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Long vacation without wifi or data - problems?

C

cdldt

Lurker
Do Android phones continue to function normally even if they can't talk to Google's servers from time to time or does it eventually require logging back in? (I'm talking about several months)

I obviously don't expect to be able to receive emails (or Facebook etc.) but what I'm unsure about is whether it will still work as a phone (calls, texts, offline apps).

Edit: Sorry, I realise I posted this in the wrong forum!
 
I was missing some info on one Galaxy, so put the battery back in the Galaxy 3 to see if the info was on that phone. I didn't put the SIM in, but the phone did find my wifi and I could use that.
The phone has been inactive since the beginning of March. This meant that if I had a full Skype account or VOIP, I probably could have called out.
 
cdldt said:
Do Android phones continue to function normally even if they can't talk to Google's servers from time to time or does it eventually require logging back in? (I'm talking about several months)

I obviously don't expect to be able to receive emails (or Facebook etc.) but what I'm unsure about is whether it will still work as a phone (calls, texts, offline apps).

Edit: Sorry, I realise I posted this in the wrong forum!
Click to expand...

It will still work as a phone just fine without connecting to any servers, and the phone will function normally. I've been in situations overseas for several weeks where I was using a local SIM card without data service, and I could call, text and use offline apps with no problems at all. Everything worked great. Since you know you won't have cellular data, to save battery life just turn data completely off. If you do happen to come across WiFi at some point, you can still connect to that without turning the cellular data connection on.
 
There are three things you can do with your phone on vacation.

1. Turn it into an iPod Touch. Just device for wifi only.

2. Assuming your phone is unlocked and is GSM, get a prepaid voice and text SIM, so you can still do voice and text but without internet. You can still do #1 at a wifi hotspot.

3. Get a prepaid data SIM, which is used on 3G dongles for laptops. It turns your phone into a mobile internet device. No voice, no text, but you can browse, use Google Maps, access Facebook and Twitter, and use the phone as wifi for your laptop. These SIMs can give you unlimited data on a few days.

4. If you are lucky, you are in a country that has a SIM that offers both prepaid voice, text, and data at reasonable rates, you can do all of the above. However, the data can be metered by time, so you need an APN kill switch to cut off the data when not in use.

Again, assuming your phone is unlocked and in GSM. Preferably your phone has a 3G band frequency used in Europe and Asia like 2100. Or 850 like in Latin America, Canada and Australia.
 
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