International travel with Razr Maxx

[helron]

From: Motorola Droid RAZR, RAZR MAXX getting ICS update today: will make them first Verizon LTE phones with global roaming

Other good news around the ICS update for the Droid RAZR duo is that the update to the latest Android will make them Verizon’s first 4G LTE handsets that are also global.


This means that basically you can use voice and data in more than 220 countries across the globe, but for that you’d still need to pay for an international plan.

[TisMyDroid]

The Razr's are already unlocked. It is my understanding that once the ICS update adds Global, one can use a prepaid SIM.Anyone else?

Yes, this is also what I would like to know. Verizon's international plans are outrageously expensive and I would never want to give them that much money. But if you can just add a foreign prepaid sim, then that is very affordable. I understand that once your sim card is removed from your phone, verizon renders it useless after 24 hours. No biggie. I will just get a free sim card from verizon before I leave the country and as soon as I get back to US, put in new verizon sim and re-activate my phone. The big question is, will a foreign prepaid sim work once the razr is global?

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

[Brawn80]

So I did as SDFSMC advised and I called customer support. Other then spending a fair amount of time listening to VZW ads and helpful tips while I was being transferred to different departments, I got the information that I was looking for. Customer service did confirm that ICS is coming out today , and that GSM capability will be available once the software is installed. Though at the moment, international SIMs will not work in the RAZR, even with ICS. The woman told me that that capability will be made available in a future update. For now though.. It'll be hunting for wifi or accepting VZW's roaming charges.

Overall, I got the answer to my question. Though it wasn't quite the one I was looking for, at least its some information.

[sdfsmc]

Update #2.

I just finished a long talk with two friendly Verizon agents who gave me slightly different information.

According to the International Expert, Razr Maxx will be updated to support global roaming but since it is a 4G LTE SIM it does not work with the 3G GSM network in Europe. I can use the phone by paying a $5 fee and then the lower international rate of .99 cents / minute voice and .50 cents for texts, and $25 per 100 Meg of data. In the last week I have used about 875 Meg of data, which would have cost me over $200 at this rate.

I think that I will switch Razr Maxx into Airplane mode, and only use it with a free WiFi connection. For my phone, I will borrow a friends international GSM phone and purchase a European prepaid SIM for $29.

Thank you again for your help.

[TisMyDroid]

You know what I'm wondering? If instead of asking verizon, we should be asking motorola... because, of course, Verizon does not want us to go the more affordable route and would like to make as much money as possible from our use overseas. I am thinking that the phone is going to be gsm capable so a prepaid gsm sim should work. Motorola might give us the correct answer in this because they would rather we get the most out of our phone.

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

[bsweetness]

Update #2.

I just finished a long talk with two friendly Verizon agents who gave me slightly different information.

According to the International Expert, Razr Maxx will be updated to support global roaming but since it is a 4G LTE SIM it does not work with the 3G GSM network in Europe. I can use the phone by paying a $5 fee and then the lower international rate of .99 cents / minute voice and .50 cents for texts, and $25 per 100 Meg of data. In the last week I have used about 875 Meg of data, which would have cost me over $200 at this rate.

I think that I will switch Razr Maxx into Airplane mode, and only use it with a free WiFi connection. For my phone, I will borrow a friends international GSM phone and purchase a European prepaid SIM for $29.

Thank you again for your help.

I wondered if the Verizon LTE SIM would be able to handle GSM. I guess Verizon will want to hand out GSM micro SIM cards for those going overseas that want to keep using their Verizon number.

If the ICS update arrives before you leave, you should be able to use a European prepaid GSM SIM in the MAXX (if you cut it down to micro SIM size if it isn't already). Supposedly there's no SIM lock on the phone, so it would work in the same manner as using your friend's GSM phone. This won't incur any fees from Verizon.

You know what I'm wondering? If instead of asking verizon, we should be asking motorola... because, of course, Verizon does not want us to go the more affordable route and would like to make as much money as possible from our use overseas. I am thinking that the phone is going to be gsm capable so a prepaid gsm sim should work. Motorola might give us the correct answer in this because they would rather we get the most out of our phone.

From everything they've said, the phone is definitely GSM capable after the ICS update. So, a prepaid GSM SIM (that's micro SIM size) should work just fine, as long as there is no SIM lock on the phone (and all indications are that there isn't a lock).

[Brawn80]

And if i happen to be sitting in my uncles house in Budapest? I don't suppose i can get the ICS update through wifi.

[wxman2003]

You should be able to update via wifi. I always update mine that way. I go into settings, about phone and check for updates while connected via wifi. Never had a problem.

[sdfsmc]

Hello again.

I just talked to a very nice support person at Motorola and she said that Verizon has locked the phone. She advised against swapping the Verizon SIM for a UK based SIM. She mentioned another customer who bricked his phone by changing the SIM without unlocking it with Verizon.

Seth

[TisMyDroid]

Hello again.

I just talked to a very nice support person at Motorola and she said that Verizon has locked the phone. She advised against swapping the Verizon SIM for a UK based SIM. She mentioned another customer who bricked his phone by changing the SIM without unlocking it with Verizon.

Seth

Believe me, if Verizon can find a way to prevent us from using a prepaid foreign sim, then they definitely will. Apparently they have are able to do that easier than I thought. I guess they probably would have never allowed the global capabilities unless they were able to reap the benefits from their international plans.

Thanks Seth for this info. Very very helpful!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Droid Forums