international bought phones work in canada?

[Mandy22]

I was looking at buying a new phone to last me till the end of my contract. I have found a couple I am interested in but they are either from the US or Hong Kong. If I were to purchase either of these phones and put my SIM card in them would they work here in Canada? both phones are either fido or unlocked.

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[young44]

I bought an unlocked samsung note 5 (from Verizon, american) and it is compatible etc. and worked for several months but now I have to turn on domestic and international roaming to get Fido phone service even when I am not near the US border.

I would like to know why I have to have roaming ON, does it have anything to do with the phone being an american phone originally and how can I fix it so I do not need Roaming ON? I am not certain whether this a Fido problem or a problem with my phone.

[FidoJulien]

Hey @young44

It is possible your phone would recognize your SIM card as a foreign SIM card, so it would assume that you're roaming.  This shouldn't generate any extra charge on your invoice though.  You might want to speak to Samsung to verify if there's a way to fix this.

Let us know how it goes

[young44]

Thanks for the input. My SIM card is from Fido so its not foreign. It works; I get Fido phone service but only if I have my Roaming settings (domestic, International) all ON and it seems when I am at work (where Fido presently has an outage in their system) that the International service takes over and I have to reset all my APNs etc. and reboot. If I turn off the Roaming, I get no Fido service. I am fairly certain my phone is the main problem, possibly because it is an unlocked phone from Sprint (american company). I will consult with Samsung.

[young44]

OK, I re-read your response Julien and I now think you meant that my phone may recognize my Fido SIM card as foreign. When I got the phone, once I got all the settings right, it worked without any problems for months, so perhaps my going near the US border daily and Fido having an outage has somehow confused the phone. Just guessing, but I hope to be able turn off the roaming without losing my Fido signal.

[FidoRanya]

Thanks for updating us @young44 . 

Let us know how it goes! 

[YogiB · Accepted solution]

Generally you can use any modern phone on Fido's network, but here are two little things to watch out for:

1) make sure the phone is network unlocked (not locked to another cell phone provider than Fido). Even if the phone is locked, you can still unlock it. This might range from a few $ (or even free!) for very popular models, to maybe 40$ for less popular models. Shop around for unlock codes/methods, since there are some rip-off offers out there. Also do a search on XDA for your type of Android phone to get the most out of it.

2) make sure it's compatible with Fido's network standards. Most modern (smart) phones actually are, but you might not want to make the monumental mistake of buying a phone abroad, paying for shipping and finding out you've picked one of the few models that will not fly with Fido. Make sure you have a phone that works with GSM / HSPA(+) standards on the 850 and/or 1900 mHz bands. Extra bands are welcome if you plan to travel abroad. If you want to use wireless internet with the LTE SIM card from Fido, make sure your cell phone also has LTE communications capability. Just google on the model number/name of the phone you want and check out the technicals specs and you'll find these standards mentioned.

Happy shopping!

[Wufai]

Just want to quickly add a comment about ban compatibility. All GSM phones will work on the 2G network. But 4G/LTE is a different matter. Make sure your phone support the 2100Mhz/2600Mhz bands.

Also LTE coverage is not equal depending on location. Its best to have both bands but not many phones fits the bill. My Fido bought S3 only has 2100 band. In toronto the LTE 2100Mhz coverage is good but doesn't work in buildings. My other phone only has 2600Mhz. Very good building pernatration but the covverage is spotty and often reverts to 3G in a few areas.