I am currently travelling in Dominica and had purchased the standard global roaming plan but now that I am here, my phone remains on 'Searching' or 'No Service' and I am unable to use it to make calls back to the states. I have double and triple checked repeatedly that all of my roaming settings are set to on. My phone is an iPhone 4s 16gb.
The weirdest part is that on the way here to Dominica, I had a brief layover in Antigua and the phone did actually work. I received a message from whichever carrier it was in Antigua, which said:
Free Msg! Welcome to ANTIGUA BARBUDA. Dial +1 & 10-digit# to call US.? For Roaming Support call 1-908-559-4899.
and another message, which said:
After your Min. & Outgoing Msg. allowance: Overage is $0.25 per Min. or Msg. ($0.10 per Min./Msg w/ Can/Mex plan). Pic/Video msgs use roaming data.
Now I haven't called the support number because 1) my international calling on my phone does not work and 2) anywhere I can go to actually call that number would charge me. I was hoping to discuss this issue with someone through the Live Chat option on the Verizon Wireless website, but every time that I have tried to do so, I click on 'Contact Us' -> 'Live Chat' -> 'Traveling Abroad' and then over on the right hand side it says *RED DOT* followed by Service Outside the U.S. 5:30a - 11:59p ET, Monday-Sunday. As it is Thursday at 12:24 pm I figured that I should be able to use this service, but no chat box appears and all the words that appear there are greyed out.
Based on the language in the messages I received in Antigua it seems as though my global roaming plan was activated when in Antigua and I know it was because I was able to make calls just fine and I didn't receive extra messages telling me about extra charges, but after coming to Dominica I can no longer make calls at all.
Another thing is that my son switched off his data roaming on his Galaxy S4 but when we arrived in Dominica he received a message, which said:
Welcome to Dominica. Outgoing calls & Global Data features are inactive. Add via www.vzw.com/goblcare or call +1-908 559 4899 from another phone.
and another message, which said:
Authorize user is needed to add features. Incoming Calls/Text are active. Calls: $1.99/min. TXT: Send=$0.5,Receive=$0.05. WiFi may be used where available.
Based on the language in the messages my son received, who did not purchase a global roaming plan, he can't make outgoing calls/texts while out of the country unless he wants to get charged large amounts and the same is true for incoming calls/texts. This is fine for him because he can travel with just using WiFi. I, on the other hand, need to be able to contact my employees back in the states. Please help!
Did you check with Verizon to make sure that your destination country would allow the device you have to connect? The possibility is that this country does not have (or you are not in range) a carrier that uses CDMA. If the carriers in this country use GSM you may be out of luck. VZW cannot guarantee service in any country outside the USA.
Here is the number to call 908-559-4899
IN settings / cellular /roaming
click on roaming
make sure roaming is on, and try international CDMA on or off depending on current position (do the opposite). Dominica is mixed CDMA and GSM systems,
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