Greetings from Hanoi! I’m here to begin the first leg of my Cathay Pacific New Year’s Eve Pho Fare. I’ll admit, it’s a clever name for a mistake fare, but it’s not mine, thanks FlyerTalk. I’ve been in Hanoi for just under a day and have been enjoying this incredible city. I’m once again utterly surprised by this chaotic country which someone remains orderly. Vietnam remains one of the most unusual places I’ve ever been. I’m thrilled that I get to come back here a few more times this year!
While I’ve been enjoying my time here in Hanoi, there’s one thing that’s really bothering me. That is, the cell phone service here is frustrating. I’m here with two phone on two mobile providers, yet I still don’t had data coverage anywhere in the city. That’s right, I currently have my T-Mobile One Apple iPhone X and my Google Fi Google Pixel 3 and neither phone has any service.
T-Mobile One Lack Of Service
I’ve been using T-Mobile One for a few years now and have been overall quite happy with the service until more recently. T-Mobile One offers unlimited Talk, Text, and Data in North America for just $70 a month. That’s an all-in flat $70, not a pre-tax $70 as advertised by competitors.
Anyway, one of the things I love most about T-Mobile is that it offers unlimited 2G data (slow) when abroad. Currently T-Mobile boasts that they offer unlimited international roaming in 170 countries. While T-Mobile only provides “2G” data speeds abroad, but I’ve found that in most highly developed countries the data speeds are actually pretty darn quick.
Well, on that list of countries is the one that I’m currently in; Vietnam. That’s actually quite a recent development as well. Back in 2017 T-Mobile did not offer international data in Vietnam. I however didn’t realize that until I landed and received a welcome message from T-Mobile which stated that I was not covered. Since then though, T-Mobile has added Vietnam as roaming eligible country which meant I expected to have 2G data during this visit.
Unfortunately that has not been the case. When I landed I quickly fired up my phone and received the familiar welcome message from +1(56 ). When you arrive in a new country T-Mobile sends you a text which welcomes you to the country and tells you if you have coverage or not. Quickly however, it seemed I was not. Since I’ve been here I’ve only been able to receive texts. That’s it. I can’t load apps, I can’t text back, I can’t do anything but receive texts. Needless to say, it’s frustrating.
Google Fi Lack Of Service
I haven’t broadcasted it much yet, but I recently signed up for Google Fi, a cell phone service from Google. I’ve had Google Fi on the PIxel 3 for about 2 months now and have been extremely pleased. I’ve found that Google Fi offers superior service over T-Mobile in many areas domestically, but the service is far superior than T-Mobile abroad. When I was in Hong Kong a few weeks ago my Google Fi phone worked nearly as well as it does back home, meanwhile my T-Mobile phone was essentially a paperweight.
So, shame on me for this, but I expected my Google Fi phone to also work perfectly in Vietnam. I figured if T-Mobile offered cell service in Hanoi surely FI would as well. Unfortunately that’s not the case. While Google Fi is also offered in 170+ countries, Vietnam is not one of those countries. I wrongfully assumed that T-Mobile’s 170+ and Fi’s 170+ countries were the same.
Yes, this is my mistake for not checking before I left, but it’s no doubt frustrating. I really hope Fi adds Vietnam as an eligible country soon.
Where Does That Leave Me
Well, I’m actually not all that upset by my current situation. While I’m of course frustrated that T-Mobile’s international data coverage has been poor, I don’t actually mind that much. It’s actually quite nice to keep my phone in my pocket and actually take in the city opposed to checking apps, texting, and checking emails. The only thing that I don’t like about not having service is not being able to look up destinations on the fly. I hate that I can’t just open Google Maps and search for a good restaurant or coffee place.
While all of that is a bit frustrating, the good news is that I’ll be back soon and I have a plan for my next visit. See, mobile data is incredibly cheap in Vietnam and SIM cards are easy to buy. So, instead of relying on my T-Mobile service, the next time I come to here I’m going to remember to buy a SIM card when I arrive. An unlimited SIM is only about $12 and offers 4G data while in Vietnam. Once I get the SIM I’ll simply pop it into my cell phone and I shouldn’t have any further issues.
Final Thoughts
I truly didn’t mean for this post to be a rant so I’m sorry if it came off that way. Instead, I am trying to use this post as a heads up for anyone traveling to Vietnam. If you plan on coming to Vietnam and plan on using mobile data, I highly recommend buying a SIM when you arrive. A SIM costs about $12 and is far more reliable than relying on another service provider.
While I can only speak to T-Mobile and Google Fi, I can also say that the unlimited 4G SIM is far cheaper than buying additional service for your existing provider. Verizon for example charges $10 A DAY for international data in Vietnam, but for just a few bucks more you can get unlimited data for up to a month when you buy a SIM here.
