Cell Phones...

[Adrian Bye]

La Profe_1, thanks a lot for checking into this!

Is the reprogramming something I can do by myself? Or do I need to take it into a phoneco office? (by myself, I mean, can I do it without a computer + special software, ie I can sit on the plane and reprogram it as we land).

Do you have any suggestions for smart phones that support multiple NAMs?

 

[La Profe_1]

Gringo, you MIGHT need a lock code, depending upon the phone. However, there are repair shops that can activate the phone anyway, for a price. I have found that Motorola phones generally can be activated easily. Sprint phones, if you can obtain the lock code from Sprint, are also easy to activate.

When my Verizon phone was activated here, Codetel wrote over the programming for Verizon. When I returned to the US, Verizon had to move the programming to NAM 2.

Adrian, offhand I am not familiar with Smart Phones. My Palm and cell phone are separate. Let me see if I can do a little reseach.

You cannot program the phone yourself....unless you can convince Virgin Mobile to give you programming instructions (right!) and if you tried to do that, each time you came to the DR your Codetel number would change.

Hope this helps,

LP

 

[Ant]

Codetel/Verizon

No, I didn't need a code to unlock it (to my knowledge). I stopped in a Verizon office here in NYC and told them I would be traveling to the DR, they told me I would have no problems. When I went to Codetel they programmed it for me in about 15 minutes and gave me a local number.

 

[JoeKool2]

Do you know if rentals are available once I get there?

 

[Ken]

No, I didn't need a code to unlock it (to my knowledge). I stopped in a Verizon office here in NYC and told them I would be traveling to the DR, they told me I would have no problems. When I went to Codetel they programmed it for me in about 15 minutes and gave me a local number.

My son is visiting for the week from the US. He has a Verizon phone. No problem using it here. No reprograming was necessary. After plan landed, he called his wife to tell her he arrived safely. Dialed 1 plus his home number, and that was it.

Do you know if rentals are available once I get there?

Asked a phone dealer in Sosua about this. He said there was to much risk that the renter would go off with the phone. If he buys a phone for RD$4000, rents it for RD$400, and the renter doesn't return the phone, then he has a big loss.

Instead, he is offering refurbished phones at a price below that of a new phone. About RD$2000 plus or minus, depending on the quality of the phone. The store is next door to Caribe Tours in Charamicos, Sosua. Tel 571-1274. Jose Mercado, the owner, speaks English.

 

[suarezn]

I have Sprint here in the US. I normally just take my phone down there and have it activated by codetel for use with comunicard calling cards, since I'm only there for a few weeks. When I come back to the US I just call Sprint and have them re-activate it. This works well for me and it's very little hassle. Just one thing to remember is that each phone company has it's own SID number. This is a number assigned by the FCC to each wireless carrier. Your phone must have this programmed in otherwise you will show as roaming. I found this out when I came back and re-activated my phone. It kept saying I was roaming, even in my own house. I did a little bit of research on the web and found the home SID for Sprint. Programmed it in and Voila it worked. If you don't know how to do this is best you take your phone into a Sprint PCS store and have them do it for you.
In terms of Orange Vs. Codetel, it really depends on where you will spend most of your time. In Cotui Codetel service sucks. Orange has a much better coverage...