US mobile phones in Uk

Can I bring our US mobile phones to the Uk and will I be able to get UK service on such phones. My husband has a new PalmOne phone . . .palm pilot, camera and phone all in one. It would be great to be able to use it in the UK. Can anyone give me the names tof UK mobile phone companies. Maybe I could call them for set up info.

Thanks

The expat life/electronics board where you posted this topic has tons of similar threads with links to different mobile providers.

First, you have to find out of your current US phone is a dual band or tri band phone... tri band phones are becoming more popular in the states these days but you should ask to be sure. This is the type of phone you need in the UK. Then you can select a provider in your area... their websites have service maps to give you an idea of coverage where you need it. If you have the opportunity, to ask people in your area what they use since often times there are dead pockets.

A tiny chip called a SIM goes in the back of your phone and this is where your data is saved... so you can pop in and out SIM cards if need be. SIMs can be purchased on their own with Pay As You Go... this option is increasing becoming VERY popular in the states I've noticed... or the SIM is part of a monthly contract.

I had a tri band phone that worked all over Africa and the UK but wouldn't work with US SIM cards for some unknown reason. We couldn't figure out of it was the US SIM cards (2 different providers) or the phone. So be prepared if you think it will work but ends up not working. I bought a no frills dual band phone and a Pay As You Go line just to get me through a few months.

good luck 

Also, CDMA technology (i.e., Verizon) won't work in the UK.

Closet Hippie,

Do you mean that if the phones here in the US were Verizon or if we had Verizon service, they will not work in the UK at all, even with the SIM that was mentioned.

By the way, I am electronically challenged, therefore laymens terms and respones would be so appreciated.

Should I just save myself the headache and get rid of the US phones and start from scratch with the UK phones?

Thanks,

Rebecca

CDMA phones do not use (or accept) SIM cards.  Two different types of networks and technology.  T-Mobile and Sprint (and some others) use SIM/GSM technology, which is what you'll need to use them in the UK. 

Probably the easiest thing to do is to talk to your current cell phone service provider.  They'll be able to tell you if the phones will work in the UK.  If you need different phones, you can search for 'unlocked world phone' on ebay...there are generally a wide variety of phones available there.  Also, I purchased a tri-band 'pay as you go' phone here in the states from T-Mobile.  Cost about $60.  After 90 days, they sent me the 'unlock' code for the phone and I was able to 'unlock' the phone....i.e., make it so the phone will accept SIM cards from other providers.  I bought O2 PAYG SIM cards off ebay and was able to register my phone w/O2 from here in the states.  Now I can use either SIM.....T-Mobile for US, O2 for UK.

mwrkgreen, in laywoman's terms, to get an idea what a SIM compatible phone is, take apart the phone you may have to remove the battery too and see if there is a small chip or a space for a chip. It is not as complicated as it seems. That's what the SIM is or where it should be. If you don't see that... well I can't help you much there. 

The deal about "unlocking" the phone is because some phones are locked only to the mobile phone provider you purchased it through... i.e., if you buy a Motorola phone from T-Mobile, the phone will only accept other T-Mobile SIMs not one from Cingular etc. "Unlocking" really is no big deal if you discover your phone is locked against using other service providers. You can get it locked with relative ease.

Check the owner's manual for the specs of the phone. It should be in there too. Perhaps the Palm website or a google search for the model's number.

If you want to keep your phone, I say it is worth the research and calling around to get the info you need. Most important is to explain you need to know if your phone is tri-band or not. 

Regarding the unlocking, some U.S. service providers will not unlock the phone for you -- I used to work for AT & T Wireless before it became Cingular, and had a phone paid for by my work, which they wouldn't unlock for me.  However, T-Mobile, with whom I had my personal phone contract, was great -- I just phoned them up and explained that I would be travelling overseas for an extended period of time and that I needed my phone unlocked.  They did it straight away.  I would try contacting your carrier first to see if they can unlock your SIM.  If not, there are many Web sites you can search for the unlocking codes -- with these, you just have to type in a series of numbers to get the phone to unlock.

My old phone was a GSM tri-band Samsung, and that worked just fine with an Orange SIM card in the UK.  When I returned home, I bought a new Samsung phone, which is dual band, and the guy at the T-Mobile shop told me that it should work in the UK as well, should I ever decide I want to use it over there.  I haven't tested it out yet, but he said dual band is all you really need if you're going overseas. 

Many of the phones have dual voltage plugs as well, which is handy -- all I needed was a plug adapter for my phone charger and I was sorted.  You can purchase a set of plug adapters for different continents at Radio Shack at a reasonable price -- it's handy to have the different plug adapters in case you travel a bit.

I bought a new Samsung phone, which is dual band, and the guy at the T-Mobile shop told me that it should work in the UK as well, should I ever decide I want to use it over there.  I haven't tested it out yet, but he said dual band is all you really need if you're going overseas. 

Be careful what salespeople tell you. I have a dual band phone with T-Mobile and I know I can't use it in the UK. It has to do with the way the systems are set up... this is beyond my expertise so I will stop there.

Closet Hippie,

Should I just save myself the headache and get rid of the US phones and start from scratch with the UK phones?

Thanks,

Rebecca

Possibly yes if you are going to be in UK for fo6 a while.

I found a great website with a glossary to help make sense of this stuff...

http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/

band
In wireless communication, band refers to a contiguous range of radio frequencies. Currently, wireless communication service providers use the Cellular (850 MHz) and PCS (1900) MHz bands for transmission in the United States.

dual-band phones
http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=135

A dual-band GSM phone supports two of the four major GSM bands. Depending on which bands, the phone may only work in certain parts of the world. A GSM 850/1900 phone will only in the Americas. A GSM 900/1800 phone will only work in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Brazil. A GSM 900/1900 phone will work on at least one network in most countries around the world.

tri-band phones
http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=136

European tri-band phones support the 900, 1800, and 1900 frequency bands. They provide complete coverage in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and work on at least one network in most countries in the Americas.

Americas tri-band phones support the 800/850, 1800, and 1900 frequency bands. They provide complete coverage in the Americas, and will work on at least one network in most countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Tri-band is not be confused with tri-mode. Tri-mode usually refers to a CDMA phone, while tri-band usually refers to GSM phones.



Example time... I have a Nokia GSM 850/1900 MHz phone. I found this info in the user guide. According to this definition under dual band, I can only use it in the Americas.

mwrkgreen, http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/manufacturer.php?m=14 check this out and see if your Palm is here.

Be very careful with terms such as dual-band and tri-band.   

Dual-band can mean 900 & 1800 (U.K./Europe),  850 & 1900 (N. America), or even 900 & 1900 (usuable on both continents but with more restricted coverage).    Similarly tri-band can often be 900/1800/1900 on European models and 850/900/1900 on North American models.     You really need to check the specifications carefully to see which bands are covered. 

This is all with reference to GSM by the way.  CDMA and other types of American cellphones are quite useless here.

I posted some more background information in the Technical Issues thread -- Scroll down to Reply #10.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=12567.0;all

Sprint uses CDMA (well and iDEN since we own Nextel now). Sprint does sell a quad-band phone that can be used virtually anywhere but it costs about $550 ( $400 if you qualify for the rebate).  Verizon and Sprint both sell and rent GSM phones but you usually have to dig deep into the websites to find them, but it ends up being cheaper just to go with a wireless company that uses GSM.