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

Confused about 5S GSM version US vs EU

F

Freida

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 22, 2010
4,077
5,874
Hello guys,

I'm little bit confused about the GSM versions and wanted to ask for clarification. I'm going to US and was thinking to buy the phone there as its cheaper. Someone told me that it won't work but I looked at Apple website and can't see why not.

Here is what Apple has:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3939

Basically 4 types:

GSM
CDMA
GSM for China
and one more

So if I get the GSM (there are two models) then it should work fine in EU, no?
And if not, then what would limit me or what would not work? I remember that when I went to US with my iPhone 4 I purchased in UK then all worked fine there so what is actually the limitation if any?
 
i believe you would want the CDMA/GSM one (verizon model) for full rest of the world compatibility. but that may be for the 5 only. i think the 5S has all bands for both models for easy compatibility.
 
The GSM part of the phone will work fine in the EU - the LTE bands however are different. The US model lacks band 7 - which is being used throughout Europe. If your carrier uses band 7 (quick check: here) then you won't be able to use LTE/4G.
 
I see,

well all network providers seem to have this:
20,3,7 so if 7 won't work then it will work fine on those 3 & 20, right?
That way I should have LTE regardless :)
 
Freida said:
I see,

well all network providers seem to have this:
20,3,7 so if 7 won't work then it will work fine on those 3 & 20, right?
That way I should have LTE regardless :)
Click to expand...

I have the US model and I am on O2 UK's 4GLTE network. O2 uses band 20 and the US model supports it. :)

The US model supports all 4GLTE bands for UK networks.

Most European networks outside UK simultaneously use band 3 and 7 so while you will get LTE in areas, when you across a band 7 antenna your US model will not pick up on it. So expect patchy LTE signals in Europe.
 
The gsm would works just fine in 3G, but it could have some problems with LTE, depending on which country do you live.
Here in Italy, for examples, carriers use three LTE bands, 800 , 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz (3, 7 and 20). They mostly use 800 MHz in the open space and 1800/2600 MHz in towns.
Us models support 800 and 1800 MHz but don't support 2600 MHz, so you could have a poor coverage/poor performance on LTE in towns.
 
thank you guys,

I won't risk it then and will buy it here so its safe :))
Thank you for the clarification :)
 
Freida said:
thank you guys,

I won't risk it then and will buy it here so its safe :))
Thank you for the clarification :)
Click to expand...

theres nothing to be safe about. You will get LTE coverage in the UK. The US model supports the most LTE bands of any other model sold worldwide. If i were buying an iPhone overseas, i'd take a US model anyday. Don't even worry about CDMA that's non-issue in Europe.
 
Col Ronson said:
theres nothing to be safe about. You will get LTE coverage in the UK. The US model supports the most LTE bands of any other model sold worldwide. If i were buying an iPhone overseas, i'd take a US model anyday. Don't even worry about CDMA that's non-issue in Europe.
Click to expand...
Hmm, decisions :)))
Thank you, now I'm off to debating whether or not to pull the trigger :)
 
I would recommend you buy the AT&T version of the iPhone. Like others have said and stated, it is the one with most band support. Also, you don't get CDMA which in Europe matters not.
 
I bought the AT&T version full price with the accidental protection. 64 GB gold. I live in Spain and I have Movistar as my carrier, which is 7. So this means I'll never have 4g LTE unless I break my phone and get it replaced here? I think they said they would replace it anywhere in the world. I mean, of course I wouldn't break it for that, I'm just sorta upset right now because I didn't know about the 7 thing ...
 
JackSpearo said:
I bought the AT&T version full price with the accidental protection. 64 GB gold. I live in Spain and I have Movistar as my carrier, which is 7. So this means I'll never have 4g LTE unless I break my phone and get it replaced here? I think they said they would replace it anywhere in the world. I mean, of course I wouldn't break it for that, I'm just sorta upset right now because I didn't know about the 7 thing ...
Click to expand...

Not sure they would change your broken iPhone with a different model ....
 
LTE bands 3 and 20 are the most used LTE bands in Europe. You don't need 7.
 
They said they would change it even if I was living in Spain, so I imagine they would give me a Spanish version. I checked the website and Movistar definitely runs on 7. So I guess I'm SOL, for now at least
 
I think you will find that EE which presently using band 3 will eventually use all three bands so will 3 which bought spectrum from EE.

O2 and Vodophone are like to be limited to band 20 and 7.

It would be unwise to get a phone for Europe which did not support band 7.
 
nebo1ss said:
I think you will find that EE which presently using band 3 will eventually use all three bands so will 3 which bought spectrum from EE.

O2 and Vodophone are like to be limited to band 20 and 7.

It would be unwise to get a phone for Europe which did not support band 7.
Click to expand...

well I sorta didn't know that at the time. It's ok though, a year from now, I'll accidentally drop it off my balcony and get a Spanish one...
 
Apple can also refuse to service any iPhone from out of your region.

So in Europe they might not replace your US phone.

That said unless you use the 2600MHz band in your country the US model should be fine.
 
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