SMT 5600 use in the UK?

[Guest jalm1]

I have a 5600 that i love, and i will be living in the UK for about 5 months. i was wondering, rather then get a new PAYG phone for while i am over in the UK i could just unlock mine, and get a new PAYG sim. would this work? i know that the 5600 is tri-band for North America, but i am wondering what band would i be missing for use in europe and would be greatly effect my useage, or would the phone not work on a particular UK network (ie, i shouldnt do PAYG with them)? any guidence would be appriciated.

[Guest martin]

Yes, you can use an unlocked SMT5600 in the UK :D

The SMT5600 is GSM 850/1800/1900. In the UK both Orange and T-mobile are completely GSM 1800 so you should have with no problems with either of them. Vodafone and O2 are mainly GSM 900 which the 5600 can't use so these would not be a good option.

Hope that helps.

[Guest jalm1]

Thank you i greatly appricate the help, this is good news!. One other quick question, what band does most of the rest of western europe use? if i go with Orange or T-Mobile PAYG for the UK, i know they do offer roaming abroad, but i would be SOL if many of the other countries use 900.

Thanks, Also, any suguestions as to which might be better t-mobile or orange?

[Guest Confucious]

In the UK the 5600 is sold By Orange as the C500 so all settings are easily available for Orange and the majority of users are on Orange so it might be best to get an Orange SIMbut there is very little to chose between them IMHO.

For other countries check out http://www.directmobilephones.com/orange_roaming1.htm Nearly all phones sold in Europe are at least dual band 900/1800 so it really doesn't affect most people but you, obviously, will only be able to use your phone in countries that support 1800.

HTH

[Guest jalm1]

Thanks for the help!