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Will Stratosphere from Verizon work in Europe ??

S

SpindizZzy

Lurker
Hi Techies :)

I am considering buying the Samsung Stratosphere from Verizon (my mom put us all on a family plan), but I will be moving to Europe (Belgium) in May.

A few questions, 'cause my visit to 2 different Verizon-shops earlier today didn't make me much wiser... :D:D


  • Will the 4G work in Belgium ??? (i guess not, because Verizon uses 700 Mhz as opposed to the 2.6 Ghz in Europe)
  • Will it work on 3G then ??? (My guess is yes, because both Verizon and the US use CDMA)
  • Is rooting this phone hard ??? (i rooted a Samsung Galaxy 3 a couple of months ago, so I have some experience. My Linux-skills have also improved recently :p) Can I find a walkthrough somewhere ?
  • And what if I have a friend buy this phone in Europe and send it to me ?? Will I be able to get a SIM-card from Verizon to use it in the US ?? Probably not on 4G, but will a EU-phone work on Verizon 3G ?
Thx in advance for your help, fellow Android-Lovers ;)
 
SpindizZzy said:
Hi Techies :)

I am considering buying the Samsung Stratosphere from Verizon (my mom put us all on a family plan), but I will be moving to Europe (Belgium) in May.

A few questions, 'cause my visit to 2 different Verizon-shops earlier today didn't make me much wiser... :D:D


  • Will the 4G work in Belgium ??? (i guess not, because Verizon uses 700 Mhz as opposed to the 2.6 Ghz in Europe)
  • Will it work on 3G then ??? (My guess is yes, because both Verizon and the US use CDMA)
  • Is rooting this phone hard ??? (i rooted a Samsung Galaxy 3 a couple of months ago, so I have some experience. My Linux-skills have also improved recently :p) Can I find a walkthrough somewhere ?
  • And what if I have a friend buy this phone in Europe and send it to me ?? Will I be able to get a SIM-card from Verizon to use it in the US ?? Probably not on 4G, but will a EU-phone work on Verizon 3G ?
Thx in advance for your help, fellow Android-Lovers ;)
Click to expand...

1) No - 4G LTE has not been deployed in Belgium yet.

2) No - cellular data services in Belgium use GSM bands and to my knowledge do not use CDMA bands. The Samsung Stratosphere is NOT a global phone.

3) Don't know - look elsewhere on this site or other Android forums.

4) Based on the answer to #2 above, I don't think the Stratosphere, or more accurately a GSM-compatible Stratosphere, would be available in Belgium. Also note that Verizon Wireless will terminate your service if less than half of your voice/data usage is on a non-Verizon network for 3 consecutive months.

Calling From Belgium

I haven't traveled internationally with a global-ready Verizon smartphone, but I think your best bet is to buy a new smartphone in Belgium. If you want to have a backup device that can be used in both the U.S. on Verizon and in Europe, buy a global-capable smartphone, preferably off-contract. Current smartphones on Verizon that fit this category include:

Android devices:
*Motorola Droid 3
*HTC Droid Incredible 2
*Motorola Droid Pro

Non-Android devices:
*Apple iPhone 4S (iOS)
*HTC Trophy (Windows Phone OS)
*RIM Blackberry Bold 9930 (Blackberry OS)
*RIM Blackberry Torch 9850 (Blackberry OS)
*RIM Blackberry Curve 9370 (Blackberry OS)
 
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