5G Bands and E-SIM compatibility in Thailand for U.S. market mobiles?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Lately, just like in the early adventure days of 4G/LTE, whenever I find myself lately looking at updating to a 5G Android phone from the U.S. market, I always find myself wondering, just what 5G bands are the three major TH mobile providers using/planning to use?

 

Does anyone know offhand, and/or can point me to some information source that lays out what 5G bands would be needed here?  It does no good to buy a U.S. market mobile if the U.S. 5G bands don't match up with the Thailand ones. But I prefer to buy and use U.S. market phones generally for when I'm also back in the states.

 

Similar and related question: anyone have any experience with using E-SIMs with any of the Thai mobile providers using U.S. market mobile phones, and if so, what models? Any compatibility problems with that? I got kind of a weird initial feeling when I dipped my toe into the E-SIM exploratory world, when I came across some Motorola models that supposedly would support Google Fi E-SIMs but not from any other services...

 

Thanks in advance for any help/assistance. ????   I haven't really been focused on all the 5G mobile stuff lately, because it's probably not much advantage or use for my personal purposes. But at the same time, if I'm gonna buy a new phone sometime in the future if I find a good deal on something, I'd probably want it to be 5G compatible at this point in the evolution of things.

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[jackdd]

If I search for "thailand 5g band" on Google image search it gives me multiple graphics showing which bands the providers plan to use.

Currently 5G is still quite irrelevant and imho nothing to worry about. Before you can get decent 5G coverage (4G is currently sufficient anyway...), even just across bigger cities, you will probably buy one or two more new smartphones.

Edited April 27, 2021 by jackdd

[mvdf]

What's insane is they are already discussing and developing 6G. Google 6G network and you'll see how some mobile technology companies are already planning to launch 6G satellites. 

[mwbrown]

I've got a Samsung 5G phone and will be going to America in September for 3 months so I look forward to information on this.

 

On my old Thai 4G phone the only US provider that actually worked was AT&T which I hate so I'd be really happy with another provider.

[jgm005]

5 hours ago, jackdd said:

1 hour ago, mwbrown said:

I've got a Samsung 5G phone and will be going to America in September for 3 months so I look forward to information on this.

 

On my old Thai 4G phone the only US provider that actually worked was AT&T which I hate so I'd be really happy with another provider.

I have a Pixel 4a 5G and use T-Mobile back in the States.  T-Mobile "claims" they have the widest 5G coverage in the States.

 

[suzannegoh]

3 hours ago, mwbrown said:

I've got a Samsung 5G phone and will be going to America in September for 3 months so I look forward to information on this.

 

On my old Thai 4G phone the only US provider that actually worked was AT&T which I hate so I'd be really happy with another provider.

You might be in for a disappointment when you take your Thai 5G phone to the US.  As far as I can tell, the only 5G band that Thailand and the US have in common is the n41 (2500MHz) band and you won't find that everywhere in the US. 

[ifmu]

i am interested in this subject also 

my problem is 

i hate att    and most of the others 

verizon is my company .. and they only let u use a few phones  that are prepaid ..   ie no contract no long term monthly 

[suzannegoh]

1 hour ago, suzannegoh said:

You might be in for a disappointment when you take your Thai 5G phone to the US.  As far as I can tell, the only 5G band that Thailand and the US have in common is the n41 (2500MHz) band and you won't find that everywhere in the US. 

I may need to revise that.  I’m not sure that the US and Thailand have any 5G bands in common.  It looks to me as though in the US they auctioned off spectrum on these bands:  600MHz, 850MHz, 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 28GHz, and 39GHz and in Thailand they auctioned off spectrum on these bands:  700MHz, 2.6GHz, and 26GHz.  And some of those bands in Thailand may not be operational yet.  The Samsung S21 5G phones sold in the US appear to support all of the US bands but none of the Thai ones.

