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-   -   Will an unlocked phone bought in USA work on Indian 5G? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadgets-computers-software/273676-will-unlocked-phone-bought-usa-work-indian-5g.html)

Hello good techizens of Team BHP,

I'm planning to buy a Samsung Flip 5 on AMZN US, during Black Friday. Will the 5G work in India? I use Airtel here in Bangalore, for reference.

This website seems to agree, as does GSMArena, but I trust TBHP more. :)

Yes, it is off the Amazon Samsung seller, and it's unlocked. I'm also wondering if 256 gig is enough, so happy to take recommendations on that too.

Many of us have been buying unlocked phones from all over the world. As long as it is unlocked you are good to go. Do check the Warranty conditions as I am not sure about the T&C for Samsung.
If your current phone has the same storage and you don't have any space issues then it should be fine. Also, unless you take a lot of pictures and videos this shouldn't be a problem.

Hi,

I can chime in on this since I bought a Flip 4 In South Korea unlocked.
Samsung has a weird naming nomenclature for each phone depending on where in the world it is sold.

For instance, the Korean model I have has hardware which supports the Indian 5G bands, but for some reason is locked behind the Samsung Software build version. Same for Samsung Pay, it doesn't let me use it since it's a Korean Build and will only work with Korean banks & cards.

I'm sure there is a way around it, but since it's my secondary phone, I didn't want to explore this route.

Just make sure it has the 5G bands which India/Your Carrier uses, else it'll be tough to use 5G on the phone.
GSM arena has global variant specifications, so that should help.

Hi...
Just fell upon your query here.
Wondering if you did purchase a Samsung phone from the US and if yes, did it work in India. I'm planning to do the same.

I purchased an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra last year from the US.

It is running fine on Airtel 5G but is not compatible with Reliance Jio 5G network bands.

4G is working satisfactorily on both networks. 5G as it stands right now, is of little use as it's range is very short, i.e. signal degradation is significant if you move indoors. 4G is not as bad.

Before you purchase, identify what service provider you will be using in your area (not all places have good coverage for all providers) and ensure its 5G network uses the same frequency band as that supported by your handset.

As kosjam mentioned, 5G is good only in patches and deliberately so I guess coz it's free for now.

So already patchy connectivity + non supported bands = REGRET