My phone broke so I’m buying a Japanese phone online. I already have a Japanese SIM-card, so I found a SIM-free phone via the price comparison site Kakaku. On the vendor’s site (qoo10.jp) I have to choose a model; either Docomo or Rakuten model. These are service providers. After selecting one of them (Docomo), it still says it’s “SIM-free” which is what I want. But I’m confused by this – does this mean I will get a phone that is locked for Docomo SIM-cards only or a phone plan with them or something? There is no text specifically stating such conditions anyway. Even on the price comparison site, this SIM-free phone was shown with different service provider models. Is this normal when buying phones in Japan and can I expect a phone to arrive for which I can use any SIM-card (spefically the one I own – GTN which uses the Docomo network.)
4 comments
talked with a y-mobile guy the other day and he said that sim locks are a thing of the past and carriers are desparate for income. the phones they offer are sim free and you would not need a phone contract with them. instead, they jack up the price 10% compared to msrp or sell them through lease plans
strictly an anecdote though, better confirm
Docomo SIM Free phones means they are unlocked and was originally purchased from Docomo. If it’s Android, then it will usually come with pre-installed Docomo apps that can’t be uninstalled.
i would be kinda wary of phones sold on qoo10. not saying they are going to be outright scam but there’s a pretty high chance it will be international model without felica.
you should make sure if it says docomo or au etc that the model number matches with what’s listed on docomo site and that pics have same branding.
but yeah, IF is legit it’s possible they’re just selling each carrier branded model separately like I’m pretty sure both au and docomo had Galaxy S21 etc. the only difference likely would be the LTE bands preset for each carrier and external logo/etc for the carrier (and preloaded crapware).
The phone will be unlocked.
There can be differences between the same phone sold by different carriers. A Docomo phone might support different LTE bands than a Rakuten phone, for example. There should be a lot of overlap (common bands used by many carriers) but the less common bands may only exist in one or the other of the phones. This was really common in the past but does still happen today.
The phones themselves could be identical but the box it comes in might be co-branded with the carrier. (Obviously not a problem.)
Unless you have a specific reason to do otherwise, just buy the one that is branded for the network you plan to use. Docomo, in your case.