In the 2017 season, the conditions and tariffs of Russian mobile operators for communications in Crimea have changed. To make it more convenient to choose an operator, the optimal tariff and save on communications, read a comparative review of the conditions of the 4 main operators in Russia - MTS, Megafon, Beeline and Tele2.
MTS: communication in Crimea
Most Crimeans use MTS, and this despite the fact that there is no “own” MTS on the peninsula.
As for roaming tariffs, the best option is Smart group tariffs. On the Smart mini tariff you need to activate the “Everywhere at home” option. The service will cost 100 rubles. per month. This is exactly what I did before the trip (my number is Moscow).
MTS prices for roaming in Crimea
Before the trip, I subscribed (for points) to the “Everywhere at home” service for a month (less than that is impossible). And I used the connection at the home rate, nothing extra was written off. Communication worked everywhere, and we climbed to various corners of Crimea. The only thing is that my mobile Internet was turned off and I didn’t check how it worked. In all other respects, no complaints against the operator.
On Smart and Smart Unlimited tariffs you need to activate the All Russia Smart service. It also costs 100 rubles. per month.
On the Smart+ and Smart Top tariffs, you won’t even have to connect anything additional; billing will be carried out according to the tariffs of your home region.
Megafon in Crimea
Megafon offers an option called “Crimea”. When you activate the option, incoming calls will be free, outgoing calls will be 5 rubles/min, SMS will be 3 rubles, Internet will be 5 rubles/1 MB. The cost of the option is 15 rubles per day. So, in fact, it’s not very profitable. However, if you are traveling for just a week, it will cost relatively little.
Without connecting the Crimea option, all incoming and outgoing calls cost 9.99 rubles/min, SMS – 4.90 rubles, Internet – 9.90 rubles/1 MB.
Roaming prices in Crimea Megafon
On the second phone on our trip to Crimea there was just a Megafon and it didn’t work. Immediately upon arrival at Simferopol airport, this annoying nuisance was discovered. Why the SIM card did not work at all remained a mystery. But we didn’t find out anything on the spot, because there was MTS at home tariffs, and, as a last resort, Beeline.
Beeline in Crimea
Beeline for roaming in Russia offers an excellent My Country option. Connection is only 25 rubles. one-time fee, and all incoming, outgoing and SMS for 3 rubles. But this option does not apply to the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol.
Beeline doesn’t offer anything interesting specifically for communications in Crimea. The best option is the All group tariffs. At the most economical ALL 1 tariff, for example, incoming calls will cost 1.5 rubles/min., outgoing calls – 4 rubles/min., SMS – 4.95 rubles, Internet 9.95 rubles/1MB. At the same time, everything is spent outside the package, that is, it is paid additionally.
Communication prices in Crimea Beeline
I can say that the Beeline SIM card worked fine, although we didn’t use it, but kept it just in case. But she was always in working order and caught the net.
Tele2 in Crimea
Tele2 operator offers to activate the “Like at home in Crimea” option for holidays in Crimea. The service costs 6 rubles/day. When you activate the option, all incoming calls will be free, outgoing calls will be 5 rubles/min. SMS will cost 3.5 rubles, Internet – 5 rubles/1MB. Plus, you will need to pay a one-time connection fee of 30 rubles.
Roaming prices in Crimea Tele2
Share your feedback and tips in the comments to the post..
MTS in Crimea - how does it work? How did the sanctions affect the Russian operator? Is everything good or is everything bad?
Let me start with the fact that MTS in Crimea is working well in 2019. Internet is available in all resorts (no money is charged for the Internet if some service package is included), the connection is good.
But it wasn’t always like this; just 2 years ago it was impossible to even send a message on WatsApp. Not everywhere, of course, but even in Sevastopol the Internet connection worked poorly. Now everything has changed! MTS really works in Crimea! (I am writing this article from, not the most popular resort, and everything is fine here too!). The universe heard me!
