How to Distinguish CDMA and GSM

This wikiHow teaches you how to check if your phone is on a CDMA or GSM network. This information is important if you want to unlock a carrier or use a carrier-specific SIM card on an unlocked phone.

Table of Contents

Steps

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Consider the location. Unless your phone was purchased in the US or Russia, chances are high that it will use the GSM network. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Although CDMA is one of the two major carriers in the US, only about 18 percent of mobile networks worldwide use CDMA.

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You need to understand that most mobile phones use the LTE standard. CDMA and GSM are both 3G networks, but both CDMA and GSM network phones can use the 4G (LTE) standard as long as the smart device itself supports 4G SIM. This means that CDMA or GSM doesn’t matter if you’re not planning on switching to another network. ^{[2] X Research Source}

This also means that whether your phone has a SIM card or not is not the criterion that distinguishes CDMA or GSM.

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Consider your current carrier. Currently in Vietnam all major carriers including MobiFone, VinaPhone, Viettel, VietnamMobile all operate GSM networks. If you buy a phone from a carrier in Vietnam, it will almost certainly be the GSM version.

Verizon in the US is equipped with CDMA standard, and also supports GSM.
If you bought a “jailbroken” phone, the phone itself is no longer tied to a specific carrier, so it’s hard to pinpoint.

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Check the “About” section in the settings. If you see a MEID or ESN category, your phone requires CDMA; and if you see the IMEI category then the phone is GSM. If you see both (such as with a Verizon phone in the US) it means the phone supports both CDMA and GSM, or possibly either. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

With iPhone — Open Settings , tap General , select About and scroll down to find your MEID (or ESN ) or IMEI number.
With Android — Open Settings , scroll down and tap System (Android Oreo only), tap About phone , select Status and look for the MEID (or ESN ) or IMEI number.

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Look at your phone’s model number. If you still can’t determine if your phone is CDMA or GSM, look at the model number. This information is in your phone’s manual, or you can check it in About settings. With the keyword model number, you can search online for the type of network that came with the phone.

On iPhone, go to Settings > General > About and look at the number to the right of the “Model” heading, and for Android users, go to Settings > System (Oreo version only) > About phone and find the name and model number at This.
Your iPhone’s model number is on the back of the phone’s case, but it can be hard to see if you’re using the black or space gray version.
If you can’t find the model number, go to the manufacturer’s page and look up your phone model (ex: iPhone 7, jet black, 128 GB). You can narrow down your search from here.

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Try removing the SIM and using the phone. While GSM and LTE phones both require a SIM card, you can use CDMA phones without inserting a SIM. If your phone can be used without a SIM card, it is CDMA.

The phone will be brought to the 3G network.
You can take out a SIM card on both iPhones and Android phones.

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Call your current carrier. Call the carrier you are using to ask if the phone is CDMA or GSM. In most cases they will need your phone’s IMEI or MEID number, as well as your name and other account information.

As a reminder, if the phone is unlocked and is not using a specific carrier then you need to check the model number. Calling the carrier will not yield results.

Advice

GSM phones are most commonly used in Europe and Asia, thanks to the convenience that people often choose to carry when traveling.
When you bring your phone to the carrier center, you can determine if your phone supports both networks. Some phones (like some specific Verizon models in the US) support both CDMA and GSM networks through multiple SIM slots.

Warning

If you can’t find the model number anywhere, take the phone to the manufacturer’s center (for example, if it’s an iPhone, take it to an Apple store, and a Samsung Galaxy to a Samsung distributor) let the technician determine the device’s model number and network type. This is usually free of charge.

Steps

Advice

Warning

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