Droid 2 Global Not acting very global

[WorldTravel3633]

I just upgraded my Blackberry Storm 1 to a Droid 2 Global.  I worked through Verizon support to ensure the Droid 2 Global is enabled for international use, and used the *228 feature before leaving the US as instructed.  I also had Verizon support unlock the old Blackberry just in case the Droid 2 Global had any issues.

I am glad I have the unlocked Blackberry!  The Droid 2 should have been a direct device upgrade so I am assuming it is enabled in the countries I frequently travel.  So far the Blackberry is still connecting everywhere with a strong 3G signal.

The Droid 2 Global on the other hand is spotty.  It connects in Shenzhen, China with no issue, yet can only see a signal in Hong Kong and refuses to connect.  Now in the Philippines the Droid 2 Global works in Manila but fails to find any service in Laguna (25km south). 

In the mean-time the Blackberry is working just fine with a European global SIM card.

I cannot figure out if I have a Verizon issue, or if the Droid 2 Global is an inferior device.  Rebooting and fiddling with the network options has no effect.   Has anyone had these problems and figured out how to resolve them?  Verizon e-mail support has not responded either.

[silver6055]

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WorldTravel3633 wrote:

I just upgraded my Blackberry Storm 1 to a Droid 2 Global.  I worked through Verizon support to ensure the Droid 2 Global is enabled for international use, and used the *228 feature before leaving the US as instructed.  I also had Verizon support unlock the old Blackberry just in case the Droid 2 Global had any issues.

I am glad I have the unlocked Blackberry!  The Droid 2 should have been a direct device upgrade so I am assuming it is enabled in the countries I frequently travel.  So far the Blackberry is still connecting everywhere with a strong 3G signal.

The Droid 2 Global on the other hand is spotty.  It connects in Shenzhen, China with no issue, yet can only see a signal in Hong Kong and refuses to connect.  Now in the Philippines the Droid 2 Global works in Manila but fails to find any service in Laguna (25km south). 

In the mean-time the Blackberry is working just fine with a European global SIM card.

I cannot figure out if I have a Verizon issue, or if the Droid 2 Global is an inferior device.  Rebooting and fiddling with the network options has no effect.   Has anyone had these problems and figured out how to resolve them?  Verizon e-mail support has not responded either.

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I assume that the Global isn't unlocked?   I haven't had issues with the Global (but some have).  If possible, try putting the SIM from the Global into the Blackberry, and see if the connection is still good.  If not, it might just be that the European SIM works with more providers than the Vodafone one  (that, and the costs of calling, are why I always prefer local SIMs!)

[WorldTravel3633]

Good suggestions.  I was just trying to swap sims.  On the D2G I was hoping that it would connect to a GSM 3G network but reject the SIM, but it went into programming mode instead.  I shut it down and removed the battery, cannot afford to brick this phone even with its limited global capability.

The Verizon SIM in the Blackberry allowed the phone to boot and when I tried to force it to GSM 3G it refused!  Even selecting Globe Telecom-PH 3G (the strongest signal around here) it refuses and goes back to searching for networks.  Returning the European sim to the phone and the Verizon SIM back to the D2G has restored them to their proper states.

The D2G is frustrating, it only reports "Roaming" and no network informaiton.  I cannot force it onto GSM, either it does nothing, or reports a network connection error (No GSM Networks Found - even though at least 6 are listed, 2G & 3G), and I now finally see it tries to connect to SMART vodafone NL and fails to connect until I put it back into global mode.

I have used in country SIMS as well and they are very inexpensive for personal use.  They are inconvenient when you are working in a world wide capacity (6+ countries) and one phone number is prefered.   My AT&T based colleagues do not have this issue in Asia (And my previous VZ Blackberry Storm did not either).  The D2G either is defective, has an inferior antenna/network selection algoritm, or the new Verizon SIM is staying off networks that used to work for me.  I am leaning toward Verizon having an overly restricted SIM card, I am beginning to think it is sticking to the Vodaphone network.

