maxroam account after login.
 

Can anyone else here with maxroam see if they can login to their account. Here is what I get after I login. My numbers and balance are all showing 0. I used it about a month ago, so sim expiration is not the issue.

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Urgent Notice
Please note that an issue has been detected with your account.

This issue may prevent certain options in MyMAXroam from being displayed, and some features may not work as required.

Please contact our Support Team at team@maxroam.com for further assitance.

Hi

Your current balance is €0.00.

Your master MAXroam number is: +0.


Your SMS number: +0.

Apologies
 

Sincerest Apologies for this error
Your information is now fully visible.

Can't login nd number is not working
 

Pat, what's up. Is this due to the maintenance?

I can not login to the account. The sim registers on a network but can't receive or make any out going calls.

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We are sorry but either an error has occured on our system, or your account is no longer active on the MAXRoam system. If you feel this message is being displayed to you in error, please contact team@maxroam.com

Is Maxroam working?
 

I received a new sim card from maxroam, yesterday.
But the sim doesn't work...I can't make/receive calls, send/receive sms...
Now, I'm in Italy (the sim registers in all Italian networks).

You need to give them a call. As I posted in the "Is Celtrek Working" thread below. My current maxroam sim has not worked in about a week. It registers but cannot make outgoing or receive incoming calls. I cannot login to the account either. I contacted them and they were having some problems and have sent new sim cards out. I have not received it yet though.

http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/inte...k-working.html

I got the new sim card and it's NOT working here either. It registers on both tmobile and AT&T here in the US but outgoing calls cannot be made. I just get a message that outgoing calls are not allowed. Same with incoming calls. It looks like this sim "direct dial" like regular sims and does not use callback. Since I get the message right away, and I do not see that "wait/calling" message we see callback sims.

Also, on the sim menu, there is only one option Callback On/off. I changed it but it did not make any diffeence. It still dials dierectly but to come back with the message that "call can not be made at this time"

I have opened a ticket with maxroam...we'll see.

Maxroam sims now have belgium number
 

May be the Israeli carrier went out of business too. Celtrek is probably the same. My sim card is still not working however, they sent me a user guide. Whis did not resolve anything.
See excerpts from their response and the user guide they sent below
-----------------------------------------
Please find attached a User Guide for your new sim card. This should answer all of the queries you have.

Due to upgrades to our system some parts of the website are unavailable. I'm afraid that these upgrades are essential as there are some changes to our service. We believe these will greatly benefit our customers. For example you now have one number for voice and text, we have dropped our priced in 55 countries by 50%. We now cover 26 new countries, your sim is now data enabled and we have added 26 new countries to our list of coverage


This SIM card comes with a Belgium phone number. local numbers are available as usual
1. Using SIM Card will reduce your roaming expenses by up to 80%.
2. Your SIM card is pre-activated. Remove your current SIM card from your phone & replace it with your new SIM, switch on your phone and enter the PIN code [1111]. Your phone will display the name of a mobile network. Example: Vodafone. It is then ready for use

New sim
 

I received this message from help desk:
"On the reverse of your card you will see a number beginning 048. If you put a +32 and remove the 0 from this number you will have +32489XXXXXX. This is your new sms number which you can also take calls on."
I didn't understand the new sim has a new mobile number...
Now, it works...
I can make/receive calls and send/receive sms on the belgium mobile number.
But the new rates?

I am really not sure what maxroam is doing. From the email they sent out this am. And from the attached new user guide, it looks like they will be associating the old DID with this belgium number. Incoming calls work to the belgium number but outgoing fail here n the US.

It's obvious they are rushing to get things up and running again.

So am I to assume if I have an old unregistered SIM with them this will now no longer be able to be registered? I got a couple of freebies from them when they first set up, but have never found a reason to use them yet. Looks even less likely now!

Especially, I wonder if receiving calls on the Belgian mobile number is cheaper (or even free in some countries?) than on a DID? I think it should as it used to be in Yackie with their Manx and Iceland SIMs...

