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mrholder

macrumors regular
Jan 3, 2009
147
6
I guess this is another possible reason why my regional carrier, C Spire, has yet to offer LTE to their iPhone 5 customers, even though they already have LTE coverage in my town for other phones. C Spire has been very tight lipped as to why they don't offer it yet with iPhones.

I agree. I just posted this link in the circle. They may be tight lipped because they don't know if there network is going to pass the test.
 

VenusianSky

macrumors 65816
Aug 28, 2008
1,290
47
Are we talking about the same Apple here?

The Apple I know makes it a burden to carry the iPhone in so many ways, yet carriers are dying to get the device as official partner and work on new standards together with Apple.
(Visual Voicemail is just one example)

Apple's dom, carriers are subs.

Glassed Silver:mac

Actually, I was just trying to be a bit funny. When it comes down it though, money talks. I doubt Apple really cares about the user's experience, in regards to this matter, as some people may believe. I think Apple cares more about support calls that costs them money, when a particular problem has nothing to do with the phone, but the crappy cell service. Just my opinion though.
 

mtandrup

macrumors newbie
Oct 20, 2006
3
0
Here in Denmark our 4G carriers with frequencies that match the iPhone 5 said that it would get 4G in November. But with December fast approaching they have changed it to 2013 :-(
 

apollo1444

macrumors 65816
Jul 22, 2011
1,329
27
mexico
can't use LTE because of Apple here in Mexico

the carrier said apple needed to release a carrier update and other people within the carrier said it needs to be 6.1 people didn't believe them... now it seems this is true apple are turds sometimes I'll forgive them for their maping disaster if they give me LTE before January
 

apollo1444

macrumors 65816
Jul 22, 2011
1,329
27
mexico
do anyone with compatible bands and new 4G LTE networks out there who currently can't use them with the iPhone

did your carrier told you Apple needed to release a carrier update? that's what my carrier told me!
 

Westside guy

macrumors 603
Oct 15, 2003
6,335
4,152
The soggy side of the Pacific NW
It's better than the carriers being control freaks. Remember what it was like just 5 years ago? If it were still that way, people would be paying $10/month for Verizon Navigator on some crummy plasticky carrier-branded phone instead of complaining about Apple Maps.

While there's an initial emotional resonance with that sort of argument, it's a false choice because there aren't only the two options available.

It's also not true that if being a control freak in one circumstance is beneficial (which it certainly was with the creation and launch of the iPhone in general), that it's automatically good to always be a control freak.
 

Kabeyun

macrumors 68040
Mar 27, 2004
3,410
6,347
Eastern USA
"Big for its boots"?! How does the worlds most valuable company grab you, guy? Live under a rock much? Apple has the biggest boots in the business and this kind of customer experience control is part of their DNA since the beginning.
 

Frazzle

macrumors regular
Mar 1, 2007
206
78
I for one am very, very glad that the carriers don't get the chance to litter the iPhone with their useless, undeletable crapware that only exists to suck more money out of your pocket. Thank you, Steve. It's about time these companies realised they're nothing more than service providers. The less frills, the better.
 

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,020
7,863
Oh yea, like choosing the worst carrier in the country for the original iphone?

They went to Verizon first. Verizon wanted to put its logo on the phone and VCast on the home screen. Apple said no, so Verizon said no, as well. A few years and several tens of millions of iPhones later Verizon changed their mind.
 

jafingi

macrumors 65816
Apr 3, 2009
1,470
158
Denmark
No big news. This was already in the Danish news a week before the iPhone 5 launched.

Even though the LTE network in Denmark works fine with Telia (and have worked for more than a year), iPhone 5 will only work with the network in iOS 6.1+ because Apple have to update their software to use it.

Read this Danish news article from a week before iPhone 5 launch: http://translate.google.com/transla...gen-4g-i-iphone-5-for-til-november,lid.23549/
 

erzhik

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2010
486
395
This is Apple ensuring the best possible experience for the customer.

This is Apple being Apple, not knowing whether their phones will work on the network as advertised or not. If they won't work, there would be an outrage, therefore Apple is trying everything possible to control and make sure their hardware is working ok.
 

AppliedMicro

macrumors 68020
Aug 17, 2008
2,167
2,433
True to form: Android is all about freedom... For the carriers, not the user.

And Apple is all about making the user--not the carrier--happy.
How for christ's sake is Apples advertising and selling "4G" phones supposed to make me, the user, "happy", when their "4G" phones are actually incapable of delivering 4G?

Oh, and while we're at it:

- Why is Personal Hotspot always disabled on my iPad Cellular?
- Why does it always tell me to contact my carrier in order to enable Personal Hotspot?
- Why does my carrier always tell me Personal Hotspot isn't supported on my iPad on the few times that they even get what I'm talking about?
- Why is there a carrier feature support list with Personal Hotspot only available at some carriers?
- Why does the Apple website tell me "Verify that your carrier supports Personal Hotspot for your device and that you have Personal Hotspot enabled on your cellular plan: iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular: Check with your carrier for availability."

...when WiFi hotspot functionality actually does work using the exact same price plan, same SIM card on the same carriers' networks on some random Android device? What is supposed to make me, the customer, happy about Apple arbitrarily restricting Personal Hotspot - when at the same time it's just "pop in and go" on random Android phones or tablets which my carrier might have never even heard of, let alone sold? :mad:

There's no technical reason for Personal Hotspot being unavailable on an Apple device with any price plan and carrier of my choice. Apple's actively blocking the functionality on some carrier's/cards.

How is that supposed to be (and I quote you) "all about making the user--not the carrier--happy"?
:confused:

Please elaborate.
 
