Germany-france-switzerland - How To Get Coverage? - Page 2

MATHA531 · 31-05-2006, 16:22

Stan...

This rebound effect is a problem, I would admit. Prepaid ld cards are best bought in the country you are in and give you more minutes than you might ever need for around $5 US or the equivalent....with the exception of possible surcharges by hotels and the like to reach the outgoing number, even if it is a local 800 number, that is I would agree the cheapest for outgoing.

The problem is incoming......you can leave a copy of the hotels you will be at but I don't know any solution without a mobile phone...to avoid the charging you can set your mobile phone to direct all calls to voicemail....the call will never get to Europe so no worry about the rebound effect and double billing...you get a voicemail notification in the usual manner and can call, using the local ld call, into your voicemail....however

It still requires a phone capable of registering on a European network to see the vm indication which means you still need a 900 or 900/1800 phone...of course with rates as cheap as they are, you can simply call into your voice mail a couple of times a day to see if there are any messages.

MATHA531 · 31-05-2006, 16:36

A quad band will resolve the problem and if you're up for an upgrade on cingular, you might just as well get a quad band....you can call them if need be to unlock the phone for later use.

As you have described the problem and your use, you will be fine on the international plan of Cingular....Cingular charges $1.29/minute to make and receive calls in Germany, Switzerland and France....for an additional $6.99/month, you can cut this to 99?/minute and people used to turn this on and off; now I have read you have to turn it on for a minimum of 6 months so in your case it wouldn't pay.

As you noted, for emergency use, it is the easiest solution to the problem. What you have to watch out for is calls to your mobile that go into voicemail...you get charged twice for this...once to complete the call to you and then forward it back to voicemail...seems to be a rip off and it is but that's the way it is. Also, shutting off the phone might not work to avoid this as sometimes it takes a little while for a phone to de-register from a roaming partner.

Despite this my advice is...upgrade to the quad band phone, use your Cingular account while in Europe for the odd call or two, get a local long distance card at tobacco shops or whatever for outgoing calls and without too much fuss you'll be all set.

TheMadBrewer · 08-06-2006, 06:07

Its a late reponse, but I'd thought I put my 2 cents in worth anyway

If your upgrade falls thru, a international triband (900/1800/1900) bought on ebay still might make sense. Even if you don't travel overseas alot, you may have friends and relatives that make the occasion trip and they can use the phone. I'm borrowing a 2nd phone from a friend for my father to use when we travel to Europe this summer. My friend went to Europe only once, but this will be the 4th or 5th trip for the phone

Plus you can always list it on ebay when you get back and recoup some of your costs.

Stu · 08-06-2006, 06:20

For years I had a prepaid phone with a Virgin Mobile SIM in it. All of my talk on it was free because I always loaned it out to my friends travelling to London. I never made a profit off it, but their recharges always put me ahead.

katzen · 08-06-2006, 20:44

It's never too late to respond

To update my own thread .. I have upgrade with Cingular .. through my company I was able to get the Samsung SGH-x507 which is a quad band and which has the international capabilities. Our service is through Cingular. The lady at my company who deals with Cingular said "Apparently Cingular doesn?t unlock phones so that you can use other SIM cards. But they?ve added the international roaming to your phone do you can use it abroad."

So this probably isn't the cheapest route ... but we are only taking the phone for emergency purposes (receiving calls from the US) and keeping in touch 2 or 3 times with the family back home (calls from Europe to the US). I think with International roaming I'll be paying $1.29 a minute. eeks.

Any tidbits of information on how to cut down on cost other than telling my family not to call all the time. The only good thing is that my friends have my 'normal' cell number and not my 'work' cell number, which is what I am taking to Europe with us ... so I won't be receiving calls or voicemails from them. I thought about using a calling card ... but not sure how that would work or if it would save us money in conjunction with my new cell I got.

katzen · 08-06-2006, 20:48

Forgot to mention that the phone came with the standard 100-240V AC 50-60HZ charger. Will I only need an adapter in order for it to charge properly while in Europe?
Thanks!

snaimon · 08-06-2006, 20:58

Just an adapter PLUG. Have done it myself.

snaimon · 08-06-2006, 21:21

You WANT a calling card, both US-based and possibly purchased locally. Should be able to use from hotel rooms, BUT CHECK WITH FRONT DESK FOR POLICY. Some charge for 800 (toll free) calls, just like in US.