Yes. The old sims are dead. The new ones are not fully alive either. Here in the US, only incoming works on the Belgium number. Not sure how much it coosts as they ae updating their website. Dialing out direct (not callback) I get a message that the call cannot be completed in the country dialed.

They sent an email yesterday that they in the process of attaching the DIDs to the numbers. They also attached the new user guide. I am going to the Caribbean next week, and needed to be reachable, so I had planned to forward my mobile to my local USA DID. Well, that is not functioning for now. So, I will just forward to the belgium number via a 3rd party. Not knowing how much calls are is a pain though.

rates
 

sending an sms from Italy is 0.25 €
Incoming calls on the belgium mobile number are not free...I was charged 0.54 € for an incoming call (1:50 min)...

I didn't say that incoming MUST be free on the Belgian number, but I wonder if they are at least cheaper than via DID.... 0.54 € for 2 minutes isn't any good deal in the EU :confused:

It sure isn't....with most any British sim, it would be 38p which, at the rate sterling is dropping, will soon be equal to 0,38€

Maxroam may be belly-up, ex, late, no more. I might have the luck to have bought the last SIM from them.

I've been trying to get a username & password so i can get a local phone number since Monday, now it's Friday. I was sent usr and pwd that were the same single digit & did not work on their site. Possibly the last gasp of an automated registration system left by itself, no longer tended by humans who are all off looking for new jobs. The Maxroam phone does not answer. The customer service mail site could only tell me the beginning of the week that "upgrades" were underway and would take a few days. A week is not a few days. Anyhow, what "upgrades" - apparently system shutdown? The only other activity was yesterday when somebody went in and marked my series of complaints as "resolved". Umm, well not exactly...

I can't understand, it's not like Ireland is having any kind of economic problem that could cause companies, especially wobbly start-ups, to go out of business as fast as you can blink your eye...

Oh well what are the alternatives for roaming cards? Well, ones that are still in business, that may be the harder part. Yackie rates are higher than maxroam was when it was working, and does not have as much country coverage, especially Africa which I need.

It depends on when you bought the sim. Did you buy the old sim with Israel number or the new one with Belgium number? They are having some issues (just like celtrek) transiotioning from the old Israel provider that is no longer functioning to this new Belgium carrier. As I posted, they sent me a replacement sim with the Belgium number, but it's not totally functioning. Incoming calls and sms work but out going does not. Their customer service sent an email a couple of days ago, regarding the issues thay are having. See it below
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Dear MAXroam user

By now you should have received your new sim, or are due to receive it shortly.

The sim comes preloaded with €10, your remaining credit will be available asap. Your new sim uses the latest GSM technology, has coverage in 203 countries and data coverage in 139 countries with inbound roaming in over 50 countries at under 20c

As you know this is cutting edge technology and we apologise for a few hiccups whilst we get your billing and local numbers connected to your sim card, at present you can make or receive calls and top up your account online.

We have attached our new user guide to help you familiarize yourself with your new sim.


Best Regards,

As you know this is cutting edge technology, yeah right.

Seems like you have to switch cards every year almost. For that reason I don't handout my cell number anymore and just use pbxes.com to forward to my cellphone, whatever number that might be. It's just a pain in the ass to give out new mobile numbers every year to friends and customers.

Just use your own forward to the cellphone, you can register your own did number and no longer you depend on a provider that might shut down or temporary not work. When one card goes out of business just forward to another card.

errrm...think again. In any case, I'm not too sure if they can be classified as out of business.

Try ekit. I'm still happy with mine! For now at least.

