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US Virgin Islands Coverage

  • 10 February 2016
  • 19 replies
  • 5649 views
M

I just arrived in the USVI yesterday and was disappointed to see that T-Mobile only has Edge service in St. Thomas and St. John.  It is virtually unusable for even the most basic data aps.

 

Does anyone have any idea when the coverage in the USVI will be updated to LTE?

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Best answer by tmo_mike_c 11 February 2016, 20:20

Hmm, strange. I'm not seeing any Innovative is having any troubles with data. I suggest giving our T-Force team a shot at this. They have access to other tools and can have our engineers look into this further. They are available 24/7 and you can reach them through the Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ links below. You can message them or even link them to this thread so they know what's going on and they'll take over after that.

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19 replies

A

Yeah. USVI is a forgotten market for T-Mobile. There's really no excuse for it.

M

More info on coverage in St John:

At Coral Bay, you end up roaming on Innovative 3G.  Voice and Text works fine, but absolutely NO data.

At Hawksnest Beach, and some other areas on St. John, you end up roaming on a BVI carrier.  While there is free text and speed limited data, the downside is that voice calls are 20 cents / minute.  The good news is that you have limited data, that actually seems to work better than when you are using T-Mobile's EDGE network.  Be careful and check your carrier when you are making voice calls!!!

Kind of frustrating that you have to roam internationally to get data coverage in St. John.

You'd think that with all the people who vacation here, T-Mobile would get their act together to at least upgrade their one or two towers on St. John and St. Thomas to provide LTE service.

tmo_mike_c
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Hey @mikeschumann I don't have any information about if/when there will be a coverage change in USVI. I do see that you should be able to get 3G speeds while roaming on Innovative Wireless but this would require that you get an international data roaming pass to get those speeds.

M

As far as I know, Innovative Wireless is based in the USVI, so it should be a domestic roaming partner.  It shows 3G on my iPhone 6s, but there is NO data roaming at any speed.  When I connect to a USVI based carrier, I do get data roaming (at slow speed).  Kind of frustrating that I can get better data roaming internationally, than domestically.

tmo_mike_c
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Yeah, you would think that it would be domestic since it's the US Virgin Islands, but it is actually considered and international roaming area. That is strange it's not letting you get any data. Can you try dialing #766# and calling that number? It's a method we recommend to make sure the phone is ready to roaming on our partner's network.

M

‌When I dialed #766# it said I was set up for international roaming (I am currently connected to T-Mobile). That works as I can roam in the BVIs. I am just having problems with data roaming on Innovative.

tmo_mike_c
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Thanks for trying that. When you try to load up a webpage, does it give you an error message? Does it just stall or delay when you try using the service?

M

It gives me an error that my phone is not connected to the internet.

tmo_mike_c
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Hmm, strange. I'm not seeing any Innovative is having any troubles with data. I suggest giving our T-Force team a shot at this. They have access to other tools and can have our engineers look into this further. They are available 24/7 and you can reach them through the Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ links below. You can message them or even link them to this thread so they know what's going on and they'll take over after that.

D

Hello Mike,

I'm headed to St. John for a week next month. What we're you able to find out and get working in regards to data?

I'm reading conflicting reports that say T-Mobile has basically nothing to TMO with it's partnership with Innovative has great coverage? Would you mind shedding some personal light on the situation?

Thanks,


DH

D

TMO_MIke,

I just replied to this thread, but unsure what the status is and what we should expect. We're headed to ST. John for a week in March and reading conflicting reports that some say virtually no coverage to good to excellent coverage with the partnership with Innovative. Please advise.. and I'm also confused as to why this says International with it's the USVI. Does that require some type of add on package when I unlimited everything here in the states with my plan?

Thanks,


DH

tmo_mike_c
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I definitely wanna help with any conflicting info you're getting @dh321.

I am seeing we do have a roaming partner that you can connect to when you're in St.John. For the most part, I am seeing there is roaming coverage throughout this area. You may not need to change anything on your plan to use data there. What plan are you on exactly?

D

Hey Mike

I'm on the TMO One unlimited everything plan. Unlimited data, talk and text.

Thanks,


DH

tmo_mike_c
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Thanks for that info. You're good to go then. Keep in mind, coverage can fluctuate depending on if you're indoors/outdoors or depending on how close you are to a tower. However, I'm seeing there is coverage there and we can help troubleshoot the service for you if needed.

M

T-Mobile on St Thomas is just the worst. I worked down there for 3 months last year, and in a day and a half I had used all of my roaming data, maps didn't load, etc. Beware, you will need to download offline google maps to get around, it's terrible! I called first and asked how it was, they said Oh yea it should be fine, well it's not! I had to get a work island phone - the only reliable service down there is AT&T.

Unless you can use wifi all the time, do not count on anything working.

Also, there are a number of instances when you want to shut off roaming and data especially at night on the east end of the island, you may accidentally pick up a signal from BVI (British Virgin Islands).

A

As of Nov '18 T-Mobile has at least two LTE towers on St. Thomas, running bands 4/66 & 71. St. John is still mostly roaming.

M

I'm curious if coverage on St. Thomas has improved since the last post here. Visiting there next week and tying up loose ends.

M

Any one has some information on roaming of TMobile users at USVI? Also how are the signals on beaches like Haws’ Nest?

drnewcomb
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Any one has some information on roaming of TMobile users at USVI? Also how are the signals on beaches like Haws’ Nest?


If you mean Hawksnest on St. John, T-Mobile claims LTE coverage there but it appears to be band 71 coming from the eastern end of St Thomas. So, you’ll need a phone capable of band 71 to pick it up. You may also be able to roam Viya (a.k.a. Innovative or 311-470). If you have an Android phone, if you would load and run CellMapper as you tour around the islands it would provide the community with valuable independent information.

I don't speak for T-Mobile.

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