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

Buying Unlocked iPhone 5 at apple store USA?

jekyoo said:
I find it weird that no one talks about the unlocking services that you can get on eBay. I bought my iPhone 5 on contract with AT&T and just got it unlocked via eBay for less than $5. I was skeptical that this would work but it had so many purchases and I could easily file a dispute if it didn't work. Once I provided my IMEI and they unlocked it, all I had to do was restore my iPhone 5 and I got the "Congrats, your iPhone has been unlocked" screen.
Click to expand...

Can anyone else confirm this? Does this really work?
 
dchao said:
You are wrong, if you look at the iP5 LTE matrix.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

You'll see VZW model share all three LTE bands in EU and Asia (850/1800/2100). The ATT model doesn't. And therefore, the VZW is a better phone for international use.

Now the tricky bit, find an off contract VZW iP5.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I meant if you need LTE here in the US and have the unlocked verizon iP5 it wouldn't work.
 
I have a question ! If I go on the apple store website and try to subscribe for a verizon contract (so I enter my information) and use the reserve and pick up system but then when I go to the store I ask to take it "device only" would it work ?

I'm from France and i'm going to New york ! So I can't take a contract and have to take a verizon iPhone !


Thanking you in advance
 
MuGeN PoWeR said:
It has a sim card slot as well. All you gotta do is insert the sim and you are ready to roll.
Click to expand...
vbtwo31984 said:
Verizon phone works both on CDMA and GSM. It supports all the same GSM frequencies like the GSM-only phone in addition to supporting CDMA and LTE.
Click to expand...

I'm new on the forum, from Italy, and know absolutely nothing about CDMA but I'm staying in Texas for a couple of months and I would like to buy an iPhone5 while here. Are you absolutely sure that the Verizon "device only" phone will work in Europe (Italy) with my italian GSM nanosim? And maybe also use the european LTE frequencies when they will start to be used there?
Thanks to everyone able to help me!
 
Angellyca said:
I'm new on the forum, from Italy, and know absolutely nothing about CDMA but I'm staying in Texas for a couple of months and I would like to buy an iPhone5 while here. Are you absolutely sure that the Verizon "device only" phone will work in Europe (Italy) with my italian GSM nanosim? And maybe also use the european LTE frequencies when they will start to be used there?
Thanks to everyone able to help me!
Click to expand...

yes it will work as its already factory unlocked. yes the GSM slot is unlocked. CDMA wont work there. if you buy Verizon/AT&T device only it wil be unlocked!
 
Angellyca said:
I'm new on the forum, from Italy, and know absolutely nothing about CDMA but I'm staying in Texas for a couple of months and I would like to buy an iPhone5 while here. Are you absolutely sure that the Verizon "device only" phone will work in Europe (Italy) with my italian GSM nanosim? And maybe also use the european LTE frequencies when they will start to be used there?
Thanks to everyone able to help me!
Click to expand...

Si, tranquillo, funziona. Non so come potrà andare in caso debba essere sostituito con l'AppleCare.

Buon viaggio.
 
johnparjr said:
You cannot buy a phone at apple stores without a contract for now on the iphone 5
Click to expand...

Actually you can. However it can be a temporarily costly maneuver. I used Apple's online reservation system to pay for and reserve on in store. I am technically still under contract with AT&T for my iphone 4S so I qualified for the early upgrade price of $449. So I walked into the store the next day and told them I wanted to purchase it at the full unsubsidized price. They said ok, but I would have to return it and then repurchase it at $649 + tax, and the original $449 + tax would probably stay on my card for about 3 business days. So basically my card had a little over $1200 charged on it when I walked out of the Apple store with a carrier unsubsidized iPhone 5 (AT&T version) because I wanted to keep taking advantage of my grandfathered Unlimited Data plan. The next day I did the online submission to request for an unlock at the following link: https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/client/en_US/ And within a couple hours I got an email asking for me to fax in my receipt from the Apple store and a couple hours after that they sent me another email saying I was approved. The email also told me to just connect to itunes and then reset my iPhone and easy as that I had myself a 16GB White iPhone 5.

I'm totally loving it. Battery life is amazing, as I've had it for 1 week exactly now and have only charged the phone 3 times. I've been using the 4G LTE the most and also making calls and texting regularly.
 
vhsjon said:
Ok, so after what Ive read, I have two questions:

1. Does both the unlocked/device only Verizon and AT&T iPhone 5 models cost the same?

2. I live in Norway, will both Verizon and AT&T models work with a GSM carrier over here? I guess the question will be if both will work in Europe?

