Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Should Apple be selling a less able version of the Iphone 7 without the customers knowledge


  • Total voters
    7
  • Poll closed .

decafjava

macrumors 603
Feb 7, 2011
5,240
7,408
Geneva
I hope JBL90 goes back to that Apple Store, and tries to get the right phone. I would take it
to whatever level I had to, to resolve this issue. I think the Apple employees should know their
sh**t. You shouldn't have to know more than them.
Good point actually, I forget not everyone is a tech nerd.
 

Applejuiced

macrumors Westmere
Apr 16, 2008
40,672
6,533
At the iPhone hacks section.
I hope JBL90 goes back to that Apple Store, and tries to get the right phone. I would take it
to whatever level I had to, to resolve this issue. I think the Apple employees should know their
sh**t. You shouldn't have to know more than them.

He cannot get the "right" phone since they do not sale the CDMA enabled iPhone 7 in Europe.
All he could do is ask for his money back.
 

Septembersrain

Cancelled
Dec 14, 2013
4,347
5,451
Best bet at this point is the protections given to European consumers. I'm not sure how that work but you'd have more luck there than trying through Apple. However, I'd maybe try to e-mail Tim Cook (He has people who read them most likely). I'm not sure what else you can do aside from selling it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Applejuiced

0970373

Suspended
Mar 15, 2008
2,727
1,412
Since arriving in the USA, I now have a nearly $800 dollar paper weight for a phone as I have a contract on a Verizon network which CDMA based and cannot work on the inferior iPhone. This issue will affect many carriers in other countries too from which have read and the Apple staff have offered me no solution other than buy the other better iPhone again.

Sorry for your troubles, OP. UK staff probably wouldn't even have been trained to know this kind of information as the UK doesn't have CDMA. Are you here permanently or traveling back and forth still? Asking because I am wondering why you have a Verizon contract. If you have a new contract, you could probably do a trade-in with Verizon so that you get a phone that works on their system as well as back in the UK. Otherwise, I'd try to cancel that contract with Verizon (30 days I think) if you are still able and get pre-paid on T-mobile.

The Tech Specs on the UK site doesn't even mention CDMA even though it lists all the same models as the US version. I'd say Apple is probably a dead end for you. Maybe write to Tim Cook? His executive team might get back to you and help out. Long shot but worth a try if other avenues don't pan out.

Screenshot 2017-02-07 17.05.39.png Screenshot 2017-02-07 17.05.46.png
 

seadragon

Contributor
Mar 10, 2009
1,872
3,151
Is Applecare + good worldwide? If so, I may jump across the border and buy a proper phone in the US.
 

garya73

macrumors 6502
May 12, 2013
282
71
Delaware, USA
Sorry for your troubles, OP. UK staff probably wouldn't even have been trained to know this kind of information as the UK doesn't have CDMA. Are you here permanently or traveling back and forth still? Asking because I am wondering why you have a Verizon contract. If you have a new contract, you could probably do a trade-in with Verizon so that you get a phone that works on their system as well as back in the UK. Otherwise, I'd try to cancel that contract with Verizon (30 days I think) if you are still able and get pre-paid on T-mobile.

The Tech Specs on the UK site doesn't even mention CDMA even though it lists all the same models as the US version. I'd say Apple is probably a dead end for you. Maybe write to Tim Cook? His executive team might get back to you and help out. Long shot but worth a try if other avenues don't pan out.

View attachment 687478 View attachment 687479

If OP is bringing their own phone, there is no contract with Verizon. They can leave at any time.

Doesn't the phone still work with AT&T and T-Mobile? Perhaps the coverage and signal strength is not the same as Verizon, but the phone is not a paperweight. OP is trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. The average Apple employee wouldn't know about CDMA networks in the US. I seriously doubt they train anyone in the UK on that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Applejuiced

bufffilm

Suspended
May 3, 2011
4,227
2,536
Canada doesn't but other countries do. The whole point of an unlocked phone is being able to slap any SIM card in it and go. For my money, I want the better model.

An unlocked phone differs from a phone that works across GSM and CDMA carriers.

Not the same thing.

As for the OP, he seems to have disappeared.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,459
Since when? Not so with the 6s. If you're going to hobble a phone, hobble the locked ones.
Well, with the 7 it's not the case given that there are different models, some of which have no CDMA support at all--which is basically a big part of what the discussion in this thread is about.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Applejuiced

seadragon

Contributor
Mar 10, 2009
1,872
3,151
Well, with the 7 it's not the case given that there are different models, some of which have no CDMA support at all--which is basically a big part of what the discussion in this thread is about.

Exactly. I fully realize what this thread is about. This BS started with the 7 from what I understand. In my thinking, the unlocked version (and most expensive) should be the most capable phone.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,459
Exactly. I fully realize what this thread is about. This BS started with the 7 from what I understand. In my thinking, the unlocked version (and most expensive) should be the most capable phone.
Well, in Apple terms it's basically referred to as the SIM-free version. But even then it seems that there are a few different SIM-free versions based on different regions of the world.
 

bufffilm

Suspended
May 3, 2011
4,227
2,536
In my thinking, the unlocked version (and most expensive) should be the most capable phone.

That might be the most common fallacy of all...that the priciest phone should be the most capable.

As for why Apple used both Intel and Qualcomm for the 7/7+ radios...Intel probably appealed to Apple's bottom line.

In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the 7s/7s+ continued in that vein.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Applejuiced

seadragon

Contributor
Mar 10, 2009
1,872
3,151
You need to get out more.

See my edited post above.

I realize that the situation is what it is with the iPhone 7. But in general terms, the higher priced product is the more capable. I just think it sucks that Apple is selling a more capable unlocked phone in the US vs the rest of the world.
 

0970373

Suspended
Mar 15, 2008
2,727
1,412
If OP is bringing their own phone, there is no contract with Verizon. They can leave at any time.

Doesn't the phone still work with AT&T and T-Mobile? Perhaps the coverage and signal strength is not the same as Verizon, but the phone is not a paperweight. OP is trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. The average Apple employee wouldn't know about CDMA networks in the US. I seriously doubt they train anyone in the UK on that.

Well that's why I asked how he has a Verizon contract as he stated in his original post. But we're basically saying the same thing.
 

OriginalAppleGuy

Suspended
Sep 25, 2016
971
1,137
Virginia
That's what I thought @bufffilm until I saw this:

.......the unlocked version (and most expensive.....

A part of me wishes I waited for the sim free version so I'd have the better radio and if I were to ever sell it, better resale value. Not real happy with what Apple did with the radios this time. Now that we've seen the Qualcomm lawsuits, guess Apple was doing more than sending a message to them.
 

seadragon

Contributor
Mar 10, 2009
1,872
3,151
What I mean is that the sim free version is the most expensive because it has no contract with a carrier. If you buy a phone from a carrier on a contract, you get a subsidized price, but it is also locked to their service. Is that different in the US?
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,459
What I mean is that the sim free version is the most expensive because it has no contract with a carrier. If you buy a phone from a carrier on a contract, you get a subsidized price, but it is also locked to their service. Is that different in the US?
Depends on the carrier, not to mention that most of them more or less got rid of contracts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Applejuiced

seadragon

Contributor
Mar 10, 2009
1,872
3,151
In Canada, the maxed out iPhone 7 Plus sells for $1,309, sim free at the Apple Store.

But the carriers sell them for less on a contract. For example, the same iPhone at Rogers (one of the big carriers in Canada) is currently $599 with a 2 year contract.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.