Edited April 27, 2021 by suzannegoh

[Pib]

1 hour ago, suzannegoh said:

You might be in for a disappointment when you take your Thai 5G phone to the US.  As far as I can tell, the only 5G band that Thailand and the US have in common is the n41 (2500MHz) band and you won't find that everywhere in the US. 

I did a google and TMobile supports  n41 in the U.S... picked it up from the Sprint procurement....and it's up and running in numerous locations.   Below weblinks talk the TMobile n41.

https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-network

https://www.bestphoneplans.net/networks/t-mobile#5G

 

 

 

 

 

 

[suzannegoh]

4 minutes ago, Pib said:

I did a google and TMobile supports  n41 in the U.S... picked it up from the Sprint procurement....and it's up and running in numerous locations.   Below weblinks talk the TMobile n41.

https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-network

https://www.bestphoneplans.net/networks/t-mobile#5G

 

 

 

 

 

 

But think that I was in error when I said that Thailand uses that band.  AIS says that their 5G is 2.6GHz (as opposed to 2.5Ghz).

[Pib]

2 minutes ago, suzannegoh said:

 The Samsung S21 5G phones sold in the US appear to support all of the US bands but none of the Thai ones.

Funny you should mention that....I thinking about buying a Samsung S21+ 5G here in Thailand.  Took a snapshot of a display model in a mall just to get the IMEI numbers.  A few minutes ago I ran the IMEI thru the U.S. TMobile, Verizon, and AT&T IMEI compatibility checkers and all three said the phone was good to go in the U.S. 

 

But the AT&T checker did note it was not compatible with their eSIM so a SIM would be provided instead.  The TMobile and Verizon checkers didn't note anything about eSIM....just said good to go.

 

Snapshot of AT&T note

 

 

 

Now, I do not expect the checkers were specifically checking for 5G compatibility...instead, just checking for compatibility on their networks for LTE or 5G.   

[suzannegoh]

2 minutes ago, Pib said:

Funny you should mention that....I thinking about buying a Samsung S21+ 5G here in Thailand.  Took a snapshot of a display model in a mall just to get the IMEI numbers.  A few minutes ago I ran the IMEI thru the U.S. TMobile, Verizon, and AT&T IMEI compatibility checkers and all three said the phone was good to go in the U.S. 

 

But the AT&T checker did note it was not compatible with their eSIM so a SIM would be provided instead.  The TMobile and Verizon checkers didn't note anything about eSIM....just said good to go.

 

Snapshot of AT&T note

 

 

 

Now, I do not expect the checkers were specifically checking for 5G compatibility...instead, just checking for compatibility on their networks for LTE or 5G.   

Do you know what 5G bands the Thai version of the Samsung S21+ supports?

[Pib]

DTAC supports n41/2500Mhz.

 

https://www.dtac.co.th/en/network/

[Pib]

3 minutes ago, suzannegoh said:

Do you know what 5G bands the Thai version of the Samsung S21+ supports?

 

Still looking....but the  5G freqs for the U.S. unlocked version is below....from gsarena.

https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s21+_5g-10625.php

 

 

[Pib]

Here's what the siamphone.com web site says the 5G freqs are for a Thailand  model S21+ 5G.   1800Mhz, Mhz, 2100Mhz, 2500Mhz, 2600Mhz, 3500Mhz, and 3700MHz.  Is it correct?....I couldn't say.

 

https://www.siamphone.com/spec/samsung/galaxy_s21_plus.htm

[Pib]

41 minutes ago, Pib said:

DTAC supports n41/2500Mhz.

 

https://www.dtac.co.th/en/network/

 

After relooking my  post above I'm not sure why I said DTAC supports n41/2500Mhz as above image says nothing about 2500Mhz...talks 700Mhz and 26Ghz 5G bands....but my brain was apparently seeing 2500Mhz.   So disregard above post.....too many webpages open at once, LEO beer, old age, late at night will be my excuses.

