Our phone compatibility chart only shows the big, national carriers. But no worries: all of our unlocked phones will work with any carrier in Canada, including local carriers like TBayTel or Bell MTS.
As always, locked phones will only work on the network indicated.
Public Mobile is a SIM-only, bring-your-own-phone brand. Orchard is here to help set you up with that phone! Not every phone will work with your Public Mobile SIM card. Here’s which ones will:
First off, any unlocked phone can be used with a Public Mobile SIM card.
You can also use a phone that is locked to Telus or Koodo. Telus, Koodo, and Public Mobile are partners, so their phones can be used interchangeably.
Still unsure? Contact us!
Yes. An unlocked phone will work with any GSM-compatible carrier. GSM carriers make up about 93% of all wireless carriers worldwide, so you shouldn’t have trouble locating one in any country.
When you take an unlocked phone to a different country, we recommend buying a SIM card for a local carrier. Activating your phone on a pay-as-you-go plan will allow you to pay local rates and avoid your home carrier’s roaming rates.
Please note: in some cases, you may only be able to receive 3G data when in a foreign country. 3G is a bit older than the most recent wireless network technologies and so is a bit slower too. LTE, which is the current standard, isn’t available everywhere yet. If you’re interested in the reasons, we recommend this article.
Not all phones, no. We sell a few phones that are locked to a carrier, and they are clearly marked with that carrier’s logo.
Some of the unlocked phones are factory unlocked, and some have been unlocked by their carriers. But this is not a difference that will affect you at all as a buyer. A phone unlocked by a carrier and a factory unlocked phone are virtually identical— the only difference is how they became unlocked.
Phones listed with a specific carrier are guaranteed to work only on that specific carrier. These are called “locked” phones, as they have software locks that prevent them from being used on any carrier except the one that originally sold it.
It’s important to remember that a carrier lock is a matter of compatibility— none of these phones come with a contract or specific plan attached.
We also carry a wide range of unlocked phones. An unlocked phone is one that can be used with almost any carrier.
No. A wireless contract is associated with a specific person and not the phone itself. Transferring a contract between people takes a lot more than simply buying a phone– usually both parties have to sign a Transfer of Responsibility and other legal documents. This means you can buy a used phone without its baggage (the contract).
You can use any compatible Orchard phone with your existing plan or choose the plan that’s right for you. When activating your Orchard phone with your carrier, make sure you mention that you already own a phone, as you can save between $15-$30/month on the price of your plan (depending on plan and carrier).
