Motorola RAZR in Bangkok. Can I use?

Hi,

I have a Motorola RAZR (Cingular service) and am going to be
travelling to Thailand in the near future for two weeks. I am hoping
to use my current phone while in Thailand either with my US number or
a temporary number. I've checked with Cingular and they would charge
me either $1.29 or $1.99 per minute... which is more than I am willing
to pay.

Do I have any other alternatives that don't require a rental phone
from the airport? I don't mind if I get a new number and cannot
receive calls on my US number (even though that would be nice.)

Any help greatly appreciated.

jg

On Apr 9, 12:46 pm, "jg" wrote:
Hi,

I have a Motorola RAZR (Cingular service) and am going to be
travelling to Thailand in the near future for two weeks. I am hoping
to use my current phone while in Thailand either with my US number or
a temporary number. I've checked with Cingular and they would charge
me either $1.29 or $1.99 per minute... which is more than I am willing
to pay.

Do I have any other alternatives that don't require a rental phone
from the airport? I don't mind if I get a new number and cannot
receive calls on my US number (even though that would be nice.)

Any help greatly appreciated.

jg



Is your phone unlocked? I kind of doubt it as Cingular want you to
use their network (and pay them). But if you can get your phone
unlocked, you can buy local sim cards to put in your phone. Are you
planning to use your phone to call the US? It's not going to be cheap
either way from Thailand.

On Apr 9, 3:46 pm, "jg" wrote:
Hi,

I have aMotorolaRAZR(Cingular service) and am going to be
travelling to Thailand in the near future for two weeks. I am hoping
tousemy current phone while in Thailand either with my US number or
a temporary number. I've checked with Cingular and they would charge
me either $1.29 or $1.99 per minute... which is more than I am willing
to pay.

Do I have any other alternatives that don't require a rental phone
from the airport? I don't mind if I get a new number and cannot
receive calls on my US number (even though that would be nice.)


Yes, you can buy a SIM card with a local (Thai) number. In my case 2
months ago, the Orange card was something like 120 - 180 Baht, with a
minimal number of minutes that you can easily upload for extra 90
Bahts. You need first to have your phone unlocked. I don't know
Cingular's policy in this respect, but my company (T-mobile) does it
without problem after 6 weeks of contract. Anyway, after I put in the
new card (which the Thai sales person activated for me from her
phone), I entered the unlock code that I got earlier in the US from T-
mobile, and the phone worked great for local (within Thailand) calls.
For US-bound calls, however, I swapped the SIM cards and used the
original one, since the overseas rates from Thailand are pretty steep
(I didn't even try them, but heard so).

Best, jrk


Any help greatly appreciated.

jg

On Apr 9, 2:06 pm, "PeterL" wrote:
On Apr 9, 12:46 pm, "jg" wrote:



Hi,

I have a MotorolaRAZR(Cingular service) and am going to be
travelling to Thailand in the near future for two weeks. I am hoping
to use my current phone while in Thailand either with my US number or
a temporary number. I've checked with Cingular and they would charge
me either $1.29 or $1.99 per minute... which is more than I am willing
to pay.

Do I have any other alternatives that don't require a rental phone
from the airport? I don't mind if I get a new number and cannot
receive calls on my US number (even though that would be nice.)

Any help greatly appreciated.

jg

Is your phone unlocked? I kind of doubt it as Cingular want you to
use their network (and pay them). But if you can get your phone
unlocked, you can buy local sim cards to put in your phone. Are you
planning to use your phone to call the US? It's not going to be cheap
either way from Thailand.


As far as I know my phone is not unlocked. Can this be done by end
user?

As for intended use. I basically just want to be able to receive
calls from my in-laws and my kids and return such calls as well. I
will not be making any local calls to Thailand.

jg

On Apr 9, 2:52 pm, wrote:
On Apr 9, 3:46 pm, "jg" wrote:

Hi,

I have aMotorolaRAZR(Cingular service) and am going to be
travelling to Thailand in the near future for two weeks. I am hoping
tousemy current phone while in Thailand either with my US number or
a temporary number. I've checked with Cingular and they would charge
me either $1.29 or $1.99 per minute... which is more than I am willing
to pay.

Do I have any other alternatives that don't require a rental phone
from the airport? I don't mind if I get a new number and cannot
receive calls on my US number (even though that would be nice.)

Yes, you can buy a SIM card with a local (Thai) number. In my case 2
months ago, the Orange card was something like 120 - 180 Baht, with a
minimal number of minutes that you can easily upload for extra 90
Bahts. You need first to have your phone unlocked. I don't know
Cingular's policy in this respect, but my company (T-mobile) does it
without problem after 6 weeks of contract. Anyway, after I put in the
new card (which the Thai sales person activated for me from her
phone), I entered the unlock code that I got earlier in the US from T-
mobile, and the phone worked great for local (within Thailand) calls.
For US-bound calls, however, I swapped the SIM cards and used the
original one, since the overseas rates from Thailand are pretty steep
(I didn't even try them, but heard so).

