do not think apple will update baseband in all of the iPhones to support just t-mobile, is there any other providers using AWS? may be around the world and then it may be YES.
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Would it be possible to enable AWS HSPA+ on an unlocked iPhone 5?
- Thread starter mossme89
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It isn't possible to issue a baseband update to unlock the AWS or else they would've done that. The firmware is hard coded into the chip. It needs to be flashed at the manufacturing site to enable AWS which means they need to physically have the phone
If you follow jailbreaking, this is similar to the bootrom. Apple cannot issue a software to fix bootrom exploits because the firmware is hard coded into the chip. They need to have the phone in their hands to patch those bootrom exploits. That's why there's an older 3GS and a newer 3GS
I been trying to tell him that many times now but he assumes it can be done with just a software update.
I gave up after a while
Baseband updates happen regularly actually, so that's not true. Firmware is hard coded onto a chip, but if firmware is updated for Apple computers, why not iPhones?
Exploiting the bootrom vs firmware of a chip aren't the same.
I'm not saying it's possible or impossible, because we haven't been faced with this kind of situation before. I don't think anyone on these forums has enough expertise to know that and we won't know for sure until a tear down and the geeks get their hands on it.
The way I look at it is like with a windows computer.
It's equivalent to the BIOS. Windows OS updates in no way can update the BIOS version. Even if they were to remotely control your computer, they cannot go into the BIOS to update the version.
Yes, they can use a windows program to update the BIOS but the thing is that apple iDevices are very locked down. There is no way to run a program on iOS to update this firmware version. It has to be flashed onto the hardware not in iOS but with some other "booting program" equivalent to the BIOS
You have to physically have control of the computer to enter BIOS to update the BIOS version
And I doubt apple will release any method for us end users to update the hardware firmware to enable AWS HSPA+ because that would be something that could be considered as "root" access and would probably open a path for the hackers/jailbreakers to read and exploit the bootrom
I'm not very knowledgeable about all these but this is how I'm looking at why a software update won't enable AWS
The equivalent of BIOS for macs is EFI, which can be updated. And BIOS can be updated I've done it myself.
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yes, it can be updated but not through the OS itself (at least, through the recommended method in updating the BIOS version). I never said the BIOS cannot be updated, I was just saying that you would update the version through the BIOS and not through windows.
Did you read where I said apple will not give the end users the tool to update the firmware version because it will be considered "root access" and would most likely give jailbreakers a way to exploit the bootrom or other hardware that may give us an untethered jailbreak. Apple iDevices are well known for their lock downed system. Macs are much less restricted than iDevices, I would assume, because the competitor is windows which has majority of the market. And computers are viewed more for "heavy duty work"
You do raise a good point here. Again, I'm agreeing that Apple won't enable this functionality, but some hacker may get creative and find a way which might require a jailbreaker. It's possible to gain root access on an iPhone 5.
It's only beneficial to T-Mobile customers. It allows them to connect to T-Mobile's older 3G/4G (AWS bands) which is much more availiable than the newer 3G (1900 MHz) they're refarming
So instead of being on 2G all the time (comparable to dial up speeds), they can get 3G/4G speeds if they don't fall in an area that has the 1900 MHz 3G. This is assuming the area has the AWS 3G
Thanks for taking the time to explain. Wasn't sure why a few people here were willing to wait just to have this feature. Do you think all unlocked iPhones purchased through the Apple Store on 4/12th will accommodate this feature or is it unique only to T-Mobile?
All unlocked phones will. Whether they sell these to customers initially to AT&T customers is not known. But once the current stock runs out, they will all be compatible.
Re: Trade in @ T-Mobile
T-Mobile is taking trade-ins for the new iPhone 5. It's allowing customers to bring in any iPhone 4 or 4S and the customer will be able to buy the iPhone 5 16GB for $0 down payment and 24 monthly payments of $20 each, so basically you get $100 off. Depending upon the condition of your current iPhone, you may also receive up to $120 off which effectively lowers your monthly payments down to $15 a month for 24 months. If you choose to buy the iPhone 5 16GB outright, I assume T-Mobile will just give you $100 plus the $120 off the full purchase price, bringing the price down to $359.99.
T-Mobile is taking trade-ins for the new iPhone 5. It's allowing customers to bring in any iPhone 4 or 4S and the customer will be able to buy the iPhone 5 16GB for $0 down payment and 24 monthly payments of $20 each, so basically you get $100 off. Depending upon the condition of your current iPhone, you may also receive up to $120 off which effectively lowers your monthly payments down to $15 a month for 24 months. If you choose to buy the iPhone 5 16GB outright, I assume T-Mobile will just give you $100 plus the $120 off the full purchase price, bringing the price down to $359.99.