Question, can i use my US mobile phone in Australia?
I am wondering if i will be able to bring my Samsung Galaxy S2 back to Australia and use it? What i intend doing is picking up a prepaid sim card when i get back and just using my current phone. Is this possible and has anyone here had any experience doing the same thing? I really dont want to give up this phone as its easily the best one i have ever owned and ahving to buy another one back in australia.
Any help or advice would be appreciated, thanks |
02:36pm 28/03/12 Permalink
Just make sure it's not locked by your current provider. Otherwise, request the unlocking codes or start searching the internet for "IMEI Unlock".
I got a feeling this doesn't matter once you hit another country with it's own providers. last edited by scuzzy at 14:42:04 28/Mar/12 |
02:39pm 28/03/12 Permalink
Yeah i figured id have to get it unlocked at the local Sprint shop who are my provider. Id really hate to give this phone up since it makes life so much easier keeping in touch with my wife as she'll be staying behind in the US.
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02:46pm 28/03/12 Permalink
Find out what frequency your mobile net runs at and get a prepaid sim here from a company that uses the same.
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03:01pm 28/03/12 Permalink
Yeah thats actually the thing that has prompted me to ask. I read that news article about the aussie 4g network running a different one to the two used in the US. i dont have to have 4g as i dont have it here where i am now anyway but as for the normal network i use i have no idea
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03:12pm 28/03/12 Permalink
yeah, we do use lots of different frequencies telstra's the main outlier with using 850mhz which is what i'm on. Many of the aust delivered phones don't support that network unless they're specifically telstra supplied.
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03:15pm 28/03/12 Permalink
Guess ill have to wait to speak to my provider and see what they have to say. Ill see if i can find the local aussie frequencies listed somewhere. Atm this phone is on 3g as my provider doesnt have 4g access here.
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04:34pm 28/03/12 Permalink
All i have found thus far is.
Sprint Wireless operates on the CDMA 1900Mhz Spectrum. Sprint's EVDO (3G) data network also operates on the 1900Mhz spectrum. Not if that means anything to any of you because it is pretty much dutch to me. I assume that this means since my phone is a Sprint phone then i fit into this. |
04:46pm 28/03/12 Permalink
As far as I'm aware, no you won't be able to use it.
Sprint is CDMA, Australia's only CDMA network was shut down years ago. Though I think Sprint does offer services where they actually give you a phone and sim that will work on GSM networks around the world (such as the ones in Aus). |
06:55pm 28/03/12 Permalink
I just read a little about unlocking the samsung galaxy s2 and they said it is a GSM phone thus making it firstly fully unlockable and secondly usuable in other countries. I guess i wont know till i speak to sprint directly
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07:56pm 28/03/12 Permalink
the SGS 2 is quad band so in theory should work world wide...
get it unlocked, try it over here, worst case buy a $20 nokia if needs be as a temporary phone... |
09:49pm 28/03/12 Permalink
There are about 7 (probably up to 10 now) different models of phone called the "GALAXY S II", they have different screen sizes, different antennas, some have NFC and some don't. Some have a physical home button, some have four soft-keys. The multiple different hardware variants around the world make it difficult to get any specific info that applies to all of them.
If your handset is purchased from Sprint, which is a CDMA-driven carrier, it will not work in Australia. Full stop. Do not bother investigating unlocking, because CDMA handsets don't work that way. Each device has an ESN which is the equivalent of a SIM card, they can at great pain be transferred between carriers, but you need a CDMA carrier in Australia to be the recipient, of which there are none. Sell it before you go and pick up one here, or grab a $99 Android from the airport when you arrive. |
09:57pm 28/03/12 Permalink
There is a slot for a sim card in the back of this thing although i guess it could be just a case of them all having it reguardless of it actually being usable or not?
