ByOlivia Christine Hours

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On my way to Aruba, a friend told me she heard I could text for free using my iPhone and Sprint mobile provider. I was surprised to hear it after a crappy experience battling lackluster service throughout my US road trip, so the international perk was surprising. I just had to look into this alleged free Sprint International Roaming benefit.

I searched Sprint’s website for a phone number to connect to their customer service line (which was an arduous journey in itself) and eventually called their sales line to be transferred.

Note: This post was last updated March 2018

olivia happy, swing colorful blue wall

Sprint International roaming Customer Service

Call: 888-226-7212 to reach Sprint Global Roaming on the phone.

I confirmed the good news: the rumor was true! I never received any notification about it BUT apparently, the free Sprint international roaming benefit applied to my account automatically as I was using a qualifying iPhone 6s.

Upon further inquiry, I learned any Sprint account using iPhone 5 or later and Samsung Galaxy Note 5 or later can access this benefit (basically any LTE/GSM capable device). I’ve since traveled to many countries using the perk — including South America, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.

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Here are the Sprint International Roaming plan details

  • 20¢ per minute for phone calls (BUDGET HACK: I now use Sprint’s FREE WIFI CALLING so I avoid global roaming call charges)
  • Unlimited texting to the USA and many international countries. Here is the list of countries eligible for Sprint Free Global Roaming.
  • Unlimited data up to 2G speed
sprint international coverage plan map
  • Update: still working as of December 2017 and has expanded to more places (see the latest coverage map).
  • Update #2: The Sprint website now says that service is included with your LTE/GSM capable smartphone automatically. Since I travel long-term, I’ve been too afraid to test if this is true so still set it up before leaving the country. 
  • Update #3 (March 2018): An official Sprint press release indicates you no longer need to activate global roaming. Here is their press release citing the statement as of February 2018.
Read: I booked 4 mystery discount hotels & here’s what happened

here’s how to set up Sprint international roaming in 5 Steps the old way (iPhone)

Step 1: While you’re still in the USA, dial ##873283# and press “call”. Instead of a call going through, it will hang up and a pop-up notification will appear. The pop-up will say: “Updating service data profile”. Press OKAY.

Step 2: A second pop-up will appear when complete, press OKAY again.

Step 3: Make sure roaming is turned on and CDMA is turned off. To do this, go into settings —> cellular —> cellular data options —> roaming —> voice and data roaming “on” (will turn green when on) —> international CDMA “off” (will turn white when off). 

screenshot of voice and data roaming settings from iphone
screenshot of roaming settings from iphone

Step 4: Turn the phone off for one minute and then back on to complete activation. 

Step 5: The phone should now be all set to send and receive calls and messages while you are abroad. 

Important Things to note:

  • iMessage might have trouble when using international roaming (except for when it’s operating over wifi). Turn off iMessage and use standard texting if this happens. (It didn’t happen to me at all, but the Sprint associate warned about it.)
  • To make international phone calls to the USA while abroad, dial 001 first, and then the full phone number.
  • As far as using a country code when calling locally, I found phone calls in Aruba, worked just fine by dialing the area code 297 without the country code.
  • If there are any problems, call Sprint at 001 817-698-4199, their international toll-free number.
  • Remember to turn data roaming back off upon return to ensure no domestic roaming charges.
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Let anyone who has Sprint know about this “secret”! They’ll LOVE you for it. As a bonus, also tell them about activating the Free Wi-Fi Calling feature, now available on iOS and Android with all major US mobile carriers.

xx, O.

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Share this guide on How To Activate Sprint’s Free Global Roaming Plan For Your Vacation by pinning the image below to your planning board.

woman on the phone with luggage. text overlay says free unlimited text and data abroad

26 Comments

    1. It really depended on the location and roaming service. Like when i was in morocco, my roaming was great because I connected to "Orange" which is a network that is similar to verizon in the US. but when I go to some latin countries I connect to moviestar, which for me is like a Tmobile or sprint (ie. doesnt have the best service everywhere). Again, these are super generalizations, but Ive traveled with Sprint roaming for 5 years now and it just get better. And I’ve done well with it.

      re: speed …. I’d say if normal service loads in 2 seconds, this was more like 10-20sec. Which doesnt sound like much but can be a big deal sometimes. I always use google maps and its only been terrible in rural areas. in cities it is decent.

      i hope that helps!

  3. Hello I’m going to the Philippines, I know I have the free global roaming plan on Sprint. Is 2gb enough for uploading pictures/videos on Instagram/Snapchat without a Wifi?

    1. To be honest it varies, but overall is a bit slow. Personally, I am able to interact with IG photos and upload them most times, but video takes FOREVER! So I usually do my IG stories and then download them and post them a few hours later at my hotel when I have WiFi. In theory, I CAN also handle video, but in my experience it just sucks up the battery power trying to upload and post. If you will be at an accommodation with Wifi every night, then you’ll be fine. If you want to post in real-time, then I suggest you get a local sim card.

  4. What does it mean by up to 2g? Do we have to turn off LTE? (Where it says enable LTE in settings)

  5. After you turned the phone back on was anything supposed to happen? Like a message?

  6. Thank you – great clear article i have prior to read your article set my phone one week before I leave to Europe – will I get roaming charges while still,in usa..?

    1. This is for iPhone but I’m sure there’s a similar step for Samsung. Call the number i provided and they will walk you through if needed. I heard that now it sets up automatically but can’t confirm that.

    1. I do not, unfortunately. I would imagine that you dial the same number and so forth, and then make sure you turn on roaming. Some Sprint users have reported that it is now supposed to activate automatically (you just turn on roaming) but since I travel for months at a time I cant afford to take that chance! Let me know how it works out so I can update this post for Android users.

      Enjoy Amsterdam! Check out my guide to the destination here https://ochristine.com/blog/10/2015/the-ultimate-amsterdam-travel-guide-beyond-weed-prostitutes

  9. Thanks for this. I have an iPhone 5 with Sprint. Do I still have to do the 5 steps above when I travel international? Sprint says on its website it is automatic without having to do anything but don’t think I believe them!

    1. I haven’t spoken to sprint on the phone since last summer so it is possible that things have changed, although other people who have recently tried (who also have a more recent phone) have had to still take these steps.

      In my opinion, there’s no way you can get roaming without at least turning roaming ON. So at the very least, do those steps. The whole process takes about 30 seconds to do so I wouldn’t risk it, personally.

      I just used these steps during my trip to Jamaica a few weeks ago and it worked perfectly.

      Good luck either way! If you choose not to do it let us know if it works! 😊

  11. Thanks for the blog! it helps to know another sprint user blog about SGR. It’s new and no one really talked about much but I’m glad you provided the steps to ensure that I did the correct settings as well!

  12. Thank you so much for posting this! I lost the code in transit- and Sprint was understandably not available for quick assistance (6:45 am at Keflavik)…cheers- and safe travels!

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