Will GSM iPhones purchased in the U.S. work with Brazilian carriers?

SteampunkGhost

New member
Jan 24, 2014
4
0
0
Visit site
So, I'm going to Brazil quite soon and I'm thinking of buying an IPhone or two to take with me and sell(importing stuff from the U.S. and reselling in Brazil is quite profitable, since everything there is so overpriced..) but, my question is - will they work with Brazilian carriers? Could I buy a (used) AT&T or T-Mobile IPhone and then put a SIM from a Brazilian carrier and have no problem at all? Or would I have to buy an unlocked if I want to do this? Since they are GSM phones I think they would work, but I don't want to spend $250 on an IPhone 4/4S and not be able to make any money off of it.. Thanks in advance!
 

cinematicme

Well-known member
Dec 10, 2013
107
0
0
Visit site
They would need to be unlocked. And check what radio band Brazil uses and compare it with the models. Generally each iPhone release has 2-3 different models (check model number on back)

For example:
A1332 iPhone 4 GSM
A1349 iPhone 4 CDMA
A1387 iPhone 4S (global depending on who it comes from, verizon 4s is a no go, att 4s however is a good global)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Haseeb Rehman

Well-known member
May 5, 2013
284
0
0
Visit site
You'll need to get the unlocked version of iPhones that you want to resell in Brazil. Otherwise, Any sim other than the carrier to which the iPhone is locked to won't work.
 

MatheusDSamps

New member
Feb 9, 2014
1
0
0
Visit site
As a brazillian, I must say that our money is undervalued, I recently bought an Iphone 5c from the US and the diference between buying here and outside was aprox. 300 dollars, so you might not get a high profit right now


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

cinematicme

Well-known member
Dec 10, 2013
107
0
0
Visit site
As a brazillian, I must say that our money is undervalued, I recently bought an Iphone 5c from the US and the diference between buying here and outside was aprox. 300 dollars, so you might not get a high profit right now


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's not that your money is undervalued, Brazil's inflation rate is 5.8% and rising. $1USD is $2.34BRL




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Marcy Murray Braga

New member
Jan 11, 2016
1
0
0
Visit site
I am going to visit and spent 60 days in the state of
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
To make easier my contacts, I intent to buy 1 iPhone 6, 64
Should it be "UNLOCKED" or "UNBLOCKED" to operate there?
Thank you very much.
 

JD Yamaha

New member
Jun 6, 2019
4
0
0
Visit site
I am going to visit and spent 60 days in the state of
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
To make easier my contacts, I intent to buy 1 iPhone 6, 64
Should it be "UNLOCKED" or "UNBLOCKED" to operate there?
Thank you very much.

We have four unlocked phones in Brazil as I speak. Only one of them works properly. Our brand new iPhone X Plus, which was bought in the US but never opened and turned on until we got to Brazil and bought a SIM card, is working flawlessly. ALL of our other three unlocked phones that we have been using in the US do not work properly. They will receive and make calls but that is it. None of the apps work right. Whatsapp will not work, which is the major app we use to communicate with everyone. We also cannot access the internet, even though we have tried several different services, changed settings, etc. No matter which SIM we buy, our phones are not fully functional. Of course we are not buying very expensive "unlimited" plans. We are trying to buy 2 gig plans that are supposed to have unlimited calls, Facebook, and whatsapp. The iPhone X is working perfectly with one of these plans.

Our other three phones include a brand new LG V30, which we have only had for a week before we came to Brazil, an old Galaxy S3 which we have had forever and a iPhone 6s Plus which we have had for two years. All three are unlocked and accept Brazillian SIM cards. All of them will receive and make calls. None of them will connect to the internet. Three different carriers in Brazil have tried to change our settings but nothing has worked so far. We are so frustrated that we are going to go ahead and buy a cheap Brazilian phone to use while we are here. My wife is at the store as we speak.
 

Just_Me_D

Ambassador Team Leader, Senior Moderator
Moderator
Jan 8, 2012
59,707
632
113
Visit site
We have four unlocked phones in Brazil as I speak. Only one of them works properly. Our brand new iPhone X Plus, which was bought in the US but never opened and turned on until we got to Brazil and bought a SIM card, is working flawlessly. ALL of our other three unlocked phones that we have been using in the US do not work properly. They will receive and make calls but that is it. None of the apps work right. Whatsapp will not work, which is the major app we use to communicate with everyone. We also cannot access the internet, even though we have tried several different services, changed settings, etc. No matter which SIM we buy, our phones are not fully functional. Of course we are not buying very expensive "unlimited" plans. We are trying to buy 2 gig plans that are supposed to have unlimited calls, Facebook, and whatsapp. The iPhone X is working perfectly with one of these plans.

