magrb

I have read all the threads about using cell phones & Blackberrysin Europe & still can"t decipher billing & what services included. I called AT&T cust service & got someone who could not even tell me if I have to buy a plan so family can text each other & what it would cost. In addition to the family texting I would like to use BB for picking up office vm as well as reviewing work emails. I could give up the emails & use internet cafe every day or so if the "data usage" is prohibitive. Here is the web site link which doesn't discuss buying an international plan which c.s. rep said I need to keep for a year @$69/mo. I asked her if the phones would "just work" in Spain & France & she said didn't know. #@%! http://www.wireless.att.com/travelgu...D2=&STEP=5
Anyone with experience with this who can walk me through this - appreciate! Trip is Madrid & Paris last week in March.

shormk2

I have a blackberry curve (the small one that has a camera in it) and before this one, I had the 8700, and have ATT service- I haven't had any problems during my foreign travel using it to check voicemail, email, etc (I haven't tried texting, but my blackberry messenger worked fine)... that said, it was rather expensive b/c I still had to pay per minute expenses that varied by country ( I didn't see the justification in going /w their international plan that had a high per month cost and then you STILL had to pay by the minute-just at a lesser rate and not that much less I may add). I completely understand your frustration w/ customer service- before I was leaving to go abroad w/ my blackberry for the first time, I spoke to 5 agents before I got ONE that was knowledgeable about international plans... my best advice would be to call the customer service number and specify that you need an expert in international calling and plans. As for my experience, you will be fine in Paris, not sure about Madrid- have yet to travel there w/ a blackberry... enjoy your trip and try not to work too much!

magrb

Thank you! Just to clarify - you did not have to set anything up? And charger is just standard adaptor?

shormk2

Nope- didn't have to do anything. I walked off the plane and had service immediately. You may have to turn it off, then back on, but you should be up and running as soon as you get there. Be careful though, because they will charge you for each email/data that comes through... when I usually travel, I turn my email portion off- and have my secretary call me if there are any "SUPER IMPORTANT, CAN'T WAIT" type emails that come through... as for chargers, just plug it into the adapter and you're good to go.

magrb

Thanks so much! I think I will turn the email off - "phone only" under Profiles, right? Then I can check emails @ internet cafe. What about texting- do you do that?

shormk2

I do text a lot while state-side, but for international travel, I advise my friends/family with whom I usually text, to only text in case of emergency (many a time, in the middle of the night, I wake up to a random text from one of my friends stateside that costs me a fortune!)... I will use my blackberry messenger though without a problem. And to turn the email off, you don't go to profiles- phone-only (that means it will only ring/vibrate for telephone calls)... I go to my email set-up, options, and then turn auto-delivery off (I believe that's how I do it...)

magrb

Am I understanding that texting between my family wile we are all in Madrid or Paris together is cost prohibitive? Thanks!

smarty

Wow, the AT&T arrangements are so very different than my account with T-Mobile. With T-Mobile you HAVE TO HAVE international plan in place, it is an additional $29/month and arranged for month-by-month. Phone calls are $.99/minute in or out, including voicemail. Unlimited data up to some point I have never yet reached. The only thing that has the potential to run up the bill in unknown ways is texting, so I don't do that!

Patty

First you need to call AT&T and activate international roaming on your account if you haven't done so previously. There's no charge to simply activate intl roaming.

Next, you can decide if you want the discounted intl roaming plan (called AT&T World Traveler) which has a monthly fee of $5.99 and gives you a lower per minute voice rate in certain countries. Check the applicable countries first before you sign up http://tinyurl.com/2d5vgk. You used to be able to just sign up for the discounted roaming plan for a month and cancel it, but I don't know if you can do that anymore.

Then, decide if you want BB email and internet service. The CS rep is correct that you have to sign up for a minimum one year commitment with the BB Intl unlimited plan. Your other option is pay as you go at a cost of approx $0.02 per kb for email and internet usage. You can log into your account to check how many kb you normally use.

If you don't want to receive emails, you need to go into BB Setup and Email Setup on your BB device (at least this is how it works on my 8800). Or you can do it online through http://tinyurl.com/2c5ymo. Otherwise your BB will be capable of receiving emails and you'll be charged.

For text rates, use the first link I provided above, select the country and click details.

magrb

Thanks so much. For texting within our family in the same city do all have to have international roaming activated?

