Question about Importing from the US to the UK
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[Deleted User]
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Ok so I'm pretty new to this whole importing thing. And I was recently in the states and saw some phones that I like. But I didn't buy any out of fear that they won't work in the UK.
The phone that interested me the most was the "HTC Mytouch 4G Slide" http://www.gsmarena.com/t_mobile_mytouch_4g_slide-4018.php
So my question is. would this phone work in the UK if I imported it from the US? Because some people say that I need to have a T-mobile sim card (which I do) and others say that it needs to be unlocked first? so that got me kinda confused.
The phone that interested me the most was the "HTC Mytouch 4G Slide" http://www.gsmarena.com/t_mobile_mytouch_4g_slide-4018.php
So my question is. would this phone work in the UK if I imported it from the US? Because some people say that I need to have a T-mobile sim card (which I do) and others say that it needs to be unlocked first? so that got me kinda confused.
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Comments
Unlocking will depend on if the location you bought it from has it locked or not.
An unlocked device there will still be unlocked here
They have banned unlocking 'phones in the USA.
But you can still buy phones that are already unlocked over there
I was never able to confirm it but it's a possibility.
That aside, I think the deciding factor whether you should but it is price - it's a two-year-old phone, unless it's priced at a bargain, it wouldn't be worth it IMO, especially since you'll have no warranty.
But if/when I do get the phone I will def confirm if it works with a T-mobile sim card or not.
And besides, Import fees + shipping would take the cost of the phone over your budget.
You can get much better phones for the same price even in the UK.
If you're ever going to import a phone it's better off getting it from the EU or China.
It's a GSM handset that supports the frequencies used by UK networks, there's no reason why it wouldn't work other than being network-locked.
As for buying from China, there's no reason that would work out any better in terms of import duty etc.
The EU is a different matter but China wouldn't be any better than the US.
I've read that most transactions involving China are pretty bad because the items are usually in bad shape or just out right the wrong one ordered.
Otherwise, it would need to be unlocked to work on a UK network.
It's far from conclusive, as I told the OP but it's an option for them if they do buy the handset in question.
If you look through the comments on that link, you'll see that her handset was supplied 'unlocked' to start with. (it wasn't locked to -mobile US) From the other comments it seems other handsets weren't locked.
As the MNC and MCC are obviously different for each company, I thinks it's unlikely a locked phone would accept the other SIM.
Of more importance, to a UK customer would be T-mobile US very heavyweight branding and app restrictions.Traditionally, the advicehas been to flash stock firmware. This won't be possible for this handset.
I still have the my touch 4g and can confirm that it works perfectly fine on 3g here. Certainly my touch doesn't have any app restrictions and there is very little in the way of tmobile specific software on it so what they're is, you can just ignore.
I would try and find a way to get it unlocked before buying. As one poster already said tmobile us and UK are separate companies. Hope that helps.
Yes that helped a lot. Thanks.
Shipping, Import Duty and UK VAT @ 20%
And don't forget that many carriers will also add on an admin fee for dealing with customs on your behalf. This 'admin' fee can range from £8 for the Royal Mail, to £20+ for some of the well known delivery agents!