Using Droid 2 Global in other countries

[icechamp31]

Hello,
I am going abroad this summer to Spain and Turkey and I want to be able to make calls and send texts from my Droid 2 Global. However I went online and I looked at Verizon's rate plans for both countries and calls and texts are ridiculously expensive. I want to purchase a local prepaid SIM card from a company such as Vodafone or Turkcell when I am in Europe so I can remove my Verizon SIM card and pay the local carrier's rates instead of Verizon's. I called customer service and I got two contradicting answers, one saying a local SIM card will work and another saying I will have to pay the (super expensive rates) that Verizon charges. Is it possible that I can suspend my service for two months, unlock my phone and use a local simcard without giving Verizon money? Or have they outsmarted me by making me pay for my service abroad? Is there a way I can jailbreak my Droid 2 Global so I don't have to pay Verizon when I use it abroad?

 

[silver6054]

As long as you can get verizon to unlock your phone (which they should do if you have been a customer long enough) you can use local Sims, avoiding amazingly expensive data charges (and calls will be cheaper too.) You will need to pay your monthly charge though, unless you suspend your service, not sure of the cost of that.

Btw, sending this from the UK, using a local SIM, so it really does work!

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using DroidForums

 

[icechamp31]

It looks like Verizon got the best of me then. I pay a lot to them a month and I wanted to suspend my service while abroad while just getting a cheap pre paid simcard so I didn't have to pay them anything. But these people are crafty and made it so in order to use the Droid 2 abroad it is more expensive because you need to pay the access charges, plus the chargers from a local company. It looks like I will suspend service then when I go and use my old T-Mobile phone while there. At least they have it set so their phones unlock and work abroad without paying T-Mobile money.

 

[silver6054]

It looks like Verizon got the best of me then. I pay a lot to them a month and I wanted to suspend my service while abroad while just getting a cheap pre paid simcard so I didn't have to pay them anything. But these people are crafty and made it so in order to use the Droid 2 abroad it is more expensive because you need to pay the access charges, plus the chargers from a local company. It looks like I will suspend service then when I go and use my old T-Mobile phone while there. At least they have it set so their phones unlock and work abroad without paying T-Mobile money.

[Double post]

 

[silver6054]

It looks like Verizon got the best of me then. I pay a lot to them a month and I wanted to suspend my service while abroad while just getting a cheap pre paid simcard so I didn't have to pay them anything. But these people are crafty and made it so in order to use the Droid 2 abroad it is more expensive because you need to pay the access charges, plus the chargers from a local company. It looks like I will suspend service then when I go and use my old T-Mobile phone while there. At least they have it set so their phones unlock and work abroad without paying T-Mobile money.

Not sure I understand. Once you are using a local SIM, there are no (extra) charges to Verizon. So if you can suspend, how is that different from using your T-Mobile phone. Of course, having to pay for US service you are not using (if you cannot suspend) isn't great, but they would say that is part of your contract....

 

[sqpeg1]

Help!! I am a Droid 2 Global newbie as well as smartphone newby. I am going to Europe next spring for 6 or 7 weeks, visiting Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, and Moldova. I have read alot of posts on this site and finally registered, so I can post my newbiequestions. I know I have to call Verizon and get them to unlock my phone. We will have been with Verizon for about a year soon.

1. Should I wait to do this until just before I leave next April, 2012, or can I do it now? 2. Can I get one sim card that will work throughout Europe and the countries I am going to, or do you have to buy a card in each country? 3. Do the cards only cover phone calls, or do they cover data as well? We want to use data, particularly for GPS. 4. About how much do the sim cards cost that cover phone and data? Do you initially buy the card and then pay as you go for calls and data??

Any HELP and advice would be greatly appreciated. I am techno ignorant!

 

[silver6054]

Help!! I am a Droid 2 Global newbie as well as smartphone newby. I am going to Europe next spring for 6 or 7 weeks, visiting Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, and Moldova. I have read alot of posts on this site and finally registered, so I can post my newbiequestions. I know I have to call Verizon and get them to unlock my phone. We will have been with Verizon for about a year soon.

1. Should I wait to do this until just before I leave next April, 2012, or can I do it now? 2. Can I get one sim card that will work throughout Europe and the countries I am going to, or do you have to buy a card in each country? 3. Do the cards only cover phone calls, or do they cover data as well? We want to use data, particularly for GPS. 4. About how much do the sim cards cost that cover phone and data? Do you initially buy the card and then pay as you go for calls and data??

Any HELP and advice would be greatly appreciated. I am techno ignorant!

on 1) certainly don't wait until the last minute in case there are problems. You need to get the codes and check that they really do unlock your phone. To check, you need a third-party SIM inserted when Verizon gives you the codes. Do you know someone on AT&T or T-Mobile? You can use those SIMs, they won't get service in the US, but it will let you know if the codes work. Tell Verizon that you are leaving in a few days if they ask (don't say April in case they chose to argue!)

2) Yes, you can get cards that cover various regions or most of the world. As often, you are trading price for convenience, i.e. the call/data charges in each country using these sims if often quite a bit more than using a local SIM. (But much less then using Verizon's one!) See for example the Passport SIM from
International SIM Cards from $5, International Cell Phones from $19, World and Satellite Phones This isn't all that cheap, so search for others as well, another is http://www.gosim.com/?gosimrow


3) You can get SIMs for both voice and data (you may find voice-only SIMs).

4) Look at the link in 2, and then also search for prepaid SIM [country]. Carriers such as Orange and Vodafone will have prepaid SIMs in various countries, often with just 30 day contracts. You usually buy the SIM with some airtime (SIM is often free from a carrier) and then top-up as needed.

