Question If I buy an iPhone in Italy will it work in Greece?

[TimTheNoob]

Hi everyone, so I want to buy an iPhone from italy and I'm a bit concerned because I have a Greek SIM card. I checked Apple's official site for what models support which carriers and frequencies, and I double checked that on my carriers website. Plus, here in Europe, only the GSM (Unlocked) model of the iPhone gets shipped. So I have a couple questions and maybe you could help me:

1. If I insert the Greek SIM card while im in Italy, will it work? (Because when you travel abroad your phone connects through another carrier that your carrier has a contract with. So if I have ,for example, a Vodafone card and my old phone connects to TIM when I'm in Italy, if I put that same card on the new iPhone will it automatically connect without any problems again to TIM, and back to Vodafone when I go to Greece?)
2. Will I be able to switch cards? (Like physically change cards, to a new number for example. Because I've been hearing that an iPhone locks on the first carrier it connects etc. But I'm not sure if that applies in Europe too).

Thank you for your time, Tim. (No pun intended)

 

[Barty1884]

1. Provided Italy & Greece (and the phone itself) use the same frequencies and the phone itself is not carrier locked, you can buy from wherever.
2. There are "SIM free" and "unlocked" phones. SIM free are sold by stores who 'work' for multiple carriers and the phone will then be tied to the first carrier SIM installed - unless you have it unlocked. If you buy a phone outright, you should be purchasing an "unlocked" variant that will not lock down.

 

[LordVile]

They work pretty much everywhere. My sister has an American iPhone X and that works perfectly fine in the UK and Italy when she’s been on holiday.

 

[Barty1884]

They work pretty much everywhere. My sister has an American iPhone X and that works perfectly fine in the UK and Italy when she’s been on holiday.

Not a guarantee, I'm afraid. From a roaming standpoint, it can work as carriers partner up. But there's more variation involved in working 24/7 (and at full speed) country to country - although within the same continent, you're generally more likely to be ok.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks_in_Europe

 

[jsmithepa]

Am surprised this question is even asked. E.U. is a big, happy, all-connected thing aren't they. People speak multiple languages, go from country to country like traveling from LA to San Fran. Cellphone interoperability trouble? I don't believe it.

 

[Barty1884]

Am surprised this question is even asked. E.U. is a big, happy, all-connected thing aren't they. People speak multiple languages, go from country to country like traveling from LA to San Fran. Cellphone interoperability trouble? I don't believe it.

It's not particularly likely - it should 'work' to some degree, it's just a matter of full functionality.

Even within the US or Canada, you have bands in play that are not interoperable.

 

[LordVile]

Not a guarantee, I'm afraid. From a roaming standpoint, it can work as carriers partner up. But there's more variation involved in working 24/7 (and at full speed) country to country - although within the same continent, you're generally more likely to be ok.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks_in_Europe

It doesn’t really have to work full speed it just has to be functional.