To know if a mobile or cell phone works in a certain country, there are two things that you should verify. That its technical characteristics are compatible with the operator where you are going to use it and that it is “released” or “unlocked”.
Regarding the first, both the mobile and the operator must handle the same wireless signals (frequencies or “bands”) for there to be a connection. Normally it is necessary to verify that the frequency values of both are the same, both for 2G, 3G and 4G (especially 4G, which is where there are more incompatibilities). And always verify that the device brings ALL the bands that the operator supports, for optimal connectivity.
For this first section, we strongly recommend checking the device frequencies on the manufacturer’s official website, as it is the most reliable. If for some reason they are not there, check two or more third-party pages to confirm that the information is correct, as there could be websites with errors (including those mentioned below). If your country has a website for approved devices (such as Ecuador), check it out, even if you don’t entirely trust it either.
Contents
Article Index
- How to know if my mobile phone works in another country
- Will my phone work
- Frequency check
- For the cell phone to work properly
- The phone must be released
How to know if my mobile phone works in another country
Will my phone work
How to know if my mobile works in the United States
You just have to enter this resource and choose the make and model of your cell phone, the country and the operator. After clicking on «Search», the page will easily indicate whether or not it works in that country or operator, as shown in the illustration above.
Frequency Check
Know if a cell phone works in Venezuela
This page is more complete and up-to-date than the previous one, however its downside is that I have found it to be buggy and not entirely reliable. Please check the information on this page with others on the web.
Its advantage is that it has interesting filters. For example, you can see all mobiles that work in the United States or in any other country. So you could do a complete compatibility analysis between mobiles in the USA and Spain , to give an example. Just make sure the “Band compatibility” column, the boxes are all green. This ensures that a computer is fully compatible in there.
For the cell phone to work properly
Make sure that the page you use indicates that the mobile is compatible with ALL 2G (GSM), 3G (UMTS) and 4G (LTE) technology bands, with a blue check or green box in each band. This way you will have a permanent connection, of good quality and speed, as well as optimal battery usage. Incompatibility with any of these technologies or bands in which the operator operates will affect this ideal performance.
The phone must be released
In addition to verifying the technical specifications as indicated above, you must also make sure that the cell phone is unlocked. Only a released phone can be used in any country and operator where the frequencies are the same .
A NOT released phone has a software-based lock that prevents you from connecting to a different operator or network than it was intended for.
This is easy to verify. If you put a different SIM card in it and you can call, then it’s probably a liberated device. If not, when inserting the SIM you will surely be asked for an unlock code to be able to use it on that network.
This information is also usually provided by the seller. In English online stores, you should check that the team says “unlocked”. If so, the phone is released internationally or will work in any country (but again, be sure to check the mobile bands with those in your country, as noted above).