Current Events > Quick question about "unlocked phones".

(+) Yeah! (+)

So, despite having a case for my phone, I dropped it, and it has now cracked.

So I am in the market for a new phone. The options on my carrier are lackluster.

Looking at unlocked phones on Amazon/eBay instead.

Is it as simple as taking out the SIM card of my old phone and putting it into the unlocked phone?

Thanks!

Where are you from m8?

Allende posted...

Is it as simple as taking out the SIM card of my old phone and putting it into the unlocked phone?

I have done this exact thing with my last 2-3 phones.
Buying cheap older models from the internet beats the pants off dropping 1k on a new phone.

Usually they list the carriers on the product description or in the questions section.

yes
unlocked phones aren't tied to any carrier
your sim card will work with any phone that is unlocked and is in the same area as where your provider operates

deoxxys posted...

I have done this exact thing with my last 2-3 phones.
Buying cheap older models from the internet beats the pants off dropping 1k on a new phone.

Usually they list the carriers on the product description or in the questions section.

catfan2008 posted...

yes
unlocked phones aren't tied to any carrier
your sim card will work with any phone that is unlocked and is in the same area as where your provider operates

Thanks so much!

ToteAll posted...

Where are you from m8?

Relevance, lad?

Is it as simple as taking out the SIM card of my old phone and putting it into the unlocked phone?

I currently use a factory unlocked Galaxy S23 Ultra and came from an AT&T locked Note 20 Ultra.

That's precisely what I did and it's been smooth sailing.

Allende posted...

Relevance, lad?

To the topic? None, I'm just curious based on your username and picture.

I have an e sim, hows that work

ToteAll posted...

To the topic? None, I'm just curious based on your username and picture.

the mind reels

catfan2008 posted...

yes
unlocked phones aren't tied to any carrier
your sim card will work with any phone that is unlocked and is in the same area as where your provider operates

The catch is that the phone needs to support whichever frequency bands your carrier uses. This is less of an issue than it used to be, but still important to check.

Trumble posted...

The catch is that the phone needs to support whichever frequency bands your carrier uses. This is less of an issue than it used to be, but still important to check.

what does that mean?

catfan2008 posted...

what does that mean?

IIRC, some brands like Huawei don't support a lot of the towers in the US. A phone might be made for a specific continent, not all of them, so they won't support every tower. not an expert in this field, but that is my understanding.

catfan2008 posted...

what does that mean?

For 4G (and I think 5G too) this is usually described as certian "bands". Here in NZ for example, most 4G networks use Band 3, while in rural areas Band 28 is uses. Band 3 is near universally supported but a lot of imported phones used to not support Band 28, so would have to fall back to 3G in rural areas.

Check which bands your carrier uses, check what ones your phone supports. If the phone supports all the ones they use, you're good. If it supports some, check specifically what ones are used in your area. If it supports none, find another phone (or another carrier).

A full technical explanation is beyond what I can be bothered giving right now.

If you buy an unlocked Samsung you're fine.

pojr posted...

Trumble posted...
thank you both
Is it a carrier limitation on the sim card

catfan2008 posted...

thank you both
Is it a carrier limitation on the sim card

No. It's basically to do with what kind of signal the towers send vs what kind the phone can receive. Kind of like how you can't use a wifi adapter to connect to Bluetooth (this is not meant to be an exact parallel).

Trumble posted...

No. It's basically to do with what kind of signal the towers send vs what kind the phone can receive. Kind of like how you can't use a wifi adapter to connect to Bluetooth (this is not meant to be an exact parallel).

is it it like a 3g phone not able to connect to a 4g or 5g band

catfan2008 posted...

is it it like a 3g phone not able to connect to a 4g or 5g band

Sort of; just with different "bands" of 4G signal rather than 3G vs 4G.