Phones -- using in multiple countries

[TheWind]

Need to invest in a new phone, but I'm more concerned about getting it to work in both China and America.

I hear XiaoMi has good phones for cheap. A co-worker recommended Meizu. But, I don't really know how to go about getting it to work in America. My current Chinese Oppo phone didn't work the last time I was there, also it is just a trashy phone. 

Any suggestions on both Chinese phones & or how to go about this process?

Side note: I really only use my phone for WeChat, pics, calls....generic stuff. 

Thanks =D

[Shelley]

Have you had a look at  Huawei phones. Not sure about multi country function, but it is made in china so you never know. I bought mine in the UK and it works great here. it has multi language input as standard with the Huawei input method. Mine was excellent value for money and has been going strong for the last 2 and half years.

 

I am no expert so just throwing this out for you to consider.

[ouyangjun]

What do you mean getting it to work in America?  I've never heard of different brands of phones having issues, so I'd have to think there is a solution to what you are experiencing.  Are you having problems with switching SIM cards, or need a phone that can handle multiple SIM cards, or issues with the carrier giving you access to international usage while in America, or trying to switch to a US number but possibly bought one of the GSM phones or whatever they are that don't have SIM cards and are locked to carrier? 

 

Most phones should work... for years I've used Apple phones bought in China or Hong Kong, Meizu would work, Huawei would work, I would think your Oppo should work...

[abcdefg]

But, I don't really know how to go about getting it to work in America.

 

It isn't a "brand of phone" issue.

 

You need to find out if the cellular requirements of your preferred mobile provider in your home country and the mobile provider that you use in China are the same. Need to be sure they are both CDMA or both GSM.

 

I ran into trouble with this in December when back in the US. Wanted to use my Sony Xperia Z3 with Sprint service but couldn't, because Sprint doesn't support the GSM protocol, only CDMA. In China I use that phone with China Mobile on a GSM network, and it's fine.

[The_]

I know if you buy a Chinese phone and plan and using it in the US, it should be from China Unicom, and/or unlocked, as the frequency bands used for China Mobile are not used in the US. The same is true in reverse. T-Mobile and I believe At&T use the same frequencies that are also supported by China Unicom. Also I think this is why many travelers use iPhones as they are quite easy to bring to other countries and use without issue. It really all depends on the frequency bands that a certain phone provider or manufacturer includes in their products.

[The_]

I also forgot to mention that China's and the US's 4G bands are completely different and it is likely that buying a Chinese phone will mean that it will not support the 4G bands in the US. You should be able to use 3G no problem though. Although, some US phones have support for 4G bands in other countries. For instance, I have an iPhone from the US and I can get 4G here on China Unicom, but that same phone would only allow 2G on a China Mobile phone because the difference in band frequencies used by the two companies. Just some more food for thought.

[TheWind]

I currently use china mobile as my provider. Are you saying I'll need to get a new number and everything with China Unicom if I want an unlocked phone for America?

Also, is "unlocking" a phone an ongoing fee or a one time? Estimates would be great if anyone had them? 

[boctulus]

The BIG problem could be the frequency bands ....... and of course don't but a CMDA phone (which can't accept SIMs so you can't change even the phone operator)

[The_]

You would need to buy a factory unlocked phone, or buy a China Unicom branded phone. Unlocking a phone just disconnects it from the carrier branding, allowing you to use it on another carrier (by putting in another SIM card), it does not change how it connects to the cell frequency. An unlocked phone is unlocked from the factory, not branded to any specific carrier/provider. These phones are usually good about accepting many varying frequency bands, whereas a branded phone would only need to accept it's own frequencies. I would suggest having a look at this page and seeing which frequencies are supported by both US and China cell providers.

 

http://www.worldtimezone.com/gsm.html

 

Frequency bands that are supported by each company and model of phone can usually be found on the company's website and documentation for each model.

[889]

You need to check the frequencies carefully, for both phone and 3G service. This is easier said than done, because manufacturers often use a single model number for a phone which they in fact sell with different specifications in different markets or at different times. And even if you have the phone in hand, it's surprisingly difficult to find out what frequencies it works with. Frankly, you can never be sure where a phone will work until you try to use it, 3G especially.

[Flickserve]

You could always have two phones. One for the US and one for China.

Wechat, pics, China calls aren't very urgent if you are in the US and can wait until you have a wifi connection.

[The_]

 

Frankly, you can never be sure where a phone will work until you try to use it, 3G especially.

 

Apple actually lists all frequencies supported on each model and which countries use which frequencies on each provider. Their documentation is very thorough. And I think 4G is generally more problematic than 3G, but you are right, it should be carefully checked for either one.

[chinadude2006]

If you buy a 全网通 phone, then it will work in other countries.

[abcdefg]

#11 -- Flickserve

You could always have two phones. One for the US and one for China.

 

That's what I normally do. But my US phone is an ancient Blackberry and my China phone is modern. Wanted to use my China phone in the US, simply by changing out the SIM card, but I couldn't.

[Flickserve]

#11 -- Flickserve

That's what I normally do. But my US phone is an ancient Blackberry and my China phone is modern. Wanted to use my China phone in the US, simply by changing out the SIM card, but I couldn't.

things like wechat are linked to the phone number. If I go overseas, I just buy a local SIM card +/- data plan, stick it in an older phone and then I am good to go. Having said that, my overseas trips are normally no longer than two weeks max.

[laogui]

I recently bought a dual sim OPPO and have been using it in Australia without much trouble (and without ANY documentation).  I hope the dual sim will help. Previously I was using an HTC in Vietnam Indonesia HK and China, no issues except for the changing sim.  I'll be taking the HTC as a spare