In this article http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2410067,00.asp it says that AT&T will never work with 4G LTE outside of the US, so I guess I should go for the Verizon model so that I have a chance of getting the 4G LTE speed when that comes to Norway?

Thanks in advance for any help :)
Click to expand...

Ok so this is a major question you will have to ask yourself. I know a lot of people on posting are saying get the Verizon A1429 model and use it with a GSM carrier. However I see one major drawback and it may be entirely a personal preference question. Yes the Verizon Model does support more of the native 4G LTE bands which means if you travel a lot or just live in a country outside the U.S. then you will probably want this model. However, the one caveat for me is that the Verizon model DOES NOT allow simultaneous voice and data use (ie. I can't be talking to family or friends while accessing an email or checking a website, or getting directions to get somewhere). Basically if you are a multitasking individual, that wants to be able to do more at the same time, then you may be better off sacrificing the holy grail of 4G LTE speeds for simultaneous voice and data use. To tell you the truth many countries outside the U.S./Europe/Australia don't have extensive 4G LTE coverage and by the time the get decent coverage the iPhone 6 will be out. Remember this isn't you're last iPhone and more than likely you will upgrade it yourself in 1.5 or 2 years at most (at which time the world will be better prepared to supply 4G LTE coverage). I hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
Ok, this is great I have found a topic like this. But I want to clarify something as I do not know the difference between GSM and CDMA.

I live in Turkey but I am in US of a few weeks. So you guys are telling me that I should buy the iPhone 5 Verizon model(device only) which comes already factory unlocked and I can use my phone with GSM carriers in my country without having any problem.

But I read that some guys were telling that verizon does not cover CDMA in europe which is a sentence i have no idea about.

So, basically, can I buy this thing, will it work or not?

thank you :)

-------------------

Problem solved very simply here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=16167001&posted=1#post16167001
 
Last edited:
Is it possible for me to walk into an Apple store in the US and buy an unlocked unsubsidized AT&T version iPhone 5 without an AT&T account? Based on what I'm reading, it will be locked until I restore it in iTunes, then I can use a SIM from another carrier. The question is...will they require me to sign up for AT&T service?

Just to contribute to the simultaneous voice/data question- LTE only supports simultaneous voice/data if the voice channel is VoLTE...and carriers are not quite there yet. All iPhone 5 versions only use LTE for data. If you are on a traditional GSM carrier, like AT&T, the device drops back to HSPA+ for simultaneous voice/data. If on a legacy CDMA carrier, like Verizon/Sprint, the device drops back to CDMA and won't do simultaneous voice data. (Apple did not want to add another radio just for CDMA carriers to this...like you can with CDMA and WiFi) That being said, the LTE handsets on the market today are just temporary bridge devices until the carriers move to VoLTE. I expect that the CDMA carriers will be the first to move to VoLTE, but who knows if Apple will support it in the iPhone 6. I bet Samsung will support it first as a differentiator. VoLTE tech is here today, but the carriers need to settle how to commercialize something that is more like Skype and less like a switched voice circuit. Just Google for "VoLTE" to learn more.

It will be a great day when we can buy a handset and use it on our carrier of choice based on price, network performance and customer service (like home ISPs) rather than bringing stuck with a carrier because our handset is locked to that carrier's network.
 
I know the Verizon iphone can't do it while on Verizon LTE network. Can the Verizon iPhone 5 model while on a GSM network (i.e. AT&T), do data and voice simultaneously?
 
iPhone off contract

Is truth that I can buy a iPhone 5 out of contract in AT&T and Verizon site and plug it in iTunes to unlock ? Has anyone confirmed that these phones are coming unlocked ? Thanks
 
matheusmantuano said:
Is truth that I can buy a iPhone 5 out of contract in AT&T and Verizon site and plug it in iTunes to unlock ? Has anyone confirmed that these phones are coming unlocked ? Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi i want to know this too because im going to usa on november 26 and i want to buy an iphone factory unlocked, thanks for the response.
 
bluem00se said:
So if I buy a device only iPhone 5 AT&T model can I use it on T-Mobile?
Click to expand...

Yes. As long as it is unlocked when you buy it or you unlock it using the IMEI unlocking services that you can get on eBay for under $8.


edit to add: using the IMEI unlocking services that you can get on eBay for under $8.
 
Last edited:
In nyc you cannot buy a iphone 5 off contract anywhere period. I've made numerous calls and numerous visits. Please stop telling people they can buy phones regularly
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back