Checking if your phone is unlocked and will piece of work overseas

You simply arrived in Europe and make up one's mind to purchase a local SIM for your iPhone. When you turn on your iPhone, you get a message that says "No SIM" or "Service Unavailable." Now what?!

Before you buy a SIM for international travel yous'll want to ostend two things. First, that your phone is unlocked and will function with another operator's SIM. And 2nd, that your phone supports the frequencies of the other operator's network.

Be sure you have an Unlocked GSM phone

If you cull to purchase a prepaid SIM when traveling abroad, be certain your GSM phone is unlocked. If you signed a contract or are paying for your phone monthly so your phone is probably locked to your abode operator's network and won't work with other operator SIMs.

If you lot don't know if your phone is locked yous can do whatsoever of the following to detect out:

  • Ask your operator
    Phone call your current operator'southward customer support and explain you desire to use your phone overseas. Ask if the phone is SIM-unlocked.

  • Try some other SIM
    Identify a SIM from another operator in your phone and see if the phone recognizes the other operator'southward network.

  • Check your IMEI
    You can utilize 1 of the many sites on the web to check your phone'south IMEI, which is a unique number that identifies your phone. Simply dial *#06# on your phone and the IMEI will be displayed on the screen. Become to one of the websites and enter your IMEI. This is unremarkably a paid-service and may cost $ii to $three. That's much amend than arriving in another state simply to observe you tin't use your phone!

  • Recommended site: http://world wide web.imei.info/

Checking your phone'southward frequencies

Just as important equally having an unlocked phone is having a telephone that supports the frequencies of the operator networks where you lot'll be traveling. For example, 4G or LTE services in the United States utilise unlike frequencies than those services in Brazil or the U.k.. It's very easy to decide what network frequencies your phone supports, and you can do it for free!

  • Look up your phone's model number
    If you know the exact model number of your phone then you can use the site below to find your phone and all its technical details, including supported frequencies.

  • Recommended site: http://www.gsmarena.com/

But enter the name of your telephone in the Search box at the top of the folio. Remember, you lot'll need to know your telephone's exact model number to determine what frequencies information technology supports. Is your iPhone 5S the A1453 or the A1530?

  • Bank check using your IMEI
    You can use one of the many sites on the spider web to bank check your telephone'due south IMEI, which is a unique number that identifies your phone. Merely dial *#06# on your telephone and the IMEI will exist displayed on the screen. Go to one of the websites and enter your IMEI. Checking technical details of a phone using the IMEI is typically a gratis service.

  • Recommended site: http://www.imei.info/