Before you buy a phone from HiTech Land, you need to make sure the frequency will operate in your country. With a Band Class Chart or GSM Band Chart, you can determine if a phone will operate in your country. Alternatively, you can just choose the phone and country on the will my phone work site. If you don’t have an exact model in mind already, we recommend checking the full list of network bands in your country.

What is a frequency band?

A defined operating channel for communication, if your phone does not have the same frequency as your phone company it won’t work. When you purchase a phone locally, it will be compatible with your country, however, when ordering online that is not always the case.

What frequency bands are there?

The basic classification is:

• 2G: 2.75G – GSM
• 3G: WCDMA,
• 3.5G: HSDPA,
• 3.75G: HSUPA (3.75G),
• 4G: including FDD-LTE, TD-LTE,
• 5G: Available in some areas band are an N followed by 1,2 or 3 numbers. (Eg. N5, N42, N234)

Each generation (G) is faster than the previous and the same service can be carried on different bands. So 4G LTE is not enough information to determine if it is compatible, you need the frequency. I.e. 4G LTE 1800Mhz.

What about multiband? Many phones now have a multiband and are built for worldwide use, but there are still some combinations that do not work. Data services can have specific frequencies, so if you don’t check you could end up stuck on 3G when you have a 4G phone.

Fast Method – Frequency Band Charts

If you know the Band Class of the phone you want to buy you can use the charts below to find the band class frequency and determine if the phone will work with your carrier. This is the fastest method and great if you already know the frequency you need for your carrier/country.

3G Frequency Band Class Chart

4G Frequency Band Class Chart

5G Frequency Bands

5G is split into many different bands, as this is an emerging technology, double check your carrier and phone are using the same bands in your area.

3 Step Method

If you don’t know any details about your carrier or the smartphone bands, here is a 3 step process to finding a compatible smartphone for your region.

Step 1: Find out your countries frequencies/bands.

Go to the site below and find your country to get the list of frequencies that are operating in your region. Also, check your specific phone company frequencies as in some areas companies have different bands.

Step 2: Find the frequency of the phone you like

Go to the product page and find the specifications. You are looking for the “Frequency bands”.

Step 3: Decide

Compare the phone frequencies to the available frequencies to determine if you can use this phone in your country.

Technical definitions to be aware of

• The letters after a frequency define the band; 800ac and 800bc are not the same.
• + after a frequency is the same as without; 1100+ is the same as 1100.

If you looking for a new phone, discover the latest popular models on our smartphone page.