Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)
-   Asia (https://www.fodors.com/community/asia/)
-   -   Cell Phone Sim Cards?? (https://www.fodors.com/community/asia/cell-phone-sim-cards-583079/)

blueyesmandy Jan 19th, 2006 06:07 AM

Cell Phone Sim Cards??
 
I have a Motoroloa and have service through Cingular. My phones has all but died but I still have another whole year on my contract so they won't let me upgrade/get a new phone. So...I saw a few phones on ebay the same as mine w/o a SIM card. My question is can I use the SIM card from the phone I have now in the exact same model phone I buy off of ebay? If so, do I have to do anything through Cingular to get this done? I know nothing about cell phones, SIM cards, etc. Thanks for helping!

rkkwan Jan 19th, 2006 06:27 AM

To use Cingular here, the phone has to be:

- unlocked, or locked to Cingular
- has 850/1900 GSM frequencies

To use other SIM cards abroad, the phone has to be:

- unlocked
- has 900/1800 frequencies

Therefore, if you want to use a phone in both circumstances, it has to be unlocked, and is quad-band GSM with all those 4 frequencies.

Cingular doesn't care what phone you put your SIM card into.

hi50phd Jan 19th, 2006 08:38 AM

In other words, buy an unlocked, Tri- or Quad-band phone. These tend to be cheaper on Ebay, but are widely available. A friend of my bought has Cingular service and bought a Motorola 551 (unlocked Quadband) from a Cingular store.

Or, buy a Tri/Quad phone from any vendor and do a 'net search for unlocking sevice or software.


LA_FadeAway Jan 19th, 2006 12:44 PM

Keep in mind that tri-band phones won't work on 900 Mhz networks. If buying a new phone, I'd buck up for the quad for "world" coverage.

rkkwan Jan 19th, 2006 01:05 PM

There are two types of tri-band phones. Early ones are always 900/1800/1900; but after the Cingular and Rogers start using 850, some tri-band phones are 850/1800/1900. A seller on ebay will tell you exactly what it is, or don't buy from him.

Most "world phones" now are quad-band GSM to cover all those 4 frequencies.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 07:04 PM.