Purchasing a USA phone for UK use (Motorola Droid Razr MAXX)

[MrJorj]

So I'm not very happy with my Blackberry Torch 9800... It is slow, there are no real features. I only used it for BBM, and most of my contacts have since moved over to iPhone.

So I am looking at the Motorola devices, in particlar the Droid Razr. I have previously made a thread about this, but I have a different concern this time.

I have heard that the battery performance on the Droid Razr is quite bad, but they have recently released a new version with a far better battery (85% more capacity). So naturally, I want the better of the two.

Sadly, the MAXX is a USA phone, and it is currently not available in the UK. I have emailed Motorola about this, but I am waiting to hear back. Meanwhile, I am thinking about purchasing and importing the phone from the USA and using it with my Vodafone UK Personal contract.

Is this possible?

All of the chargers are standard voltage, or USB... So that should be okay. I mean, you can use a phone abroad, but would this still count as 'abroad', or would it recognise that I am in the UK and just treat it normally? Is there any sort of strange problem that might occur that I haven't thought of?

It requires a Micro-SIM, but I can request one of those. It will be sold by Motorola without branding, and unlocked. So is it just a barebone phone ready to go in the UK?

I am 8 months into my contract, and I would like some guarantee that this phone will work. I will have to insure it third-party, but can there be any reassurance that this device will operate, and that someone can help me to set it up if there are problems?

I'm slightly disappointed that UK providers aren't leaping towards this phone - It looks superb. Few are supporting the Droid Razr, but there is a lot of people who are interested in purchasing it (or the MAXX big brother). Vodafone used to have a lot more variety, now they seem to be stuck with just a few brands.

Kind regards.

[Retired-James]

Hi MrJorj,

When it comes to importing a handset to use on anyUKnetwork then the only thing that you need to make sure of it that it is firstly unlocked to any network and that it is also compatible with theUKnetwork signal frequency.

Looking at the specifications for this phone I can see that you will only be able to use the phone for 2G as it isn’t compatible with the 3G frequency that operates in theUK.

Other than this you will be able to use the phone in theUKwith your contract SIM by simply getting a Micro SIM and letting us transfer your account details onto that SIM.

James

[MrJorj]

Yeah, I didn't realise that 4G and our GSM networks wouldn't be compatible. I am still looking at getting the regular version - O2 have it on contract, but it is available SIM-free and unlocked on Amazon UK. This should work fully, should it not?

Regards.

[DaveCD]

Hi MrJorj

Thank you for your post.:smileyhappy:

As long as the device is unlocked to any network and compatible with the UK network then this would function, and you will be able to obtain a free MicroSIM from your local store.

I know if you purchase a PAYG handset from us it would cost £19.99 in order to obtain the network unlock code however I am unable to comment on other networks policies.

Many Thanks

DaveCD

eForum Team

[courtenay1990]

Hi lookimg to buy the motorola droid 4, will this be compatiable with my vodaphone SIM? Its unlocked

[Jenny]

Hi courtenay1990,

Apologies, we appear to have missed your post.

Is everything sorted now? Let us know if we can help further.

Best wishes,

Jenny