Originally was sent the MaxRoam Israeli card with a "Yackie" discount for switching. Didn't work properly so they sent a Belgian replacement. It does work for send/receive text messaging and for outgoing calls (haven't tried incoming yet). Call placed on T-Mobile did not work with standard direct dial with + or 001 code, but did work with alternate *182*001*******# command on T-Mobile USA to dial my office voicemail. Callback was fairly quick, had very good voice quality, and I was charged 1.01 Euros for a short USA to USA call under a minute. Error message or incomplete calls were charged half a Euro each. Cumbersome dialing method but I can program a few common numbers into the sim phonebook.
Reason for switching sims was given on their zendesk csr system as "We have had a failure of our SIM toolkit on a select batch of SIMs, this is the software on the SIM card that allows you to make cheap and receive cheap roaming calls. Unfortunately your SIM was part of this batch and we will ship you a new SIM, free of charge. If you could please email us with your current address we will see that a new SIM is shipped out to you immediately" rather than a problem with the underlying Israeli carrier.
Most recent zendesk csr response gives some hints on dialing and switching carrier that I found helpful:
"I'm afraid that due to upgrades to our system some parts of the website are unavailable. Unfortunately this includes the reactivation page. The sim card was preactivated though so you can use it to make and receive calls and sms messages. You can also top up by using the following link: https://www.maxroam.com/MyMAXroam/TopUpExternal.asp
I'm afraid that these upgrades are essential as there are some changes to our service. For example, you now have one number for voice and text. On the reverse of your card you will see a number beginning 048. If you put a +32 and remove the 0 from this number you will have +32489XXXXXX. This is your new sms number which you can also take calls on.
We have dropped our priced in 55 countries by 50%. We now cover 26 new countries and your sim is now data enabled.
We aim to have the website running as normal as normal as soon as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience caused in the meantime.
With regard to your issue making calls, Please check your credit balance first of all. If you have enough credit to make a call, then please turn your phone off for 90 seconds. Turn it back on and allow it another 90 seconds to start up fully. Then try to make a call using the *182*phonenumber# format. If this still does not work, please try select an alternative network and place a call. If none of this works, please contact us again."
Bottom line is that the new sim is functional but they really need to do more work to get everything working properly. We'll see whether they can pull this off...

The SIM maxroam sent is a Belgian one. Well, in principle, because I can't use it because the logon credentials they sent are bogus. I see from the other posts that maxroam may be undergoing a rough spot. I hope it works out, I don't know when system upgrade turns into, well...

I looked at the ekit SIM, but it doesn't have coverage in West Africa, which I need.

GadgetKen, your information explains why outgoing calls fail. Do you know if they charge for the "balance Check/system" number 1966. I sent an sms to this number to check my balance, and it looks like I was charged for it. I have not made or received any call but my balance has gone down by at least 1 euro.So, I think it's the balance check. I am asuming you knew how much you were charged ny checking via the phone right. Since online billing is not functional yet.


I hope they can pull it off too. It looks like they were caught by surprise by their carrier, and they had to rush to get the sims out.

So of course, we now have maxroam (and probably celtek if it's still operating) now charge for incoming calls, now charge you for outgoing calls even if they're not completed, charge you to check your balance.

It was claimed when they first came out, they would revolutionize roaming.

We also have a deceased O9, a deceased Yakie.

Easy roam back from the dead but still charging an annual fee.

United Mobile which charges a set up fee for all incoming calls, even "free" ones......

I guess the revolution maxroam claimed was coming has expired with hardly a whimper. But I agree, I'm just a cheapskate.

It's difficult to come up with a solution that has reasonable rates in many countries. That's what we want, but it requires a lot of coordination to pull it off.

Although the rates are increasing, I still find them to be reasonable. You can save money by using individual SIMs in each country, but it's also a lot of logistical bother and, unless you use the SIMs frequently, unnecessary expense to keep them alive.

Bossman, looks like I was charged half a Euro each for 2 incomplete AT&T USA phone calls using the direct dial callback method that played a voice error message and 1.01 Euros for a successful T-Mobile USA outgoing callback call using the alternate *182*number# method. Was not charged (at least yet, don't know if some charges are delayed) for the BAL check to 1966 on either T-Mobile or AT&T...your mileage may vary. With any new mobile phone service, I always run tests even though I know I will get charged airtime....I figure it's worth a few dollars or euros to find out whether something works properly and if there are any peculiarities I should know before traveling.
Even though they charge for incomplete calls (I was warned about this before puchasing MaxRoam so it's no surprise) and the dialing method is cumbersome on my mobile phone, the rates will likely be well below either postpaid international roaming calls using a US sim chip or most hotel international landline call charges.
I hope they can work out the bugs with their new Belgian sim chips. In their favor they do answer questions on their online help system promptly, and they did replace their Israeli sim chips with Belgian ones promptly and without charge (more than I can say for my dead Yackie or BuyTel sim chips).

