Tour in Japan

Well, I am not happy. One of the main reasons I got this phone was for international coverage in Japan since I travel there somewhat frequently. I got a CDMA voice connection most of the time but what I wanted was a data connection - never got data in any mode in any city I visited this trip (Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara). The CDMA voice connection showed up as Sprint PCS. In GSM or Global mode, all I got was Emergency voice service only, whether the connection came through Soft Bank or Docomo. Never got data.

Nor could I get GPS, but I could live without that. What I really wanted was to be able to be connected via email without dragging a laptop around.

I don't really need to read about VZW zealots vs. Sprint zealots. I'm stuck with Sprint for reasons beyond my control for now. However... Aside from reading a post here about someone using a VZW Tour in Japan to its full potential, I happened to see another American browsing the internet with a VZW Tour so I asked him about his data coverage. He said, "great". That was the corker.

I'll be calling Sprint tomorrow and they better have some answers. They advertise this phone working in Japan in those cities. While there, I tried to call their local support and could never get through.

Is your Tour unlocked? have you tried purchasing a prepaid sim card from a local japanese GSM carrier? Just a thought.

Like the previous post, I'm sure that your Tour would have to be unlocked first. Then, you could go ahead and use a SIM card from a local GSM carrier in Japan.

I thought Japan does not use normal radio bands?

Yes, it's unlocked. I couldn't find a local SIM card that had reasonable data prices. Digging into that may be an option for the next time. The thing is that I have Sprint's international BlackBerry data plan that is unlimited.

When I swapped my phone (due to the trackball problem), the store person said to just swap my old SIM card into the new phone because I'd already activated my old SIM card. According to the rep I spoke to this evening, that caused the problem because there is some number in the phone that has to match up with the SIM card and when it doesn't, getting no data internationally is the symptom. So I put the SIM card into the new phone that it came with and they activated that one. They also credited me for the downtime on my data plan.

It would have been better if the rep I'd spoken to after swapping the phone and before traveling had a clue about this because I specifically asked if using my old SIM card would be OK. I've spoken to four of their international reps so far and three of them have been sharp. I guess that's not bad but certainly could be better.

Now I've got no real way to test it until the next time I go to Japan. I'll either have to bring a laptop as a backup (ridiculous) or rely on hotel lobby internet computers.

There ya have it.

I hope you got this figured out... My Sprint Tour has worked flawlessly in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and now Japan. I have the unlimted data roaming with sprint for $30/month and it can be started and stopped at the begining and end of my drip, so 10 days = $10. Awesome.

I only was search to see if a DoCoMo sim card could be used in the Tour.

I have done so everywhere else, with great results. Hong Kong and Singapore are like .05/min to call the US... wow!!

I just want to let you know that it is difficult, almost impossible to get SIM in Japan. That is because they dont sell only SIM, but you have to buy a mobile phone itself as well AND you have to register using it there. You have to pay for registration, also have to pay monthly and then if you want to quit using it you have to pay penalty. I'm Japanese but living abroad and always annoyed by Japanese mobile system whenever I go back to Japan...

Japan is still funny with the phone technology. Even with VZW it can be touchy. CDMA is somewhat new over there and the GSM and their own technology still running. If Sprint has a global team, I would request to talk with them. If they know their stuff they will assute the device is provisioned properly for global use.

Originally Posted by KelvinZ

I couldn't find a local SIM card that had reasonable data prices

that's because there isn't. if you're looking for something reasonable, you won't find it. expensive.

Back to Japan last week with the new/second Tour and the SIM card that came with it. It eventually worked fine on Docomo's network. It showed up as "NTT Docomo - Sprint". But it did take overnight to register on the network. That first night, thinking I was having a similar problem again, I tried to call Sprint support. I got through this time but they were completely useless and I was too tired from the flight to argue with them. They actually said I had to look in the phone book to find the local carrier and call them! The least they could have done would be to give me the phone number of an English-speaking line for the carrier they contract with. Had it not been working the next morning, I would have gone into chat with them once I could get in front of a computer.

BTW, the trackball is still junk and I'm trying to figure out how best to get a 9650 but it seems that Sprint wants me to change to their new (more expensive) plan now. Lame.