Our other three phones include a brand new LG V30, which we have only had for a week before we came to Brazil, an old Galaxy S3 which we have had forever and a iPhone 6s Plus which we have had for two years. All three are unlocked and accept Brazillian SIM cards. All of them will receive and make calls. None of them will connect to the internet. Three different carriers in Brazil have tried to change our settings but nothing has worked so far. We are so frustrated that we are going to go ahead and buy a cheap Brazilian phone to use while we are here. My wife is at the store as we speak.

Does the Brazilian carrier whom the SIM cards are associated with allow for internet access? Unlocked simply means that the use of the device is not locked to a single carrier, but it does NOT mean that you have unfettered access.
 

scruffypig

Well-known member
Feb 16, 2014
2,113
19
38
Visit site
We have four unlocked phones in Brazil as I speak. Only one of them works properly. Our brand new iPhone X Plus, which was bought in the US but never opened and turned on until we got to Brazil and bought a SIM card, is working flawlessly. ALL of our other three unlocked phones that we have been using in the US do not work properly. They will receive and make calls but that is it. None of the apps work right. Whatsapp will not work, which is the major app we use to communicate with everyone. We also cannot access the internet, even though we have tried several different services, changed settings, etc. No matter which SIM we buy, our phones are not fully functional. Of course we are not buying very expensive "unlimited" plans. We are trying to buy 2 gig plans that are supposed to have unlimited calls, Facebook, and whatsapp. The iPhone X is working perfectly with one of these plans.

Our other three phones include a brand new LG V30, which we have only had for a week before we came to Brazil, an old Galaxy S3 which we have had forever and a iPhone 6s Plus which we have had for two years. All three are unlocked and accept Brazillian SIM cards. All of them will receive and make calls. None of them will connect to the internet. Three different carriers in Brazil have tried to change our settings but nothing has worked so far. We are so frustrated that we are going to go ahead and buy a cheap Brazilian phone to use while we are here. My wife is at the store as we speak.
https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/#mn_p




Here is a good Apple website to check for compatibility by model and country:
 

JD Yamaha

New member
Jun 6, 2019
4
0
0
Visit site
Does the Brazilian carrier whom the SIM cards are associated with allow for internet access? Unlocked simply means that the use of the device is not locked to a single carrier, but it does NOT mean that you have unfettered access.
Lo

Yes, each of the three prepaid cell service companies we went to said that they don't understand why it's not working. I'm assuming the workers don't have full knowledge of how the system works. Brazil is very nitpicky in the way that they charge. From our experience, most prepaid Brazilian SIM cards will not work fully on most US unlocked phones. This particular trip is not the only trip we have had issues. About 10 years ago things would work fine with an unlocked phone just by purchasing a prepaid sim card. For the last 3 years at least it is not been that way.
 

JD Yamaha

New member
Jun 6, 2019
4
0
0
Visit site
Does the Brazilian carrier whom the SIM cards are associated with allow for internet access? Unlocked simply means that the use of the device is not locked to a single carrier, but it does NOT mean that you have unfettered access.

Considering your question further, I plainly explained that we have four phones. We tried to purchase the exact same plan for each phone. It only worked fully on one phone. We were purchasing 2 gigs of internet access plus unlimited calling and texting. At all three cell service companies, we were purchasing prepaid plans that are supposed to work with unlocked GSM phones. As I said, on three phones we were able to make and receive calls but we're not able to access the internet. At all three cell service companies they tried to work on our settings but nothing worked. My point is that no matter if you have unlocked phones or not they may not be fully operational on most Northeast Brazilian prepaid plans. Perhaps other parts of Brazil may be different.
 

scruffypig

Well-known member
Feb 16, 2014
2,113
19
38
Visit site
Considering your question further, I plainly explained that we have four phones. We tried to purchase the exact same plan for each phone. It only worked fully on one phone. We were purchasing 2 gigs of internet access plus unlimited calling and texting. At all three cell service companies, we were purchasing prepaid plans that are supposed to work with unlocked GSM phones. As I said, on three phones we were able to make and receive calls but we're not able to access the internet. At all three cell service companies they tried to work on our settings but nothing worked. My point is that no matter if you have unlocked phones or not they may not be fully operational on most Northeast Brazilian prepaid plans. Perhaps other parts of Brazil may be different.

The only 5 carriers in Brazil that officially support the iPhone: Claro, Oi, Porto Seguro, TIM and Vivo.
 

JD Yamaha

New member
Jun 6, 2019
4
0
0
Visit site
The only 5 carriers in Brazil that officially support the iPhone: Claro, Oi, Porto Seguro, TIM and Vivo.

That's some good information. What's really weird is that the only phone that worked fully was our brand new iPhone X. Our older iPhone 6s Plus would only make and receive calls but would not connect to the internet. Our Android phones, both unlocked, would not connect to the internet either.
 

Trending Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
259,997
Messages
1,765,272
Members
441,220
Latest member
Airwaysoffices