Would NOT recommend public pay phones but if you must, you must.

Stan

Bossman · 09-06-2006, 01:15

Cingular does unlock phones. You just have to call the right dept. They will unlock any Cingular phone. And, that includes those that were not purchased at a cingular store. It just needs to be cingular branded. If you want to get it unlocked, just ask the lady to call and tell them she is going overseas and would like to use her phone there. Depending on the phone, you should get the unlock code in 3 - 7 days. Most of the time it's even less than that.

katzen · 09-06-2006, 01:38

snaimon, why would I need a US based one as well as a local one? For the US based one .. can I get this in Sam's Club or Walmart? I'm assuming it has on the card "for international calls or something like that"?

Bossman, the lady who is our main contact with Cingular has not been so easy to deal with. My trip is 'personal' as opposed to 'business' so she isn't bending over backwards to help me out!! Unfortunately, I did call and because I don't know our tax ID number they wouldn't discuss my phone with me!!

	(#11)
MATHA531 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 869 Join Date: 15 Oct 2004 Country:	31-05-2006, 16:22 Stan... This rebound effect is a problem, I would admit. Prepaid ld cards are best bought in the country you are in and give you more minutes than you might ever need for around $5 US or the equivalent....with the exception of possible surcharges by hotels and the like to reach the outgoing number, even if it is a local 800 number, that is I would agree the cheapest for outgoing. The problem is incoming......you can leave a copy of the hotels you will be at but I don't know any solution without a mobile phone...to avoid the charging you can set your mobile phone to direct all calls to voicemail....the call will never get to Europe so no worry about the rebound effect and double billing...you get a voicemail notification in the usual manner and can call, using the local ld call, into your voicemail....however It still requires a phone capable of registering on a European network to see the vm indication which means you still need a 900 or 900/1800 phone...of course with rates as cheap as they are, you can simply call into your voice mail a couple of times a day to see if there are any messages.

	(#12)
MATHA531 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 869 Join Date: 15 Oct 2004 Country:	31-05-2006, 16:36 A quad band will resolve the problem and if you're up for an upgrade on cingular, you might just as well get a quad band....you can call them if need be to unlock the phone for later use. As you have described the problem and your use, you will be fine on the international plan of Cingular....Cingular charges $1.29/minute to make and receive calls in Germany, Switzerland and France....for an additional $6.99/month, you can cut this to 99?/minute and people used to turn this on and off; now I have read you have to turn it on for a minimum of 6 months so in your case it wouldn't pay. As you noted, for emergency use, it is the easiest solution to the problem. What you have to watch out for is calls to your mobile that go into voicemail...you get charged twice for this...once to complete the call to you and then forward it back to voicemail...seems to be a rip off and it is but that's the way it is. Also, shutting off the phone might not work to avoid this as sometimes it takes a little while for a phone to de-register from a roaming partner. Despite this my advice is...upgrade to the quad band phone, use your Cingular account while in Europe for the odd call or two, get a local long distance card at tobacco shops or whatever for outgoing calls and without too much fuss you'll be all set.

	(#13)
TheMadBrewer (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 127 Join Date: 01 Jun 2005 Location: Marina del Rey, CA Country:	08-06-2006, 06:07 Its a late reponse, but I'd thought I put my 2 cents in worth anyway If your upgrade falls thru, a international triband (900/1800/1900) bought on ebay still might make sense. Even if you don't travel overseas alot, you may have friends and relatives that make the occasion trip and they can use the phone. I'm borrowing a 2nd phone from a friend for my father to use when we travel to Europe this summer. My friend went to Europe only once, but this will be the 4th or 5th trip for the phone Plus you can always list it on ebay when you get back and recoup some of your costs. Whole bunch of SIMs, mostly dead, some still working...

