LG phone abroad?

outlaw777

Hi I want to give my friends in India and Pakistan the following phone as a gift http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/lg-leon-4g-phone-49-99-o2-pay-go-2381202

However will it work over there in their local sim cards etc?

outlaw777

Does the phone need to be GSM Dual band to work there?

grumbler

http://www.gsmarena.com/network-bands.php3?sCountry=India
http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_leon-7053.php

4g bands seem to be incompatible.

outlaw777

O2 are blocking it from leaving their network for 12 months. Trying to keep people on their network

grumbler

Apparently, "Can get an unlock code from eBay for £2.49" according to HUKD.

outlaw777

Any good cheap smartphone you can recommend to take to Asia?

grumbler

I think 4g compatibility, if really needed, is likely to be an issue with most UK phones, especially 'cheap'.

outlaw777

Whats that mean?

grumbler

What exactly? 4g? Compatibility?

Just as an example see this old MSE article: Were you mis-sold an iPhone 5? Your options if you were expecting 4g
Then see the links that I posted above, although at a closer look I see 3(1800) in India that Leon supports. So, it can work in India on a network offering this 4g band (or on all networks if all Indian networks offer 3(1800)).

outlaw777

I need GSM dual band not 4g?

grumbler

Why do you need a smartphone for 2g GSM then?
Smartphones are mainly for mobile internet that is painfully slow on 2g.