LTE bands for International Travel with the DROID TURBO 2?

[bxojr]

My family is planning a visit to Japan next summer, and I'm trying to determine whether the Droid Turbo 2 would work with a prepaid data SIM from NTT DOCOMO. But I'm confused.

All of the specs I can find for the Turbo 2 say that it supports LTE bands 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 13. Pretty limited, and not a very good match for DOCOMO's network.

But the Moto X Force, which is sold in Japan, supposedly supports a much longer list: bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 25, 28, and 40. Aren't these two phones supposed to be essentially identical except for the Verizon branding?

Is it possible that the Turbo 2 actually supports more bands than those officially listed?

 

[viper8315]

Re: LTE bands

Yes, I'm sure the hardware probably supports it, but the software on the phone is a different story.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[bxojr]

Re: LTE bands

Yes, I'm sure the hardware probably supports it, but the software on the phone is a different story.

You're probably right. This is disappointing, because the Turbo 2 looks like exactly the phone I wanted in most other ways. Guess I'd better give the Moto X Pure Edition and the Nexus 6P another look.

 

[doogald]

Re: LTE bands

I doubt that the X Force supports CDMA too. This is similar to the Turbo and the Moto Maxx last year, which had different band support, and the Maxx without CDMA.

The Turbo 2 supports GSM / UMTS. I don't know for sure, but I'd think that would work. But you might want to check on that for sure.

Verizon says the Turbo 2 will work with both 3G and LTE in Japan with their international plan, but of course their plan is expensive if you'll be using it a lot.

 

[bxojr]

Re: LTE bands

Verizon says the Turbo 2 will work with both 3G and LTE in Japan with their international plan, but of course their plan is expensive if you'll be using it a lot.

Yeah, I'm really hoping to find a better option. I wish I knew which network Verizon's phones use when roaming in Japan; it must not be DOCOMO, since they don't seem to have the right bands.

I suppose I could contact Verizon customer support, but I'm sure they'll just try to sell me their roaming plan.

 

[KeithLa]

FWIW, earlier this year my 2013 Droid Maxx worked fine with 3G in Japan with a local nanoSIM data purchased at a random duty free store in Tokyo, even at HSPA+ speeds in some places, as I recall. Sorry, I don't recall which carrier.

I doubt the DT2 will have regressed.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[bxojr]

Re: LTE bands

FWIW, earlier this year my 2013 Droid Maxx worked fine with 3G in Japan with a local nanoSIM data purchased at a random duty free store in Tokyo, even at HSPA+ speeds in some places, as I recall. Sorry, I don't recall which carrier.

Hmm. Thanks, that's good to know. Maybe I'm getting too hung up on the LTE bands ... I'm not going to be walking around Tokyo streaming HD movies. Perhaps 3G is good enough.