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THE ROAMING ZONE-ROAMING TIPS AND ADVICE

Get helpful Roaming information, answers to your Roaming Questions, how to use this web site, and the FAQ.

Roaming Tips:

TIP #1: LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR PHONE WHEN "ROAMING"
You're on vacation and want to check your voice mail, but it won't work. If you are roaming outside your network's service area you may need to call your own number, instead. Codes like "*VM" may not work while roaming. If you're out of the country, a certain dialing sequence is required. GSM phones may decipher the sequence for you by adding a "+" before the number, but most likely, your phone book entries won't work without adding the proper prefix. Check your carrier's web site or customer service for instructions on what to do if you might travel off their network.

TIP #2: MAKE YOUR PHONE ROAM (or NOT Roam) TO ACCESS A STRONGER SIGNAL
There are different menu selections in some phones that will help you change which network the phone accesses. Some of these selections are called "Mode" or "Network", and they can be switched to "Cell Only", "PCS Only," "Roam Only", or similar, which may give you a different network. There is also a "NAM" or "Line" choice that will allow you to program a different "Home" network into the second, or main, "NAM" (Number Address Module). You would change the System ID (SID) for your own network to the roaming network. We have a page with a List of SID's. Hints on how to perform these changes can be found by conducting an Internet search.


TIP #3:
CAN'T GET THE PLAN OR CARRIER YOU WANT IN YOUR AREA? SIGN UP WITH A DIFFERENT ADDRESS, OR AT WORK
Some carriers forbid this, but most don't care. Sign up with an address of a friend or relative in the area you'd like. Most carriers will allow you to go "paperless" and pay online or on the phone, and you won't have a bill going to the friend's address. You can also sign up with your work address and get the bills there. This is very common. Your employer may have a discount deal with certain carriers. Be aware that you might not get a phone number local to your 'real' home. If that's important, you can get an '800' number. Expect to explain if most of your calls are roaming and off the carrier's network. You could even get bumped off as a customer.


TIP #4: DID YOUR PHONE START ROAMING ON A WEAKER SIGNAL?
You can change the PRL or MNC. Some carriers may do it for you, or you might be able to either download a different Roaming Code, or edit your own. If you are familiar with your phone's setup menu you can try selecting "Home Only" or some of the suggestions in TIP#2, above.

TIP #5: GET INTERNATIONAL ROAMING TIPS




How to Use the Roaming Zone:

1. Determine the Roaming Code you are looking for: CDMA phones use a PRL, GSM phones use an MNC. Roaming network are identified by the SID- System IDentifier.

2. Get answers to your roaming questions on our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Page.

3. Get additional information about roaming from the list on our Home Page.

4: Use our Search box:

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ABOUT THE ROAMING ZONE:
This site was split from the Mountain Wireless Reviews web site and since has been refined and updated. We travel across the US and several other countries using cellular service, and we have added contributions from dozens of other like-minded cellular users. However, there are costs in running this site, and those expenses are paid by a small commission from advertisers and sponsored links. So, if you ever buy cellular phones, service or accessories online, we would really appreciate you doing so by clicking on any of the advertising banners and links you see on our site, like the ones above, or shopping at The Roaming Zone Discount Page.

We welcome updates about new or incorrect information and we will correct any errors as soon as possible. We make no warranties to the information, which can change at any time without our notice. But accuracy is the desired goal. And, as with all small operations, there is a lot of information that gets put on hold until time is found to update it.

The pictures at the top of our web pages are a collection well-known international Roaming locations: Monument Valley, AZ; Eiffel Tower, Paris; The Pyramids, Egypt; Tower of London; Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco; Opera House, Sidney, Australia; Rio de Janeiro harbor; and The Great Wall of China.

What's with the ? It's the international symbol for cellular roaming, but we don't see it as often these days as cellular carriers now own larger networks or include free roaming across much of the US.

OUR SITE'S TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
We have optimized this site to work well with all modern browsers and try to keep the content on each page relatively easy to download, even on a slower connection. We create most pages to look and operate best with a 1024-pixel monitor width but still look acceptable and easy to navigate with an 800-pixel width screen. We provide multiple links on each page to each of our other pages, and do not support pop-ups or intrusive advertising. In addition to welcoming comment on our content, we also invite suggestions on our display and page arrangement.

OUR PRIVACY POLICY:
We do not collect any personally identifiable information about you on our site and we do not use cookies. We do monitor how visitors use our site on an anonymous, aggregated basis. This information helps us improve the site's delivery of information. We provide links to sites outside of our own and we cannot be responsible for any tracking they may do. We provide link id's to some sites which allow them only to identify what web page the link came from. We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.



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