I guess all i really need is a phone for online messaging so i cam easily keep in touch with my wife as she is staying back here in the US. I am going to be back in Australia for probably no less than a year so a decent phone preferably with a good sized touch screen and keypad is what id like. Of course like anyone i dont want to have to shell out a heap of cash as itll likely end up as a paper weight a year down the track. On top of that i really dont want any kind of contract if i do get another phone in australia for obvious reasons so prepaid is my only option. I really havent looked but is there actually that many phones that fit my needs on prepaid? Thanks for the info btw guys i appreciate it |
10:16pm 28/03/12 Permalink
LTE devices do use a SIM card, but you can't chuck an Australian SIM in there and use it here, unfortunately.
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11:24pm 28/03/12 Permalink
the SGS 2 is quad band so in theory should work world wide... Quad band means that it supports 4 different frequencies of GSM, CDMA is something completely different. I didn't consider LTE on Sprint though, LTE is the latest generation of GSM and as such LTE phones are made compatible with earlier generations of GSM (including quad band 3G) such as the networks in Australia. For example the Galaxy S II LTE works on all these bands: 2G Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 So, how long ago did you get the phone Taipan? If it was recently (the last few months) then there is a chance it's an LTE version of the Galaxy S II, if it is and |
11:52pm 28/03/12 Permalink
I picked it up in November if I remember correctly, but as you say I guess I won't be able make any kind of choice until I speak with sprint. I am curious though if CDMA went the way of the dodo in Australia why is it still in operation here? I assume if we no longer have it in Australia its would have to be because its outdated?
Thanks again for the info guys, please feel free to share any other thoughts or advice you may have. |
12:03am 29/03/12 Permalink
I don't really understand it enough myself to be able to describe everything with certainty, but essentially GSM and CDMA were just competing standards each with their individual pros and cons.
GSM came first and has since become the much more popular standard around the world (something like 90% I think), but that's not to say that CDMA has been outdated for a long time. Just like with GSM there was a technology upgrade that made CDMA data transfer about equal to GSM's 3G speeds (called CDMA2000 or something similar) but unlike 3G GSM it was still just referred to as CDMA. I think your other option with a smartphone compatible with Sprint's CDMA would be to get a 'dual-band world phone' (or some other equally ambiguous and confusing name) such as the iPhone 4S which supports both CDMA and GSM (I don't know if there are any decent Android phones that do this). You'd still need to get another sim while you were in Aus for use a GSM network though. |
12:22am 29/03/12 Permalink
Ok so its a bit like the old betamax v's VHS situation is it? I swear I'll damn near shed a tear having to give up my Galaxy S2 and thats saying alot coming from me since I have always really disliked mobile phones.
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12:28am 29/03/12 Permalink
I guess you could say it's like that, there was a 4G (ie. equivalent to LTE) CDMA technology being developed but they essentially gave up and said GSM has won as far as I know.
I don't remember exactly, but didn't Telstra maintain both a GSM and a CDMA network until they brought in the Next-G (LTE) network and shut down their CDMA? I think their CDMA network was the only option in much of rural Australia and they essentially built a whole new network of LTE with similar coverage to the old CDMA to replace both, betting on the right horse as it were. |
12:33am 29/03/12 Permalink
As long as it's not network locked should be fine.
Edit: and of course is sim card based Bought an unlocked Galaxy S here in Vancouver and took it home with me for the Aussie snow season. Chucked my Virgin sim in and it worked like normal. last edited by rubba-chikin at 13:43:50 29/Mar/12 |
01:38pm 29/03/12 Permalink
Who was your provider in Canada mate and do you know what kind of network they had ie was it cdma or something different?
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03:12pm 29/03/12 Permalink
Was on Fido using a sim originally with data, then took it back to Oz used it on Virgin sim with data, now I'm back again on Chatr just on a voice plan, regular old sim card.
I didn't buy the phone new from a provider/retail, just used off some rando (I'm a poor snowboard instructor yaaay). As far as I know it was purchased outright and unlocked from Bell originally, no external branding but that's what the software build number seems to suggest anyway. No idea if it's CDMA or whatever. According to this Fido seems to be GSM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fido_Solutions Pretty sure they both piggyback on Rogers and it seems like it's GSM too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Wireless The operator currently operates 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and GSM networks in Canada. last edited by rubba-chikin at 15:36:07 29/Mar/12 |
03:31pm 29/03/12 Permalink
I think im boned to be honest. I have done a bit of reading and it seems sim cards simply will not work in sprint cdma phones unlocked or not. Btw aparently their idea of unlocking isnt what we usually understand it to be.
