Europe

Fairphone devices are optimised for European cellular and 4G/LTE networks.

Fairphone 5 and Fairphone 4 are optimised for European 5G. They support Standard 5G technology (also called Sub-6GHz or Everyday 5G). That means that there's no support for 5G mmWave, which is used in some countries outside of Europe.
This technology increases the number of available bands that a device can use to transfer data to the network. Latency is also expected to be improved with 5G when compared to 4G LTE.

USA

Being an Amsterdam-based organization we currently only sell and ship to Europe on our online shop. For the foreseeable future, we will continue to focus our efforts on this region.

Our first tentative step into the US market is the launch of the Fairphone 4 with /e/OS by Murena! You can purchase yours through our sales partner Murena. Murena will handle all your support requests and questions about warranty via their customer support. 

For the network coverage of a Fairphone specifically in the US, we recommend using T-Mobile.

Coverage in the US on a Fairphone is not optimized for Verizon and AT&T. You might find that some or even most features work with a different provider, but since there could be issues with emergency calls, download speed, and the general network connection, we cannot recommend other carriers.

For more information about our partnership with Murena, read our Frequently Asked Questions article on this topic. 

Rest of the world

The Fairphone will work in a lot of countries. However, we cannot guarantee that it will work everywhere in the world. How well the phone works outside of Europe depends on local networks as well as the operator you use.

Fairphone phones have global coverage for 2G. It works everywhere, all the time, anytime, as long as there's still a 2G network. For 3G, 4G, and 5G you will get at least one band supported anywhere in the world. This means that it is likely that you will either have a 3G or 4G connection. In some places, it will be the worst-case scenario: a 2G connection. It is possible to set both SIM cards on any combination of connection type, but only one of them can be used for Data connection.

Network coverage across the world is constantly upgrading. We suggest checking the section Network specifications below. Using the list of supported bands, you can verify with your network provider before traveling.

Special cases

Some providers restrict international SIM card use - especially on pre-paid plans. Check with your provider what the terms and conditions are for international use.

Colombia, Ecuador, Turkey & others

It is not possible to register Fairphone devices in countries that require the so-called homologar procedure. For example, the phone is not registered in the USA and thus doesn't have the required FCC registration code that would allow usage. The procedure exists to prevent anonymous use of mobile devices. It's used mostly in the North and South American markets.

Registration is mandatory in some countries. This means that you can not use the device with a SIM card after the period has ended that each country has set (usually 1 month). You can still use the device with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection.

Network specifications

In short, you can use your Fairphone outside of Europe: make sure that the requirements of your provider and the facilities of the target country/region, match with the network specifications below. You can verify this with your provider.

In case you need it for your specific situation, you can find the network specifications for your Fairphone model below:

If after reading the article you need more help, contact our Customer Support.