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I'd like to fly to the USA at the end of January and I was wondering if my phone (Elephone P7000) supports any of the frequency bands in the USA.

I am flying to Cary, North Carolina and my phone supports dual-sim with these frequencies:

  • GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
  • W-CDMA: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz
  • LTE: 800/1800/2100/2600 MHz

What network will I be able to use? Which sim-card is obtainable from Germany that is useable in USA? I'll be there for three days, so I won't cause much traffic.

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  • You can use GSM phones, like that, in the US. I don't know about buying a SIM in Germany. The easiest/cheapest is likely to be to order a US SIM before you leave, and have it shipped to the address where you'll be staying.
    – Flimzy
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 13:20
  • So I won't be able to use 3G / LTE? Any SIM card should fit then?
    – Kia
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 13:31
  • Why wouldn't you be able to use 3G / LTE? And I have no idea which sim card will fit in your phone--what size does it accept?
    – Flimzy
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 13:33
  • I was confused since you said "GSM". (I thought this meant GPRS speed only). And by "any SIM card" I meant provider, sorry for confusing.
    – Kia
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 13:49
  • You can get 3G service with AT&T network in the US, as well as with T-Mobile (with reduced coverage area than AT&T). You won't be able to get 4G LTE anywhere in the US, as none of the phone's LTE bands are used in the US (they're for Europe). Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 20:00

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You have full world band GSM support on your phone, which means that you can use the T-Mobile and AT&T 2G networks in the US, as they are GSM based. Note that while cell phone coverage where you are going is fine (it's a suburb of Raleigh/Durham), there are places in the continental US where coverage (GSM and CDMA -- it used to be that CDMA coverage was more prevalent than GSM, but both are widespread enough now that it's a wash) is nonexistent.

As to 3G -- your phone is compatible with AT&T's deployment of UMTS/W-CDMA in the 850/1900MHz bands; however, it cannot use T-Mobile's UMTS deployment as it is in the 1700MHz band, which your phone does not support for 3G. You have will have no LTE either, as your phone does not support any of the US LTE bands.

US prepaid SIMs are available widely -- you will want to get one through a prepaid provider that uses the AT&T network, such as H2O or Straight Talk. (Getting one that goes through T-Mobile will leave you stuck on 2G much of the time.)

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  • Thanks for your answer. Are there any shops (which ship to germany) which are trusted to buy a AT&T SIM?
    – Kia
    Commented Dec 23, 2015 at 7:12
  • @Kia -- I don't go SIM shopping (I'm on a CDMA provider myself, for one), so I wouldn't be able to help you there. Commented Dec 23, 2015 at 14:25

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