How to use SIM card in Droid 2 Global?

[xiaofeng]

So I have a Droid 2 Global because it has SIM card capabilities. I called Verizon to allow international roaming. Then I got the unlock code for my phone. Next I put a new-bought SIM card from China Mobile into my Verizon Droid 2 Global.

However, when someone calls my China Mobile phone number, my phone does not react. The caller hears a prerecorded message that the China Mobile phone number is incorrect or not connected.

When I call with my Droid 2 Global with the China Mobile SIM card inside, the receiving person sees my Verizon phone number.

My question is: How do I get my Droid 2 Global to recognize and use my China Mobile SIM card?

I don't want it to use my Verizon phone number while I am overseas. I like my Verizon service in the U.S., and I plan to return to it.  I just thought the idea of a global phone with a SIM card was to be able to travel to other countries and use another SIM card if need be, and the sales representatives at my local Verizon store sold me this idea of international usage. Other users seem to have no problem. Please inform me of how it works

Thank you!

[mortb]

Unfortunately, a SIM card and a cell phone are connected and cannot be separated. Once your SIM card was unlocked it was married to your cell phone. A SIM card is not like an SD card. SD cards can be swapped around, SIM cards can not.

[xiaofeng]

Hi mortb, thanks for your input.

However, that is not true about SIM cards. You can find accurate information about SIM cards through your search engine or even Wikipedia. SIM cards are meant to be swapped out. SIM cards are used in Europe and Asia more than the U.S. "The SIM card allows users to change phones by simply removing the SIM card from one mobile phone and inserting it into another mobile phone or broadband telephony device" (Wikipedia- SIM cards).

A SIM card holds the prepaid account value, telephone number, the user's address book, call logs, texts, etc. A lot of websites give the analogy: Say your phone is dead but you need to make a call. You can use your friend's cell phone with your SIM card and call. You won't be using your friend's minutes, but your own because you are using the minutes from your SIM card.

In my case, I want to use a local cell phone provider to make local calls. Theoretically speaking, I can do so if I swap out my SIM card for a local network's SIM.

Now Verizon locks all its phones to their Verizon SIM cards, so Verizon phones can only use Verizon SIM cards, but the Droid 2 Global allows you to unlock your SIM, meaning that you are going to put in another SIM card, aka another cell phone service provider.

So I am confused why I cannot use another carrier's SIM card. Can anyone explain why? Or what can I do to sync my China Mobile SIM to my Droid 2 Global?

Also referenced: http://community.vzw.com/t5/DROID-2-by-Motorola/Unlocking-Droid-2-Global/td-p/365596

[silver6055]

Where are you when you are trying this, in the US or outside?   If you are in the US, it will not work, the phone (silently) blocks the use of GSM on any carrier in the US.

If you are outside, ave you changed the network mode?  (Settings>Wireless & Networks>Mobile networks>Network Mode)

Should be GSM/UMTS.  You should see GSM signal strength indicators, such as G,E,H (or confusingly, 3G)

If calls from your phone show the VZ number, that sounds like you are on CDMA (or Global picking up CDMA).

[silver6055]

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mortb wrote:

Unfortunately, a SIM card and a cell phone are connected and cannot be separated. Once your SIM card was unlocked it was married to your cell phone. A SIM card is not like an SD card. SD cards can be swapped around, SIM cards can not.

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As the OP says, this is entirely wrong, the whole point of GSM SIM cards is precisely to let them be swapped between handsets.

[xiaofeng]

Thanks Silver6055 for your reply!

So I am in Beijing, China, and I bought my China MobiIe SIM card in China. I tried using my China Mobile SIM in China after unlocking my phone. China uses CDMA (ref:http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/Asia-Pacific/China.html), so I have been connecting to the CDMA network.

I have also tried changing the phone's network to GSM for kicks. When I do, I get no signal.

[silver6055]

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xiaofeng wrote:

Thanks Silver6055 for your reply!

So I am in Beijing, China, and I bought my China MobiIe SIM card in China. I tried using my China Mobile SIM in China after unlocking my phone. China uses CDMA (ref:http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/Asia-Pacific/China.html), so I have been connecting to the CDMA network.

I have also tried changing the phone's network to GSM for kicks. When I do, I get no signal.

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On the Droid 2 Global, SIMs are only for GSM,   (Verizon has doesn't support CDMA SIMs, except perhaps in the latest 4G devices, depending what you count as CDMA).    As you discovered, your phone works "natively" with CDMA, with your Verizon number.  So if there is no GSM signal, you have to keep your VZ US number.

[silver6055]

Also, don't trust Verizon's descriptions  of the network in other countries, such as your link

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/Asia-Pacific/China.html   These descriptions are related to Verizon's partnering etc, so both India and China are shown as CDMA, whereas they both have substantial GSM networks,

China Mobile is a GSM operator (http://www.chinamobileltd.com/op.php?menu=6) , there are coverage maps available for on the internet although not on the China Mobile site!   But my previous point holds, to use the sim you need to be in GSM mode, and in CDMA mode, the sim is not used and you keep your US number.

[gsp10]

what exactly is a sim card?

[silver6055]

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gsp10 wrote:
what exactly is a sim card?

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As the OP said, lots of information on the internet, e.g. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subscriber_Identity_Module

So, SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module.  It basically identifies the subscriber/account to the network: including things like telephone number, allowed actions (e.g. data), contacts, balance on pre-paid accounts etc.   For those used to Verizon, your phone has the telephone number and all that information.  To change to a different handset, you need to call *228 etc, provide the new ESN and so on.    Then you would need to move the contacts to the new phone, using Backup Assistant, Google sync on Android or some similar thing.

With a SIM card, you simply take it out of one handset and put in another (providing the phone is unlocked or is on the same network).   This allows a user to buy any unlocked (GSM) phone of his/her choice, and they can simply put the SIM card from the old phone in, and they are ready to go, with the same phone number, contacts etc.

Verizon is moving to SIM cards for 4G LTE, but given this is brand new, it's hard to know whether this will eventually lead to greater phone choice, as we don't know if other carriers will be using exactly the same standards.