Apple says possible to buy iPhone with no carrier plan

[markyr17]

Anybody else receive an email this morning from Apple about iPhone 6 Preorders?

At the end of the email it says the following: (also see attached image)

Why you'll love buying iPhone from Apple.

We offer iPhone with our without a carrier plan, and we'll help you choose the right one. And whether you're buying a new iPhone, switching to iPhone, or upgrading, we'll get you set up.

But... This is entirely not true. You can't buy the iPhone 6 they are emailing about without a carrier plan.

 

[kupkakez]

I bought one without a plan. I bought the T-Mobile unlocked one and it didnt ask for my service number or anything.

 

[mikeorchard]

Yeah, there is the T-Mobile variety available contract free.

 

[markyr17]

Just seems misleading. I want a phone that works with Verizon, and want to pay full price for it and not have a plan attached to it, like the email says I can.

But, I can't do that. The email is misleading, as it only works for the T-Mobile phone.

 

[markyr17]

Meh. It's not the end of the world. Just a minor annoyance I saw.

 

[ckd38]

Just seems misleading. I want a phone that works with Verizon, and want to pay full price for it and not have a plan attached to it, like the email says I can.

But, I can't do that. The email is misleading, as it only works for the T-Mobile phone.

Will the T-Mobile unlocked version bought on apple.com work on Verizon?

 

[markyr17]

Will the T-Mobile unlocked version bought on apple.com work on Verizon?

No,

You have to get the Verizon version to work on Verizon. While the T-Mobile version is unlocked, and will work on any GSM carrier, and technically has the bands to work on Verizon, Verizon won't activate any phones that aren't sold to work on their network.

 

[rui no onna]

You have to get the Verizon version to work on Verizon. While the T-Mobile version is unlocked, and will work on any GSM carrier, and technically has the bands to work on Verizon, Verizon won't activate any phones that aren't sold to work on their network.

While the activation part is true, if you already have a working Verizon SIM card, you can pop it into the T-Mobile version and LTE works. With VoLTE, then you'd be able to get calls, too. Alas, no CDMA fallback.

 

[markyr17]

While the activation part is true, if you already have a working Verizon SIM card, you can pop it into the T-Mobile version and LTE works. With VoLTE, then you'd be able to get calls, too. Alas, no CDMA fallback.

I don't think that's true either.

For a device to work on Verizon's network, I think the imei needs to be in Verizon's database, even for just the lte part.

 

[rui no onna]

I don't think that's true either.

For a device to work on Verizon's network, I think the imei needs to be in Verizon's database, even for just the lte part.

Nope. Part of their agreement with the FCC was they can't stop compatible devices from working on their networks. That's the reason you could use an AT&T and T-Mobile iPad on Verizon as long as you already have a working SIM. They're not gonna activate your device without a known IMEI/MEID but they can't prevent it from accessing their network either.