Mobile Telephone that can be used in America

[elektrified]

I don't know much about mobiles as they don't interest me but I'm going on a trip to USA soon and I would like a mobile phone that I can use while there if possible. I went to a couple of mobile phone shops the other day and typically, the vendors didn't know much outside of what works in Thailand. At one shop the vendor was a little more clever and he told me that many of the mobiles for sale in Thailand won't work in America because of a different frequency? He also said that he didn't think America used SIM cards.

Getting a mobile is a nightmare in America I am told, as they want to know everything about you, want endless documents, etc....(security concerns and so forth...), very difficult for tourists - even if I am originally from there.

So my questions are:

1. How would I get a mobile number in America and can it be prepaid?

2. Can I used a SIM based mobile?

The mobiles that interest me are NOKIA 106, 108, 301 because they all have very long battery life. I don't need or want anything more that that. Can any of those 3 be used in America?

Also, we own a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. The shops all said we can not use that device for a mobile in America. Can we use it to connect to the Internet there using WiFi? We hope so as that will be our only way of connecting to the Internet!

Thanks in advance.

[gk10002000]

American phones use SIM cards. Almost anything that works in Thailand will work in the US "Frequency-wise". the problem is the USA carriers. My friend uses his phone all over the place but his phone originated in the USA and his plan allows him usage in Thailand, as does my phone but the plan I have is too expensive to use in Thailand so I have a simple Thai phone for my Thai travels.

You can definitely buy a fairly cheap phone and SIM card and pay as you go here in the USA. Go to any radio shack, Walmart, and even many grocery store chains. I believe you will be able to buy a SIM card and a plan for your phone and can insert and change and use your phone here, but I am less sure of that. I don't use Wifi on my old US phone so I can't speak to WiFi usage and hook up

[NeverSure]

I bought a Google Nexus 5 only because it was the only phone I knew was worldwide unlocked. The sim card is hard to remove (internal) and I'd think twice about that again. You have to order the google phone last I knew. Oh, it was cheaper, too.

I really don't know what to recommend. I use a separate phone for Thailand and buy minutes.

[dddave]

The USA has two different mobile systems; GSM, same as Thailand and most of the world and CDMA which is exclusive to only a few countries. Verizon in the US is CDMA while AT&T is GSM. GSM phones can not work on CDMA systems.

Within GSM are separate frequency "Bands": Thailand uses the 900 & 1800 bands for 2G GSM while the USA uses mostly 850 & 1900 Bands. You can easily buy a "Quad band" GSM phone in Thailand that will work in both locales. (Note: Do not confuse "Quad Band" with "Quad Core")

3G service in Thailand is mostly 850 & 2100, in the US it varies all over the place depending on location. 4G LTE even more so.

There are many service providers now in the US that provide low cost, non contract phones and service. You can buy a phone and service package for as little as $25.

Do a google search for "Pre-Pay, no contract USA" and you will get a lot of listings. Where you will be located there makes a difference as local service coverage and quality varies between locations.

As another pointed out, you can purchase a pre-pay phone and airtime cards very cheaply at Walmart, Radio Shack ect. You can also purchase on Amazon and have it shipped to your destination there if you have an address. There will not be reams of paperwork or questions or documents required...you pay the money and you get the phone.

If you already do have a "Quad Band" GSM phone, then you can buy a SIM card there for any of the major providers. There are many pre-paid plans available, especially if you want data availability as well.

Do your own homework on Google to find the one best for you.

Edited January 18, 2015 by dddave

[Rhys]

One of the challenges is all those.... phone companies or stores.. with all those requirements.. get passed that and you are fine.

[elektrified]

Thanks for the replies thus far. I've done a little research. I'll be in Los Angeles. T-Mobile offers prepaid service. They will ship the SIM card to Thailand so it can be used upon arrival. I need to determine the type of SIM card; i.e. SIM, micro SIM, or nano SIM after buying the mobile.

All 3 mobiles I'm interested in have 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies. One of them also supports 850 and 1900 MHz.

I copied this from T-Mobile website where it talks about EDGE @ 1700 MHz.

• T-Mobile’s network currently only supports GSM-compatible phones.
• Only 3G phones that support the 1700-MHz band are compatible (not all 3G phones support it). If you own a 3G phone that does not support the 1700-MHz band, it will operate at 2G (EDGE) speeds on our network.

Are the 3 Nokias "GSM compatible"?

It also talks about 3G/2G, 1700 MHZ, etc.

What does all this mean? Can I use one of the 3 Nokias I'm interested in?

Thanks again for all the help.

