Importing the Verizon 8X to Europe - questions

[longlifexs]

Hi,

I'm about to buy an 8X but I would love to have the wireless charging functionality Verizon is offering. Although I live in Europe (the Czech Republic) I thought of getting one from the US as a friend is visiting the States in a couple days, but I am not sure about a couple of things. If anyone could answer the following questions, I'd be very glad!
1) is it possible to buy the 8X from Verizon without a plan? Couldn't figure it out on their website...
2) do the Verizon units come unlocked?
3) if there were any problems with the device, is the warranty global and/or would local stores be able to service it?

Thanks a lot!

Mike

 

[brmiller1976]

1) Yes, you can purchase the device for full price from Verizon. You would have to come to the USA to purchase it, since Verizon won't ship outside the USA.

2) The Verizon unit is a CDMA & LTE unit with support for global roaming on GSM/HSPA. It's "unlocked" from a GSM perspective (you can put any Micro-SIM you want into it and it will work), but I'd think twice about importing a CDMA device with a GSM roaming radio into Europe as a primary phone for use only on GSM. There's no guarantee that it will support full-speed data on your network, or that you won't run into odd behaviors, as it's designed to be a device principally for use on CDMA and LTE. It's also uncertain if it supports the primary band of your carrier (CDMA phones with GSM roaming often only support voice and EDGE in many countries due to antenna and radio constraints).

3) Your warranty would only be valid through Verizon USA and HTC USA. You'd have to send it back to them, and it's unlikely that Verizon or HTC would support a CDMA device with roaming radio as a GSM-only phone... if you had any issues, you'd be on your own. Even if they would service your phone remotely, they wouldn't pay for shipping back to Europe -- you'd likely have to pay them extra for that, or pick up the device in person.

There's also the issue of Verizon's charging tech NOT being Qi, but a different proprietary Verizon standard for 110 volt USA wiring. I'm not even aware if it supports 220 volt mains or not.

I'd strongly recommend just buying the local-market device for your geography, unless you're willing to deal with the risks involved. Seems to me to be a lot of headache.

 

[longlifexs]

Thanks for the reply!

Didn't think of the CDMA/GSM differences. Given this and the warranty issues, buying one doesn't seem such a great idea after all...

Anyway, to the unit not being Qi: are you sure? The 8X page on Verizon's website recommends the Nokia Wireless Chargning Plate which should be Qi...