Before your trip, download the branded Travelinka map of Crimea to your phone - no internet required! The map works offline, plots a route, shows hotels, cafes, attractions.
Which MTS tariff in Crimea is better?
If the Internet is not enough, activate the “Home package Russia +” option. MTS in Crimea works fine with this option, tested. The package costs 100 rubles; when returning from Crimea, the option must be disabled.
- How to connect: dial *111*128#.
The “Zabugorische” tariff is also suitable, which includes unlimited MTS, 7 GB, 350 minutes, 350 SMS per week. Cost 175 rub. in Week.
- How to connect: dial *111*1025*1#.
Why MTS in Crimea
Other Russian mobile operators do not work in Crimea, or rather they work, but they charge fees, as in roaming. The only operator whose Crimea is Russia and who bypassed the sanctions is MTS. Officially, there are no MTS offices in Crimea, but they really exist! They just don't work very legally. These are all sanctions, no one wants to fall under them. More precisely, run into problems.
For example, Yandex in Crimea defines the location as “Krasnodar” (*update: something has changed and Yandex now defines the location as Crimea). Yandex maps does not contain public transport in Crimea (it is impossible to plot a route by transport). For the same reason, there is no Sberbank in Crimea.
And MTS works in Crimea, thanks to him. By the way, in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, unrecognized by the whole world, MTS also operates. And he even sends an SMS saying “welcome to Turkey.” That is, the whole world did not recognize that Northern Cyprus belongs to Turkey, but MTS did. So it is with Crimea. MTS knows whose it is.
I found such a “cool” MTS office in Malorechenskoye. 🙂 You can’t officially connect to MTS in Crimea, so they work semi-legally. On the left is a handwritten sign that says “starter packages.”
As it was before
Two years ago I had a “Smart” tariff for 450 rubles, all calls to all MTS numbers in Russia are free, 3 GB of Internet also in Russia. Now I have a cool secret tariff “Smart for my own”. Before the trip, I specifically called the hotline to find out how MTS works in Crimea. The girl operator answered me that I needed to catch a network called “K-Mobile”, which would work like MTS, and I would have calls and the Internet the same as in Moscow. If the network is different, then they will withdraw money as if I were roaming. Naturally, I didn’t want to spend money like in roaming, especially since I would be going to Crimea, which is Russia. And my operator, MTS, says in its promotional materials that my tariff works throughout Russia. In theory, MTS Russia should work in Crimea the same as everywhere else.
As soon as I arrived at Simferopol airport, I thought I would find out if MTS was operating in Crimea. My MTS operator caught the WIN network, which alarmed me, because the girl operator said that I needed to catch K-Mobile. I didn’t know then that WIN and K-Mobile were the same thing. 
Naturally, I completely turned off the Internet, because another network will charge money as in roaming, as I was told on the MTS hotline in Russia. I looked for K-Mobile in every possible way, but it was nowhere to be found. After Simferopol, I went to Sevastopol, where I also opened the search manually all the time and looked for the K-Mobile operator. At the same time, I did not have the Internet, and I had to get to the hotel by asking local residents, it was very difficult without mobile Internet.
I wanted to find a cafe with free Wi-Fi, but this is a problem in Crimea. Wi-Fi Internet can be found either in a large shopping center, and even then not always (for example, there is no Wi-Fi in the Sea Mall in Sevastopol), or in hotels. There are no regular cafes with free wi-fi (*update: in 2019, almost all normal cafes have wi-fi, even some canteens). Or rather, I saw a couple, but not at all in the area of the station where I was. Internet in Crimea can be found in internet cafes. The last century, in short. I don’t know where there are still Internet cafes in Russia. Probably nowhere.
Arriving at the hotel, I connected to wi-fi and began looking for K-Mobile. And only then did I start searching on the Internet and found out that “K-Mobile”, also known as “K-Telecom”, is the same WIN that was caught in some places.
It’s strange that the MTS operator girl didn’t tell me that K-Mobile is WIN.
