What PH phones are compatible with US networks?
Answer: All most all phones or smartphones that have 3G/UMTS up to 4G LTE cellular feature.
The question is more of what cellular or network frequency bands are the same between the Philippines and the USA. As long as your phone has 3G and 4G LTE features, then it will likely work with US networks after inserting your prepaid SIM card.
We’ve received a handful of queries regarding buying phones locally and bringing them to abroad such as countries like the USA and Saudi Arabia. Aside from working in these two countries, your phone will pretty much work too when you bring it to HongKong, Singapore, Japan and UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi). And even up to regions of Africa, South America, and the rest of Europe.
Note: Carrier- or network-locked will not work when brought into the USA/Philippines unless unlocked / opened. This is particularly true to iPhones.
The table below shows that the Philippines and the USA share a lot of frequency bands on the 3G and 4G. It means that a smartphone from 2010 onwards have wider frequency band support in both countries.
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| Country | 2G / GSM in MHz | 3G / UMTS in MHz | 4G LTE in MHz |
| PH | 850/900/1800 |
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| USA | 850/1900 |
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I tried this on my Nokia Lumia 1020, Cherry Mobile Flare, and Samsung Galaxy Y/Champ back when I was a seafarer. The Lumia 1020 worked in the US from 2G and 3G up to 4G LTE using a T-Mobile and AT&T prepaid SIM. Even in Europe such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Spain, and Belgium–pretty much in all countries, I guess.
If you just want to use your Globe or Smart SIM card as roaming networks then you need to activate it. However, Smart and Globe’s internet services for roaming like all-day surfing is pretty expensive. It is more economical to buy a local carrier SIM card to the country you’re visiting.
For other topics and questions, please feel free to comment or suggest below.
Hi Jade,
That’s a good article! Is there a website you can suggest for looking at the specs of a specific model? I have become lost in all of this. I have a couple models in mind, but I see conflicting information between sale websites, manufacturer websites and specout.ph. I want to make sure if I spend the money on a new phone in PH it works with Tmobile US. 4g lte would be ideal. I’ve even looked at sites like willmyphonework.net and frequencycheck. But it one place it says it does not have the LTE bands, and on spec out it says it does.
you can check GSM arena for that. But data are not not always 100% accurate.
quite a good article, though I don’t know if device compatibility has changed since 2016. I’m considering of buying a Samsung phone here in Manila (maybe Galaxy A50), will it work in the US?
Most 4G/LTE phones from PH should work in the USA (compatible frequencies).