Can it be used worldwide?

[luke1708]

Hi!Can i use an unlocked hermes,(apart from the tytn),in any country round the world?Anybody tried doing so??Thanks!

[Dandie]

No mobile works in every country around the world.

[totallytechie]

I think that answer is a bit terse. A quad-band phone like the Hermes can be used in virtually any country. Take a look here, and you'll see that with the 850, 900, 1800 & 1900 MHz bands covered there's not many countries you can't get a signal in.

http://www.coveragemaps.com/gsmposter_freqbands.htm

I'm not familiar with Japanese requirements, but while it stands out as having a different set of requirements, I'm reasonably sure the Hermes works there too.

Testing it out in every single country could be a bit of a large proposition though.

[goestoeleven]

I think that answer is a bit terse. A quad-band phone like the Hermes can be used in virtually any country. Take a look here, and you'll see that with the 850, 900, 1800 & 1900 MHz bands covered there's not many countries you can't get a signal in.

http://www.coveragemaps.com/gsmposter_freqbands.htm

I'm not familiar with Japanese requirements, but while it stands out as having a different set of requirements, I'm reasonably sure the Hermes works there too.

Testing it out in every single country could be a bit of a large proposition though.

So add the countries with 850/1900/2100 UMTS to the GSM list, and you'll have a comprehensive list... and yes, Japan uses 2100 UMTS, so you can add that one, too.

[gravejoker]

That just leaves the wierd 1700 spectrum .. wonder if any country is running that ..

[goestoeleven]

That just leaves the wierd 1700 spectrum .. wonder if any country is running that ..

Not yet and probably not for a few years...

[luke1708]

So in short,if i unlock the device,i may be able to use its phone capabilities on any carrier in the whole world,provided the carrier uses one of the 4 bands for communicating.The carrier may be anyone apart from the tmobile,o2,orange,cingular,vodafone?!

[gravejoker]

Yes ... you can use an unlocked TyTN on any carrier in the world that has one of the 7 bands that TyTN supports (4 GSM + 3 UMTS) ..

[luke1708]

Ok thanks...the reason behind that question is that i'm going to Mauritius(a lost island situated in the indian ocean, beside reunion island) for a few weeks..And i wanted to be sure that my unlocked m3100 would work perfectly there...Anyway, thanks for ypur kind support..

[gravejoker]

Ahha .. Mauritius .. You are lucky my friend .. what a beautiful place from what I have heard .. enjoy your trip ..

[luke1708]

Thanks,mauritius,the paradise on earth,here i come!

[luke1708]

Thanks,mauritius,the paradise on earth,here i come!

[flamingcrumb]

That just leaves the wierd 1700 spectrum .. wonder if any country is running that ..

Not yet and probably not for a few years...

Update: At the end of Nov 2006 T-Mobile won FCC auctions in 120 US markets for spectrum licenses in the 2100 and 1700 frequency bands. It is reported they will start rolling out service during 2007 (Sources: T-Mobile US Press Releases and Wikipedia). So the answer now appears to be, yes, the 1700 spectrum will be used extensively by T-Mobile USA.

I am not personally aware of any HTC phones which support 1700 yet. I am no engineer, but my assumption is that this could not be done through software upgrades on any existing devices. I imagine it will require different radio hardware. Clarification from the experts on this forum would be much appreciated.

[markg]

Just a note of caution I've tried to use an unlocked VPA compact III in Barbados on the Bmobile network, but I can't geta signal. If I use a vodafone card I manage to get a signal, so I'm not sure all carriers support this phone.

[jasjamming]

I am not personally aware of any HTC phones which support 1700 yet. I am no engineer, but my assumption is that this could not be done through software upgrades on any existing devices. I imagine it will require different radio hardware. Clarification from the experts on this forum would be much appreciated.

Yes, a software upgrade cannot physically synthesize circuitry to support the 1700Mhz frequency channel.

Looking at the hermes architecture, their LNA's have just enough frequency coverage to support the 7 bands. So the answer is a concrete no in re: 1700MHz.


It is possible to deisgn an LNA with a larger bandwidth, for example, to cover frequencies from 1500MHZ to 2300MHZ configurable via MEMS capacitors and inductors (I have a PhD student working on this atm, but he is facing the problem of keeping up the gain as well as linearity of the amplifier). Motivation for this: the fewer LNA's the less power a device will consuming yielding greater battery life.

HTC maybe should think about hardware re-configurability as well, but then again, they would like to make their devices obselete ASAP.

[BigBen]

I could not receive a signal in Brazil with my 8525. Others reported the same problem with the Samsung Blackjack. Cingular has not provided a solution to our problem.

I hope the band select hack that I found on this great XDA forum will let me use my unlocked 8525 in Brazil next time I go in March.

Australia, if I recall, was also a problem for a Blackjack user. See the Blackjack thread on the Cingular forum for details on our tribulations.

Rgds

Ben

[SkyyBoy]

I have used my TyTN in the USA, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Philippines and Hong Kong all with no problems. All locations outside the USA were with pre-paid local SIM cards (except Japan and Taiwan, which were roaming on Cingular).
Are the people having problems using a Cingular SIM (and roaming), or using a local pre-paid card?

[jasjamming]

I got full coverage in the Geylang District in Singapore. full bars. :)

[dwcliff703]

Am I right to understand that an 8525 purchased from Cingular is locked to Cingular and in order to use in another country it would need to be unlocked prior to inserting another sim card? Would I simply ask Cingular to provide the unlock code for such use?

[markg]

I'm having a Problem using a local pre-paid SIM card in Barbados, if I Roam on Vodafone which is my original carrier then it's no problem at all

[ach2]

I've used my versions of this phone around the world. Only problem I have had is that auto-detect network doesn't always work too well, but normally I use manual network selection and all is well...

Normally my phone has been set up with the UK 'out of the box' ROM, but on a recent trip to China I tried EVERY WWE rom listed on the WIKI except the AKU3.x versions.

Phones:
i-mate K-jam
Qtek 9100
Vodafone VPA compact III

Used in:
UK
All over Europe
Brazil
Mexico
USA
Canada
China
South Korea
Malaysia (East & West)
Indonesia

Carriers:
vodafone contract (UK)
O2 contract (UK)
Brazilian local SIM
Malaysian local SIM
Swiss local SIM

[flamingcrumb]

Yes, a software upgrade cannot physically synthesize circuitry to support the 1700Mhz frequency channel.

Looking at the hermes architecture, their LNA's have just enough frequency coverage to support the 7 bands. So the answer is a concrete no in re: 1700MH...

I am out of my depth on hardware issues, but was curious to recently observe the Dopod ROMs seem to add a 2100/800 Band as a selection option.

I actually hadn't realized this radio could do 800 in any form... not in the specs I have seen.

Also made me wonder if it will be technically possible to modify the ROM or registry to add a GSM 850/1900 + UTMS 2100 (for T-Mobile US... not here yet but supposedly in a few months). I am unclear if tying together particular groups of frequencies which are available on the device is just a menu thing or actually relects the physical limits of the radio itself??? i.e. While it can crtainly transmit either 2100 or 850 or 1900, I do not presume these can necessarilly be grouped as a menu choice.

TIA :)