How about e-kit passport? Available on ebay for $20 with $10 credit...free reception in the usual places in Europe but 49¢/minute US outgoing? (Don't know if there's a set up fee for calls)

setup fee is 0,25 per outgoing call. This also applies for incoming calls outside the free zone.

Annual fee on e-kit?

AFIK on mine I am never charged one! HTH

I just knew I was charged for something, but not sure why. It may well be for the direct dial calls that never went through.

Personally, I do not see all of them (Maxroam, UM, Yackie, Celtrek, etc.) surviving. Especially considering the now lower roaming rates in trhe EU. So, their major target market is probably going to be the US. UM has been around for a long and has pretty much always worked. Never had a problem with my +423663 number except for the high cost of reaching or forwarding to it. The UM+ number is quite stable now. Maxroam has been okay too except for the last month or so. Yackie is another story.

If the US carriers can just lower their roaming rates by 50%, I would not even bother with roaming sims. AT&T already offers data packages with okay prices in most countries I am likely to visit.

I agree with much of the above.....the only addition I might add is that significant to the whole discussion is cheap outgoing as well as free incioming at least for me. I know, I know, this is not what the free incoming is intended for. It is sort of like the stores that offer low prices on some item to get you into the store to sell you something else. The free incoming entices you to use the somewhat higher (although better than roaming rates) outgoing....understood. And I was a cheater, admitedly so. When I used UM+ and termination fees were low, not only did I get the benefit of the free incoming, since termination fees were low, I used enlinea and callbackworld for outgoing and saved a mint. Interestingly enough, on all of the Isle of Man and Jersey +44, both CBW and enlinea have very high rates, very high indeed. The cheapest rate I used last summer was on O9 where I was getting 11¢/minute calls back to the USA (it should have been 16¢ but for some reason, they had my number at least programmed at 11¢)...should I have kicked a gift horse in the mouth? Not me; a bargain is a bargain.

Now with the demise of O9, what do I have. Well I travelled to Paris and London in January. I have my Estonian Air Baltic card. Could only complete 1 call through enlinea and that was 27¢/minute while in France which was the cheapest I could deal with. But enlinea only charged 27¢ through my Orange FR sim card and it worked fine (I've always felt the French carriers do something to block enlinea and cbw as I've constantly had trouble with them in France). I didn't bother in the UK as rates to the USA are dirt dirt cheap on T Mobile (through ycw), Talk Mobile (they were running a special of 2p/minute to the USA in January) and Orange Camel.

Next trip is June to London (foresee no problem), Germany (have vodafone de, know it's not the cheapest but since I can't speak German, I don't think I shoud spring for an MVNO German sim, probably the wrong decision)...vodafone DE still works with enlinea or I can fall back on UM+ (especially since the euro has dropped my UM+ rate, denominated in euro, has dropped considerably, even with the nuisance set up fee. Or it might pay, to use one of the UK sims on the eu tariffs as 19p to receive, at the rate sterling is dropping against the USD, might soonbe less than a quarter of a dollar, it's just above now.

Of course, on the horizon, are trips to Japan and China in 2011. Wonder what will be doing then......

Has anyone gotton the new Maxroam SIMs to work in the US
 

I also just receieved a new SIM and all I can do in the US is receive calls, send\receive texts or check my balance. I have tried everything in the new users guide plus all the suggestions back and forth with support. No matter what I get either call failed or user not accepting calls. All this on the ATT -Cingular network. Has anyone progressed further.

Yes. I am able to make outgoing calls using the alternate format suggested above.

*182*001*******# command

Check your balance, it probably has dwindled a little due to all those failed attempts

I'm glad I checked back on this forum. I don't use the MAXRoam cards much, but I DO use the free forwarding feature (two cards, one with Irish DID the other with US DID, each forwarded to phones in the other country = unlimited free two-way calling with no expiration of credit). I noticed that I could no longer change the forwarding number; then I noticed that the cards didn't work at all. The help desk sent me the same message about a failure of their SIM toolkit, caused by an issue at their manufacturing plant.

