Unlocked Nokia 930, will it work with any of the Japanese carriers?

[Miguel Mateo]

Hi there,

Apologies if this has been asked before but not only I am new, but I have found nowhere and answer to this question, on other forums either.

Will any of the Nokie LTE devices (thinking of 930 especifically though) will work in Japan with the local carriers Docomo or Softbank? As you might be aware of, we do not have any offerings of Windows Phone 8 devices in Japan yet (yes, you heard it correctly, year 2014 and still ZERO offerings, nobody sells you a Windows Phone 8 device in Japan). So I was thinking, if this month, when the new devices line-up for al carriers is announced, if we still do not have any WP8 offerings, I will get an unlocked Nokia phone (930 would be nice) and try to use it with a local carrier chip.

Does anyone know if this is possible and what are the steps assuming that the device is uncloked? From this page (in Japanese, but the numbers talk) https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Term_Evolution seems like the frequency bands allowed in Japan are 2100, 1800, 900 & 1500, or bands 1, 19 and 21 (11 used for 3G only so far).

If a Nokia phone provided in other country is better (HK?), please let me know as well.

Thanks!

 

[anon(7900571)]

hey welcome to wpcentral forums :smile:
if you buy it unlocked , yes it will work :smile:
my mate got Lumia 920 from HK and he can use 3G on his phone since 4G isn't available in my country yet (coming very soon) , it does support 4G bands :smile:

 

[Miguel Mateo]

3G I know it will work, I am more interested in knowing if LTE will work and if there is anything tricky that needs to be done. Any clues?

 

[anon(7900571)]

3G I know it will work, I am more interested in knowing if LTE will work and if there is anything tricky that needs to be done. Any clues?

if you will be buying it unlocked , there wont be any restrictions , but do ask the vendor to inform you with LTE available on the model

 

[Miguel Mateo]

Has anyone done it with LTE and what are the best option for the LTE bands we have in Japan?

 

[pdplatypus]

If NTT DoCoMo finally pushes their plan to launch Windows Phones, it will be better.
However, they haven't done anything yet after their announcement for WP8 phones launch in 2012.

It will work but it may depend on your location.

 

[tomdjp]

I personally have used the international lumia 920 and 1520 in Japan with a Docomo Sim.
The 930 supports the same bands so should be fine as long as it is unlocked.
You get 3G and LTE coverage on band 1 (2100 MHz).
Coverage may be spotty in rural areas since Docomo "area plus" 3g band is not supported.
You will need an LTE (xi) Sim of course. If you take it out another phone you'll have to cut it down to nanosim size.
You'll also need to subscribe to Docomo "mopera" service (nominal cost) and set your APN to mopera.net
You can then use the normal voice and lte data plans including tethering.

Posted via Windows Phone Central App

 

[tomoegawa]

You can, I'm using Lumia1020 in Japan.
Carrier is Softbank both 3G and LTE are OK!

 

[rhernani]

I personally have used the international lumia 920 and 1520 in Japan with a Docomo Sim.
The 930 supports the same bands so should be fine as long as it is unlocked.
You get 3G and LTE coverage on band 1 (2100 MHz).
Coverage may be spotty in rural areas since Docomo "area plus" 3g band is not supported.
You will need an LTE (xi) Sim of course. If you take it out another phone you'll have to cut it down to nanosim size.
You'll also need to subscribe to Docomo "mopera" service (nominal cost) and set your APN to mopera.net
You can then use the normal voice and lte data plans including tethering.

Posted via Windows Phone Central App

Dear friend:
Do you have any problems with the cost? I Japan, with a wrong apn the data cost could be so expensive. I understand that with mopera.net the data cost is inside de flat plan.
Regards,
Roberto

 

[rhernani]

You can, I'm using Lumia1020 in Japan.
Carrier is Softbank both 3G and LTE are OK!

Hello,
With Softbank, witch APN are you using for LTE?
Roberto