A friend gave me his old ATT cell phone. I took it today to a cellphone repair place to get it unlocked (ATT wouldn't do it since I'm not the original owner) and the guy at the repair place said he can unlock it for $25 but he said he has had some people tell him they took their triband RAZR to Europe and it didn't work for them. Has anyone out there had any experience with this triband vs quadband thing? Leaving for my trip Oct 1 so I want to get it squared away.
Posted by
CA, USA
333 posts
Our Razor Vx3 worked in Italy, Switzerland and London.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32349 posts
Claudette,
With a tri-band Cell Phone, it's important to determine which frequencies the phone is equipped with. As the RAZR you have was originally sold in North America, it's highly likely that it was provided with 850 & 1900 MHZ, and ONE of the Euro frequencies (900 OR 1800).
If that's the case, the phone will work to some extent in Europe as many networks there use both frequencies. However, some networks use only one frequency. An example would be Orange & T-Mobile in the U.K. which use only 1800 MHz. If your tri-band RAZR is only designed for 900 MHz, you wouldn't have any coverage if you were travelling in areas where 1800 MHz is prominent.
Are there any model numbers or other details listed on the phone? It's difficult to say how well it will work in in Europe without knowing which frequencies it's equipped with?
A quad-band phone would be a better idea. One example is THIS phone. You'll have to decide whether you want to go with the possible lack of service with a tri-band, or go with a quad band?
Good luck!
Posted by
Wilmington, DE, USA
712 posts
My husband's did not work on a previous to Europe, even though we activated both our phones for Europe. He went into an phone store in London, but no one could figure out why his did not work. This summer he went into the local ATT store and they installed a new sim card. His did work in Ireland this summer, but he automatically roamed on Vodaphone and my phone was roaming on a different carrier. I had better reception in most areas compared to him, and in some places he had no coverage at all. I am not sure if his is a "Tri", but it is only about a year and a half years old.