Follow-up on European phones in the USA
The upshot is, an expensive phone might work the same in Europe and the USA, but a year-2019 250 dollar Android phone will not, unless you get a Global model.
In most cases, the product description in an advertisement or webpage doesn't say if it's Global or not. And it probably isnt'. And it doesn't say when you buy it what bands and frequencies it can work with unless you know which submodel you're getting, and maybe not even then.
And even when you're using it, the basic phone won't say what band you are using it on, but now (I don't think they used to) Network Signal Info and Metwork Signal Info Pro will say and will give a lot of Wifi and cell tower location info also.
GSMARENA.com often gives the varying bands/frequencies for different submodels but not all the time. Look at the grey lines under the green bars
It lists the bands: 4G bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 38, 40, 41 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66
But it doesn't say which bands are on which phones!! (Some entries in GSMARENA do say that. I've only looked at a few phones but this is the first time I noticed that it didn't.)
1 and 3 are Europe, but 2 and 4 are the most popular bands in the USA. (Not only that, but I think the last timee I looked this phone had 3 of the four of 1,2,3,4. Now it has either 2 or 4 of them.My first Global phone, the stolen one, was a Xiaomi I bought directly from Hong Kong. I paid about $250 for this but it would have been cheaper in the USA. The second was also Xioami bought from Amazon. I paid $275 for this in the USA>
Neither had the annoying Samsung practice of having to tap the bottom left corner to get to the apps. Just go sideways from the home page.
Background: You may remember this story on one or both of these newsgroups.
My phone was in my rentacar when I parked in an area in Athens known for car breakins. Known to locals but not to tourists like me. The phone (and other stuff) was stolen, and I had to buy a replacement phone.
I had already read from people on Trip Advisor, from professional tour guides, that any phone I bought in Greece would work in the USA. OTOH, anyone willing to pay 1000's extra for a guided tour might spend more than 250 for the phone. And arent' all iphones more than 250***.
So I bought a new one. I paid about $250 for a Samsung Galaxy A30 (SM-A305F, whatever that means). And it did work but a few months after I got back, I started to have doubts.
Later, spring of 2021, I was Morgan Run environmental area about 25 miles west of downtown Baltimore and I could make phone calls but could not use google satellite view, which uses data** Then just west of Harper's Ferry WVa, but there a teenager told me people didn't have any data there either. Then the Patapso River valley at Ilchrester, but there 3 teenagers told me that they didn't have any data either and I should go to the top of the adjoining hill, at least 100 feet high. Then two other locations in Baltimore itself. (I know where they were and had planned to go back) Then Hollywood Maryland. No google maps sat view. This time I thought to use an app to see what band I was using, and while it diidn't give the band it did say I was using GSM 2G !!! I thought there was no
2G left. Didn't I read that? But I didn't have my new, Global phone with me, and it's a 2 hour drive from my house. Then yesterday New Holland, Pa. and again, just 2G. This time I had brought the new phone so I found a good place to sit, without places for the sim to hide like in my car, and I changed the sim to the new phone and voila, 4G, in the very same spot.I'm going to go back to those three locations in Baltimore and see if I have data now, 4G even, but I'm sure I will.
If you really want, go to
Mint Mobile uses T-moblie towers, but does that mean the coverage area is exactly the same as T-mobile?
Strength is shown with little drawings, Outdoors, in the car, in a house, in a steel frame office building.
It's 5G 4G LTE 2100 xxxx 4G LTE 1900 xxxx 4G LTE 700 xxxx 4G LTE 600 xxxx 3G/4G UMTS 2100 x Outside only 2G GSM 1900 xxx Outside or in the car only.
**That's why I asked if phone calls were still different from data, and I think I was told on the android group that they no longer were. Yet I was able to use the phone but nothing else. So how is that?***(There can be a problem going the opposite direction too. My first 5" smart phone was Blu. They are made largelly for Latin America. I bought in the US, and it worked fine in the US, but in Greece it could only get
2G and not 3G and google translate would not work, except verrrrry slowly, 10 minutes for a video answer. Also in Greece my telephoto lens app worked and didn't show any ads, even though I hadn't paid. Later I realized it was trying to show ads but 2G wasn't adequate to show them! (That part was good.))