Buying A53 5G to use overseas (Jersey, UK, Europe)

[izzylr]

Hi Samsung community,

I'm moving to Jersey in the Channel Islands from New Zealand and want to purchase a new unlocked Samsung A53 5G phone in New Zealand before departing. Could you please advise if I can use it on Jersey mobile phone networks? Are the mobile bands compatible? I can't buy it in Jersey as I need it now but have to make sure it will work in Jersey, the UK, Europe when I am residing overseas and travelling.

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[whippasnappa]

If it is unlocked, it will work anywhere in the world, on any network. You may need to change your band settings, but once you put the new sim in the phone it SHOULD fix and change itself. Safe travels!!! 🙏

[Frbky · Accepted solution]

That's not quite correct... different models support different network bands as a hardware limitation, regardless of unlocked status.
For example, in the US the A53 Unlocked version is not compatible with Verizon because it lacks LTE Band 13.

OP needs to check what network bands are supported by the New Zealand A53, and compare that to the network bands required by whatever carrier or carriers operate in Jersey. Otherwise, even if the phone is unlocked it may physically lack support for required network bands.

[KiwiBird97]

You are totally correct. The model number in question is SM-A536.
• E: Latin America, Middle East, India, Asia Pacific
• B: Europe & CIS
• U/U1: USA/Puerto Rico
• W: Canada
• N: South Korea
• 0: China/Hong Kong/Taiwan

New Zealand is in the APAC region, while Jersey is in Europe. Even though the mobile bands may be compatible on the SM-A536E, the SIM card is not. You will need to buy the SM-A536B instead.

[KiwiBird97]

As a wireless customer in the Americas, I usually have two options when it comes to international travel.
• Keep the current device and add an international plan
• Get a local SIM card for the region I am traveling to. If necessary, I will buy a new device for that region to ensure all services are available.

Note that in the 2nd bullet point, suppose I move from Ireland to the UK. In this case, because the old and new regions are compatible, there is no need to get a new phone.

[Buckeyeman50]

If i were you i would definitely just wait until i got there and then buy it. I've been hearing lot's of people having issues with this very situation, either by bringing it from here to there, or vice verses.

[Anonymous]

The global unlocked version will work any where. Don't get the international version it's different