Well, okay, so I should have the Internet and cellular communication, and of course I was happy. I turned on the Internet, checked the balance - everything was ok, the money was not written off.
This is how my acquaintance with MTS in Crimea turned out 2 years ago. But the most interesting thing is that nothing worked in most places then.
What's happening now with MTS in Crimea 2019
Now I have good 3G internet connection. There are few places where there is LTE, except for Simferopol airport and the center of Sudak, but 3G works, and I am very happy.
There were a lot of comments that my hands were crooked and that everything was working. In fact, my settings were fine initially, it’s just that MTS in Crimea improved the connection in 2019.
By the way, Crimean mobile operators are still working. But if you come for a short period of time, I don’t see the point in joining them. MTS in Crimea is quite enough for communication and even for work.
Despite the fact that Crimea officially belongs to Russia, there are still quite a lot of problems with cellular communications here. The only Russian operator on the peninsula is MTS Russia. But on the official website of MTS there is no information about the Crimean branch. How does MTS Russia work in Crimea and under what conditions are communication services provided?
What MTS tariffs are there in Crimea?
In order for residents of Crimea to be able to fully use Russian mobile communications, they are invited to connect to MTS with the “Super MTS” tariff. The numbers are assigned to one of the codes of the Krasnodar region +7-978. This is due to the fact that Crimea is the closest region to the Krasnodar Territory. Related to this are reduced tariffs for calls to subscribers in this region.
To connect other services, users can use the help of an operator by calling 0890, or the “Internet Assistant”.
Internet in Crimea
- “SuperBIT Smart” - 3 GB per month for 12 rubles per day;
- “BIT Smart” - 75 MB per day for 8 rubles per day;
- “MiniBIT” - 10 MB - for 10 rubles per day.
Roaming
MTS subscribers arriving in Crimea can use communications at Russian intranet roaming tariffs. Outgoing calls are charged at 8.9 rubles/min, outgoing SMS – 3.95 rubles, Internet access – 9.9 rubles/MB. To reduce the cost of communication services while roaming in Crimea, subscribers can use the appropriate options, for example, “Like at home everywhere.”
All published prices for MTS communication services in Crimea are not presented in official sources. Before using communication services, you must contact the operator's help desk by phone 0890. Connection to MTS Russia is made upon presentation of a passport. The estimated cost of the connection kit is 50 rubles.
Recently information appeared that MTS is reducing prices for national roaming. This applies to those regions of Russia where registration in the networks of other operators is available. Crimea is also included in the news:
I took the information positively, because prices for national roaming actually became lower. However, Crimea and the city of Sevastopol are a different story. In the comments, I was immediately reproached for inattention, that in fact, in our native Crimea, everything will become bad for MTS from April 11, because... under pressure from the FAS, the lack of roaming on many red operator tariffs was replaced with national roaming. Because officially there is no MTS in Crimea due to fear of sanctions. There are Win Mobile and others.
I thought about this question. Maybe I was wrong, I don’t argue. April will tell. However, how can one clearly understand what is not written and not disclosed? I understood the situation this way: the given prices for national roaming will be valid in Crimea when registering in networks such as, for example, Volna Mobile. And when registering with MTS, intranet roaming will remain...
Remember the gopher? Do you see him? No. And he is. There is no Crimea on the MTS website in the “roaming in Russia” section. Sevastopol too. Because MTS is like a gopher there. :) Screenshot:
Because MTS is like a gopher there. :)
And therefore it is impossible to clarify this information. It’s just possible that this non-public opportunity was stupidly omitted from the news for the same reason.
In Crimea, it’s not only Win Mobile based on the former MTS Ukraine with numbers +7978. There is also the Krasnodar MTS, which at one time was received by half of the local population and which now works there without the terrible conditions of national roaming (now its prices are even worse!):
You want to say that their Krasnodar SIM cards will also end up in Crimea from April in the same paid national roaming with all the consequences?
