LAwoman

spartanap - "unlocked" means you can use a non-TMobile sim card in your phone. It's unlikely they unlocked it. They probably just enabled your service in Europe, at their rates.

Robespierre

"Did this call unlock her phone?"

In a word, no. Unlocking is something that <u>you</u> do, after they email you the unlock code and instructions. The code is a mathematical function of your phone's International Mobile Equipment Identity (a number that's hard-wired in the phone).

But I just went to unlock the T-Mobile phones of my three sons, and much to my surprise, the two RAZRs didn't need it. Only the Samsung had to be put through the procedure. To see if yours is unlocked, put a non-T-Mobile SIM in it and see if it complains. If not, you're good to go.

The phone call to Customer Service enabled International Roaming on your account (which T-Mobile customers can do themselves on the web site.)

LynnieD

Today in the LATimes there is an article about calling from cell phones from overseas. They mention a company
www.telestial.com that specializes in phones and sim cards.

I looked them up and they offer a sim card good in 90 countries with $10.00 worth of calls for $19.00. There are other options as well, including ones with lower cents per minute charges.

Because these are good in all of the countries I am soon visiting (Czech Rep, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Thailand) except Cambodia, I am thinking about ordering one. I just want to use my new ebay purchased phone for a few &quot;touch base&quot; with my teenager and DH and don't plan on talking alot.

I think that based upon the info I obtained here, that otherwise I will be purchasing a sim card in each country, or at least one in Europe and 1 in Asia. Right?

logos999

Can you post a link to the 19&euro; SIM (free incoming)? Can't find it on the page. You can buy Thai Sims in Bangkok for 25 to 50 Baht, incl. 50 Baht credit, 3-5h of free internet (GPRS) per month. Free incoming, that can be reached for 2ct/min from abroad. It's worth buying one. 50 Baht equals about $1.50.

logos999

&gt;19&euro; SIM (free incoming)?
Found it, sounds good!!

mrcamp

d_claude_bear, don't know about using the phone regularly. The bottom line is, you have to have an active tmobile sim when you ask for the request.

LadySadie

I have searched most of the sites mentioned above, and I'm still confused about which is the best deal.
We will be in Europe for 2 months soon, and will use Skype VoiP for all my outgoing calls to the US. I need something to allow inexpensive outgoing calls within Europe, and free or inexpensive incoming calls from the family in the US. An added plus would be the ability to use it in Venezuela, but that isn't a deal-breaker.
Is there an obvious choice that I'm missing?

LadySadie

I neglected to mention in my initial post that I already have an unblocked Motorola Razr.

Linda431

Sadie, I'm not sure the Razr has the bands you need for Europe. If it does, then try the SIM card from United Mobile or one of the other call-back cards. Incoming calls are free (to you) and outgoing 39 cents per minute. I think Venzuela is covered but check their web site to be sure.

martyharly

ttt

martyharly

Overbeck---

Could you make this REAL simple for me...
I get it that I can buy a quad band GSM phone from Amazon, around $90. Then I need to get something called a SIM card. I really don't know what that that is. Its $50 dollars just to buy the card, and then its only $20 worth of calls? That seems expensive. I do know that $20 worth of calls won't be enough for my 2 1/2 weeks in Europe.I just want to be able to receive direct calls from the US, and make direct calls to US from Europe, as quickly, as easily as possible.

Linda431

I'll let Overbeck answer most of your questions but the cost of the SIM card is pretty much universal. The SIM is the guts or brains if you will, of your phone. It supplies the phone number and the phone will not work (other than non-telephone functions) without one.

Linda431

Marty, here's a link that tells it better than I can:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-sim-card.htm

martyharly

Thanks, so far. One more question....What is the difference between tri-band, and quad-band phones? Verizon has both.

Robespierre

There are two bands in use in North America (850 mHz and 1900 mHz) and two in Europe (900 mHz and 1800 mHz). Verizon will probably sell you a phone with one or both European bands plus both the U.S. ones.

What kind of a deal is Verizon offering, and for what phones (make &amp; model)?

The Wise Geek in the article linked above fails to mention the very important fact that only two carriers in the U.S. use SIMs: AT&amp;T and T-Mobile. See this article: fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?tid=34986388

martyharly

This is the Verizon info vzwrentinternational.com I am only thinking about Verizon since we currently have service with them. I don't know how their service compares to others. If a phone dosn't use SIMS, how does the international service work? Again, keep this simple. I'm no techno geek! Thanks!

sjj

European cell phone networks use GSM technology, and cell phones in Europe connect to a network using a small computer chip known as a sim. The phone + sim Verizon rents will work in Europe, but the rental is expensive, and you have to return the phone when you get back to the States. There are two alternatives to renting from Verizon. The first is to buy a phone from Mobal, as described in earlier posts. This is convenient, but it can be expensive because Mobal's calling rate is high. In addition, Mobal's phones are locked - they can only be used with Mobal sims. The other alternative is to buy an unlocked GSM phone at amazon.com or ebay and an international sim from some vendor, say telestial.com. You can also buy one of the sims listed at prepaidgsm.net/. If you do this you should make sure that the phone operates on the European frequencies, 900 and 1800, that it's unlocked, and that the sim you buy works in your destination countries. I would also check to see what you have to do to keep the sim active.
This alternative will cost between $50 and $150 for the phone and between $50 and $75 for the sim. It's probably more expensive than the Verizon and Mobal options, but it's more flexible and more useful in the long run.

Linda431

I'm with you Marty, the techno thing is definately not my thing. But..

Briefly on the Verizon thing, be careful not to let your local U.S. provider talk you into using the same service in Europe. Most will add roaming charges to a per minute rate that's already much higher than what you can get on a foreign carrier.

The SIM cards I am suggesting can be used in almost any country and have no roaming fee.

Robespierre

The information provided above by <b>sjj</b> is basically accurate, but there is a third way to acquire a GSM phone: from either T-Mobile or AT&amp;T, as this is the technology they both use in North America.

You can get a suitable phone almost free from T-Mobile. See this article: fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?tid=35034653

martyharly

Traveling is already so expensive, let alone dealing with renting/purchasing an international phone service that I only need for 2 weeks. Maybe I should just buy an international phone card once I get to Europe and call home from pay phones?! Our teen can always call us at the various hotels we will be staying at.