Best, jrk

Any help greatly appreciated.

jg

As stated above, I just want to receive calls from my home line (in
the US) from my in-laws (who are watching the rugrats) and to be able
to return such calls. I've also considered taking my Vonage router
but I don't forsee me being able to plug it in to any internet cafe or
the local hotel's LAN. (BTW: I'll be staying in hotels that will
probably have internet access.)

jg

On Apr 9, 6:05 pm, "jg" wrote:

As far as I know my phone is not unlocked. Can this be done by end
user?


I don't know about Cingular, but with T-Mobile, yes. You need to
contact the customer service, and they'll e-mail you the necessary
code.

As for intended use. I basically just want to be able to receive
calls from my in-laws and my kids and return such calls as well. I
will not be making any local calls to Thailand.

Then the Thai SIM card only solves half of the problem: it certainly
allows you to receive calls from the US for free, but in the other
direction you'll have to pay (presumably) steep rates. You may
probably find on-line what the rates are. Try to find the Orange pre-
paid service in Thailand.

jrk


jg- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Apr 9, 3:05 pm, "jg" wrote:
On Apr 9, 2:06 pm, "PeterL" wrote:





On Apr 9, 12:46 pm, "jg" wrote:

Hi,

I have a MotorolaRAZR(Cingular service) and am going to be
travelling to Thailand in the near future for two weeks. I am hoping
to use my current phone while in Thailand either with my US number or
a temporary number. I've checked with Cingular and they would charge
me either $1.29 or $1.99 per minute... which is more than I am willing
to pay.

Do I have any other alternatives that don't require a rental phone
from the airport? I don't mind if I get a new number and cannot
receive calls on my US number (even though that would be nice.)

Any help greatly appreciated.

jg

Is your phone unlocked? I kind of doubt it as Cingular want you to
use their network (and pay them). But if you can get your phone
unlocked, you can buy local sim cards to put in your phone. Are you
planning to use your phone to call the US? It's not going to be cheap
either way from Thailand.

As far as I know my phone is not unlocked. Can this be done by end
user?

Not Cingular. And they won't do it for you either. There are
probably some back alley operators who will do it for you for a fee.
I also heard that some internet site gives unlock codes.



As for intended use. I basically just want to be able to receive
calls from my in-laws and my kids and return such calls as well. I
will not be making any local calls to Thailand.

If you are taking your laptop and have access to the internet,
definitely look into a web phone service such as Skyp. I have
relatives in Thailand who swears by Skyp.



jg- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Apr 10, 2:46 am, "jg" wrote:
Hi,

I have a Motorola RAZR (Cingular service) and am going to be
travelling to Thailand in the near future for two weeks. I am hoping
to use my current phone while in Thailand either with my US number or
a temporary number. I've checked with Cingular and they would charge
me either $1.29 or $1.99 per minute... which is more than I am willing
to pay.

Standard US phones don't work in Thailand. You have to make sure it is
a tri- or quad-band. Then it works. When you get to Thailand you'll
have to have it unlocked. Then buy a Thai SIM card (virtually free
from a service like 1 2 Call) and you're on your way.

You can find places to unlock your phone all over Bangkok.

Or, go to someplace like MBK and buy a cheap, used Nokia for $25 and
throw it away when you leave.

On 9 Apr 2007 17:16:05 -0700, "PeterL" wrote:

As far as I know my phone is not unlocked. Can this be done by end
user?

Not Cingular. And they won't do it for you either. There are
probably some back alley operators who will do it for you for a fee.
I also heard that some internet site gives unlock codes.

I used this company to unlock a Nokia phone. They sent me an unlock
code which worked perfectly. It cost about $10, so may be cheaper to
get it done in Thailand.

http://www.fonefunshop.co.uk/



Chris

In article .com,
says...

As for intended use. I basically just want to be able to receive
calls from my in-laws and my kids and return such calls as well. I
will not be making any local calls to Thailand.

Then the Thai SIM card only solves half of the problem: it certainly
allows you to receive calls from the US for free, but in the other
direction you'll have to pay (presumably) steep rates. You may
probably find on-line what the rates are. Try to find the Orange pre-
paid service in Thailand.

Don't know about the USA, but here in Germany you can call Thailand for
a few cents/minute with a standard phone (i.e. not VOIP). Not exactly
what I would call a steep rate. How much do you pay in the USA to call
Thailand?
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe