<p>DS is leaving for a two-month trip. He has been assured by the Verizon people that there are no extra charges, no weird roaming surcharges, etc., but we are both still suspicious. Anyone have any experience??</p>
<p>The minute I leave the country, I get a text message from Verizon telling me that my roaming charges (especially for data) are about to go up on my Droid:
“Welcome to Canada! Roaming data may be billed up to $2.05/mb per your plan.” I don’t have the specifics for calls, but I know that goes up, too.</p>
<p>I would call again and ask to speak to someone in the global (I think that’s their term) services department.</p>
<p>ditto what mafool said; unless you have a global package added on for the trip you could be nailed for ridiculous roaming charges…</p>
<p>I had the global package for my trip last month overseas; the message that mafool got still came through on my phone; we called Verizon and they told us that the messages are automatic (they lag) even if you have the global package (not sure how anyone is supposed to know that though)…</p>
<p>In this case, I would make sure I cross my T’s and dot my I’s and get names and employee numbers; we have had WAY too many issues with Verizon phone people who have no idea what they are talking about…it took 3 tries last time to get this right…</p>
<p>rodney: So even if three separate Verizon people reassure us, we shouldn’t take they’re word for it??? Scary.</p>
<p>When is Congress going to get on top of these crooks?</p>
<p>vh-
Fist, understand that most US calling may not involve any roaming at all. So when the US people say everything is the same, it is—excepth that now you have roaming. (Not claiming to fully understand all of this–my analysis my be faulty)
so:
Call the international people.
Determine what is roaming and what is not.
Determine the charges.</p>
<p>Will your son be be mostly calling you or others in the EU?
If frequently calling others in EU, he may be well advised to get a pay as you go plan from Vodaphone or another provider ( this was our son’s solution in London)</p>
<p>But check!</p>
<p>Another phone may be an option. I got a temporary “world phone” from verizon when I went to London for 2 weeks, but that math may not work for a longer stay.</p>
<p>I just talked to someone at our local Verizon store about this. My son is also going to Europe for a month and has a Droid 2.</p>
<p>The Droid 2 is a CDMA phone while all of Europe is on the GSM system. In other words, his phone will not work in Europe…unless he has the Droid 2 Global. If he has the Droid 2 Global, when you pop off the back cover you should see a sim slot (not the memory slot). IF there is a sim slot, he can purchase a pre-paid sim card in Europe and insert it into his phone and use it.</p>
<p>I looked at son’s this weekend when he was home and didn’t see a sim slot (he just got this phone). </p>
<p>Verizon phones are generally CDMA mode (unlike AT&T) and don’t work in a lot of countries unless they specifically say ‘Global’ in the product name.</p>
<p>At least that is my understanding…have been researching this for several weeks.</p>
<p>When I was in Europe, I had the International plan, didn’t get hit with data charges but was killed on calling (about $1 a minute).
For a trip of that length it might just be cheaper to buy a pay as you go phone and sim.</p>
<p>Most of Europe uses GSM, Verizon uses CDMA.</p>
<p>So unless your Droid is a so-called “world” or “global” phone with both GSM and CDMA radios built in, the phone part will not work. My DW’s Motorola Droid will not work in Europe, for example.</p>
<p>VH, I learned not to rely on the salespeople’s word. Ask for the written part of the contract that states *in writing *what they told you. I am not aware of any US carrier that would not charge their subscribers huge extra fees for international voice and data roaming. I recommend getting an unlocked phone and a local prepaid sim card for the use abroad.</p>
<p>Here are the roaming rates from Verizon’s website:
[International</a> Roaming](<a href=“http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/rates_coverage.html]International”>http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/rates_coverage.html)
It will vary depending on where he’s traveling. Look at this, and then call with some ammunition.</p>
<p>I would not believe that there are no charges.</p>
<p>Does anyone know about using the phone for GPS, Google Maps, etc.? Does one get hit with charges for that??</p>
<p>It is all Internet based, so I believe that data charges would apply.