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deanesfield

macrumors newbie
Jan 8, 2012
5
1
Common Apple, get your finger out and and make your Iphone5 work on all the LTE networks, just like the other manufacturers did. It's not up to you to get the networks to tweak their networks to benefit Apple Iphone5/IOS, at the detriment to other manufacturer's previous efforts. The next thing we get is Apple improving on the lte system and applying for new patent, to impede others.

Cheers!!
 

zenrazor

macrumors newbie
Aug 15, 2012
3
0
Yea I don't know why people are talking like this is a good thing for 'user experience'. If the carrier's lte is so bad, the user can disable lte in settings. This is just typical Apple control tactics.

If normal people frequented MacRumors you'd be exactly correct. But they don't. Normal people probably only press the Settings icon by accident. Apple knows this and exercises "control tactics" for the benefit of the user experience of normal people. This doesn't always make me happy, but I understand why they do it.

I'm sure that the CTO of Alcatel Lucent is a phenomenally bright person, but his company has delivered poorly designed products with bad customer support for over a decade and has a stock that has declined over 80% during that period. The Apple control freaks, by contrast, enjoy a stock price that has increased nearly 15,600% over the same period. Everything may be different in the future, but Alcatel Lucent employees may feel privileged to be able to afford to buy boots--whether or not they actually fit.
 

mrholder

macrumors regular
Jan 3, 2009
147
6
do anyone with compatible bands and new 4G LTE networks out there who currently can't use them with the iPhone

did your carrier told you Apple needed to release a carrier update? that's what my carrier told me!

Yes, that's what I was told. Now I'm hearing that it will be end of Feb. 2013 :mad:
 

Dr McKay

macrumors 68040
Aug 11, 2010
3,430
57
Kirkland
True to form: Android is all about freedom... For the carriers, not the user.

And Apple is all about making the user--not the carrier--happy..

Can you explain? My Android phone came with nothing carrier related on it. No markings, no software. I feel I have more freedom on here than I did with my iPhone.
 

gotluck

macrumors 603
Dec 8, 2011
5,712
1,204
East Central Florida
If normal people frequented MacRumors you'd be exactly correct. But they don't. Normal people probably only press the Settings icon by accident. Apple knows this and exercises "control tactics" for the benefit of the user experience of normal people. This doesn't always make me happy, but I understand why they do it.

I'm sure that the CTO of Alcatel Lucent is a phenomenally bright person, but his company has delivered poorly designed products with bad customer support for over a decade and has a stock that has declined over 80% during that period. The Apple control freaks, by contrast, enjoy a stock price that has increased nearly 15,600% over the same period. Everything may be different in the future, but Alcatel Lucent employees may feel privileged to be able to afford to buy boots--whether or not they actually fit.

What's good for the investor is usually not good for the user :D

That said, I doubt normal users would notice 'poor' lte anyway. I would imagine poor lte is faster than 3g/4g. And it would be easy for the particular carrier to pass information along.
 

zenrazor

macrumors newbie
Aug 15, 2012
3
0
What's good for the investor is usually not good for the user :D

I'll grant you that, but my Apple stock holdings have paid for iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and a couple of nice cars. It would be pretty ungrateful of me to carry around an Android device. Categorize me as "controlled" but pretty damned happy anyway.
 

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,084
31,015
Um didn't Apple bend over to AT&T regarding FaceTime over cellular?

As a side note I remember in 2010 when I had an HTC phone with AT&T and they wouldn't allow the SiriusXM app in Google Market. I'm sorry but I pay for this data I should be able to use it however I chose. :mad:
 

aliensporebomb

macrumors 68000
Jun 19, 2005
1,907
332
Minneapolis, MN, USA, Urth
Ah.....

If Sprint passed the test in the U.S., it can't be that difficult. I wonder if they lower the standard if there is carrier competition in a country/region?

The more I think about it, I wonder if Apple lets these stories circulate in an attempt to make consumers think they're looking out for their best interests.

I mean, come on, does anyone really believe that Apple would turn down any carrier who's willing to fork over a bunch of cash to get the iPhone 5 on its LTE network? I like Apple products, but I hardly think Apple is looking out for my best interests. I don't need Apple to do that. Apple is in business to make a profit and share that money with the shareholders. I have a brain and access to the internet and I can make my own carrier choices without Apple's help.

But Sprint LTE is actually decent - so who knows?
lte.png
 

boglott

macrumors newbie
Feb 24, 2011
7
0
Zurich, Switzerland
I'm in Switzerland and not customer of Swisscom, but of Orange. Orange will get LTE in June 2013 for the other phones and for the iPhone some months later, they already announced that. So, we'll have the same game with Apple, too. But in contrary to the providers in the USA, most providers in Europe have decent HSPA+ 3G networks and therefore it's not that much a problem if LTE takes some months longer or not. The attachment shows what I get over 3G from my provider. The upload could be better, but otherwise I'm satisfied.
 

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MathijsDelva

macrumors regular
Feb 28, 2008
239
13
I'm in Switzerland and not customer of Swisscom, but of Orange. Orange will get LTE in June 2013 for the other phones and for the iPhone some months later, they already announced that. So, we'll have the same game with Apple, too. But in contrary to the providers in the USA, most providers in Europe have decent HSPA+ 3G networks and therefore it's not that much a problem if LTE takes some months longer or not. The attachment shows what I get over 3G from my provider. The upload could be better, but otherwise I'm satisfied.

Yeah, same here. On 3G, i get about 16Mbps (which is about 2 megabytes per second) download.
 
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