Short answer: Don't buy 3G phones from the Americas if you live in Europe. Get them from somewhere in Europe. Same advice to anyone in the Americas thinking of buying a 3G phone in Europe.

If you do buy a 3G phone from the Americas and use it in Europe, there's a good chance it won't connect to your local 3G networks. It's a bit of a lottery.


Long answer: 3G phones also have 2G compatibility, so that they can stay connected even when there's no 3G network nearby.

The 2G part of a 3G phone will probably work worldwide because there are normally three, four or five different 2G frequencies built into the phone. That means that most 3G phones will get some kind of signal worldwide, if you include 2G signals. The 2G might be what worked on the HTC you bought.

Some 3G frequencies are similar in Europe and the Americas, but not all, so if you buy an Americas 3G phone and travel through Europe you might find some places where it picks up a 3G signal and other places where it doesn't . It's a lottery.

The only way to avoid this lottery is to buy a phone with the correct frequencies for your part of the world, because the correct frequencies are guaranteed to work across the continent you live in.