Hi santa,
Here's the scoop (I've been through this as I send phones down to the DR my in-laws).
BEST: If you can pick up a used AT&T, TMobile or Verizon iPhone 5 or higher it will work in the DR with either a Claro or Orange SIM. This is because starting with the iPhone 5 Apple made them ‘world phones’ (even the CDMA Verizon model). They all have SIM card slots and you can pop a GSM Orange or Claro SIM from the DR in them and they’ll work with both voice, text and 3G (normal) data. Note that if it’s an AT&T or TMobile phone, the phone must still be “unlocked”. Verizon didn’t lock theirs in GSM mode so the VERY BEST option is a used Verizon iPhone 5 or higher.
One word of note, if you don’t already have a DR telephone number and will be buying a SIM card at the airport or a kiosk and don’t have an affinity, go with CLARO over ORANGE. Claro uses the same frequency bands as AT&T in the US making the phones compatible. ORANGE’s frequency bands are only used in a very limited number of countries (e.g., Venezuela) making finding a phone that slots-in well, difficult.
So, my very best recommendation would be iPhone 5 or higher, unlocked AT&T or Verizon using a CLARO SIM. Works every time.
What is an iPhone isn’t in the budget? Android is fine too but I would go with a used AT&T phone and a CLARO SIM. The frequency bands are compatible and they’re both GSM. Newer Verizon phones such as Glaxy S6’s + will work on GSM but they’re likely over the price point you’re looking for.
What DON’T I recommend?
1. Phones by Sprint, MetroPCS or other smaller providers in the US. The frequency bands and GSM/CDMA combinations will rarely work well in the DR. Stay away unless someone on the forum here can vouch for a particular phone/SIM provider combination.
ALSO NOTE:
1. Almost any phone from AT&T or T-Mobile will work for VOICE-only. That’s because almost all phones made in the last 5 years include the four primary 2G frequency bands (850/900/1850/1900) used for voice. Note again, this is just VOICE. Compatibility issues usually arise around DATA (if the phone is not compatible for data you will simply either not be able to browse the web or doing so will be so slow (2G) that you’ll give up.
2. Regarding 4G LTE: While an iPhone (and possibly others) may work on CLARO’s 4G LTE, I wouldn’t rely on it. Also 4G LTE hasn’t been fully rolled-out everywhere in the DR yet so I would stick with the normal 3G data and leave the serious browsing to when you’re connected to WiFi.
Hope this helps.
Here's the scoop (I've been through this as I send phones down to the DR my in-laws).
BEST: If you can pick up a used AT&T, TMobile or Verizon iPhone 5 or higher it will work in the DR with either a Claro or Orange SIM. This is because starting with the iPhone 5 Apple made them ‘world phones’ (even the CDMA Verizon model). They all have SIM card slots and you can pop a GSM Orange or Claro SIM from the DR in them and they’ll work with both voice, text and 3G (normal) data. Note that if it’s an AT&T or TMobile phone, the phone must still be “unlocked”. Verizon didn’t lock theirs in GSM mode so the VERY BEST option is a used Verizon iPhone 5 or higher.
One word of note, if you don’t already have a DR telephone number and will be buying a SIM card at the airport or a kiosk and don’t have an affinity, go with CLARO over ORANGE. Claro uses the same frequency bands as AT&T in the US making the phones compatible. ORANGE’s frequency bands are only used in a very limited number of countries (e.g., Venezuela) making finding a phone that slots-in well, difficult.
So, my very best recommendation would be iPhone 5 or higher, unlocked AT&T or Verizon using a CLARO SIM. Works every time.
What is an iPhone isn’t in the budget? Android is fine too but I would go with a used AT&T phone and a CLARO SIM. The frequency bands are compatible and they’re both GSM. Newer Verizon phones such as Glaxy S6’s + will work on GSM but they’re likely over the price point you’re looking for.
What DON’T I recommend?
1. Phones by Sprint, MetroPCS or other smaller providers in the US. The frequency bands and GSM/CDMA combinations will rarely work well in the DR. Stay away unless someone on the forum here can vouch for a particular phone/SIM provider combination.
ALSO NOTE:
1. Almost any phone from AT&T or T-Mobile will work for VOICE-only. That’s because almost all phones made in the last 5 years include the four primary 2G frequency bands (850/900/1850/1900) used for voice. Note again, this is just VOICE. Compatibility issues usually arise around DATA (if the phone is not compatible for data you will simply either not be able to browse the web or doing so will be so slow (2G) that you’ll give up.
2. Regarding 4G LTE: While an iPhone (and possibly others) may work on CLARO’s 4G LTE, I wouldn’t rely on it. Also 4G LTE hasn’t been fully rolled-out everywhere in the DR yet so I would stick with the normal 3G data and leave the serious browsing to when you’re connected to WiFi.
Hope this helps.