Seamus

Keep in mind that your BB provides two separate services - phone (cells and text) and data (email, web access). You can have just the phone services work while traveling internationally and turn off the data service to be sure you don;t get hit with bills for data usage. Theoretically if you have not set up an international data plan (which does require an annual contract)data shouldn't get through any way, but...
Not sure how it works on other models, but on my Pearl it was a pretty simple menu driven thing to do. Click Settings - Options - Security options - Firewall - then on the menu you will see Firewall status (set to enabled) and a list of services with checkboxes in front of them. Check the box for BB Internet Service then click the back key (swirly arrow to the right of the trackball) and choose save. Your email and BB internet are turned off, and you will not receive emails for which you would be charged. When you return home, just navigate through and remove the check and you are back in service.

Before you travel you need to contact AT&T and activate international roaming to be sure you will have service while in Europe. There is no charge for this. What there is a charge for is if you elect to buy the international roaming plan where you pay a flat fee per month and get a lower per-minute rate. There is no contract, you can activate just before you leave and deactivate on return by calling customer service. Whether or not it is worth it depends on how much you will use your phone - you would need to use a certain number of minutes to break even with the monthly fee. If you do not sign up for this plan AND have activated international roaming you can still make and receive calls, but will pay higher per minute charges.
You asked about texting between family phones while n Paris - each one (both sender and receiver) are charged at the international rate. Even though you are both in Paris (or wherever) you are still calling from and to a US number. Same thing goes for phone calls to each other - both caller and receiver pay international per minute rates. If it is not important for you to keep your home number (and your phone is unlocked) you can buy local SIM cards for use while in that location - incoming calls would be free, caller would pay the going rate for a local call.

Seamus

Keep in mind that your BB provides two separate services - phone (cells and text) and data (email, web access). You can have just the phone services work while traveling internationally and turn off the data service to be sure you don;t get hit with bills for data usage. Theoretically if you have not set up an international data plan (which does require an annual contract)data shouldn't get through any way, but...
Not sure how it works on other models, but on my Pearl it was a pretty simple menu driven thing to do. Click Settings - Options - Security options - Firewall - then on the menu you will see Firewall status (set to enabled) and a list of services with checkboxes in front of them. Check the box for BB Internet Service then click the back key (swirly arrow to the right of the trackball) and choose save. Your email and BB internet are turned off, and you will not receive emails for which you would be charged. When you return home, just navigate through and remove the check and you are back in service.

Before you travel you need to contact AT&T and activate international roaming to be sure you will have service while in Europe. There is no charge for this. What there is a charge for is if you elect to buy the international roaming plan where you pay a flat fee per month and get a lower per-minute rate. There is no contract, you can activate just before you leave and deactivate on return by calling customer service. Whether or not it is worth it depends on how much you will use your phone - you would need to use a certain number of minutes to break even with the monthly fee. If you do not sign up for this plan AND have activated international roaming you can still make and receive calls, but will pay higher per minute charges.
You asked about texting between family phones while in Paris. AT&T site says sender pays the international rate (.50 per text and $1.30 per picture/video message) and the receiver pays just like they were at home. For voice calls, even though you are both in Paris (or wherever) you are still calling from and to a US number - both caller and receiver pay international per minute rates.
If it is not important for you to keep your home number (and your phone is unlocked and on the right frequency) you can buy local SIM cards for use while in that location - incoming calls would be free, caller would pay the going rate for a local call.

Seamus

Oops - must have done something wrong in trying to post - disregard my first post as it has incorrect info about cost of text messaging.

Patty

magrb,
Yes, I believe everyone has to have intl roaming activated. It really doesn't matter whether you're all in the same city.

Seamus,
I've never had an intl data plan set up on my BB and can still use data service abroad. The pay as you go option is automatic.

Jean

A few customer/tech support numbers I have collected... These are from the Cingular Wireless days, but I think AT&T retained them.

Customer Services: 800-331-0500
World/International Services: 800-335-4685
Blackberry Support: 866-246-4852
RIM Blackberry Support: 877-255-2377
Customer Support from Europe: 001-916-843-4685

When moving from city to city, I've sometimes had to manually search for and click on a local network. (On my model, I go to "Settings," then "Network.&quot

mrcamp

You got some good advice already. Bottom line...call AT&T Customer service to activate international roaming (you need to be a customer for at least 90 days) on any phone that needs to work outside USA, and that's it. As for SMS, it's $0.50 to send/receive. However, if you have a text plan, then you do not pay to receive (it comes out of your bucket), unless you do not have any left in the bucket.