[ocean268]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/mobile-cell-phones/no-contract-phones/abcat0801002.c?id=abcat0801002

You might research the no contract phones. Good Luck!

[JusMe]

No guarantees, but this site will search out different mobile models and their compatibility in different locations:

http://www.travelsim.net.au/Compatibility/

[Chicog]

My Note 3 (bought in the sandpit) works in Thailand and the US, takes a MicroSIM.

I don't know if it supports 4G in the latter two though, but 3G was fine.

Effectively for phone calls in the US you need a Quad Band phone.

As for the "clever" vendor who told you they don't use SIM cards, he's actually an idiot.

You can buy Pay-as-you-go SIM cards in the US including Internet, but they are not very good value.

[elektrified]

The USA has two different mobile systems; GSM, same as Thailand and most of the world and CDMA which is exclusive to only a few countries. Verizon in the US is CDMA while AT&T is GSM. GSM phones can not work on CDMA systems.

Within GSM are separate frequency "Bands": Thailand uses the 900 & 1800 bands for 2G GSM while the USA uses mostly 850 & 1900 Bands. You can easily buy a "Quad band" GSM phone in Thailand that will work in both locales. (Note: Do not confuse "Quad Band" with "Quad Core")

3G service in Thailand is mostly 850 & 2100, in the US it varies all over the place depending on location. 4G LTE even more so.

There are many service providers now in the US that provide low cost, non contract phones and service. You can buy a phone and service package for as little as $25.

Do a google search for "Pre-Pay, no contract USA" and you will get a lot of listings. Where you will be located there makes a difference as local service coverage and quality varies between locations.

As another pointed out, you can purchase a pre-pay phone and airtime cards very cheaply at Walmart, Radio Shack ect. You can also purchase on Amazon and have it shipped to your destination there if you have an address. There will not be reams of paperwork or questions or documents required...you pay the money and you get the phone.

If you already do have a "Quad Band" GSM phone, then you can buy a SIM card there for any of the major providers. There are many pre-paid plans available, especially if you want data availability as well.

Do your own homework on Google to find the one best for you.

Thanks for that - and all the other replies too.

I understand now - Quad band GSM phone. Only one that I was looking at is quad band and it was the most expensive. I guess you and others are right. I'll just buy a mobile there with the prepaid no contract. And throw it away as I leave....

Edited January 18, 2015 by elektrified

[Chicog]

The USA has two different mobile systems; GSM, same as Thailand and most of the world and CDMA which is exclusive to only a few countries. Verizon in the US is CDMA while AT&T is GSM. GSM phones can not work on CDMA systems.

Within GSM are separate frequency "Bands": Thailand uses the 900 & 1800 bands for 2G GSM while the USA uses mostly 850 & 1900 Bands. You can easily buy a "Quad band" GSM phone in Thailand that will work in both locales. (Note: Do not confuse "Quad Band" with "Quad Core")

3G service in Thailand is mostly 850 & 2100, in the US it varies all over the place depending on location. 4G LTE even more so.

There are many service providers now in the US that provide low cost, non contract phones and service. You can buy a phone and service package for as little as $25.

Do a google search for "Pre-Pay, no contract USA" and you will get a lot of listings. Where you will be located there makes a difference as local service coverage and quality varies between locations.

As another pointed out, you can purchase a pre-pay phone and airtime cards very cheaply at Walmart, Radio Shack ect. You can also purchase on Amazon and have it shipped to your destination there if you have an address. There will not be reams of paperwork or questions or documents required...you pay the money and you get the phone.

If you already do have a "Quad Band" GSM phone, then you can buy a SIM card there for any of the major providers. There are many pre-paid plans available, especially if you want data availability as well.

Do your own homework on Google to find the one best for you.

Thanks for that - and all the other replies too.

I understand now - Quad band GSM phone. Only one that I was looking at is quad band and it was the most expensive. I guess you and others are right. I'll just buy a mobile there with the prepaid no contract. And throw it away as I leave....

Yes, not a bad call - buy a burner.

[Thaimaishoe]

Thanks for the replies thus far. I've done a little research. I'll be in Los Angeles. T-Mobile offers prepaid service. They will ship the SIM card to Thailand so it can be used upon arrival. I need to determine the type of SIM card; i.e. SIM, micro SIM, or nano SIM after buying the mobile.

All 3 mobiles I'm interested in have 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies. One of them also supports 850 and 1900 MHz.

I copied this from T-Mobile website where it talks about EDGE @ 1700 MHz.

• T-Mobile’s network currently only supports GSM-compatible phones.
• Only 3G phones that support the 1700-MHz band are compatible (not all 3G phones support it). If you own a 3G phone that does not support the 1700-MHz band, it will operate at 2G (EDGE) speeds on our network.

