Will my cell phone work in Europe?

Lisa, Based on what you've posted, it sounds like your phone won't work in Europe. Which model phone is it, and which network are you with? Also, were you planning to unlock the phone and use it with another SIM or just roam with your home network?

I have a Samsung Galaxy S2X with Telus. I asked before I bought it if it would work in Europe and was told that it would. I guess I should have done more research. I was planning to unlock it and get an international sim.

Lisa, Thanks for the additional information. I've checked Telus and several other websites and the specifications that you listed earlier appear to be correct for that particular Smartphone. It's possible that the phone IS capable of quad-band operation, but may have been configured that way specifically for Telus. As the phone has the 2100 MHz band, theoretically it could work for data only in Europe, but not voice or text. Be VERY sure that you don't use data roaming in Europe, as the costs can be enormous! A Telus customer in Vancouver returned home last year to find a bill for $37,000 waiting in the mailbox, so that's a good example of the perils of international data roaming. It appears that the Telus rep who told you it would work in Europe also should have done some further research. I'd suggest checking with another CS rep (hopefully someone that's familiar with international travel), so that you can confirm the answer one way or the other. If it turns out that your Galaxy phone won't work in Europe, have you considered any options? Also, what are you planning to use the phone for - voice calls, text or web browsing? If I can find any other information, I'll post another note. Good luck!

Lisa, I'm assuming that Telus's statement is based on the phone being locked so that it will only work with a Telus SIM card. Don't have any knowledge whether Telus will even consider giving you the codes to unlock the phone. You can purchase those codes for almost every phone sold today. Do a google search for "unlock code" plus the model of your phone and see what you find. In my experience, the cost hasn't been too bad ($10-20). As for the specs you listed, "Quad band EDGE" implies to me that it does have the 850/900/1800/1900 bands that most "world" phones had a few years back prior to 3 & 4G data. "EDGE" is a faster type of data connection than plain old GPRS. It is s-l-o-w, though, especially compared with 4G. All of the specs I've seen for Galaxy S IIs sold by other carriers list the quad bands needed for basic calling in most countries. I can't imagine that this phone wouldn't have them, but it is not inconceivable that Telus might have blocked some of the bands through a software setting. T-Mobile did that on a Motorola phone I had ages ago. It was possible to reset the software to turn the band on, though. But, bottom line, you may be better served with another alternative, especially based on your stated concerns. For example, buying a low-cost prepaid phone once you arrive.

Hi Ken, I called Telus this morning and spoke to someone in technical assistance. They told me that my phone will work in Europe for voice, text, and data, but only with their service/SIM. Could it really only work with Telus? Or are they just trying to keep me paying their exorbitant roaming fees? I am traveling alone, so I was bringing my phone as a security measure. I wanted voice in the event I might need to call a cab or my hotel. I was planning to text my family to let them know when I arrived in each country. I also was hoping to have data in the event I got lost and wanted to figure out where I was with google maps etc. If my phone won't work, I guess I will maybe look at getting a international phone instead of just a SIM. Thank you for your help!

Lisa, If the phone is in fact capable of quad-band operation, it seems odd that wouldn't be shown in the specifications. Based on the information from Telus, the phone would seem to be capable of use on GSM networks in Europe but it's "locked" to their network so you wouldn't be able to use other SIM cards. That means you'd be limited to using roaming with Telus. They may offer "International Roaming Plans" which will reduce the costs somewhat. If you did use Telus roaming while in Europe, you'd have to be extremely careful with data roaming. Keep in mind that it was a Telus customer that racked-up a $37,000 data roaming bill last year (Telus graciously reduced the bill by $10,000). This brings us to your choices..... (1.) Arrange roaming with Telus. If you're only planning to make occasional voice calls and use text most of the time, this may be reasonably cost effective. You would have to be VERY careful about data. BE SURE you CLEARLY understand the terms and costs of data roaming! I'm not too familiar with the Galaxy models, but I'm assuming you can switch-off cellular data and just leave the voice and text active? I'd probably leave data "off" except when needed, and use Wi-Fi at the Hotel for checking E-mail or whatever. One "caveat" regarding roaming with your home network. Your phone number would still work in Europe, so anyone calling you at home would result in expensive incoming calls (currently $1.50/minute with Telus, AFAIK). The other negative aspect of this is getting phone calls in the "wee hours" of the morning from an inconsiderate knucklehead that knew you were travelling but didn't bother to check the time difference! Continued.....

