Will a Motorola SLVR work in China?

January 12, 2009 9:58 AM

My girlfriend has a Motorola SLVR and is going to China in the spring. Can she use her phone there?

Does anyone know if this phone would work there? (if she buys a SIM card etc.) Would it make more sense to buy a phone there? She is going there through her school, and they gave her a link: http://www.globalphoneworks.com/
Does anyone know anything about this site?

posted by degoao to Travel & Transportation around China (3 answers total)

It must support the 900/1800 MHz bands to function at all (preferably both those bands). Check the exact model of SLVR to see whether this is the case. A quick google suggests that the SLVR L6 and L7 models support these bands.

If it's locked (typical for phones purchased in the US/Canada), you'll either need to get it unlocked and buy a SIM from a service provider in China, or rely on international roaming on your US SIM (usually ridiculously expensive proposition). Getting it unlocked should be straightforward, try doing that before the trip (ideally test it using an alternate SIM).
posted by kanuck at 10:19 AM on January 12, 2009

kanuck is exactly right. I went to China a couple years ago to teach for 6 months and brought my SLVR along. Unfortunately I didn't unlock it properly, and I didn't think to call the company to get the unlock code until after I had unsuccessfully tried to unlock it so many times that it became permanently locked.

I ended up getting a phone there, which is very cheap and pretty easy if you know someone that speaks Chinese. So either way your girlfriend will be fine, but the SLVR should work if you do it right.
posted by thebergfather at 11:04 AM on January 12, 2009

Another advantage to buying there: charger definitely works in Chinese outlets with zero hassle, and if she is interested in/has knowledge of the language, she can text (super cheap) in Chinese. If she's going to Shanghai, feel free to mefi mail me for more tips.
posted by xiaolongbao at 9:59 PM on January 12, 2009