	(#14)
Stu (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Guru Posts: 1,091 Join Date: 11 Feb 2004 Location: Detroit (formerly Dubai) Country:	08-06-2006, 06:20 For years I had a prepaid phone with a Virgin Mobile SIM in it. All of my talk on it was free because I always loaned it out to my friends travelling to London. I never made a profit off it, but their recharges always put me ahead.

	(#15)
katzen (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 11 Join Date: 31 May 2006	08-06-2006, 20:44 It's never too late to respond To update my own thread .. I have upgrade with Cingular .. through my company I was able to get the Samsung SGH-x507 which is a quad band and which has the international capabilities. Our service is through Cingular. The lady at my company who deals with Cingular said "Apparently Cingular doesn?t unlock phones so that you can use other SIM cards. But they?ve added the international roaming to your phone do you can use it abroad." So this probably isn't the cheapest route ... but we are only taking the phone for emergency purposes (receiving calls from the US) and keeping in touch 2 or 3 times with the family back home (calls from Europe to the US). I think with International roaming I'll be paying $1.29 a minute. eeks. Any tidbits of information on how to cut down on cost other than telling my family not to call all the time. The only good thing is that my friends have my 'normal' cell number and not my 'work' cell number, which is what I am taking to Europe with us ... so I won't be receiving calls or voicemails from them. I thought about using a calling card ... but not sure how that would work or if it would save us money in conjunction with my new cell I got.

	(#16)
katzen (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 11 Join Date: 31 May 2006	08-06-2006, 20:48 Forgot to mention that the phone came with the standard 100-240V AC 50-60HZ charger. Will I only need an adapter in order for it to charge properly while in Europe? Thanks!

	(#17)
snaimon (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 898 Join Date: 17 Mar 2004 Location: Richmond, VA USA Country:	08-06-2006, 20:58 Just an adapter PLUG. Have done it myself. Phones: DASH V3 (3) Service: US T-MO post paid (2) - US T-MO prepaid (2) - UM+ - TravelSIM DE SIMYO - DE SUNSIM T-Mobile DE Calling Cards: Onesuite Enjoyprepaid AT&T MCI Mobivox

	(#18)
snaimon (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 898 Join Date: 17 Mar 2004 Location: Richmond, VA USA Country:	08-06-2006, 21:21 You WANT a calling card, both US-based and possibly purchased locally. Should be able to use from hotel rooms, BUT CHECK WITH FRONT DESK FOR POLICY. Some charge for 800 (toll free) calls, just like in US. Would NOT recommend public pay phones but if you must, you must. Stan Phones: DASH V3 (3) Service: US T-MO post paid (2) - US T-MO prepaid (2) - UM+ - TravelSIM DE SIMYO - DE SUNSIM T-Mobile DE Calling Cards: Onesuite Enjoyprepaid AT&T MCI Mobivox

	(#19)
Bossman (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,257 Join Date: 22 Apr 2005 Location: Chicago Country:	09-06-2006, 01:15 Cingular does unlock phones. You just have to call the right dept. They will unlock any Cingular phone. And, that includes those that were not purchased at a cingular store. It just needs to be cingular branded. If you want to get it unlocked, just ask the lady to call and tell them she is going overseas and would like to use her phone there. Depending on the phone, you should get the unlock code in 3 - 7 days. Most of the time it's even less than that. Phones: Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, Samsung Galaxy A50, ASUS zenfone 3, Sim cards: AT&T (Contract), 3 UK, Piranha Mobile

	(#20)
katzen (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 11 Join Date: 31 May 2006	09-06-2006, 01:38 snaimon, why would I need a US based one as well as a local one? For the US based one .. can I get this in Sam's Club or Walmart? I'm assuming it has on the card "for international calls or something like that"? Bossman, the lady who is our main contact with Cingular has not been so easy to deal with. My trip is 'personal' as opposed to 'business' so she isn't bending over backwards to help me out!! Unfortunately, I did call and because I don't know our tax ID number they wouldn't discuss my phone with me!!