Does anyone know whether MAXRoam maintains the same forwarding feature with their new Belgium cards? I know this can no longer be controlled from their website, but I was hoping it might work from the phone, and if it does, is it still free?

Thanks I finnaly got it to work. Not quite the service I thought I was buying. The should have never sold me the service noing that most of the features where changing and not available. They still have the old info up selling as is. I mainly bought it fot the US number that is still not available. Anyone try GeoSim? Any better luck with them?

I agree. Anyone buying the sim today will not know exactly what they are getting. Since most of the info there partains to the old sim. According to them, the US number/DID will still be attached to the sim, so you shold be able to do that soon.

Maxroam, like yackie, celtrek and probably a few others, actually depend on a third party for their backbone. So, I think it's their operator that disappointed them. At least celtrek is saying the truth. Maxroam is giving other reasons for the disruption in service.

I think that there is some unsafe or incorrect speculation here, so could I sound a note of caution.

Let's try to confine things to describing how the SIMs and the rest of the platform are behaving, and I'm sure the rest of the picture will gradually emerge

I got the following message from Maxroam:
"Dear MAXroam user,
We just wanted to give you an update on where we are on our move to V5.
First carrier in the world with affordable prepaid voice and data on one sim.
Voice quality improved by at least 75%
Feedback from customers indicate very high clarity and consistent reception.
213 countries voice/139 countries data. Middle East now covered.
Callback time reduced to sub 2 seconds/ option to disable callback in Europe on sim menu.
Billing for voice in 10 second increments/billing for data in 100 Kbps increments.
New features including prepaid voucher top up functionality.
One number for voice and sms.
Your existing DID (extra numbers) and original credit will be active asap on your SIM and online billing will follow. We really appreciate your patience on this matter and insure you that we are working to finalize the product. Please remember our dialing plan has changed based on your feedback, all numbers must now be dialed +country code/number or 00countrycode/number. Your roaming number is on the front of your sim card, it looks like 048XXXXXXXXXX, please remove the 0 and put a +32 in front of it.
Regards,
Niamh Hartery"

Interested in some of the tidbits in this email because it indicates 10 second billing or 100kb data increments. That would explain why my short USA to USA test call was only about a Euro for USA to USA. Normally most European callback-sims are very pricey in the US, and this was a bit less than I expected.
Agree on the high voice quality and quick callback from my limited test. On some other call-back sims, the voice quality was only fair and it would sometimes take up to a minute for the callback to occur plus some calls would fail or not properly connect to the other party.
Has anybody tried data on this sim chip yet? Packet data indicator doesn't go on when I use this sim in the US, although I haven't set up the data setting they suggested yet. The number of data countries is smaller than voice countries, but still must be a huge list. Will be interested to see the new rates and countries covered.
I might be able to figure their new country list by looking up on GSM World which Belgian carriers cover the number of countries Maxroam mentioned in their email.

A Euro for 10 seconds? No, presumably the minimum charge is longer. Over a year ago, they were hoping for 15 cents in the near future.

I'm interested to hear that they are the first network in the world to have affordable prepaid data. Though I'm slightly sceptical that it will be more affordable in 100k steps than using my home network which for years has been aggregating it in fractions of k at a time. And other global SIMs have smaller steps, without a new SIM needed, as announced recently. I suppose it depends on the price ...

I'm also interested to hear about their excellent feedback from many customers about the new SIM card. The last person I asked said that the old one is still working, hadn't been aware of a new one, and hasn't replied to my news that it may have a number from a different country.

Would someone who has the new card be willing to test whether forwarding works? You could use either the phone's forwarding menu or **21*number-you-want-to-forward-to# to send the call to your home phone, then call the card to see whether it rings at home. If you answer the call, you might get charged (although with the old card you wouldn't), so be careful. Of course if you do answer it, please let us know if it's still free. Thanks.