Buying tips - A guide to buying a phone or SIM card for your trip
Which phone service is best for me?
Will my existing phone work in the country that I am traveling to?
If my existing phone won’t work, what type of phone should I buy?
What is a SIM card?
Will a different SIM card work in my existing phone?
How do I unlock my existing phone?
Which phone service is best for me?
Going on a vacation or holiday to another country?
Enjoy the benefits of ekit's Global Premium service and Global Travel service
- Coverage in over 100 countries. You don't need to have a new phone or SIM card for each country you are visiting.
- Low cost to purchase the phone service package, and save up to 70% on international roaming rates
- Convenience, use the one phone number every time you travel making it easier for family and friends to contact you. In fact family and friends can call you for free using our toll free access numbers
- Buy more minutes anywhere, anytime via the web, over the phone and via 24/7 Customer service
- No joining fee, contracts or monthly bills
Visiting several countries in a region or staying in a country for an extended period of time?
Enjoy the benefits of ekit's Home and Roam, Passport, Passport Lite, Passport Plus or Caribbean service
- Coverage in over 100 countries
- Highly competitive rates for making international calls home or receiving calls while you are traveling. Rates for making calls vary by plan. For the Passport Plus plan, rates start from US$0.29 per minute. For the Passport plan it is free to receive calls in over 50 countries.
- Buy more minutes anywhere, anytime via the web, over the phone and via 24/7 Customer service
- No joining fees, contracts or monthly bills
Visiting a specific country on a regular basis, or for a longer period of time?
ekit offers local services in over 40 countries. These services offer low rates for local calls and local phone number in that country. In general, these services do not work outside the country for which they are designed.
- Coverage throughout one country
- Cheap calls within one or two countries at low per minute rates
- Make cheap international calls home using the
global phonecard - Receive a local phone number for that country
- No joining fees, contracts or monthly bills
Will my existing phone work in the country that I am traveling to?
If you are from the United States or Canada and are planning to travel to Europe, Asia, Australia or South America, chances are your existing cell phone will not work in the country you are traveling to. If you are from the UK or Australia, your phone may not work in North America.
There are two reasons for this.
- There is two main cell or mobile phone network technologies used in the world: GSM and CDMA (including PCS). 77% of the world uses GSM and GSM networks can be found virtually in every country including the United States. Approximately 20% of the world use CDMA and CDMA networks can be found in a number of countries, but primarily in the United States, Canada and Mexico. If you are from the US or Canada, you may have a CDMA phone which will only work on CDMA networks.
- There are five GSM frequency bands used by network operators around the world (GSM frequency bands are the radio spectrum frequencies that the GSM system operate on). The frequencies and the countries in which they are used are summarized in the following table. If you are from the US or Canada, and have a GSM phone, your phone is likely to only have the frequencies that work in the US (GSM-850 and GSM-1900). If you are from Australia or the UK, your phone may not have the frequencies that work in the United States, Canada or Mexico.
Frequencies by region are typically:
| Region | GSM Frequency |
|---|---|
| Europe | 900/1800MHz |
| Asia Pacific | 900/1800MHz |
| North America | 850/1900MHz |
| Caribbean | 900/1800/1900MHz |
| South America | 900/1800/1900MHz |
If you are planning to travel internationally, you need to check if your phone is GSM compatible and if it will work on the GSM frequency band used in the country you are traveling to. This information should be in the instruction manual that accompanied your existing phone when you purchased it, or you can call your network operator.
If my existing phone won't work, what type of phone should I buy?
If your phone will not work in the country you are traveling to you will need to buy a new GSM phone. You have a choice:
1. A dual band phone that works in the country you are traveling to, but not in your own country. There are different types of dual band phones:
| Dual band phone types | Suitable for: |
|---|---|
| 850/1900MHz | North America only |
| 900/1800MHz | Europe and Asia Pacific |
2. A tri-band phone works in most countries (with the primary exceptions of Japan and South Korea). There are two main types of tri-band phone:
| Tri-band phone types | Suitable for: |
|---|---|
| 900/1800/1900MHz | Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and Caribbean |
| 850/1800/1900MHz | North America and Asia Pacific |
3. A quad-band phone works in most countries (with the primary exceptions of Japan and South Korea).
| Quad-band phone types | Suitable for: |
|---|---|
| 850/900/1800/1900MHz | All GSM operators in the world |
4. A dual-mode phone works in Japan, South Korea and in the rest of most countries. These phones include combination of GSM and WCDMA (also known as 3G or UMTS) technology. There are two main types of dual-mode phone:
| Dual-mode phone types | Suitable for |
|---|---|
| 3G/900/1800/1900MHz | Excellent in Japan, South Korea, Europe, Asia/Pacific, Africa and Brazil. Very good for US/Canada, Central and South America and Caribbean |
| 3G/850/1800/1900MHz | Excellent in Japan, South Korea, USA/Canada, Central and South America. Not suitable for Europe, Asia/Pacific, Africa and Brazil. |
Dual band phones are cheaper than tri-band phones because they don't work in as many countries. If you are concerned about the up front cost of a phone, the cheapest option is a dual band mobile phone. However we recommend a tri-band phone so you can use it when you have finished traveling.
If your existing phone will work in the country you are traveling to, you may be able to buy just a SIM card (without having to buy a new phone).
What is a SIM card?
A SIM card is the device (a small plastic card about the size of a thumb nail) that enables your phone to work and provide a phone service. The SIM card stores information that identifies the phone to the network service provider and thereby allows the phone to connect to the network and make calls. In many phones the SIM card can be removed and replaced with a different SIM card.
Will a different SIM card work in my existing phone?
A different SIM card will work in your existing phone if your phone is a GSM compatible phone and is not "locked" to your network provider.
Many network operators sell "locked" phones. "Locked" means that the phone is restricted by the network operator to work only on its’ own or affiliate networks. If your existing phone is locked, you cannot use a SIM card supplied by another network provider without unlocking your phone first.
Check if your phone is locked - Your phone may be locked if you purchased it on contract or pay as you go. To check, insert a SIM card from another network into your phone and switch it on. If you are able to view the menu then your phone is unlocked. If the phone does not allow you to view the menu, but displays an error message such as "Phone restricted", "SIM not valid", or "SIM card not accepted, insert correct SIM card", your phone is most likely locked to your network provider. If you are not sure, contact your provider and ask them if your mobile phone is locked or not.
How do I unlock my existing phone?
In most cases it is a simple process to unlock your phone. You have several options:
- Ask your network provider to unlock your phone. They may charge you to do so. Charges and detailed instructions by network provider are available for the United States, United Kingdom and Australia
- Purchase an unlocking code for any handset from online unlocking specialist, Unique Phones. Unlocking codes are available within 24 hours (the wait can be up to one month from network providers) and prices start from just $3.99. Find out if UniquePhones have a code for your handset
- Visit a local phone store. Expect to pay US$10 to US$20 to have your phone unlocked.
- Finally, we offer a range of very low cost unlocked tri-band phones that you can buy online, or if you are redeeming a voucher. There are many advantages of having a separate phone for your trip – it is easy to lose or break things when you travel!