The Moto box it came out of says Quad. The Moto website says Quad when I look up the model number. Methinks it's a quad...

Amy...

I have a motorola v series...don't know if it's the same model but I have a UM+ sim card in it...

I turn it on...it takes a few seconds to register on T Mobile USA, one of UM's roaming partners in the USA..but then the phone seems to go blank...I close the cover and I can see the time as it lights up again...I open the cover again and I can see the menus..in a few seconds it registers....but then it goes out again (at least the light does to conserve battery power) close the cover and yes I can see the time again...open the cover and the light is on....perhaps this is what is happening...rather than thinking the phone has gone dead perhaps if you turn it on when it goes blank, close the cover, open it up again, perhaps it's just the battery saver at work!

It's worth a try.

No, we have never seen the time on the external display. When I plug the phone into the charger, the light on the external display lights up (with no time) and then goes dark after a second. When I open up the phone again, either after plugging it in or turning it on, it is still dark. No lights on keyboard or display. This doesn't sound too good, huh?

Well, the seller has outstanding feedback, so I'm sure your situation will be resolved satisfactorily.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

Amy - one thing I would try is to take the sim card out, reboot the phone, and check to see if it is set to US frequency. I have a motorola phone and you have to do this manually on mine. If it's set to European frequency it won't work in US, or vice versa. It's usually found in the "settings menu". I'm not sure if you can get to your menus, though? Definitely try it without a sim card in the phone.

Also have bought a lot of phones on ebay - like Robes says your seller has a very high rating and lots of sales, so it's very unlikely they won't be able to tell you what you are doing wrong or else send you another phone quickly. But you need to contact them by going to the ebay page for your item and selecting "contact seller". That's the usual method for working thru these issues, not phone.

Good luck & don't worry, it will work out.

Yeah, Robespierre, I thought I had picked a good one. I mean, it seems to be a sketchy business, with most sellers looking risky to me. I guess the fact that his phone is disconnected is making me queasy.

LAwoman, you're right, we're not getting menus.

The seller implores customers to call for help before leaving bad feedback. He even lists his number. (Well, his old number anyway!) I have written directly and through eBay so that it is documented.

I hope you guys are right that this will all resolve to my satisfaction.

Incidentally, I had an online chat with TravelSIM tech support today (very responsive, btw) and they have a list of phones they have tested with their product. Though the V195 is not on the tested list, s/he said that the phone is a newer model and should be fine.

When I asked if I should replace the V195 with another V195, due to potential compatibility issues, it was suggested that the only way to be absolutely sure is to get a phone they've tested. That complicates the potential for a direct exchange with my eBay seller. What do you think?

DH is off to play with the battery some more. I'll keep you posted...

Further tests on the battery are okay. :-(

Slightly inappropriate hijack of this thread on my part (sorry... and if need be, then I will start a new thread)...

...but I have a similar question on "trying out" (actually getting familiar with/learning how to use) internet on an unlocked iPaq (6515) I bought.

I know that it works as a phone. I bought an "initiation" SIM from t-Mobile for $10, and it places and receives calls. t-Mobile does not offer any internet plan without a contract. Cingular does, but they want to charge me $25 for an "empty SIM" before they sell me any time.

I have looked for a "microSD Wifi" card without much success (I haven't looked exhaustively. I thought that this would be my best option, but now I am running out of time (leave for Europe in 2 weeks).

If I don't have intrnet connection in Europe - - it's not like that will ruin my trip - - but that is part of why I bought it.

Ideas?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Best wishes,

Rex

Okay Rex, I'm gonna forgive you...! But only because I have used a lot of your advice here at Fodor's!

I know absolutely nothing about your problem. In addition to the knowledge base here, there seems to be a good deal of tech savvy over at prepaid gsm dot com.

Now, tell me what to do about MY phone!!! ;-)

(Hey, maybe you have an old phone you want to sell forward...?)

Rex, ck ur email.

I went through the process a few years ago of buying an unlocked phone on Ebay for use in Europe. Everything turned out OK for me.

With no SIM in the phone or no signal it definitely will not just shut down. You would get an error message. It does sound like the battery is not charged or may not be making proper contact. Make sure the battery contacts are clean and springing out a little to make good contact. Are you sure the charger is charging it? When hooked to the charger and turned off, do you see battery condition bars on the side of the screen?

It is also possible that the phone is just plain defective. Maybe you can take it to a local Cingular or T-Mobile vendor and have them check it. Tell them you are thinking about a contract.

The fact that the phone turns on without the sim and says "no sim" leads me to believe that phone is fine, but is's just not compatible with travelsim. I have 2 V195's. Bought them when tmobile was selling them new for $39 a few months ago. I have 4 sim cards that use callback, and the V195s only work with United Mobile for direct dialing. I would suggest you try another sim card in the phone. From my experiance and readings on the net, the cheaper the motorola phone is the less likely it will be compatible with sims that use callback.

Right here <b>09/06/2007, 10:20 am</b> Amy40 tells us It does NOT say &quot;no SIM.&quot; That's the problem.

That's correct Robespierre.

So, here's a little update. I did get an RMA from the seller late last night. The phone went back to CA today. I packed it with bubblewrap and asked them in my correspondence to please send me the replacement phone using the bubblewrap. We'll see...

Sorry. I missed that part. It's probably just a bad phone. Hope you get a good replacement...good luck!

For anyone following my drama, the replacement phone arrived and it works. Thank heavens! I am back in DH's good graces. TravelSIM is compatible with the V195 and I signed up with Call Back World today. We leave for France on Wednesday.

Thanks again everyone for the help when I was having a break down over this!