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International use of iPhone 12

I'm thinking about buying a SIM free iPhone 12 directly from Apple to use in Japan with a SIM card from a local carrier but also be able to use back in the United States when I return in a few months.


Long story short, I just want to make sure an iPhone purchased in the U.S. would work in Japan.


I'm sure this question has been asked several times already but I wanted to post my question and see what kind of answers I get.


Thanks

Posted on Feb 11, 2021 5:08 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 11, 2021 5:12 PM

An unlocked phone will work in Japan (or anywhere else in the world) but it may not support all of the bands in Japan. This may limit it to 4G or even 3G in some areas. If you want to check go here→https://www.apple.com/iphone/cellular/, note the bands for the US model, and compare them to the bands in use in Japan from this link→List of LTE networks in Asia - Wikipedia


Note that if it needs repair it will have to be returned to the US.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 11, 2021 5:12 PM in response to TomsOfDoom

An unlocked phone will work in Japan (or anywhere else in the world) but it may not support all of the bands in Japan. This may limit it to 4G or even 3G in some areas. If you want to check go here→https://www.apple.com/iphone/cellular/, note the bands for the US model, and compare them to the bands in use in Japan from this link→List of LTE networks in Asia - Wikipedia


Note that if it needs repair it will have to be returned to the US.

International use of iPhone 12

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