Roaming networks in the USA

[Tjtay]

Hello everybody. Im going to Orlando at the end of January and have a couple of questions. 

The last time I went to the USA I remember roaming on Sprint however it was quite abysmal. I was on 3G most of the time and even 1x (whatever the hell that is). It was agonising. I ended up buying a T-Mobile SIM because it was so slow. The guy in the T-Mobile store told me Sprint was the worst network in America. 

Who will I roam with? Will it still be just Sprint or will I be able to force it to T-Mobile? I know when I was in canada last year I could force between all three networks (Rogers, Telus, Bell) but it was still very slow and I was on 3G most of the time even though my cousin on Telus had LTE while I was stuck on 3G. 

I also read O2 has a roaming cap of 2MBPS in America, that may be why it was very slow last time. Is there a way to pay extra to remove this speed cap. 

I am happy to buy a T-Mobile SIM when I land in America but I need my O2 SIM for work which is a bit annoying. My work said they can't dial out to an American number everytime they need to contact me. 

I have an iPhone 15. 

Lastly, is there anything I need to set up for roaming to work? When I got to Canada 6 months ago it connected to 3G as soon as I landed and just billed me the £7 per day automatically. Is this the same with USA and is the price the same?

Many thanks and a happy new year to all of you guys. 

[MI5]

@Tjtay 

AT&T or T-Mobile for O2 roaming networks.

2mbps is still the cap, but is enough for most things except streaming video.

You O2 travel will kick in automatically as before.

USA - Roaming with O2 

[Tjtay]

Thank you. I will buy a Tmobile SIM then as 2MBPS is way too slow for me to do anything. 

[pgn]

And you won't get any 3G while in the USA now, all pulled out to make way for 5G and better. USA - Roaming with O2 - stick with advice as above, @Tjtay.

[MI5]

Very few places in the world where you'll get 3g now.....

[Tjtay]

Yes I am aware that all American networks shutdown 3G a couple of years ago now. Thank you and happy new year mate

[Tjtay]

Not related to this post but you seem like you know a lot about this. On my O2 SIM I drop down to 3G a lot every day. My college is 3G only, as soon as you walk inside I only get 3G. What will happen when 3G is switched off? My mum is on Vodafone and when they got rid of 3G she only had E a lot of the time. Will this be a similar situation on O2? Thank you

[pgn]

Happy New Year, @Tjtay!

This should help you to understand the 3G switch off process, rationale and impact, @Tjtay -  https://www.o2.co.uk/help/international-and-network/network-and-coverage/3g-switch-off

If your college has infrastructure, eg the now unsupported Boostbbox hardware that provides 3G service on O2 using the college's own data network, that service will also cease after 3G removal completes entirely in early 2026 - https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Discussions-Feedback/Boostbox-update/m-p/1816536/highlight/true#M14025...

If your phone is a fairly recent model, and the O2 SIM inside it is recent also, you should be able to manage via 4G, and your college may provide 4G Calling/WiFi Calling over its own internal data network in places on its premises where the O2 signal does not reach - https://www.o2.co.uk/connectivity/wifi-and-4g-calling

[MI5]

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@Tjtay wrote:

Not related to this post but you seem like you know a lot about this. On my O2 SIM I drop down to 3G a lot every day. My college is 3G only, as soon as you walk inside I only get 3G. What will happen when 3G is switched off? My mum is on Vodafone and when they got rid of 3G she only had E a lot of the time. Will this be a similar situation on O2? Thank you

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@Tjtay 

O2 are currently upgrading all the 3g masts to 5g.

Our local one was done at the end of November. Where I used to get 3g, I now get 5g, so the same will apply to you after your mast is upgraded.