text message in Japan, Korea and China

cfong · #1 (**permalink**) 03-10-2010, 11:23 PM

Does anyone have any success sending text message in Japan, Korea, or China? I went to all these places, the Sprint number works there with roaming, but text messages don't work.

The wild thing is, the moment I turned on my phone, I received text message from Sprint telling what the rate is making and receiving calls, but when I try to send or receive text message from anyone else, it didn't work.

frazell · #2 (**permalink**) 03-11-2010, 12:41 AM

Not sure what you were doing or if the carriers there supported text while roaming, but if they did you probably errored in how you used it.

I think you need to use the +011 prefix when texting or calling the US from outside of North America.

Gadjetguy · #3 (**permalink**) 03-11-2010, 10:22 AM

What if the text number is a 5 digit number rather than the standard 10 digit number? (Like if you text your updates to Facebook or Twitter)

kaix · #4 (**permalink**) 03-11-2010, 11:54 AM

I've been to Tokyo a few times with my TP2 and have never gotten texting or data to work. Officially, Sprint doesn't support text messaging over there according to all of their literature. I'm not sure how 3g UTMS data is supposed to work with the #777 crap Sprint does; international tech. support is clueless.

I've found that in Japan to make a phone call with CDMA you have to dial 0010101 area code + number, while on GSM +1 areacode number works.

cfong · #5 (**permalink**) 03-18-2010, 09:46 PM

You are right, officially Sprint doesn't support text message in China, Korea, or Japan. I even called Sprint's international support, they couldn't make it work. I don't think it has anything to do with how I used it. The text message I received from Sprint (ironic isn't it) when I first turned on my phone gave me instructions on what to enter to call a US phone number. Sending text message I should enter the same number, but it never worked. Since I could receive text messages from Sprint, I suspect that preventing me from sending text is Sprint's way of forcing me to pay the high int'l roaming rate ($2.29 per minute in China, $2 per min in Japan).

My answer to that was to get a local SIM.

steiny · #6 (**permalink**) 06-01-2010, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfong

My answer to that was to get a local SIM.

I'll be in Tokyo in a few days and want to use my Sprint TP2 with a local SIM card. Did you get the SIM card from one of the rent a phone companies at Narita or somewhere else? Can't seem to find anything online about renting SIM cards that will work with a TP2.

htc.user · #7 (**permalink**) 06-01-2010, 06:06 AM

they've supported texting in south korea since may 24th, 2010. i received a text message from sprint telling me it's $.50/outgoing and $.05/incoming message. recent change so i'm guessing that japan and china also support sms now. i text friends in the us, china and korea all the time with my touch pro 2 here in seoul. it works great now. i've called sprint international requesting an unlimited international texting plan as an add on to my unlimited international data account.

Voice Pricing: $2.29/minute
Special Voice Pricing: $1.99/min. with plan
Data Pricing: $0.016/KB
Special Data Pricing: 1x Data: $0.002/KB
Text Pricing: Send: $0.50/recipient; Recv'd: $0.05/msg

htc.user · #8 (**permalink**) 06-01-2010, 06:24 AM

sprint does not have an unlimited international texting plan for travelling abroad...or an international wimax roaming plan.