Using mobiles in the US - a question

[bizzylizzy]

Hi everyone
My own mobile in the UK is an ancient pay as you go brick and due for replacement, so I didn't want to sort out being able to use it in America. We're going to California shortly so I rather dozily bought a phone on ebay for a tenner that a lady had bought to use whilst on holiday in Florida. Someone is now telling me that because the phone was purchased in Florida, although it's obviously an American pay as you go phone it will cost a fortune to use in California. Is this correct? I stupidly thought that a US phone would cost us the same in charges whichever state we were in. Is my phone going to be useless?

[sitges]

My guess is that the contract is not valid and you would have to activate the phone and pay for a months use. Depending on who the carrier is will depend on what you will have to pay. You might want to get youself a new phone before you leave and pay to have a new SD card put in for use in the states. Some phones will due this and some won't. A phone like a Blackberry usually has this capability depending on the carrier.

[Old_Geezer]

The cost would surely be related to the SIM you put into it, not the handset. If the handset copes with the phone frequencies in the US (and since it was bought there it ought to) then I don't see where this idea that it'll cost a fortune, comes from.

[Old_Geezer]

PS it sometimes pays to buy a local SIM card where you are than to pay roaming charges to a UK service provider. Check the costs out before deciding.

[bizzylizzy]

Question was asked 3 years ago. We've been and come back :-)