[PDP11]

Generally, mobile handset manufacturers create a North America (Canada, USA), China, and Global (rest of world) versions. In the case of Samsung for the latest S21 5G, models start with SM-G991 and end with a letter B=global, 0=China, U=North America. So SM-G991B is the handset you'll get in Thailand and SM-G991U in the United States. To complicate matters for Samsung, there is a N version for South Korea and U1, U2, etc. for specific carriers in the USA. The secret here is the handset modem chip used is the same, the handset vendor is choosing to enable / disable specific channels for specific markets. This allows different prices in different countries and complies with carriers requests that their competitors channels are disabled (the U1, U2 scenario in the USA, W in Canada). Am picking on Samsung here but true for other Android handsets and Apple.

 

In the USA and Canada - if you have a choice - always buy the "unlocked" version from the handset manufacturer and not from a carrier (unlocked does not mean that competitor's bands are available, only that you can put another carrier's SIM into the handset). The global picture is much brighter and we can thank the EU for this. Of course, users are stuck in North America but this is what the vendors want to happen.

 

The "global" versions of phones tends to follow the Samsung list for 5G bands (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78). The "North America" versions tend to follow 5G bands (2, 5, 25, 41, 66, 71 and in the USA only 260, 261 for mmWave (the high frequency, high speed stuff you read in the news but very short range)). You can see only 5, 41, 66 is common. This is designed for roaming. 5 is the standard low frequency band for AT&T & Verizon in the USA, 66 is Canada, and 41 is common for rest of world. T-Mobile also uses 41 in the USA. So you get basic roaming functionality but not the additional bands that provide deeper and more complete coverage in a country.

 

Indeed, for Thailand the only current generally supported 5G band is 41 and this is for AIS and True only. I'm not aware of DTAC having generally available 5G. As noted by another person, band 41 runs at 2500 MHz which in the industry is called mid-band. It is a great compromise for speeds well above 4G but still with reach that it can be quickly deployed. mmWave requires an antenna about every city block. The AT&T and Verizon high-band deployments are moving at a glacial pace in the USA and the intended use is wireline replacement and hotspots ... not mobility. Bottom line, hats off to the Thai carriers for focusing on mid-band first so that there is an actual case to be made for 5G.

 

Should anyone want to cross-reference a specific "phone+country" model against available bands in another country they are traveling to, kimovil.com cross references everything. It tends to be fairly current but doesn't have the newest bands being turned up. (Hope I'm not violating forum rules by supplying this website).

 

Should anyone want it, 4G bands in Thailand for AIS and True are 1, 3, 8, 41 and DTAC uses 1, 3, 40. So 41 is a dual use band and this is a good hint that DTAC's first 5G should appear in 40.

[cdemundo]

Yikes! I just bought a iPhone from AT&T, wasn't thinking about compatibility in Thailand.

Sounds like using this phone in Thailand is doubtful plan.

I am not knowledgeable about the bands in use etc.

What do I need to know to determine if it will be usable in Thailand?

[riclag]

9 hours ago, mvdf said:

What's insane is they are already discussing and developing 6G. Google 6G network and you'll see how some mobile technology companies are already planning to launch 6G satellites. 

I'm constantly beating myself up about this 4g ,5g just so to have access to txt code verifications from banks

 I read a article yesterday that 4g will be around until 2030 ! Fingers crossed !

Edited April 27, 2021 by riclag

[PDP11]

1 hour ago, cdemundo said:

Yikes! I just bought a iPhone from AT&T, wasn't thinking about compatibility in Thailand.

Sounds like using this phone in Thailand is doubtful plan.

I am not knowledgeable about the bands in use etc.

What do I need to know to determine if it will be usable in Thailand?

AT&T iPhone will work fine in Thailand and you’ll have coverage for all the 4G bands which is what you need (don’t pay attention to 5G for now). Just make 100% sure the device is unlocked if you’re going to use a Thailand SIM card. Roaming with AT&T will also work but that’s only affordable for short periods (it is $10 per day and needs to be configured in advance). 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

6 hours ago, Pib said:

I did a google and TMobile supports  n41 in the U.S... picked it up from the Sprint procurement....and it's up and running in numerous locations.   Below weblinks talk the TMobile n41.

https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-network

https://www.bestphoneplans.net/networks/t-mobile#5G

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of the various TM 5G bands, I believe the N71 / 600 Mhz is what they call their extended range 5G, which is the most widely deployed of their various 5G services at present.  So for TM in the U.S., that would be an important one to have on your phone.  Not the fastest, but likely the most reliable coverage.

