OneSDR contains affiliate links and is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, eBay affiliate program, Etsy Affiliate Program. If you make a purchase using one of these links, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you. This helps support our research, testing and writing.

Will My Phone Work in the USA?

Device Compatibility Checker Tool

📱Not every “5G phone” works well on every US carrier. A device may fully support one network, get partial service on another, or fall back to LTE because it’s missing key bands.

To make this easy, we built the US Device Compatibility Checker by Band.
This tool helps you quickly see how well your phone matches:

  • Verizon
  • AT&T
  • T-Mobile
  • UScellular

by comparing your device’s supported LTE and 5G bands with the “core bands” used by each carrier.

This guide walks you through how to use the tool, how to find your device’s band list, and how to understand the results.

US Device Compatibility Checker by Band

Paste the LTE and 5G bands your phone supports to see how well it matches major US carriers.

Example: 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 66, n2, n5, n41, n71, n77, n260

Enter bands and click "Check Compatibility" to see results.

Powered by OneSDR.com

🔍 What this tool actually does

The checker takes:

  • a list of LTE bands (such as 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 66)
  • a list of 5G bands (such as n5, n41, n71, n77, n260)

and compares them to the most important bands used by each US carrier.

Then it shows:

  • ✔️ supported bands
  • ⚠️ missing bands
  • an overall compatibility rating:
    • Excellent
    • Good
    • Partial
    • Limited

This helps you decide:

  • whether a phone imported from another country will work in the US
  • which carrier best matches your device
  • whether you will get full 5G, partial 5G, or mostly LTE

🛠 Step 1 – Get your phone’s band list

You need your phone’s LTE and 5G bands. There are a few easy places to find them:

Option 1 – Manufacturer website

Search:

“<phone model> LTE bands”
“<phone model> 5G bands”

Look for sections called:

  • Network
  • Connectivity
  • Supported bands
  • 5G NR bands

Option 2 – Retail listing (Amazon, Best Buy, etc.)

Scroll down to Tech Specs or Cellular Bands.

Option 3 – Settings (some Android phones)

Settings → About phone → Status or SIM info → may list band capability.

Once you have the list, it will look something like:

LTE: 2/4/5/12/13/66
5G NR: n2/n5/n41/n77

✍️ Step 2 – Paste your bands into the tool

Inside the checker:

  1. Find the box labeled
    “Your device bands”
  2. Paste or type your list, for example:
2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 66, n2, n5, n41, n71, n77

The tool understands:

  • commas
  • spaces
  • slashes
  • “Band 2” vs “2”
  • “NR n77” vs “n77”

You don’t need to format anything perfectly — just paste and go.

🔽 Step 3 – (Optional) Choose a popular phone from the dropdown

If your version includes the Popular Phones dropdown:

  1. Pick a model like:
    • iPhone 15
    • Samsung Galaxy S24
    • Google Pixel 9
  2. The tool will auto-fill the bands field for you.

This is useful if:

  • you haven’t bought the phone yet
  • you’re just researching compatibility
  • the manufacturer specs are confusing

▶️ Step 4 – Click Check Compatibility

Click the button:

Check Compatibility

The result area will show one card per carrier:

  • Verizon
  • AT&T
  • T-Mobile
  • UScellular

Each card displays:

  • ✔ matched LTE bands
  • ❌ missing LTE bands
  • ✔ matched 5G bands
  • ❌ missing 5G bands
  • percentage match
  • overall rating and written verdict

🧭 How to read the results

Each carrier shows a badge like:

  • 🟢 Excellent
  • 🔵 Good
  • 🟡 Partial
  • 🔴 Limited

What they mean in practice

🟢 Excellent
You support most core LTE and 5G bands.
You should get:

  • full LTE
  • full 5G (including mid-band)
  • great overall compatibility

🔵 Good
You support many key bands, but are missing one or two.
You should get:

  • strong LTE
  • good 5G
  • occasional gaps in special bands (like mmWave)

🟡 Partial
You’re missing multiple core bands.
You may experience:

  • weaker rural coverage
  • less indoor penetration
  • limited or no mid-band 5G

🔴 Limited
Your phone will only partly work.
You may see:

  • LTE only
  • slow speeds
  • no VoLTE or limited 5G

📡 Why some phones “support 5G” but still perform poorly

Two common issues:

1. Imported phones missing US low-band LTE

If you don’t have:

  • Band 12 / 13 / 14 / 5

you may struggle with rural or indoor coverage.

2. Missing mid-band 5G

If you lack:

  • n77 (C-band / 3.45–3.98 GHz)
  • or n41 (T-Mobile 2.5 GHz)

you may technically “have 5G” but miss:

  • the fastest speeds
  • Ultra / Plus / UC branding features

This tool highlights exactly which pieces are missing.

🏁 Final thoughts

The US Device Compatibility Checker by Band is especially useful if you:

  • import phones from Europe or Asia
  • buy unlocked devices online
  • travel between US carriers
  • work with IoT, modems, or hotspots

It answers the question:

“Which US carriers does my phone really work on?”

before you spend money on a SIM or plan.