Hi, I have an important selection interview for the doctorate in psychology during my family trip to Cuba (Cayo Cruz) next week. Is it possible to access Microsoft, Zoom, a stable connection with LTE or hôtel WiFi? or am I better not going?
Thanks !
If it’s a resort, then the best answer is ‘probably.’ At it’s best, Cuban 4G internet, and often wifi, can support a video conference call. But it’s frequently not at its best. I’ve been here since the new year, in different locations in the city and countryside, and the net is not always usable. But I can’t speak to what happens inside the resorts. Cuban resorts usually get the best electric and internet service, but… the connection for the entire island can go down. or slow down. What would happen if the connection craps out just before your interview?
IF you do go, you’ll want to pre-order a Cuban physical SIM online to pick up on arrival. Then you’ll have both Cubacel 4G LTE on your phone and whatever wifi the hotel has. And you will definitely want a paid, fast, stable VPN installed and working on your phone before arrival. Many apps and online services block connections from Cuba. Never tried Zoom here.
You’re better off not going. The whole country is experiencing +24hr blackouts. Yes the resorts have generators apparently, but that doesn’t mean internet will be reliable, unless you plan on taking a generator and a starlink.
In my experience the resort wifi is not strong or consistent, you’d have better luck hot spotting from your cell phone LTE plan to your laptop / using your plan- most plans have a feature where it would cost $16/day to use as normal … there are also E SIMs you could purchase but I personally don’t have experience using an ESIM in Cuba.
i do zoom all the time in Havana, you need a vpn. works even during blackout
don’t know how good the internet is outside Havana
Zoom does not work in Cuba, you’d need a VPN. MS Teams is fine. Connection quality varies.
If you’re in a resort, just find the spot in the hotel with the strongest connection. I’m sure the staff will know, and you’ll be fine. Just do some tests when you get there to make sure it works well. To be on the safe side, you should buy a local SIM card and use your phone as a hotspot. I don’t think eSIMs work.
I just returned from Cayo Cruz yesterday (Selection Esmerelda). The resort wifi was strong and reliable the week I was there. I had no problem accessing Microsoft suite while I was there including Teams. I didn’t try Zoom. I did find a couple of restricted websites, notably ChatGPT. I didn’t use a VPN.
In Varadero at an all-inclusive, on a VPN I downloaded before coming here. Just completed a 20min WhatsApp call with only one minor glitch when the phone was moved.
Microsoft VPN likely better and if you are on a better device and connection, shouldn’t be an issue.
Just back from Varadero, power was no issue, talked to someone who just stayed in Matanzas for the week, and he had one brief daytime power outage. Internet was available but did occasionally drop out. Lots of cellular data drop outs. Always had voice service but data was problematic. Cycle into/out of airplane mode usually fixed it. Tried streaming on wifi, was able to once for about 39 mins, could not the second time, too pixelated.
FaceTime worked well the whole week.
Probably, but to be sure, I recommend you to have a working VPN already installed on your laptop.
Also, send a message to the hotel to check (normally, in Cayo Cruz, you should have wifi available, at least in the lobby. (which is definitely not the best place for an interview).
In Havana airport, get a sim card with data. It’s better to have a second option in case the first fail!
You can also propose to an employee of the hotel to purchase data for him so he can share it with you (data are very precious for Cuban, they can not afford to do it for free)
Worst case scenario, if none of the above solution is working, use your mobile data roaming. It is tremendously expensive (+/- 18€/ Mo), but it works.
I had no issues with dropping video calls on an eSIM with ProtonVPN, though the picture quality wasn’t amazing. I’d recommend that as a backup in case the resort wifi is not strong enough
In Havana now. I am able to log into Microsoft Teams using data connection and Google VPN. WhatsApp works but video conversations are usually too slow on data. In short with a hotel wi-fi connection you should be ok but still risky
Nop, on the Cuban Dictatorship, internet is a luxury and very censored and surveillance. You should know this
I’m in Havana now and had no issues doing a WhatsApp video call using the local Cuban SIM card from the Cubacel network
All of my corporate microsoft stuff works while in Cuba (teams, outlook, etc).
A lot of US based stuff doesn’t work though. For example my google nest cameras I generally can’t access unless I VPN.
99% chance it’ll be fine and work. If I were you I’d still skip the trip to make sure nothing goes wrong as if something does break you won’t be able to find any help to get it resolved.
Just returned after 8 days from Cuba. Sign up for a 7 day trial or a month paid VPN. I used express VPN. Never had any problems accessing anything from Canada.
I’m in Havana right now and this is incorrect. In the last 3 days since I’ve arrived there have been no outages.
I only experienced electric cuts in rural Viñales and even there most hostels/airbnbs had generators.
Also, hotels and just about anyone catering to tourists seem to have their own solutions in place for power. Telling people to bring their own starlink or generators is nonsense.
If your info is out of date don’t give advice.
Thanks for your answer !