US to UK

[LessO2]

There is a possibility I might move to the UK for a job, I plan on being there for awhile (at least three years). I am off-contract with Verizon (unlimited data) on iPhone 6+. Probably going to have to say goodbye to that if I go (unless there's an idea someone has).

Can I take my US iPhone and have it function properly on a UK carrier? I'm not looking to roam, but rather purchase a plan with a carrier, probably O2 (reading a lot of positive comments about them).

Keep in mind I am not very technically savvy, have no idea on what SIM cards are, etc....so if that's part of the response, please dumb down how it works.

 

[angusmcfisher]

If you're on Verizon then you'll have either the A1549 or the A1522, which use slightly different bands to the version sold in Europe (A1586 and A1524).

There are three LTE bands being used in the UK and it would appear that all of them are listed for both phones. The 2.6GHz band (auctioned off by Ofcom, best data capacity, not good over long distances) [7]
The 800MHz band (also auctioned by Ofcom, good over long distances - perfect for rural areas) [18 & 19]
The 1800MHz band (used by EE and Three) [3]

Source: http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/iphone/why-not-buy-us-iphone-for-uk-3481491/

Furthermore, personally I would recommend Three over o2. They have unlimited 4G data for peanuts.

 

[dictoresno]

Pretty sure there will be zero issues with the Verizon iPhone 6+ in the UK. It has all the band's necessary and is fully unlocked.

 

[yjchua95]

There is a possibility I might move to the UK for a job, I plan on being there for awhile (at least three years). I am off-contract with Verizon (unlimited data) on iPhone 6+. Probably going to have to say goodbye to that if I go (unless there's an idea someone has).

Can I take my US iPhone and have it function properly on a UK carrier? I'm not looking to roam, but rather purchase a plan with a carrier, probably O2 (reading a lot of positive comments about them).

Keep in mind I am not very technically savvy, have no idea on what SIM cards are, etc....so if that's part of the response, please dumb down how it works.

Since yours is the Verizon model, it'll work fine in Britain.

There's 4 types of iPhones, all of them have these in common: GSM bands, UMTS bands and FDD-LTE bands. What differentiates them are:
1. GSM (North America - AT&T model). Lacks CDMA EV-DO and TD-SCDMA and lacks TDD-LTE.

2. CDMA (Verizon). Lacks TD-SCDMA and lacks TDD-LTE.

3. Global/Sprint (international model purchased outside of the United States). Has everything (basically the ultimate iPhone).

4. China version. Lacks CDMA EV-DO and has modified wifi radios to comply with Chinese regulations.

As far as I know, British operators use FDD-LTE. I've always used EE whenever I happen to be in Britain and their LTE coverage isn't bad.