Thanks! I think I'll wait for a SIM free model then or perhaps even the next iteration. While I do have a Verizon SIM, I lose the $25/mo BYOD discount if I switch the SIM to an unrecognized device.
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AT&T iPhones 6s Paid In Full Come Unlocked
- Thread starter penajmz
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I already have a working SIM so activation is not a problem. The AT&T iPhone 6S may be unlocked but I'm on a very slightly older Mobile Share Everything plan that gives me a $25 BYOD discount ($40 - $25 = $15 monthly line charge) if I use a "recognized" device. That's an extra $300 per year I'd have to pay in service fees if I get the AT&T iPhone 6S.
What I want is a phone that's truly universal without any mucking around. As I'm not on contract with either carrier and thus not losing out on any subsidies by not upgrading, I'm content with waiting for a phone that's whitelisted on Verizon and Sprint while also supporting all of AT&T and T-Mobile's LTE bands.
Again, there's value to a whitelisted device for my specific plan (to the tune of $300/line per year). While an unlocked AT&T iPhone 6S does technically work on Verizon, it's treated quite differently when it comes to the billing part unless I switch over to the new "Verizon Plan" at least until the new AT&T/TMo/Sprint IMEI/MEID get added to Verizon's whitelist database.
It might not be whitelisted, though. I just inserted my working Verizon SIM into my AT&T iPhone 6S. It shows up as a "non-VZW device"on My Verizon, even though everything works fine, including CDMA and VoLTE. By contrast, my iPad Mini 4 shows up as such.
did you try and make a voice call?
did you make sure to disable VoLTE ?
can you test sprint and verizon?
if the phone lacks united states cdma like apple claims, then putting in a verizon pre-activated sim card, will basically turn the iPhone into a iPad cellular. and i think as long as VoLTE is working, it might give you the impression that the iPhone is compatible. so you need to make a regular voice call using cdma to make sure
apple is saying that this model does not have american CDMA and it only has Chinese Cdma. so i am still skeptical
I disabled LTE altogether. 1xRTT clearly displayed next to "Verizon" when I put in my Verizon SIM card. I don't have a Sprint SIM card. I tried it with Verizon and made calls on CDMA and VoLTE. Both worked.
Apple updated the specs to say that the A1633 and A1634 support C CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz), which is what Verizon and Sprint use, and the same as the A1687 and A1688.
http://www.apple.com/iphone-6s/specs/
Don't worry. It works. It just isn't whitelisted, so you can't walk into a Verizon or Sprint store and just activate it (even though there is no technical reason they couldn't activate it).
Then do a factory restore in iTunes. You'll get the unlock message as you set it up as new.
verizon update
Broadus from who has a very good eye on howard forums told me that apple has admitted that the cdma radios in both phones are identical. the only difference is the AT&T one has channel 30 and the t-mobile / verizon / sprint one does not
apple has admitted that both phones have CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz) and TD-SCDMA 1900 (F), 2000 (A)
this is what apple said about the iPhone 6s specifications page back on 9-9
https://web.archive.org/web/20150909194212/http://www.apple.com/iphone-6s/specs/
this is what apple put on their specifications page today
http://www.apple.com/iphone-6s/specs/
Broadus from who has a very good eye on howard forums told me that apple has admitted that the cdma radios in both phones are identical. the only difference is the AT&T one has channel 30 and the t-mobile / verizon / sprint one does not
apple has admitted that both phones have CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz) and TD-SCDMA 1900 (F), 2000 (A)
this is what apple said about the iPhone 6s specifications page back on 9-9
https://web.archive.org/web/20150909194212/http://www.apple.com/iphone-6s/specs/
this is what apple put on their specifications page today
http://www.apple.com/iphone-6s/specs/