Using iPhone 7 Plus in the U.S.

[ReSTored]

Going to SC / FL area for a few weeks.

I have an older unlocked 7Plus, model A1784, iPhone 7 - Wikipedia

Spec indicates GSM, CDMA2000, EV-DO, HSPA+, LTE, LTE Advanced compatibility.

My discount cell phone provider Zoomer Wireless has advised customers that U.S. wind down of 3G network means I cannot roam in the U.S., a real PITA.

My solution or workaround to this is to stop at a U.S. Walmart and purchase a prepaid talk/text/data SIM card to replace my Zoomer Wireless one. I'm assuming I can simply remove my Zoomer SIM, stick in the new SIM and the phone will work.

Has anyone else done this? Any issues? I do plan to backup my phone before leaving. Yes, I know I can resolve this by moving to another cell phone provider, but I don't want to do this at this time.

This is an example of a card that appears to be compatible.

Robot or human?

 

[FullMotoJacket]

How is your 3G phone going to work on a 4/5G network with a SIM card swap?

 

[Scuba Steve]

Going to SC / FL area for a few weeks.

I have an older unlocked 7Plus, model A1784, iPhone 7 - Wikipedia

Spec indicates GSM, CDMA2000, EV-DO, HSPA+, LTE, LTE Advanced compatibility.

My discount cell phone provider Zoomer Wireless has advised customers that U.S. wind down of 3G network means I cannot roam in the U.S., a real PITA.

My solution or workaround to this is to stop at a U.S. Walmart and purchase a prepaid talk/text/data SIM card to replace my Zoomer Wireless one. I'm assuming I can simply remove my Zoomer SIM, stick in the new SIM and the phone will work.

Has anyone else done this? Any issues? I do plan to backup my phone before leaving. Yes, I know I can resolve this by moving to another cell phone provider, but I don't want to do this at this time.

This is an example of a card that appears to be compatible.

Robot or human?

Phone is the issue not the card need a newer one to use in the USA

Sent from the future

 

[ReSTored]

How is your 3G phone going to work on a 4/5G network with a SIM card swap?

Phone is the issue not the card need a newer one to use in the USA

As far as I can tell my 7 Plus is at least LTE compatible, but my discount cellphone provider, Zoomer, only supported 3g in the US. In Settings:Cellular Data Options I have the ability to select 3G or LTE

In Canada, Zoomer is owned by Rogers and uses the existing Rogers network, which is 4G/LTE and up, and my phones works OK. As I understand it Rogers no longer uses 3G in Canada.

What we like: Access to Rogers’ 4G LTE network​

Zoomer Wireless runs on Rogers’ robust 4G LTE network, so you get the same great coverage and fast speeds as Rogers customers, but for a fraction of the price.

Zoomer Wireless Review

Want to save money on your phone bill? Zoomer Wireless offers cheap plans on a reliable network.

www.whistleout.ca

Are all devices affected by the shutdowns?​

No. Listed below are some devices not impacted by the shutdowns:

• iPhone 6 and later models
• Samsung Galaxy: A10e, Note9, S8, Fold, X Cover, Z or later models
• Google Pixel 3 or later models
• Motorola G, Edge, K20, E or later models

US 3G/HSPA networks shutting down – FAQs - Rogers

Carriers in the United States begin shutting down their 3G/HSPA networks starting February 2022. Read our FAQs to learn more.

www.rogers.com

 

[TwistedKestrel]

I don't see any reason why this wouldn't work

 

[sburns]

Well that was badly described in the first post. The other post clarifies it. Should be good as long as your phone supports LTE, just swap your sim with a local one and you should be good. I do this when I travel to Europe with my spare phone.
Either way if you get stuck there is always WiFI calling.

 

[Lightcycle]

We always get a SIM chip in whatever country we're traveling in.

Most times it works, but the waters are getting a bit murkier with some of the US providers. We were in Utah last fall and the guy at the Walmart store warned us that AT&T prepaid chips don't work on some non-US phones. Something about the 5G towers not being compatible with all carriers... something, something, I didn't get the gist of it. Anyway, the guy at the counter popped in a test AT&T chip into my Samsung phone, and no bueno. We had to use Neda's Canadian iPhone 6S, and that worked fine.

Whichever carrier you go for, make sure you ask whoever's working there about compatibility, the carriers have a list of what phones work and don't... BUT they are for phones issued by US carriers only! I want to say that generally iPhones are pretty compatible with everything, but again, confirm and test before you walk out of the store.

Don't just go by the TLAs: GSM, LTE, etc. There are a lot more moving parts at play these days.

 

[PrivatePilot]

We were in Utah last fall and the guy at the Walmart store warned us that AT&T prepaid chips don't work on some non-US phones. Something about the 5G towers not being compatible with all carriers...

Dude didn't know what he was talking about. As long as the phone is unlocked so it can use a SIM from any carrier, and the phone supports the frequencies the carrier uses (a tiny number of older Freedom Mobile phones would be the only exception), it'll work just fine.

The test SIM thing you tried probably didn't work either because your phone was either carrier locked, or the settings weren't changed to allow international roaming as well as configure it to the new APN's.

 

[Lightcycle]

Dude didn't know what he was talking about. As long as the phone is unlocked so it can use a SIM from any carrier, and the phone supports the frequencies the carrier uses (a tiny number of older Freedom Mobile phones would be the only exception), it'll work just fine.

The test SIM thing you tried probably didn't work either because your phone was either carrier locked, or the settings weren't changed to allow international roaming as well as configure it to the new APN's.

Maybe the guy didn't know what he was talking about, but my phone isn't carrier locked.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Maybe the guy didn't know what he was talking about, but my phone isn't carrier locked.

It just needed some settings tweaks then and it would have worked fine. I used to use foreign sims from several different carriers all the time in various different phones over the years (nature of my job plus our personal travel had me needing it quite often) and some required more tweaking than others to do a full carrier swap, but they all worked fine in the end.

My new phone supports eSIM and that has been a game changer. Hands down the best thing ever for travellers.