Hey,
A friend that's down from the UK wanted to buy a phone here in the US, but I was wondering: will the international version (or the tmobile version) work fine there? His carrier is specifically Orange. I couldn't find specific information on what frequencies they use, so I thought it'd be better to ask. Thanks
If it's International it will work
kennypu said:
Hey,
A friend that's down from the UK wanted to buy a phone here in the US, but I was wondering: will the international version (or the tmobile version) work fine there? His carrier is specifically Orange. I couldn't find specific information on what frequencies they use, so I thought it'd be better to ask. Thanks
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Your title says "can I use the international version in the UK?", but your question seems to ask "can I use the international version in the US?"
The answer to both questions is yes.
I have the international version (i9100), and live in the US and have been using it on AT&T for quite some time.
It can also work on T-Mobile USA's network, but will only get Edge data speeds on that network due to T-Mobile USA using the AWS band for high speed mobile data. (the AWS band requires a band the i9100 doesn't receive)
Edit to add: I just re-read the line that says "A friend that's down from the UK wanted to buy a phone here in the US, but I was wondering: will the international version (or the tmobile version) work fine there?"... Does this mean he wants to buy a T-Mobile USA phone and try to take it back to Europe? I don't think I'd recommend that for the reason I cited above for why the i9100 doesn't work for high speed data on T-Mobile USA's network. T-Mobile USA's Galaxy S II variant is the SGH-T989, which is a totally different phone, that works on different frequencies. So I guess; can you ask your question a bit more clearly?
ctomgee said:
Your title says "can I use the international version in the UK?", but your question seems to ask "can I use the international version in the US?"
The answer to both questions is yes.
I have the international version (i9100), and live in the US and have been using it on AT&T for quite some time.
It can also work on T-Mobile USA's network, but will only get Edge data speeds on that network due to T-Mobile USA using the AWS band for high speed mobile data. (the AWS band requires a band the i9100 doesn't receive)
Edit to add: I just re-read the line that says "A friend that's down from the UK wanted to buy a phone here in the US, but I was wondering: will the international version (or the tmobile version) work fine there?"... Does this mean he wants to buy a T-Mobile USA phone and try to take it back to Europe? I don't think I'd recommend that for the reason I cited above for why the i9100 doesn't work for high speed data on T-Mobile USA's network. T-Mobile USA's Galaxy S II variant is the SGH-T989, which is a totally different phone, that works on different frequencies. So I guess; can you ask your question a bit more clearly?
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sorry for the confusion, but yes your edit is correct: a friend wants to buy a phone here, and take it back to the UK for use.
kennypu said:
sorry for the confusion, but yes your edit is correct: a friend wants to buy a phone here, and take it back to the UK for use.
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Hmm. Again, I wouldn't recommend it. From what I know, GSM carriers in the US tend to favor different frequencies (850/1900 on AT&T, 1700/2100 on T-mobile) than GSM carriers in Europe. (GSM 900/1800)
Some phones have enough band cross-over that they can be bought and used on the network he wants, but without doing extensive research into whatever model phone he is interested in, and also what band frequencies his carrier specifically uses, it would be a guessing game.
For example, I did about 2 weeks worth of heavy research before I bought an unlocked I9100 to use in the US on AT&T's network.
I've seen plenty of people buy the same phone to use on T-mobile USA, only to find out they can only get Edge data speed, and wonder why.
ctomgee said:
Hmm. Again, I wouldn't recommend it. From what I know, GSM carriers in the US tend to favor different frequencies (850/1900 on AT&T, 1700/2100 on T-mobile) than GSM carriers in Europe. (GSM 900/1800)
Some phones have enough band cross-over that they can be bought and used on the network he wants, but without doing extensive research into whatever model phone he is interested in, and also what band frequencies his carrier specifically uses, it would be a guessing game.
For example, I did about 2 weeks worth of heavy research before I bought an unlocked I9100 to use in the US on AT&T's network.
I've seen plenty of people buy the same phone to use on T-mobile USA, only to find out they can only get Edge data speed, and wonder why.
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ironically, I did exactly did what you mentioned (tmo + international version). From what I gathered, It looks like europe does support GT-i9100, just the P varient, which seem to have the same exact hardware + NFC. So I think I can safely assume it will work, but I would rather get an answer from someone with more knowledge.
kennypu said:
ironically, I did exactly did what you mentioned (tmo + international version). From what I gathered, It looks like europe does support GT-i9100, just the P varient, which seem to have the same exact hardware + NFC. So I think I can safely assume it will work, but I would rather get an answer from someone with more knowledge.
