I am going to the Caribbean

[coonster]

I will be spending about two years on the island of St. Kitts and was wondering, if I were to get a phone, whether it would be unlockable and usable on the island.

I am currently on Verizon and my Droid will not work there without outrageous roaming fees. I do not know the bands of the island, but I do know the two carriers on the island Digicell and LIME will provide me with a SIM card free of charge.

I would like to use an Android phone down there, even if I don't get a data plan. When I come back, it will be my phone again for a year or two, I hope.

So any suggestions or information on buying/unlocking a phone to take to the Caribbean?

 

[AndroidSPCS]

If they provide SIM cards then they must use GSM. Verizon uses CDMA so you would need a global phone, that accepts a GSM SIM card. Something like an AT&T GSM phone that's unlocked, like a Captivate, etc.

 

[coonster]

Right. But GSM phones have bands. Not all of them will work there. I wanted to know how to determine whether a GSM phone from the US will work over there? I am unable to find the bands for the carriers in St. Kitts so I was curious if anyone knew and if there was more to it than just bands to have a working phone there?

 

[lunatic59]

I've been to the Caribbean a few times and never had any problems with AT&T phones picking up their networks. I just looked at the spec's of a few phones offered by Digicel and they seem to use the same frequency bands as AT&T (850 MHz and 1900 MHz) they also support 900 MHz and 1800 MHz so if you can find a phone you like with those supported frequencies, it should work for Digicel and AT&T with just a swap of sim cards.

There's also carrier lock ... the carrier must allow your device's IMEI on their network, or at least not block it. Have you contacted either cell provider to see if they will have a problem with you brining a handset from the States and using in their network?

 

[takeshi]

I will be spending about two years on the island of St. Kitts and was wondering, if I were to get a phone, whether it would be unlockable and usable on the island.

Whether a device is unlockable or not depends on the specific device. It's impossible to answer your question in a universal sense. Most GSM devices have one way or more to unlock them. You'd have to do the research on the specfic devices you're considering.

Right. But GSM phones have bands. Not all of them will work there. I wanted to know how to determine whether a GSM phone from the US will work over there? I am unable to find the bands for the carriers in St. Kitts so I was curious if anyone knew and if there was more to it than just bands to have a working phone there?

You'll have to find the bands used by the carrier somehow. See if GSM World has this info.

Have you tried contacting those carriers? Or looking at devices known to work with those carriers? See if your carrier has roaming agreements there. If so, they'll know what you need.

 

[ArmageddonX]

I went to St. Thomas in 2009 and I got great signal there on my Sprint phone.

 

[coonster]

I've been to the Caribbean a few times and never had any problems with AT&T phones picking up their networks. I just looked at the spec's of a few phones offered by Digicel and they seem to use the same frequency bands as AT&T (850 MHz and 1900 MHz) they also support 900 MHz and 1800 MHz so if you can find a phone you like with those supported frequencies, it should work for Digicel and AT&T with just a swap of sim cards.

There's also carrier lock ... the carrier must allow your device's IMEI on their network, or at least not block it. Have you contacted either cell provider to see if they will have a problem with you brining a handset from the States and using in their network?

Well, I found a brand new, unlocked Nexus One on eBay (verified Top Seller) for $260. Doesn't seem so bad. I may go with that. If it is already unlocked, will it still be a problem getting it on to a carrier on the island? What would be reasons for them to "block" my IMEI?

I went to St. Thomas in 2009 and I got great signal there on my Sprint phone.

Did you not pay a ridiculous amount for roaming? Or did you have a dual-SIM BlackBerry?

 

[ArmageddonX]

Did you not pay a ridiculous amount for roaming? Or did you have a dual-SIM BlackBerry?

I had a Moto-Q at the time when I visited. I never had any roaming charges. Strange right?

 

[lunatic59]

Well, I found a brand new, unlocked Nexus One on eBay (verified Top Seller) for $260. Doesn't seem so bad. I may go with that. If it is already unlocked, will it still be a problem getting it on to a carrier on the island? What would be reasons for them to "block" my IMEI?

Watch out for the Nexus One. There are two versions. The AT&T and T-Mobile do not support the same 3G bands and can only access data on each others networks at EDGE speeds.

Ask the seller to remove the battery and read the PB# if he's not sure. (Below the IMEI and ESN numbers)


PB99110: 850 MHz, 1900 MHz, and 2100 MHz such as AT&T in the US and Rogers Wireless in Canada

PB99100: 900 MHz, AWS, 1700 and 2100 MHz such as T-Mobile US and Vodafone in Europe

Usually the reasons why phones are blocked are if it was originally on that network but the account was deactivated, it was a subsidized handset on another network or it had been reported stolen. Still it never hurts to check.

