Will an unlocked AT&T One work in the UK (on any carrier)?

[pepperminta]

Hi there

I want to give my US AT&T One to a friend in the UK. I haven't unlocked it yet but am assuming it's possible - will speak to AT&T or else "figure something else out".

Will an unlocked US AT&T HTC One work on UK carriers? I find this stuff so confusing!

I wanted to check because I gave another UK friend my unlocked AT&T One X not long ago and it works for calls but not data connection. He took it in to his network (Orange) and they said that it was because the phone was searching for 4G and they only have a 3G network. We looked up how to change this so that it doesn't search for a 4G network, and uses 3G instead (through the Phone Info app) but somehow we didn't manage to do it (we planned to revisit it again - think we were just missing some steps).

In summary - will an unlocked US AT&T HTC One work for both calls and data on a UK carrier that doesn't necessarily have 4G?

 

[ledfrog]

I want to give my US AT&T One to a friend in the UK. I haven't unlocked it yet but am assuming it's possible - will speak to AT&T or else "figure something else out".

Good luck with that. AT&T usually won't unlock a device until a certain period of time has passed. When I did this with my old iPhones, it was about a year after I got them. But things always change so I don't know what they require these days...you might also have to be out of your contract first. As far as getting a third party to do it, it may be possible, but you're going to pay a fee.

I find this stuff so confusing!

It's really not that confusing at all! Think of it this way...a carrier lock is nothing more than a code that AT&T puts on all devices that are subsidized for their customers. When you're able to unlock the device yourself, they will simply give you the code to remove this lock. Nothing is modified in the software or hardware...it's just a locked setting if you will.

I wanted to check because I gave another UK friend my unlocked AT&T One X not long ago and it works for calls but not data connection. He took it in to his network (Orange) and they said that it was because the phone was searching for 4G and they only have a 3G network. We looked up how to change this so that it doesn't search for a 4G network, and uses 3G instead (through the Phone Info app) but somehow we didn't manage to do it (we planned to revisit it again - think we were just missing some steps).

I can't speak for devices I haven't used or know nothing about, but it sounds like the One X didn't support the 3G bands that Orange uses. Or like you found out, perhaps the phone was stuck looking for 4G only. There should be a setting in the device that will disable all 4G connectivity. This is still odd though considering that most 4G devices are able to switch to 3G automatically if a 4G network can't be found.

The best way to make sure a phone works with a specific carrier is to find out which bands their network uses and check it against the specs of the phone. In the case of AT&T, you can do a search on their International Travel Guide. From here, just pick the country the phone is going to, then continue to choose the device and you should see whether it will work for data and voice.

http://www.wireless.att.com/travelguide/coverage/roaming/step1.jsp

In summary - will an unlocked US AT&T HTC One work for both calls and data on a UK carrier that doesn't necessarily have 4G?

Yes it will provided that the network supports the following bands: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900; UMTS/HSPA+ 850/1900/2100; LTE BAND 4 AND 17

This chart should also help you to discover what carriers use for their wireless technology. But you should always contact the carrier first to make sure a certain phone model will work or not.

United Kingdom carriers

 

[Ian Hanson]

This may be too late, but I just had a similar problem here in Chile with my US AT&T HTC One and got if figured out. I had the phone working fine for calls and texts, but not for data. I brought it into the store and their first step was to configure the APN, however, they did it incorrectly and then told me that the phone wouldn't work on their network since they only had 3G and my phone was only looking for 3G (which doesn't make any sense since the phone is smart enough to use whatever data source it has available to it). Then I brought it home and worked with my father-in-law on it and we got it to work by simply copying over his APN settings to mine line-by-line since we were on the same network. Bam, data. Turns out we were smarter than the employees at the wireless company store (Movistar)

 

[cgardnervt]

I had my phone for less than a week and att sent me the unlock code with no questions asked....Just treat them fairly and let them know you need it. Also make sure you pay your bill on time. Goes a long way as well. Account has to be in good standing for them to unlock it from the start.

 

[sridhar03]

Mine is at&t unlocked. Still I am able to get date here in India, though the phone is 4g, I think you should be able get data there also

Posted via Android Central App

 

[likeag8]

It will work however you will not get lte in the uk from what I hear.