for charges to show up on your bill.

[mattglobal]

To be honest your best bet is going to be turning your mobile network off, and just using everywheres Wi-Fi. Emails and IM will wome through wifi if mobilenetowrk is off, and you wont be able to use your service if it isnt free. Think you can use UMA and Wi-Fi. You jsut will not be able to recieve calls, unless connected to UMA. For all the people using the international email, tmobile has made a lot of updates and iphones and unsupported devices can no longer use the less expensive data plans. They are starting to track AND notice exactly what kind of data is used. So if you have avoided these charges before, you may not anymore. It can also take 1-2 months for charges to show up on your bill.

The entire reason I have a BlackBerry is to be connected to their network and thus to be useful wherever I am. And besides, I have an Orange Bold so UMA is non-functional.

I'll see what happens and if I get hit with a load of charges and T-Mobile stands by this policy and doesn't offer a plan competitive to AT&T's, I'll leave.

[mikel12323]

I just got my T-Mobile bill and for the first time ever, I was billed for international data in addition to my unlimited BB mail while in Australia, roaming on several different carriers, in June. Presumably similar charges were not made on my two other trips this year, in April and May.

The charges were small, only a few dollars in total, but the interesting thing was each charge was exactly 37 cents, with 0.02xx mbs for each charge.

So, I guess TMO just figured out how to separate the data and I will have to be careful about the occasional use of the web browser and google maps.

[mattglobal]

I checked one of my bills from last summer. I used 44MB in one month while I was out of the country. If T-Mobile would have charged me for this at their rate, it would have bee an additional $660, on top of the more than $700 in roaming voice charges I incurred (which is understandable). On average it would cost me $22 per day to be charged at this rate.

[frenchykarl]

I noticed the charges for INTL roaming after my first trip with my new curve 8900. I will switch back to my 8800 on m next trip and see what happens. Is it possible that the new OS is more capable of identifying what data is email and what is internet?

[mattglobal]

I noticed the charges for INTL roaming after my first trip with my new curve 8900. I will switch back to my 8800 on m next trip and see what happens. Is it possible that the new OS is more capable of identifying what data is email and what is internet?

That's not something I would have considered and I don't have an answer to that. I was still running 4.2 on my Curve and 8707 while I was last overseas. I would have to experiment to see if I got charged on one and not on the other.

Someone would have to chime in who had traveled internationally on an older OS recently.

[mikel12323]

I have not changed my OS and the billing started on the third of three trips to Australia.

[dwc1]

I am one of those lucky people who has been using the international plan for years and I have never been billed for one cent of data roaming no matter what application I use on my Blackberry. I have however not traveled overseas in over a month so I hope I'm not in for a nasty surprise.

For those who have never been billed are you on a BIS or BES account. My invoice always shows BES data use so I assumed the BES server was somehow benefiting me in not getting invoiced. Anyone else?

[mattglobal]

I am one of those lucky people who has been using the international plan for years and I have never been billed for one cent of data roaming no matter what application I use on my Blackberry. I have however not traveled overseas in over a month so I hope I'm not in for a nasty surprise.

For those who have never been billed are you on a BIS or BES account. My invoice always shows BES data use so I assumed the BES server was somehow benefiting me in not getting invoiced. Anyone else?

I'm on BIS.

[ace587]

i was going o get the Sprint International Data roaming, but turns out that i can only roam via GPRS in the country im going to :/

[mattglobal]

i was going o get the Sprint International Data roaming, but turns out that i can only roam via GPRS in the country im going to :/

What's wrong with that? Your 8830 works on the non-North American GPRS bands.

[ace587]

What's wrong with that? Your 8830 works on the non-North American GPRS bands.

well im getting tour in a few months, the foreign 3G bands it supports wud be useless

[mattglobal]

well im getting tour in a few months, the foreign 3G bands it supports wud be useless

How would it be useless? If you take your Tour to Japan or South Korea, all you can get is 3G. And if you're in Europe, you can operate on 3G there, as well.

[SrfCast]

Question.
I'm going to Italy and Portugal soon.
I want to get the International Email Plan so I should be covered with pushed email.
I Will be calling back home over UMA/wifi so I will just be using my regular minutes which is great.
Now, If I use my apps requiring data over wifi It should be free right?
How do I prevent the usage of roaming data services from my apps?
If I go to to Network Options and disable data services will that do the trick and my apps will still be able to connect when I have the wifi in range?
Is there something else I should to?

Update: tried it at home and unfortunately disabling data services kills UMA/wifi... hmmm what should I do?

[Artemis68]

Question.
I'm going to Italy and Portugal soon.
I want to get the International Email Plan so I should be covered with pushed email.
I Will be calling back home over UMA/wifi so I will just be using my regular minutes which is great.
Now, If I use my apps requiring data over wifi It should be free right?
How do I prevent the usage of roaming data services from my apps?
If I go to to Network Options and disable data services will that do the trick and my apps will still be able to connect when I have the wifi in range?
Is there something else I should to?

Update: tried it at home and unfortunately disabling data services kills UMA/wifi... hmmm what should I do?

You want to go to "Data Services" and don't turn it to "off" but only "off when roaming". You can avoid charges this way and when your BB is connected via Wi-Fi, your data will work just fine.

[aaam]

does the im on blackberry curve 8900 cost you

[burbunny]

You want to go to "Data Services" and don't turn it to "off" but only "off when roaming". You can avoid charges this way and when your BB is connected via Wi-Fi, your data will work just fine.

But doesn't that also disable the email push? With the international email plan, you are at a set rate for that even when roaming.

Or am I misunderstanding?

[Artemis68]

But doesn't that also disable the email push? With the international email plan, you are at a set rate for that even when roaming.

Or am I misunderstanding?

Oh that's right! You're using the international email, aren't you?
>< I totally forgot, I'm sorry.

Yes, you'll want to leave data on then.
It's tedious but you'll need to disable automatic updates from all your applications to make sure you won't get charged.

[burbunny]

Oh that's right! You're using the international email, aren't you?
>< I totally forgot, I'm sorry.

Yes, you'll want to leave data on then.
It's tedious but you'll need to disable automatic updates from all your applications to make sure you won't get charged.

I wasn't the poster to whom you originally responded, but am in the same situation.

Where do I find the place in applications to turn off updates? For example, Viigo - or does that one only update when I go in?

WeatherEye is another - is that under Applications > Permissions? The option in the program itself only allows you to set the frequency of updates, not to turn them off completely.

I'm guessing I'm not the only one confused by this, so any help is greatly appreciated.