South African Bands?

[PsyCLown]

Hi all,

Looking at purchasing a phone from overseas and was wondering which bands our networks here in South Africa make use of?

It seems as if China and America aren't very compatible with most other places around the world, so just want to check the region phone (Taiwan) I am getting will have support in South Africa. A lot of the Americans are having issues with their network and the 4G bands.

Thanks!
Psy

 

[DA-LION-619]

You should post a link to the phone and also tell us the network you want to use it on.

 

[JimM]

There are a few pitfalls:

1. Network locking is common in Europe and Americas. The cost to unlock may negate the savings!
2. It will not be ICASA approved and there is a risk of confiscation (even if it's identical to a SA model).
3. Some so called Global Models have an IMEI prefixed 99 and these may not be accepted on all networks!
4. Warranty will be unlikely as it will be seen as a grey import.
5. What the US call 4G is officially LTE and there are at least five possible bands!

If you are sure that you want to go ahead, then wherever you buy, insist that it will work in Europe. This should cover most situations and if you picked up say a Samsung S6, it would allow for phone calls at least in the USA as most have 850/1900MHz as GSM bands.

 

[PsyCLown]

Sorry for the delayed response.

The phone I am considering is the Asus Zenfone 2, however there is a Chinese version and Taiwanese version and both have different bands available on them.

I'd ideally like a list of the various networks in South Africa and the bands they use as I might change my mind and go for another phone altogether and I think it would still be nice to know which bands are used in South Africa?


I wouldn't purchase a phone which is locked, always check that. All of the places I have looked at do not lock their devices to a specific carrier and warranty I know won't be carried over.

I did not know about it possibly being confiscated due to lack of ICASA approval, kinda BS IMO and was not aware of the IMEI prefix of 99 which might not be allowed on all networks. Can't really check the IMEI number prior to purchasing it though :-/

However if someone can post the bands for the various SA networks it would be greatly appreciated!
I am not even sure where to look for such info?

 

[JimM]

The ICASA thing is real and I know of people missing their handsets! It's still BS but a fact sadly!

The Asus Zenfone 2 should be the 'Global Version' for it to work 100% guaranteed on LTE here in SA.

With the Taiwan model, only one LTE band is in (temporary) use here in SA. Likewise, the China and US version is unlikely to be fully compatible with any South African LTE bands.

All GSM/HSPA models will work on any 3G/HSPA network here in South Africa.

Do NOT touch the China/India TD-SCDMA model as this will not work on any bands in South Africa!

Also worth a look is the Vodafone V985 which can be found at Game (and other places) for around R999 and this is an absolute bargain! Single SIM but has 5 inch IPS display, 3000mAh battery, KitKat 4.4 and HSPA/LTE (CAT 4). Only downside is a 5MP camera...