Advice: 6P on VZW - trip to Japan

[TrekkieMonster]

I will be traveling to Japan in a few weeks and, in preparation, I have been researching options for phone service.

Originally, I was planning to purcahse the Mobal SIM card for Japan, but they indicate my American version of the 6P offers 3G Band 1 but not 4G Band 1, meaning I cannot get 4G LTE service. I think this should actually be fine, as I would mostly need non-wifi phone service for texting, a very few local (Japan) phone calls, and maybe Google Maps. But, I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience using their US 6P with a SIM card for a Japanese provider and could offer any guidance.

Also, a friend suggested I could simply purchase the Verizon TravelPass rather than switching SIM cards. I've had some issues trying to use my phone with my US SIM card in Europe and South America: mostly lag, delays in texting, etc. But, I was simply doing the pay-by-the-minute thing and never purchased an international phone package from VZW. Wondering if anyone has any experience with this.

I know this is a pretty specific set of questions, but folks here on AC are always so full of info, I thought it was worth a try.

Thanks in advance for any info or advice.

 

[Rukbat]

If it works the way the industry has worked since before World War 2, with the TravelPass you're still using a Japanese carrier, VZW and the Japanese carrier handle the payments behind the scenes (calling company pays called company - it works the same domestically too). So text lag, bands, wouldn't be any different. (I doubt that Verizon maintains towers and equipment in Japan.)

3G you should be fine with, though - DoCoMo and SoftBank use 2100, Ymobile uses 1700.

 

[GSDer]

I've seen posts from people that travel mention how satisfied they were with Project Fi - perhaps you could contact them directly and find out what your experience would be like in Japan.

 

[TrekkieMonster]

Thanks for your thoughts. I've also done some other research that suggests some of the problems I - and others - have experience when traveling abroad is related to the fact that the 6P is not technically a "supported device" on Verizon, and the suggested fixes for this are sort of a PITA, so I think TravelPass is out, at least for now. I've considered Project FI but, unfortunately, am tied to Verizon for various reasons related to my work. But, given the hassles, I may have to give it a second look when I return. Thanks again to both of you for your input. It's much appreciated.

 

[Rukbat]

Fi is month to month. You can sign up for it, get the SIM, put it in, before you leave, then when you come back, put the Verizon SIM in and cancel Fi. It's only $20/month for voice and text and $10/GB for data, to a maximum of $60 up to 20GB/month.