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Um... I don't think you get it.
The I9100 is sold pretty much everywhere BUT the US. It's sold in the UK, in fact. Mine came from the UK.
The only difference between the I9100 and the I9100P is the I9100P has NFC hardware built into it, and the I9100 does not. Otherwise, the I9100 and I9100P operate on the same frequencies.
The US variants of the Galaxy S II are completely different hardware.
The AT&T variant is the SGH-I777.
The T-Mobile USA variant is the SGH-T989.
The Sprint variant is the SPH-D710.
The US Cellular variant is the SCH-R760.
(those last two are CDMA variants, and may not even work in Europe)
You can see nearly all the variants on the wikipedia page.
so it's safe to assume it will work, got it. thank you very much.
kennypu said:
so it's safe to assume it will work, got it. thank you very much.
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Well, if he buys an i9100, yes.
If he buys any of the US variants, not so much.
I've been wanting an upgrade from my G2x for a while and what I want, which is what everyone else wants, is the Samsung Galaxy S3. I don't know which model to get, being that there are so many models of the S3 depending on the service provider. Here's the situation: I'm on a t-mobile value plan, living in West Virginia (I'm a student) with the only service here is roaming on AT&T, thus I only get edge. Can I use a different model, like an unlocked AT&T, and then be able to use more than 2G? Then be able to get full 4G when I do go to t-mobile service area? (From the chart by forum moderator, it shows AT&T shares 1900 mHz, 2100mHz, HSPA+, so it should technically work with tmobile, correct line of thought?)
*I already know that unlocked international version won't be able to get on anything more than 2G in US, it having different radios.
Also, read somewhere that I could buy the AT&T model and be able to use international LTE networks. Is that true? Could someone here enlighten me about the issues with the radios/frequencies (for US) for S3?
Much appreciated. Tried to find this question answered somewhere, and couldn't so posting now.
I have a I9300 S3 international version. I recently Shifted to the US and am not able to get 3G connectivity. I can see only EDGE network. I know its got something to do with frequencies, because I have the APN etc correctly set up. My only question is will it ever work on 3G on T-Mobile? Is it fixable by flashing any modem?
P.S. I'm using Cyanogenmod 4.4.4.
Hey.
Please tell me if Galaxy Alpha G850f will work normally in the USA?
All I know is that there are different frequencies in the USA and Europe. Do my european model G850F support both of it?
From the spec I saw, you may get 3G on AT&T. Not so much on T-Mobile because the lack of 1700MHz band support that is still in use by T-Mobile 3G in many places. The LTE bands are probably not going to work. Of course, CDMA carriers like Verizon and Sprint will never work. So, you are guaranteed to have 2G data (which is like dial-up modem speed) if you choose a GSM carrier. Everything else depends.
I had 85of on att it is very fast hspa plus. No lte
Groupon has a deal for the S5 that says it's for "Verizon and GSM Unlocked":
https://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-samsung-galaxy-s5-smartphones
Is there any way to tell what model # this is? I'm guessing that it is a generic S5 and not the T-Mobile specific SM-G900T. If that's true, then it likely doesn't have the TMo specific LTE frequencies needed for full service (I'm in the Chicago area), correct?
I really hate having to find special versions of GSM devices to make full use of T-Mobile's network...
<TAP><TAP> Is this thing on???
Unlocked for all Verizon and GSM carriers.
On the same page --> https://www.groupon.com/pages/groupon-deal-images-gg-gsm-providers
Only thing is that it probably will not be compatible with WiFi calling features, but I could be wrong.
I know it would work but I was curious about whether it was the same model they sell via T-Mobile that has their unique frequency bands (1900/2100 I believe). Groupon responded to an inquiry and said it was a Verizon model so while I can't confirm it, I'm guessing it doesn't have the extra bands needed to fully make use of T-Mobile's LTE network so it would likely drop down to HPDPA+ in many locations.
According to the reviews, its a Verizon branded phone. A couple of the reviews are from T-mo users and they claimed to have issues with the sim/network not going to LTE, instead it uses their HSPA network.
If it was me, I would not buy this. It is cheap yea, but remember that the S5 is not compatible with the new band 12.
-edit-
The Chicago area isn't getting band 12 anyways, not anytime soon that is.
I'm using a Verizon S5 with a T-mobile rom and it works perfect 4g lte and all If you end up getting it just root it then look at my view forum posts.