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uk mobile phones, will they work in us

hampshire, england
5 posts
uk mobile phones, will they work in us
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going to LV for the 1st time in 11 days now, really looking forward to it. Not being great on technology, will my mobile phone work in the US? It does whenever i go to Europe etc. but i've heard that there's something called tri-band???

Virginia
Level Contributor
1,441 posts
1. Re: uk mobile phones, will they work in us
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You'll need to call your provider to find out. Here in the US we have 3 different types of digital service and most phones made for the US are tri-band.

Maybe telling the forum users who your provider is might get you an answer from a UK resident who's been to Vegas.

hampshire, england
5 posts
2. Re: uk mobile phones, will they work in us
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Thanks for reply. My provider is Vodaphone. Can any UK people who have been to Vegas help ?

UK
Level Contributor
655 posts
63 reviews
88 helpful votes
3. Re: uk mobile phones, will they work in us
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It depends on your actual phone model, most of our phones work in Europe but you need a triband model for it to work in the US. It will say it in the little booklet you got when you bought the phone, if not eitherlook up your phone for its spec on the net or ask in car phone warehouse or similiar. If you need to use a payphone in Vegas be warned that the payphones in the hotels have their own tariffs which are really expensive.

toronto
Level Contributor
304 posts
2 reviews
12 helpful votes
4. Re: uk mobile phones, will they work in us
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vodaphone means you are on GSM and most if not all phones sold in europe for past few years are atleast triband. as long as your phone has the 1900mhz band it will work in the US and i'm pretty sure VodaPhone has roaming agreements in the US.

so basically just check the manual/specs of your phone to see if it has the 1900mhz band.

UK
Level Contributor
135 posts
5. Re: uk mobile phones, will they work in us
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Don't forget to make sure your contact Vodafone before you go to ensure the roaming has been enabled for USA - they will also tell you the preferred network provider there.

Be warned it is expensive though!!!

I useually buy prepaid phone cards when I get to the us and use the payphones scattered throughout the Casinos.

England
Level Contributor
1,671 posts
115 reviews
136 helpful votes
6. Re: uk mobile phones, will they work in us
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As, already stated, you will need a triband phone. The literature which came with your phone will tell you if it is triband. Otherwise do as I did and e-mail the phone manufacturer and ask if your model is triband. I'm also on Vodafone and the minute I arrived in the States I received a text from Vodafone telling me their preferred provided (I think it was AT&T) and the phone automatically found that network anyway. Had no problem using it in Las Vegas, although it will work out cheaper to text. If you look on the Vodafone website it gives you the cost of calling and texting.

Newcastle, United...
Level Contributor
443 posts
9 reviews
6 helpful votes
7. Re: uk mobile phones, will they work in us
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You will , as already informed, require a triband phone model. However, make sure your phone is'nt locked into Vodaphone as I believe that although Vodaphone may have a "shared" operation with another company in the US, if your phone is locked to them you will not be able to pick up another service provider. It's a bit like trying to insert a Vodaphone sim card into a phone "locked" to T-Mobile - it just wont work!

England
Level Contributor
1,671 posts
115 reviews
136 helpful votes
8. Re: uk mobile phones, will they work in us
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Actually, that wasn't my experience. Although Vodafone have an arrangement with AT&T, my phone also picked up T-mobile in some areas and I was able to use that network also.

london
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75 posts
3 reviews
19 helpful votes
9. Re: uk mobile phones, will they work in us
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Call Vodafone, find out if you have a triband phone and tell them you need to use it in the US. When you get there you turn on your phone - it will start to look automatically for a local network to attach itself to (same as it does when you're in Europe). When you speak to Vodafone they will tell you which network they are linked to in the US and how much the calls will be. Texting will be much cheaper..

UK
Level Contributor
221 posts
99 reviews
73 helpful votes
10. Re: uk mobile phones, will they work in us
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Myself and a friend both went to LV with triband mobile phones on Vodaphone pay as you go. Mine worked, his didn't. My phone was sim-free, his was locked to vodaphone. Apprently he should have runf vodaphone to unlock US roaming before travelling

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