BTW, when you're in St. Kitts you have to try Brinley's Coffee Rum, you can only get it there.

 

[coonster]

I am not sure if I will be getting a data plan down there. I will see. I will be around WiFi most of the time, so I should be ok in that regard.

I am really just interested in it for the voice. I will also use the phone as an alarm and also for all my apps, especially medical ones. Otherwise, I would be fine with a dinky Nokia phone they provide for free.

But I also had a question about texting. Does Google Voice work in the Caribbean? I have Voice now and it is assigned to my Droid on VZW's number. You know how Voice requires a valid number, even if no one will call it? If my parents cancel my contract on VZW while I am gone, I'll still have my Voice account and be able to text for free using either the N1 and WiFi or my iPod Touch and WiFi, right?

These Nexus Ones seem to be "new and unlocked." Maybe I'm putting too much trust into the seller's positive rating and Top Seller status, but you think the ESN and all that would be fine because of that?

And this is the first I'm hearing of Brinley's. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it.

EDIT::: Will I still be able to use EDGE even without a data plan? I was told by someone that even those without data plans can get EDGE speeds for free. The speeds suck, but it's data nonetheless.

 

[lunatic59]

I am not sure if I will be getting a data plan down there. I will see. I will be around WiFi most of the time, so I should be ok in that regard.

I am really just interested in it for the voice. I will also use the phone as an alarm and also for all my apps, especially medical ones. Otherwise, I would be fine with a dinky Nokia phone they provide for free.

Then it won't be as much of an issue there, but when you get back tot he states you'll want to continue to use it? Or will you go back to VZW?

But I also had a question about texting. Does Google Voice work in the Caribbean? I have Voice now and it is assigned to my Droid on VZW's number. You know how Voice requires a valid number, even if no one will call it? If my parents cancel my contract on VZW while I am gone, I'll still have my Voice account and be able to text for free using either the N1 and WiFi or my iPod Touch and WiFi, right?

You can have multiple numbers assigned to your voice account. Could you temporarily add a number, like maybe your folks, until you know the new one in St.Kitts? Just to prevent the GV number from going away when the VZW number is cancelled. As far as the text working, I would guess that it would because Wifi generally is independent of cell service.

These Nexus Ones seem to be "new and unlocked." Maybe I'm putting too much trust into the seller's positive rating and Top Seller status, but you think the ESN and all that would be fine because of that?

Really couldn't tell you, but if they've got all the original packaging, I'd suspect they were part of a liquidation. Still, I'd check wich bands they supported and if the seller was unwilling to tell you or find out, I'd think twice.

And this is the first I'm hearing of Brinley's. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it.

EDIT::: Will I still be able to use EDGE even without a data plan? I was told by someone that even those without data plans can get EDGE speeds for free. The speeds suck, but it's data nonetheless.

I had a friend teaching on St. Kitts for 2 years and every trip they had a standing order to bring back the maximum amount of Brinley's. We still had fights over who got it.

EDGE requires a data plan as well, although EDGE data plans may be cheaper "dumb phone" plans, if the local carriers sell them that way.

 

[coonster]

Then it won't be as much of an issue there, but when you get back tot he states you'll want to continue to use it? Or will you go back to VZW?

I'm not sure. I plan on selling my D1 before I leave to use towards the N1. If I can get near $100 for it, the N1 will be even better. There aren't many good unlocked Android phones for around the price of the N1. I will be on the island for med school for almost two years. When I come back to the States, I plan to be staying in my hometown in Chicago for rotations. I may just use my Nexus One then, too.

You can have multiple numbers assigned to your voice account. Could you temporarily add a number, like maybe your folks, until you know the new one in St.Kitts? Just to prevent the GV number from going away when the VZW number is cancelled. As far as the text working, I would guess that it would because Wifi generally is independent of cell service.

Well, I guess I was asking if I switched the number from my current number to a St. Kitts area code number, will they refuse service, even just for texts?



Really couldn't tell you, but if they've got all the original packaging, I'd suspect they were part of a liquidation. Still, I'd check wich bands they supported and if the seller was unwilling to tell you or find out, I'd think twice.

Liquidation? Is that bad? Last I remember they were actually running out of N1s (Google was). I think....


I had a friend teaching on St. Kitts for 2 years and every trip they had a standing order to bring back the maximum amount of Brinley's. We still had fights over who got it.

I'm surprised no one on the med school forums have mentioned it. You'd think they were the ones that would enjoy it the most.

EDGE requires a data plan as well, although EDGE data plans may be cheaper "dumb phone" plans, if the local carriers sell them that way.

Then I'm 100% not going to worry about data, then. I'll just stick with campus-wide WiFi to get by and access my apps.

Bolded