We, in turn, call these numbers (from Moscow, etc.) in the direction of MTS Russia! So this is still MTS, right? And therefore, since Crimeans with their Krasnodar numbers roam there “for free”, then can we roam at MTS (in quotes) there too? :)
That is, there is such confusion with a ton of already habitually hidden information. In fact, all that remains is to wait. However, having sowed doubts in my soul, I wrote to [email protected] question about your tariff. Quote:
Hello. I have the “Smart for my own” tariff. . In connection with the news about changes in prices for national roaming, a question: what conditions will be from April 11, 2018 when I am in Crimea on my tariff?
MTS response:
Hello, Alexander. At the moment, there are no plans for changes to the “Smart for Our Own” tariff.
I spread my hands. Think for yourself.
View 7 messages - from 1 to 7 (out of 7 total)
Messages
Nyurgun
Good day everyone!
I always use the “Everywhere at home” service when traveling around the Russian Federation on business trips and on vacation. Fortunately, I connected it with bonuses from my personal account. Now we are going to Crimea for three months and the question arose of how and what to connect so that it would be inexpensive and reliable.
MTS is understandable. question about services: What is the difference in the services “Everywhere like home” and “Everywhere like home smart”? What is the difference between services and money? Let’s say, if my wife and I both connect “Smart Everywhere, Like Home,” is communication between us in Crimea free or paid? Somewhere they write that 300 minutes are included in the package. In short, I couldn’t find accurate information anywhere. Everything is somehow vague and non-specific. Please chew everything, like for blondes))))
Everywhere is like home - it only reduces the cost of minutes. It usually costs 30 rubles for connection and has a subscription fee of 2 rubles, until this option is disabled.
Everywhere at home Smart allows the Smart tariff to be extended throughout Russia. If you have a package of minutes, it will start working when you travel, and the Internet is the same.
On smart phones, MTS is usually free, so you can communicate with your wife for free :)
Cost 100 rubles per month. If you install the updated Smart, then this option is not needed at all.
Find out the tariff *111*59# If it says your tariff plan - Your city - Smart, you have a new tariff. If there are numbers after the word Smart, then it is unlikely to work throughout the country; you need to look at the Tariff Archive on the website. If something is still not clear, ask
Andrey Alekseevich
Hello. I live in Crimea, and I’m going to go to St. Petersburg with my wife for a few weeks. We use MTS and the Super MTS package. If upon arrival in St. Petersburg we both activate the Everywhere at Home service, how much will a minute of conversation between us cost? Thank you. Best regards, Andrey Alekseevich.
Good afternoon
Please tell me, is Crimea included in the coverage area of the “Like Home Everywhere”/“Like Home Smart” service? In other words, if you are in Crimea and have connected to the Everywhere at Home Smart service, your calls will really be “Like at Home”?
The question arose due to the fact that, for example, some telephone operators have special tariff conditions/services throughout Russia, but except for Crimea; and Sberbank is not in Crimea at all, because... this is supposedly an “occupied territory” and for now it is impossible to open Sberbank offices (this may be legally stated incorrectly, but that’s the meaning).
Thank you.
Tell me why I’m flying to Moscow this time and can’t connect to a tariff everywhere like at home??? I did not change my tariff plan at home in Sevastopol. Now I did everything as usual, I received an SMS: your tariff does not support this service! Why???
Hello! We are traveling from Saratov to Sudak (Crimea) on August 6th. What service is best to connect to communicate with family? We went to several salons and were offered the “Like Home Everywhere” service, but for some reason there were different versions and combinations of numbers to activate this service: 1)*111*528#; 2)*111*128#; 3)*111*3333# And in some they say that incoming calls are free, and all outgoing calls are 3 rubles, and in some, that outgoing calls to MTS subscribers are free, and the rest are 3 rubles. So which one is the right option? We are at a loss... Either illiterate managers work in the salons, or they cannot explain to clients correctly what and how! We have a Super MTS tariff. Thank you in advance!
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