 

 

And re TM's midband plans:

 

"In between the two, midband is the middle area of 5G: faster than the low band, but with more coverage than millimeter wave. This was the technology behind Sprint's early 5G rollout and one of the key reasons T-Mobile worked so hard to purchase the struggling carrier.

 

The company has worked diligently since closing the deal, quickly deploying its midband network across the United States. The company now covers over 100 million people with the faster service, with a goal of reaching 200 million people before the end of 2021. T-Mobile has said that it expects average download speeds over the midband network to be between 300 to 400Mbps, with peak speeds of 1Gbps."

 

So N41 / 2.5 GHz would be another band to want on one's new  phone for the U.S., assuming you use TM or one of their many MVNOs.

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

So, Wilkipedia is saying AIS and TMove are running 5G on:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_5G_NR_networks

mainly N41 / 2.5 GHz and N 258 / 26 GHz

 

Pib's graphic above says DTAC is running 5G on:

700 MHz for consumers and N258 / 26 GHz for industry (?)

 

T-Mobile's got N41 / 2.5 GHz, so that could be a 5G band match with AIS and TMove 5G compatible phones. But no N258 / 28 GHz on TMob to otherwise match AIS or TMove.

 

Don't see Verizon or AT&T using N41 at all.

 

Don't see any N 258 / 26 GHz 5G in the U.S. at all.

 

See AT&T mainly using N261 / 28 GHz, but none of that in Thailand.

 

See Verizon using:

 

N2, N5, N66 (run concurrent with LTE) and their fast 5G on N260 / 39 GHz and N261 / 28 GHz, the latter seeming no match for Thailand.

 

So an unlocked U.S. T-Mobile compatible N41 / 2.5 GHz phone might do the trick???

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I looked at the Samsung A32, 42 and 52 5G unlocked models on the Samsung website, and seemingly found a TH match with the A32 model:

 

A32 5G

N41 and N71 would both work for TM, while N41 should work for AIS and TMove.

 

A42 5G (nothing for Thailand)

 

A52 5G (nothing for Thailand)

 

Don't have time tonight to go thru the various Galaxy 5G unlocked models....

 

[mtls2005]

Why do you need to buy a "U.S. model"?

 

And which provider do you plan to use if you travel back to the U.S.? Does that plan include 5G?

 

And how often do you travel to the U.S. And for how long?

 

And which provider do you use in Thailand?

 

I'd wait another year or two to jump into 5G unless you have some application requirement.

 

Most friends and family say 5G, many are on T-Mo, is still pretty limited.

 

 

This website is still pretty good, IMO. You can select variants, and toggle countries.

 

https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/TH/samsung-galaxy-a32-5g

[Pib]

Is there anyone out there right now with a Samsung S21 "and using DTAC" for 5G service?    If so, does your S21 work with DTAC 5G?

 

I ask because at the DTAC website they have a webpage (link below) where you can check the phones they sell (like the Samsung S21 at a really good deal if already a DTAC customer) to determine if the 5G phone is ready for DTAC 5G service?   That is, just because the phone is a 5G phone and DTAC sells it does not necessarily mean its firmware will work with DTAC 5G service at this point in time.

https://www.dtac.co.th/en/network/

 

 

Below is snapshot of DTAC Phone 5G Compatibility page for the phones they sell.     Notice for the Samsung S21 it talks the S21 firmware is still in testing for 5G use with DTAC....or said another way I guess the phone will not work with DTAC 5G pending a future firmware update which could be soon or much later   I expect probably soon, but the website is basically saying right now on 28 Apr 2021 the S21 will not work with DTAC 5G.

