American Cell-Phones That Work in Europe (and Elsewhere).

[ctrcbob]

As some of you know, I just returned from four weeks in France. I took my cell-phone with me as I was assured by Cingular that it would work in Europe. I have a Motorola V-400 "Quad Band" phone and both it and Cingular are on the "GSM" (Worldwide except in the US) System.

It worked great! I was able to receive calls from the US and also from within France, plus I placed calls to the US and to French numbers. Worked great. Only cost me $1.29 a minute, which was less than I thought it would cost. I had a couple emergency calls from the US and I would not have cared if the cost was double that.

Those that phoned me from the US just called my number as if I were in the US. No special numbers to hit.

Those that phoned me from France phoned me like they were calling me in the US.

When I called the US, I hit the + button which is international for an international call, then added the US Country Code (which is 1), then the ten digit number. If I did not want to hit the + button, all I had to do was start with 00, then 1 (the US Country Code), then the ten digit number.

When I called within France, I punched in the nine digit French number, just as if I was on a French phone.

Worked every time. My V-400 would automatic switch between the three French Cell Phone Providers, depending on which had the better signal. They were "Orange", "ByTel" and "F-SFR". Had no problems. Even better than if I had a French Cell Phone because French cell phones don't switch between providers. I.E., If a person is signed on to "Orange", it stays with Orange, and will not switch to another provider when there are no Orange towers in the area.

I flew through Canada, and although I did not use my cell phone in Canada, the provider in Toronto was "Roger".

The only providers in the US that use the WorldWide GSM System are Cingular and T-Mobil. If you have anything else, your regular cell phone won't work. If you must have a cell phone, you must rent one, (from either the US or within Europe) and they put a $550.00 hold on your Credit Card until the phone charges come in. I was charged the normal way, on my normal Cingular bill.

Did I say that I LOVE MY CINGULAR?

[duhtroll]

Yeah, it's too bad they refuse to service the town where I work.

[LCSO34]

Thanks, I was wondering about that. I will be in Germany Thursday and will try it then.

[sailsmen]

I have had a lot of problems with Cingular. Twice they killed my phone because someonelse lost their and they pulled up my account by mistake, even though it is password protected.

My wife traded in her phone while I was racing in Atlanta at the heavy weight shoot out and they neglected to tell her the new phone would not work for 12 hours while she drove around NO post Katrina.

I purchased their cell internet service which "expired" exactly 10 days to the minute from when I purchased it. I kept telling them it was 10 day free trial issued by mistake.

Well after 17 hours on the phone with them I went to the manager of a store in New Iberia and I convinced them that they had sold unknowingly 10 day free trial software nationwide. They rewrote the software and posted it on their website which he downloaded to his computer and then downloaded to mine. They issued a national alert.

[ctrcbob]

LCSO34,

Before you go, contact Cingular (611) and make sure that they have set your number to work in Europe. Also, assuming you have either a Tri-band or Quad-band phone, go into the menu; into Settings; then to "Network". In network setup, under "Band" it should say "Automatic". As long as it says "Automatic", it will choose the band that is available. If it is not in Automatic, it will tell you what bands it is set for, but reset it for Automatic.

While in Germany, to call the US, just hit +, then 1, then the US Area Code and Phone Number.

To call a local number in Germany, just phone that number. No extra numbers to hit, as it is the same as if you had a German phone.