Can a verizon phone be unlocked to work in Ireland?

Blikes

I want to buy a phone during amazons sale. The HTC Thunderbold 4g is gone down from $699 to $0.01 and i'm wondering could it be unlocked and used in ireland?

wes

No, Verizon phones run on CDMA, and not GSM. So even if you were to unlock it, it would not work here, as none of our networks do CDMA.

Blikes

wes wrote: »

No, Verizon phones run on CDMA, and not GSM. So even if you were to unlock it, it would not work here, as none of our networks do CDMA.

Thanks for the reply wes. Such a pity, it's some deal.
Even if i got a friend in america to buy it and send it over, still an amazing deal!

nava

Blikes wrote: »

I want to buy a phone during amazons sale. The HTC Thunderbold 4g is gone down from $699 to $0.01 and i'm wondering could it be unlocked and used in ireland?

Most if not all Verizon phones will not work in Ireland as they do not have SIM they use CDMA network. Also if it was GSM phone will need to be unlock.

Solair

It actually won't work anywhere in Europe. Qualcomm CDMA technology is/was a proprietary mobile technology that competed with GSM. It was never used for voice services in Europe. There were a very small number of CDMA data-only networks setup in a few countries, but I have no idea if they are even still on air.

It is used in the US by Sprint and Verizon and in Canada by Bell Mobility. It's also used in South America and in parts of Asia and parts of the Middle East.

In general the European-originated standards: GSM and UMTS are the de facto global standards for mobile. So, if you've a European 2G/3G phone it will work pretty much everywhere provided it has the right frequencies available.

Also, because CDMA is proprietary technology, even US operators are moving away from it. GSM-family of standards means they've access to a much wider range of equipment makers and a much better range of handsets. So, for example, the CDMA networks are now starting to rollout HSPA and LTE which are GSM-family standards. Ultimately, they will all be compatible GSM-family networks when 4G LTE finally does arrive.

BTW: also be ware of the fact that many US phones are branded 4G, but are just HSPA+ compatible. Irish and European networks don't define HSPA as 4G, but US networks often stick the 4G label on it to sell more phones and differentiate themselves.

Over here 4G = LTE which is only starting to appear.

There were US operators calling EDGE 3G at one stage too LOL

HTC also make basically the same phones for CDMA and UMTS/GSM networks. They just have different radio circuitry on board.

As far as I am aware, the phone you are looking at is pretty much the same as ... they're all more or less the same phone, with various tweaks and you'd pick up a GSM HTC for a decent price if you shop around a bit:

http://www.expansys.ie/htc-sensation-xe-with-beats-audio-black-222449/

or

http://www.htc.com/europe/smartphones/htc-sensation-xl/#specs

or

http://www.htc.com/www/smartphones/htc-incredible-s/

It will also support :
Up to 14.4 Mbps download speed
Up to 5.76 Mbps upload speed

On a Euro UMTS network with HSPA enabled. So, realistically speeds are similar to what is claimed to be 4G in the states.

reddevilfan

Sorry to drag up old thread..

Has this changed

IPhone 5s on Verizon chip

Can it be used on Irish network here

ED E

Yes, modern iPhones all have GSM support with SIM slots. You'll need Verizon to unlock it though.

Horbenjorp

Now that this has been dragged up from the dead recently, will an unlocked Google Pixel (original) work in Ireland when bought used from America on Amazon.com?

Ah-Watch

Depends how old the 5S are. Verizon started providing unlocked iPhone 5S towards the model life of the 5S and have been selling their phones already unlocked since. Earlier in Feb they did say that they're going to start selling them locked again though. Is it an ex bill phone or are you looking at purchasing a pay as you go Verizon one? Their locking practices in the US are different to ours in Ireland