 

 

[Pib]

At below DTAC webpage shows DTAC 5G coverage which is pretty limited right now.  In fact, although DTAC says they have Bangkok 5G coverage this coverage is "not" all of Bangkok; only most of it.  Their 5G coverage don't quite make it to my part of western Bangkok yet.   DTAC also provide 5G in a few other major cities in Thailand....the the coverage link below.

https://www.dtac.co.th/en/network/coverage.html

 

So, as mentioned earlier I'm very interested in buying a Samsung S21+ 5G (or was), definitely want to stay with DTAC as they have provided me excellent service for many years, they have a really good deal/discount on S21's right now if you've been a DTAC customer for at least one year, but the S21 they are selling is pending a firmware update to provide DTAC 5G support and DTAC 5G does not cover my home area yet.   

 

I think I'll just wait in buying a new 5G capable phone....wait until next year unless I come across a 5G phone deal (price) I just can't resist even though DTAC 5G coverage hasn't reached my part of Bangkok yet.

[Pib]

Taking a look at AIS's 5G coverage when you go to their coverage webpage below it proudly says coverage in all 77 provinces; however, but, when taking a closer look at that 5G coverage a province might only have 5G coverage at one specific location in the province....like at a specific market, temple, bridge, AIS shop, etc.  And just as with DTAC, AIS's5G coverage don't quite make it to my part of western Bangkok yet.   

 

https://www.ais.th/5g/en/coverage.html?intcid=5gindex-en-banner-coverage

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 4/28/2021 at 4:48 AM, Pib said:

 

So, as mentioned earlier I'm very interested in buying a Samsung S21+ 5G (or was),

 

 

Did u ever figure out, just what 5G bands are supported in the S21+ 5G model that DTAC is selling?

[Pib]

11 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Did u ever figure out, just what 5G bands are supported in the S21+ 5G model that DTAC is selling?

I haven't researched it further.  After I found out how the 5G coverage in Thailand is big on hype and hyperbole  right now by the Thai mobile carriers but in reality their 5G coverage still very limited (doesn't even cover my part of western Bangkok yet) I lost interest (at least temporarily) in further researching the bands supported.   Plus, I had some Honey Do projects I had to complete for the wife. For DTAC it seems to be a 700Mhz band for retail customers and a 26Ghz band for special purpose/corporate purposes which is going to be the bands they use in Thailand....but I expect the 5G phones sold by DTAC will support other bands also.....just not sure exactly what bands.

[Pib]

On 4/27/2021 at 8:44 PM, Pib said:

Here's what the siamphone.com web site says the 5G freqs are for a Thailand  model S21+ 5G.   1800Mhz, Mhz, 2100Mhz, 2500Mhz, 2600Mhz, 3500Mhz, and 3700MHz.  Is it correct?....I couldn't say.

 

https://www.siamphone.com/spec/samsung/galaxy_s21_plus.htm

 

I'm fairly sure now above 5G band listing is incomplete as my continued googling shows DTAC using band n28 (a 700Mhz band) for its retail customers.

 

And they also have a 26GHz band (n258).  This mmWave band is used primarily for special 5G applications/corporations/industrial sectors at this time....but phones can be equipped with this band.   And these mmWave bands require you to be very close to the 5G radio/tower as mmWAve 5G frequencies in the 26-41GHz ballpark while having extremely high bandwidth capability there range is short.....pretty much for use in dense cities and industrial applications. 

 

And if you happen to have a 5G phone and a DTAC SIM below is how you check to see if your phone supports DTAC band n28 and if your SIM is 5G capable.    I'm done below process on my three year old Samsung phone which is only 4G/LTE capable (no 5G) with DTAC postpaid SIM several times and each time it comes back saying my DTAC SIM is 5G ready but my phone is not.

HOW TO ENABLE 5G ON A DTAC NETWORK?

• Requires compatible mobile frequency 700 MHz  is the FDD  Band 28 (n28). 
• Press * 555 # and make a call to request the signal.
• Wait for the SMS to confirm the activation.