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A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Sprint International Plan. My family had recently signed up with Sprint, and my son and I were planning a trip to Sweden. I figured that would be a good chance to try out the Sprint International Plan and see if it truly worked well.
For some context, earlier this year, Sprint announced their Sprint International Roaming world travel plan. (All?) Sprint customers now have unlimited text and 2G data and calls for 20 cents a minute
Sprint International Roaming world travel plan details
You can access the details about the Sprint International Roaming world travel plan by going to Sprint.com and choosing Support -> International.
Like I said earlier, you get free text and 2G data with the Sprint International Roaming world travel plan and calls are 20 cents / minute. With the prevalence of wi-fi hotspots, I would probably look to use Google Voice or a similar wifi calling service in lieu of paying that much, but it’s nice to have it as an option
Texting with the Sprint International Plan
Texting with the Sprint International Plan worked right away. As soon as I landed in Stockholm, I had no problem sending and receiving texts to my wife back in the States. All of those text messages were free as part of the Sprint International Plan
Trying out the data plan on the Sprint International Plan
The data plan on the Sprint International Plan was a bit more complicated. While I would claim to be moderately tech-savvy, I don’t pretend to completely understand the intricacies of how phones and networks communicate. While I was in Stockholm, sometimes the data would connect and sometimes they would not, but it was not reliably working.
I eventually got a hold of Sprint International Support and they instructed me to do the following
- From the home screen, tap Phone.
- On the keypad, dial ##873283# and tap the Call button. Tap OK.
- The handset will search for profile updates and install them. Tap OK.
- The PRL is now updated.
After I went through those steps, the 2G data on the Sprint International Plan started working reliably
Upgrading to the 3G data on the Sprint International Plan
The big question of the day was always going to be: is the 2G speed on the Sprint International Plan usable? I found that the 2G speed was usable, but barely, and only for some things. Email was fairly usable for just text, but Google Maps was pretty bad. I had downloaded Google Maps offline, so I was able to see where I was, but any types of directions or scrolling outside my downloaded area was laggy and hit or miss. Even Pokemon GO was super laggy. I was using a 3rd party app that uses Google Maps to locate “rare” Pokemon (I know… I know…), and that was not very usable.
In the end I decided to pay for one day of 3G data. As mentioned in my original post, 3G data is $5 / day in most countries
You just go to intlroam.sprint.com. Note that you have to go to this page to upgrade to the 3G data on the Sprint International Plan from your phone, and you have to do it while you’re not connected to any wi-fi networks. Otherwise you’ll get a page like this
Once you disable or turnoff wifi, you should be able to upgrade to 3G data with the Sprint International Roaming plan with no problem. It just takes you through a few pages where you choose how long you need the data for, and is very easy. There’s no need for any credit card or payment information – any additional charges are just added to your bill. One other thing to note about buying the day pass for $5 – it works on a 24 hour period, not a calendar day. Once you sign up, you’ll have the 3G data for 24 hours.
What do you think readers? Have you used the Sprint International Plan before? Leave your experiences in the comments
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
LTE is not 3G
Did you have to sign up for the basic international plan, or is it provided automatically when you are a Sprint subscriber?
It’s provided automatically as being a Sprint subscriber – no need to sign up for anything special
I tried their international service in Colombia, Panama, and Bahamas. To say it barely worked would be giving far too much credit. I eventually just gave up and switched over to my T-Mobile phone. I could then order uber cars, use google maps, text/imessage, facebook, whatsapp, and emails. On Sprint it spend most of the time searching. Even though it’s the same carriers, T-Mobile picks up right away and starts working like a champ. Sprint on the other hand, is a huge let down. As you said Dan, it’s ‘barely’ usable.
If you’re any kind of international traveler, save the heartache and get T-Mobile instead. Free go-go inflight wifi, free data worldwide (that actually works!!), free text, and cheap calling. Spending 20 cents a minute for calls over cell while in Europe is very cheap for quick calls.
Sprint has tried to emulate that and I give them credit. But the execution is just not worth it. it’s not reliable and the sad thing is that they are using the same carriers abroad. It must be with their own internal authentication systems which is causing it. Regardless, it’s not reliable and not worth risking if you depend on it.