Please check. I have been surprised more than once.</p>
<p>Ick. He’s taking it with him but plans to use it only for dire emergencies.</p>
<p>For a two-month trip, I think it would definitely be worth it to get a local sim card to pop into the phone. Is your son taking his lap top our other wifi enabled device? If so, he can make free calls or really cheap calls via Skype. (I use my iPod touch with a mic. It’s great.)</p>
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<p>But does he know for certain it is a global ready phone? The verizon website only lists the Droid Pro and the Droid 2 Global as Droid phones that have the proper mode to use in Europe. If his phone doesn’t have a sim card he won’t be using it in Europe for anything.</p>
<p>He might, however, be able to use the phone to connect to the internet via wifi (if he’s within range of a wifi hot spot) without getting data charges.</p>
<p>At the risk of getting in trouble, here’s a link that explains it in more detail:</p>
<p>[Using</a> your Motorola Droid internationally–let me answer questions for you! - Android Forums](<a href=“http://androidforums.com/droid-support-troubleshooting/111553-using-your-motorola-droid-internationally-let-me-answer-questions-you.html#post1035487]Using”>http://androidforums.com/droid-support-troubleshooting/111553-using-your-motorola-droid-internationally-let-me-answer-questions-you.html#post1035487)</p>
<p>My husband is in the Dominican Republic this week. Phone calls are pretty expensive ($1.99/minute), but I signed up for a Verizon data plan, so he can use the internet for browsing or email. </p>
<p>Here were the details:</p>
<p>With NO data plan, the charge would be $20/megabyte.</p>
<p>$30/month would get you 25 megabytes.</p>
<p>$100/month would get you 75 megabytes. He’ll be there only a week, so they said I can call back next week and cancel the plan. That means we’ll have to pay only $25 for him to use the internet all week. I told him he can send love and kisses by email, not by phone calls! The guy on the phone thought the $30 plan would be sufficient, but I didn’t want to take a chance since my husband needs to check his business correspondence frequently.</p>
<p>He’s already sent me an email on his phone, so I know it works. Whew! But I see what you mean - the DR uses the CDMA system, unlike Europe. I didn’t realize there was a difference.</p>
<p>MomLive, thanks for that link; it was exactly what DS needed. In two hours, he’s on the plane, so he was able to check it out just in time.</p>
<p>Grrrr. DS was on the plane. Two hours out, over the Atlantic, there was a problem with liquid draining from the bathrooms. So they came back to JFK. </p>
<p>Not a happy day for DS.</p>
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<p>Please read the older threads on the same issue. There are countless ways for one to come home with a huge bill, and no matter how ones tries to be parsimonious. The ionly way to avoid surprises is to leave the phone home, never, ever turn it on, or removed the chip from it as soon as you board the plane. </p>
<p>You do not have to try to make a call to be charged, you can be charged for calls directed to your voicemail if the phone gets “caught roaming.” And since the companies are really sweet, they’ll charge you for a “round trip” with charges from the US to Europe and then back to your voicemail. In dollar terms, that would be as high as 4 bucks a call! </p>
<p>Data plans can be EXTREMELY expensive. Realize how much a message that contains a nice picture might cost at “the charge would be $20/megabyte.” Even at a tenth of the cost, imagine what a 1 Meg attachment could cost you! By the way, goo luck thinking one can browse the web with a few megabytes.</p>
<p>And then you have text messages! Hard to stop THAT traffic! </p>
<p>Bottom line, the best way to avoid a huge surprise is to disconnect the phone completely and NOT use it all. If the phone is a typical simless Verizon phone, purchase a local phone with a prepay SIM card for LOCAL calling and emergencies. It should be well below 100 dollars with the SIM card. Inbound traffic is usually free and that helps, although it might not be THAT cheap to call a European cell phone. For calls to the US, Skype is a great option, and there are plenty of ridculously cheap “call home” cards. </p>
<p>And again, it is not a smart idea to carry a smartphone abroad unless one is prepared to only use its wifi capabilities. “Turning it on” for emergencies with the US chip in it will come at a price. </p>
<p>Prepare yourself for a surprise! Trust me in that the VERY BEST news for you would be to discover that that Verizon phone does NOT work in Europe.</p>
<p>r a two-month trip, I think it would definitely be worth it to get a local sim card to pop into the phone. Is your son taking his lap top our other wifi enabled device? If so, he can make free calls or really cheap calls via Skype. (I use my iPod touch with a mic. It’s great.)</p>
<p>Agree ( BTW what kind of a mic do you use?)</p>
<p>Very happy, I wouldn’t assume they are * crooks* necessarily, but figuring out what will be billed does get complicated & they might not understand it.
Since Verizon is CDMA, you would need a sim card to access GSM network. ( but some Droids may come with that)</p>
<p>I also do not know if you need a new sim card for each region of Europe, as you do for different regions of India. We had bought a GSM phone specifically for D to use in India- but when she got there, she was told local Sim cards wouldn’t work. So she got a new phone ( which was very inexpensive)- however while traveling, she had very limited coverage, the way I understand it- one Sim card is not used throughout & she thought the hassle & cost was not worth being able to communicate with me. ( for a month- doncha love 18 yr olds?)</p>
<p>On the other hand, I have traveled to Vancouver B.C. and the calls used a tower in Washington apparently, so I did not have to pay roaming charge.
;)</p>