Hope that helps

 

[sqpeg1]

Thanks so much for your help. I looked at the Telestial.com site. If I buy one of theirs, I can put it in my phone at the airport as I am leaving the US? I looked inthe back of my phone and it looks like there are two chips above the battery. I assume one is for photos. Is that correct? It is the other one that is the sim card. So, you change the card after the phone is unlocked. Can I use that sim to unlock the phone? Or should I try it before I buy that card. I don't think we will use the phone that much, but for sure the data and GPS. So, when we get back to the states, we just pull out that sim card and replace it with the Verizon card and it will work as it does now??????? Sorry, I am so ignorant.

I get that the local sim cards are cheaper, but it might be easier to buy it ahead of time from telestial. The set up seems a little complicated. If I buy a Sim in Europe will they set it up for me? We have Vonage for our home phone. I was actually thinking of taking the router and one phone to use with our laptop, but my cell would be much easier. That is why we wanted to have one Droid 2 Global in the first place. My husband has a Droid X. So, I really want to figure this out before we leave. Sorry for the extra questions and thank you for your time answering.

on 1) certainly don't wait until the last minute in case there are problems. You need to get the codes and check that they really do unlock your phone. To check, you need a third-party SIM inserted when Verizon gives you the codes. Do you know someone on AT&T or T-Mobile? You can use those SIMs, they won't get service in the US, but it will let you know if the codes work. Tell Verizon that you are leaving in a few days if they ask (don't say April in case they chose to argue!)

2) Yes, you can get cards that cover various regions or most of the world. As often, you are trading price for convenience, i.e. the call/data charges in each country using these sims if often quite a bit more than using a local SIM. (But much less then using Verizon's one!) See for example the Passport SIM from
International SIM Cards from $5, International Cell Phones from $19, World and Satellite Phones This isn't all that cheap, so search for others as well, another is International SIM Cards from GOSIM - cheap mobile calls from abroad


3) You can get SIMs for both voice and data (you may find voice-only SIMs).

4) Look at the link in 2, and then also search for prepaid SIM [country]. Carriers such as Orange and Vodafone will have prepaid SIMs in various countries, often with just 30 day contracts. You usually buy the SIM with some airtime (SIM is often free from a carrier) and then top-up as needed.

Hope that helps

 

[silver6054]

Thanks so much for your help. I looked at the Telestial.com site. If I buy one of theirs, I can put it in my phone at the airport as I am leaving the US? I looked inthe back of my phone and it looks like there are two chips above the battery. I assume one is for photos. Is that correct? It is the other one that is the sim card. So, you change the card after the phone is unlocked. Can I use that sim to unlock the phone? Or should I try it before I buy that card. I don't think we will use the phone that much, but for sure the data and GPS. So, when we get back to the states, we just pull out that sim card and replace it with the Verizon card and it will work as it does now??????? Sorry, I am so ignorant.

I get that the local sim cards are cheaper, but it might be easier to buy it ahead of time from telestial. The set up seems a little complicated. If I buy a Sim in Europe will they set it up for me? We have Vonage for our home phone. I was actually thinking of taking the router and one phone to use with our laptop, but my cell would be much easier. That is why we wanted to have one Droid 2 Global in the first place. My husband has a Droid X. So, I really want to figure this out before we leave. Sorry for the extra questions and thank you for your time answering.

OK, the first point is that the SIM (either the new one or the Verizon one) doesn't work at all in the US, so you can place it in the phone at any time (and you can leave it there when you return. Your phone uses CDMA in the US, and that doesn't need a SIM.) So, when you get the SIM, put it in, you will be prompted for the code, and you can enter it to make sure that the code works. Sometimes they don't.

And yes, two slots, one for the SD card (for photos, music, apps etc) the other for the SIM. There should probably already be a Vodafone SIM in the phone, you remove that and replace it with the new SIM. If not, putting the phone face down, with the camera lens on the left, the SIM slot is the one on the right (nearer the "Google" than the "5MP")

Re Telestial, as I said, a trade off of price vs convenience. You might not get a lot of help if you purchase a SIM, the expectation in many parts of Europe is that people do this often and so don't need help. With each SIM, you might need to set up APNs for data. This should happen automatically, but often doesn't, and this is another advantage of just using one SIM for everywhere. I would expect the Telestial SIM to come with instructions on how to do this, if not, post back here!

 

[silver6054]

OK, the first point is that the SIM (either the new one or the Verizon one) doesn't work at all in the US, so you can place it in the phone at any time (and you can leave it there when you return. Your phone uses CDMA in the US, and that doesn't need a SIM.) So, when you get the SIM, put it in, you will be prompted for the code, and you can enter it to make sure that the code works. Sometimes they don't.

And yes, two slots, one for the SD card (for photos, music, apps etc) the other for the SIM. There should probably already be a Vodafone SIM in the phone, you remove that and replace it with the new SIM. If not, putting the phone face down, with the camera lens on the left, the SIM slot is the one on the right (nearer the "Google" than the "5MP")

Re Telestial, as I said, a trade off of price vs convenience. You might not get a lot of help if you purchase a SIM, the expectation in many parts of Europe is that people do this often and so don't need help. With each SIM, you might need to set up APNs for data. This should happen automatically, but often doesn't, and this is another advantage of just using one SIM for everywhere. I would expect the Telestial SIM to come with instructions on how to do this, if not, post back here!

Looking more carefully at the rates for data for both Telestial and GoSim, I remember why I only use local ones! They both charge "from" $1 per MB, which is only cheaper than Verizon if you use about 350MB (and that costs $350 of course). In contrast, my local SIM in the UK gives you 25MB for 15 cents, with each additional MB being 15c. Calls to the US are 59c per min, I pay 7c per min and there are cheaper options. But, again, convenience! Just watch data charges and use WIFI where possible.