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Apple IPhone 5 vs ATT iPhone unlocked- HELP

E

emscie

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 20, 2013
27
0
Is there a difference between an iPhone 5 advertised as "Apple Factory Unlocked" and a brand new Att IPhone 5 that has been unlocked by Att.
I posted mine as Apple iPhone 5 unlocked, that being the only category available on the website and it sold within hours.
Before I mail anything to buyers, I like giving them a summary of the product they are buying, and I wanna make sure my post was not misleading.

Are there differences whether you bought the phone with Apple vs Att if both are unlocked by either party.

Thanks for your help :)


I am so grateful for this forum!
 
There is no difference, they are both unlocked. What happens when you have AT&T unlock the phone for you is they send a request telling Apple to add your phone to the list of unlocked devices on their servers and the next time you plug the phone into iTunes it unlocks it the same as if you had bought it unlocked from Apple in the first place.
 
Interesting, I let the buyer know it was brand new, unlocked by att and not apple and he freaked out. I cancelled the order. I parano enough, can't deal with anyone else parano :)
I hope I can find another buyer soon!
 
emscie said:
Interesting, I let the buyer know it was brand new, unlocked by att and not apple and he freaked out. I cancelled the order. I parano enough, can't deal with anyone else parano :)
I hope I can find another buyer soon!
Click to expand...

How much are you asking for it?
 
$600 including shipping/insurance services
$550 if delivered in person
 
Applejuiced said:
Maybe he wants to use it on Tmobile and thought he wouldn't be able to connect to Tmobiles 3G with the AT&T unlocked iphone 5.
Did he say why he got mad or freaked out?
Click to expand...

No, but it is fine. I think it was my fault. I was first under the impression that I had to advertise it under iphone AT&T and not apple iphone. He was placing the order at the same time I was moving the ad under iphone 5 AT&T unlocked and I guess he just freaked out thinking I was advertising one thing and trying to sell him another phone. I am a buyer as well, so I can understand the suspicion. Oh well, something better will come along. I definitely don't wanna sell to someone that will return the phone and/or write me negative reviews so it is all good.
 
The at&t one has LTE that works on T-mobile and At&t. The apple unlocked one does not have LTE on american networks. The At&t one is better :)
 
vistadude said:
The at&t one has LTE that works on T-mobile and At&t. The apple unlocked one does not have LTE on american networks. The At&t one is better :)
Click to expand...

That is false.
The AT&T one has LTE that works on both AT&T and Tmobile and all north American carriers.
The AT&T iphone was not compatible with Tmobiles 3G network so you got stuck using Edge for Tmobile data.
The new Apple unlocked iphone 5 has all 3G bands for both AT&T and Tmobile networks and all GSM LTE bands. So the new Apple factory unlocked is better than an AT&T unlocked i5.
 
Ok you got me confused now lol
Either way, it sold again yesterday! I am never again buying one of those gadgets. I am using one iphone 5 myself and have an older 3G that I just got unlocked as well. I can hardly tell the difference between both phones, except for camera capabilities... Lol I am thinking those devices are just overrated. Also have a useless IPod and an Ipad that I learned the hard way can't be directly connected to a mac at all let alone to an old mac I can't update to the newest version of Safari without going through a ton of hurdles... I like getting more value from what I spend. I am currently looking around for a cheap SIM card that would go with one of my remaining iPhones... You could not get my to upgrade to any 5s, 6 or whatever is on the way :)
 
jav6454 said:
They are the same thing. Both unlocked by Apple.
Click to expand...

You are correct, but I don't like saying is the same thing if one is selling it, since an AT&T unlocked iPhone was unlocked after a person requested the phone to be unlocked. Later on, if the person needs to replace the device sometimes it becomes a pain to get a refurbished that is unlocked w/out having to go through the unlock AT&T procedure again and if the buyer was considering taking it to another country this can prove to be even more difficult. An unlocked apple iPhone is flagged as such in the system since day one and can be easy to get a replacement unlocked while we have seen in the forum that for an AT&T iPhone is not as easy.
 
Carlanga said:
You are correct, but I don't like saying is the same thing if one is selling it, since an AT&T unlocked iPhone was unlocked after a person requested the phone to be unlocked. Later on, if the person needs to replace the device sometimes it becomes a pain to get a refurbished that is unlocked w/out having to go through the unlock AT&T procedure again and if the buyer was considering taking it to another country this can prove to be even more difficult. An unlocked apple iPhone is flagged as such in the system since day one and can be easy to get a replacement unlocked while we have seen in the forum that for an AT&T iPhone is not as easy.
Click to expand...

In essence, this is a much better truth than mine.
 
Applejuiced said:
Lol:D
If you think the iPhone 3G and iPhone 5 are the same besides a camera update then you should stick to an old flip phone that just does calls and plays "snake":D
Click to expand...

Lol... Indeed I have owned iPhones many years and never player any games on them. Glad to know they have upgraded those snake games lol
 
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