Thanks for the info though i appreciate it |
06:47pm 29/03/12 Permalink
To provide context around the SIM/LTE issue - LTE is the next generation of mobile networks (please don't get bogged down in 3.5G/3.75G/4G bulls***). A network which has an LTE network can retain a fallback to a CDMA network or a UMTS/HSPA network, in the same way that Australian 3G networks fall back to 2G/GSM networks. LTE networks require a SIM card but that doesn't mean that the device you're using is necessarily compatible with other networks around the world that use SIM cards for access.
Just because American carriers offer LTE networks doesn't mean that it will work here. Sprint, Verizon and AT&T all offer LTE networks in the US. They operate on different frequencies, and Sprint+Verizon have CDMA networks to fall-back on. AT&T fall back to UMTS on 850MHz (like Telstra and Vodafone's new network) but their handsets aren't interoperable with Sprint of Verizon's networks. I'm sorry to say Taipan, but, you're boned. Most AU networks now offer a manageable (but not necessarily amazing) Android device for under $150. You're best to grab one when you get here and notify people at home of your new number upon arrival. (Citation: I work in the device acquisition and delivery team for a major telco and have worked in the industry for nearly six years) |
01:29am 30/03/12 Permalink
Thanks for the clarification exo! I didn't realise Verizon/Sprint LTE phones fall back to their CDMA networks but it does make total sense when you think about it. I assume you could say that all LTE phones sold by Verizon/Sprint fall back to CDMA, but that wouldn't necessarily mean that they did not also support 3G and lower GSM would it?
Also, forgetting about LTE for a minute, if he had a phone like the iPhone 4S on the Sprint CDMA network then brought it to Australia and put an Australian sim in and tried to use it on our GSM networks (which it should technically be compatible with), would it work or would it still require further "unlocking" from Sprint before it did? |
02:06am 30/03/12 Permalink
iPhone's a little bit different as part of Apple's strategy is to reduce the number of SKUs they ship globally. The iPhone 4S is a "World Phone" which means it's design with the radios, chipsets and SIM support to operate on most networks around the world including CDMA and GSM/UMTS.
I'm going off memory, but I have a vague recollection that either Sprint or Verizon in the US technically locked the SIM tray in the iPhone 4S that they sold, but allowed unlocking. AT&T on the other hand have a hard policy of not allowing iPhones they sell to be unlocked. |
07:10am 30/03/12 Permalink
Not if that means anything to any of you because it is pretty much dutch to me dont bag the dutch.. they invented windmills and bitterballen google it |
07:26am 30/03/12 Permalink
I appreciate the info exo, just a shame it wasnt a little more positive for me. Well i guess now ill go about the business of searching for a new phone that will fit my needs. Although its going to be tiugh to settle for anything less than my samsung galaxy S2
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03:45pm 30/03/12 Permalink
I know it's not much of a solution, but picking up a cheapo MiFi in Australia will get your Data issue fixed. Yes, it's another thing to carry around, and having to use WiFi on your phone = more power consumption, but on the plus side, you'll have more device connectivity (no anti-hotspot conditions) and a guaranteed way to connect on the fastest frequencies available on that carrier. (plus prepaid is the win, when you're only staying for a short time)
Cheaper than a brand new phone, at least. Did this with Optus and my trusty iPod Touch 2G. Turns out that Telstra would've been a better option - their latest MiFi works with AT&T too. :( |
06:37am 31/03/12 Permalink
I can see where that might be good with reguards to hooking my laptop up easily. But if I picked up a phone I'd have access to a network anyway. I'll check them out anyway since I am still not settled on where I'll be living so an easy access point to the net is going to be a must.
Thanks for the heads up |
10:37am 31/03/12 Permalink