[WorldTravel3633]

Update as of April 14:

VZ Email support took about 4 days but finally did activate the SIM card (GSM) on my D2G.  It is now operating correctly in the Philippines.  The Philippines is a mix of CDMA and GSM networks.  The next test is Hong Kong (also GSM).

Lesson is to verify directly that the phone is activated internationally and GSM (the SIM card) is activated.  In my case VZ only activated CDMA internationally (even though the previous phone had CDMA and GSM activated).

I will mark this issue resolved if the phone operates successfully in Hong Kong this week....  I am still not confident the activation is complete.

[WorldTravel3633 · Accepted solution]

I just got through my Hong Kong portion of my trip with the SIM card activated.  It took a while (~20 min) to register on the network once I arrived but once it came up the phone worked fine.  I also did get a call from VZ support apologizing for the issue, the SIM card was not activated upon global activation. 

[hpkiv]

same problems with my droid 2 as well. was told that it worked just like the blackberry as i was using before, but trust me it does not. i have fair phone coverage, but the data coverage is terribly inadequate and i am traveling in Europe too. Tried all the changes to the system setting and still it does not send or receive as i would expect. did thte *228 stuff as well and still no good. Needless to say probably the worst decision I've made with respect to my communication gadgets, i am using the ipad and ipod overseas and are more reliable than this thing ever dreamed of being.

[ACraigB]

Same problem with mine.  My wife took it to Spain.  No signal in Pamplona Spain despite being set up in advance.  She finally got some signal in France after a battery reset.  No, I mean no, data connection so far.  We got this phone for this purpose and this purpose alone.  Several hundred dollars wasted as far as I can tell.  Even the camera won't function properly.  When she tries to use it it tells her she can't be located.  The darned thing is a doorstop.

[#8]

It is always possible to experience different signal strength between different types of hardware devices.  The coverage ultimately depends on cellular coverage in your destination.  I researched any known issues with the Droid 2, but I could not find any that would impact the phone's ability to roam internationally.  We do have some support numbers for global support. 800-711-8300 is the domestic support number, and 908-559-4899 if roaming internationally.  

I am unsure if this was an ongoing situation or a 1-time thing, but if you have any further inquiries or issues on your Droid 2, feel free to PM me or call one of the support numbers I listed.  Here's the link for possible coverage inquiries in other countries: http://b2b.vzw.com/international/outside_us.html 

[hpkiv]

i am pretty much done with with this thing, this is my second trip now with this phone and it is not a good tool in any way.  the only positive i see with it is the camera is really cool.  constant issues with connections, dont get email in a timely manner, phone calls dropped or low signal too.  i travel to europe every month and have been doing so now for 3 years with a blackberry that performed flawless, i made a bad decision and dont recommend this product to anyone that goes outside the US.  i hope to be able to make a trade when i return, best thing for Verizon to do is to take it from their offering.

[hpkiv]

Well i finally had enough of my Motorola Droid 2 Global so i went to the store and the Verizon folks there were very nice and helpful, but no solution other than to call Verizon customer service.  called Verizon customer service explained how much of an issue this droid was and was informed that they do not guarantee that the phone will work outside of the US.  They will not reimburse me for the phone, they will not exchange the phone because it works in the US.  Verizon wants to sell me a used phone that i already have.   ive had enough and will turn off my global plan in two weeks when i return. been with this organization since it was Cellular 1 and have always been dedicated, this is really put me out.  I am not looking for anything free at all and will pay a charge for a replacement, but obviously the company would rather lose a business account than to stand behind their service and products they sell.  Have tried the tech support center too with no help.  I guess my main issue is that i questioned the reliability when i purchased the phone and was told that it was just as reliable as the BlackBerry i was using already, not true.  If you want to do business overseas, get the IPhone from another provider or stick with BlackBerry. 

Sorry to Rant on this one, but i feel burned badly.