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nickg5Flag for United States of America

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Locked or unlocked phone

While in Vietnam the host put their sim card in our unlocked phone. They downloaded a Google application and got us a phone number. Their sim card was then removed and we never got a sim ourselves.

Is our phone locked or unlocked and why?
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Scott C
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Put a SIM card in to activate it.
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ASKER

We can't put a sim card in the phone. No such thing in USA. My USA phone does not use sim cards.
This specially purchased unlocked phone would only be used for overseas travel.
Does the fact that we have a Vietnamese phone number mean the phone is locked?
I'm not sure how the person got us the phone number.
If we go to Norway and try to get a sim card, there we are with a Vietnamese phone number, by which no Norwegian would want to call us due to overseas calling rates.
You should be able to take it to your ISP and have them set it up with a phone number
What kind of phone is it?  I've never seen a cell phone that doesn't use SIM cards.
Bell here does not use SIM cards on some of their older phones.
What kind of phone is it?  I've never seen a cell phone that doesn't use SIM cards.

When a phone is "locked" it means that phone is tied to a specific carrier for service.  When a phone is "unlocked", you can use any carrier of your choice.
They are CDMA phones and going out of support here. They may still be supported overseas - I am not sure about that.
Nick - whatever your phone, we can discuss your options, but the only people who can do anything for you are in your phone company store.
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ASKER

All are missing the story.
Our Verizon phone for which we have a monthly plan does not use a sim card.

The only reason we will need a sim card in the future is for travel only to other countries where sim cards are most commonly used. It's a Kata V4 which will never be used in the USA.

How did the host get us a VN phone number using their sim card? I doubt it was through their service.
There was NO SERVICE TO BUY over there. $10 for a sim card from Mobifone or some other, and go. We never got a sim card for our phone because we got no real answers to the questions by anybody. So, as the days went by and the number of times we needed to call USA went down we did not get a sim card.

The locked or unlocked Kata phone will never be used in USA.
You need to get a SIM card in the country where the phone will be used. Sorry I thought you were inferring you would use the phone here
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brett lee

your phone is not locked their is some process with the sim which your host know better.
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ASKER

USA phone LG flip phone - Verizon
Travel phone outside USE Kata v4