Lisa - Part 2..... (2.) Buy an inexpensive phone in the first country you visit in Europe. These will provide the lowest costs for voice and text, but costs will increase slightly when you travel to other countries as you'll be "roaming". The roaming rates within Europe have been "capped" by the E.U., so they're still quite reasonable. With a phone purchased in Europe, you likely wouldn't be able to get a model that includes data. These are usually only available for contract customers, although there have been exceptions in some countries lately. Anyone that wants to call you will of course have to dial an international long distance call, and pay the applicable long distance charges. Anyone that sends texts to you will pay according to their plan at home, and any texts that you receive will usually be FREE. Texts that you send from Europe will be charged according to the calling plan you choose when you buy the phone. (3.) Buy an inexpensive, basic phone from one of the "travel phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Call In Europe, Telestial or Mobal (there are others). These typically use a U.K. phone number and have consistent rates throughout western Europe (calling plans are arranged in "zones"). Billing is often on a post-paid basis with calls charged to a credit card. Some use a "callback service" which involves dialing the number, hanging up and then the system calls back when connection is made. I don't care for that type of system, so would never use one. Again, anyone calling your travel number would have to dial a U.K. (or other) number. Texts would be the same as described above. Check their respective websites for details and prices. continued.....

Lisa - Part 3..... I can certainly appreciate your situation. When the international roaming rates with Rogers became somewhat expensive, I started looking at options so have been using a plan from one of the travel phone firms for the last few years. It's worked well so far and the costs have been reasonable since I mostly use Texts, with occasional "in country" voice calls to confirm Hotels. I'll be traveling with an iPhone for the first time this year, so will have to check into the data roaming situation. I suppose the "bottom line" is that unless you want to roam with Telus and pay their rates, it's likely that you won't be able to use your Galaxy S2 phone. Good luck!

Lisa, Here's A Link to the story I mentioned about the expensive Telus data roaming bill (click on the video link for the CBC Vancouver news story).

Lisa, after lots of research I went with phones from EuroBuzz. They are a 'post-pay' company (as opposed to 'pre-pay') that doesn't require you to top-off your account to keep your phone number. For $29USD each we got phones that allowed us to leave our regular phones safely at home. You can always use the SIM card in another unlocked, quad-band phone if you'd like. It's only $9USD by itself, but we bought the phones for an extra $20USD per person (that model of phone got great reviews online...). EuroBuzz is a Mobal company (Mobal is pre-pay). EuroBuzz is EUROPE ONLY, though, and not the cheapest alternative out there, but it's simple and worked fantastically well for us - texts, voice mail, and phone calls within Europe and to the USA. And we weren't worried about damaging/losing our regular phones. The EuroBuzz phones are extremely lightweight, too. Always a bonus when packing for Europe! Remember that if you go this route, these phones/SIM cards work ONLY in Europe; you'll need your regular phone if you want to place calls while in Canada, the USA, or anywhere outside of Europe. This option may not appeal to you if you really want your own phone in order to make lots of business calls (access to lots of phone numbers/email addresses in your phone's address book), or spend hours on the phone talking to people 'back home'...

Should you get your phone unlocked, this is the way to turn off data on an Android phone: * Simple way: Go to "Settings," "Wireless & networks," and then put a check in the box by "Airplane mode." Unfortunately, this also turns off the ability of your phone to work as a phone or to send and receive text messages. You can, however, turn on "Wi-Fi" while in "Airplane mode" and connect to the Internet only over wifi. * Little more complicated way: Go to "Settings," "Mobile networks," and be sure the box next to "Data enabled" is not checked. Also be sure the box next to "Data roaming" is not checked. Go back to first "Settings" menu. Go to "Accounts & sync." Be sure the box next to "Background data" is not checked. Also, be sure the box next to "Auto-sync" is not checked. These last two things may be overkill if you've turned off "Data enabled." The second set of steps should take care of it but still leave your phone working as a phone . . . I think (no warranties here). Be forewarned that picture messages - MMSes - are treated as some form of data and won't work if you've disabled data. I think you have to leave "Data enabled" checked but turn everything else off and you may be safe sending and receiving those messages. Not 100 percent sure of that, though. Also, note that the menu choices I've listed are for Android Version 2.3.6. Other versions may be slightly different. Finally, to be especially sure, download an app that keeps track of your data usage and watch it. If it shows you are using anything other than wifi data, something hasn't been correctly disabled. I use the Data Counter Widget, but there are lots that do this function. Now, have I thoroughly scared you from even turning your phone on?