Are the 3 Nokias "GSM compatible"?

It also talks about 3G/2G, 1700 MHZ, etc.

What does all this mean? Can I use one of the 3 Nokias I'm interested in?

Thanks again for all the help.

Of the three phones you are looking at, only the one that "also supports 850 and 1900 MHz" will work in both Thailand and North America.

All three phones will be GSM phones, and as such will need a SIM card (CDMA does not use a SIM card, but you probably won't find any CDMA phones for sale here in Thailand, and if you buy one in the US it will be unuseable here) but as I said, only the one that supports all 4 frequencies will work in both locations.

As far as pre paid SIM cards go, I usually buy ATT because I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $10 to T-mobile for a piece of plastic that costs .000001cents to make (Take note, T-mobile has upped the price to $15). Just for the privilege of buying air time on their network! Sorry, I get pissed off about it everytime I think about cell service in the US. I have long thought of buying a sim from e-bay... they are available for a more reasonable 2-3 bucks, sometimes with airtime loaded.

BTW, this is straight off the ATT website about what your phone must support for use with them:

Phone Requirements: AT&T Multi-band GSM, UMTS, or LTE Phone or unlocked Multi-band GSM Phone (850/1900 MHz), UMTS Phone (850/1900 MHz), or LTE Phone (Band 2 1900 MHz / Band 4 1700 MHz / Band 5 800 MHz / Band 17 700 MHz).

BTW, this in no way should be taken as an endorsement of ATT... I hate them with a passion. But both t-mob and att are piss poor value in my opinion, but the att sim is 'only' $5. Both companies minutes "expire", even though they are prepaid, and as such are much more expensive on a per minute basis than what is advertised. The advertised per minute price, is only the lowest price it could possibly cost.

[dddave]

Are the 3 Nokias "GSM compatible"?

It also talks about 3G/2G, 1700 MHZ, etc.

I remember a thread on this forum last year about the difficulty sometimes of finding which bands some Nokia phones covered...even some of the boxes phones came in were mislabeled. This happens mostly with "Grey imports", phones originally intended t be sold in another country. Usually phones are labeled somewhere, commonly under the battery.

If you do decide to buy a phone that you can use here as well as the USA, just Google the model number and you should get the specs: GSM will be the 2G specs, WCDMA will be the 3G.

If you only want to make and receive calls and messages and do not want to have internet access with a "Smartphone", then indeed, a $25 throw away "burner" will do it. For many of those, you don't even a SIM as they are usually packaged by a particular service provider (Virgin, Boost, Straight Talk, Go, ect.) that pre-install the o/s. Usually they will assign you a local number when you set it up...sometimes a rather involved process. Sometimes the retailer you buy it from will set it up for you.

If you plan minimal use, you can choose among many "by-the-minute" or "by the day" plans, purchasing top up cards as you need them. If you do that, make sure you pick a provider that has readily available cards in the destinations you plan to visit. Most carriers will also allow top up by CC, either by phone or online. These plans vary but you can usually find a decent one that charges around 10 cents/minute. Don't forget that in the good ole' USA, you pay for BOTH outgoing and incoming calls...fuk*ing bandits.

If you think you will use the phone more than 30 call minutes a day, then most carriers now have 30 day unlimited call packages which can be cheaper in the long run.

Things to check before you decide which carrier to use is availability and quality of local coverage where you intend to be and early termination fees which some "bargain carriers" hide deep in their plans. Some will want you to sign up and pay for 90 days initially. Many of the Pay as you go carriers use major carriers networks such as Verizon and AT&T which gives them better coverage.

Lots of good review articles form CNET and other tech websites are available online.

Edited January 18, 2015 by dddave

[SinCityGr8One]

I travel back to the USA for a 1-2 Month Holiday each year. I have a "TracFone" that I purchased in WAL*MART for $10.00. i keep it at my daughters house there to use when I'm back. The last one broke,so I just went back and bought another $10.00 phone. I can call and send SMS and that's all I care about. i don't need any bells or whistles while I'm there. Check out WAL*MART when you arrive as they have quite the selection.

[Smokin Joe]

Prepaid phones are available cheap enough to use and throw away.

I tried to find a US compatible phone in Thailand at Powerbuy a few years ago and got a quad-band GSM phone. Went to an AT&T shop in Alaska and they said it wasn't compatible. I ended up buying a prepaid phone from WalMart for about $20. My Thai phone might have worked somewhere else in the US but a locally bought prepaid is a guarantee that it will work locally.