When you buy a phone, you can see whether it supports quad-band or only specific frequencies in its description, but what does it mean?
Quad-band refers to devices connecting to four GSM frequency bands. These devices can operate on any of those frequency bands, making them essential choices for people that like to travel. Some phone models support quad-band and wireless charging, but this depends on the manufacturer and provider you’re buying them from.
What Does Quad Band Mean?
Quad-band refers to devices that connect and communicate to four types of GSM frequency bands.
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) is the digital mobile network that your phone uses to communicate with other devices on the network. Quad-band devices support the following frequency bands:
- 850 MHz (Used in the US, Canada, and Latin American Countries)
- 900 MHz (Used in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Brazil)
- 1,800 MHz (Used in Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Brazil)
- 1,900 MHz (Used in the US, Canada, and Latin American Countries)
Each country uses its own GSM frequency bands for its local network.
For example, European countries use 900 to 1800 frequency bands, while the United States uses 850 to 1,900 bands. Looking at the numbers, there doesn’t seem to be a huge difference in frequencies, but phones specifically made for a certain country can only work on those specific frequencies. That means that phones made in Europe won’t typically work in the US and vice versa. Quad-band devices get around this problem since they can connect to different frequency bands.
Quad-Band Phones with Wireless Charging
Quad-band phones are lifesavers for people who like to travel worldwide, but what if you combine them with wireless charging? Then you’ll have one of the most convenient mobile phones in your hand.
Which Quad-Band Phones Have Wireless Charging
Most manufacturers integrated quad-band and wireless charging to their phones, but this depends on the model and whether you brought them from a network carrier.
Apple has quad-band support for its line of iPhone models. Moreover, most iPhones, especially newer models like the iPhone 11, also have wireless charging capabilities. While there are some exceptions to this – which we’ll discuss later – your iPhone will most fall under quad-band phones with wireless charging.
For Android phones, whether it’s both quad-band and has wireless charging heavily depends on the manufacturer and model.
Samsung phones have quad-band and wireless charging for their flagship models, but other models usually only have quad-band support. A lot of companies still prefer to use wired charging over wireless since it cuts down manufacturing costs. You can expect smaller, local companies only to support certain GSM frequency bands rather than all four.
Quad-band phones are becoming the norm, but SIM-locked phones are the exception.
SIM lock is when mobile phones are restricted to only one or two GSM frequencies. This is common in phones bought from SIM carrier providers.
For example, iPhones are usually quad-band devices, but if you’re buying them from a local carrier, they’re usually locked to that SIM’s GSM frequency. Some SIM carriers will only sim lock the device for the first few months of use, but others will keep it locked until the carrier network or a third party unlocks the device.
Is My Phone Quad-Band?
A quick scroll through Settings will tell whether your phone has quad-band capabilities.
Go to your phone’s Settings and select the Network Settings. From there, check whether the network frequency preference option is available. If your phone is quad-band, you should see the 850/1900 and 900/1800 frequencies options.
References
Quad-band – Gartner. https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/quad-band
What Is a Locked Phone – Gazelle News. https://www.gazelle.com/thehorn/2014/01/29/what-is-a-locked-phone-and-why-do-carriers-lock-them/
Video References
Mrwhosetheboss
Techquickie
Faisal Jaffer