Does Apple Ship the A1865 as the AT&T iPhone X

[boltjames]

I travel significantly to China, Hong Kong, and Japan and just realized there are two different versions of AT&T iPhone X available from Apple.

Can someone tell me.....if I ordered the AT&T space gray 256 GB iPhone X on release night is this the version they are going to ship me?

If it’s the other version, the A1901, it doesn’t work in Hong Kong, China, or Japan.

 

[freejack]

You'll get the A1901. If you want the gsm+cdma model either buy from bestbuy/target or sign up for a verizon plan and purchase from them or the apple store.

 

[boltjames]

Holy crap. What a mess.

 

[freejack]

Holy crap. What a mess.

Yup, and you get the added bonus of having to pay the mandatory restocking fee if you decide to return (even if you didn't open the box). The crap AT&T put me through recently was the last nail in the coffin. Moving to t-mobile next month.

 

[lordhamster]

I travel significantly to China, Hong Kong, and Japan and just realized there are two different versions of AT&T iPhone X available from Apple.

Can someone tell me.....if I ordered the AT&T space gray 256 GB iPhone X on release night is this the version they are going to ship me?

If it’s the other version, the A1901, it doesn’t work in Hong Kong, China, or Japan.

Same boat as you... I actually set up a Verizon line just so I could pre-order the Verizon A1865 model for my travels in Asia.

That said, my wife used her GSM only 7plus in central china (near ZhengZhou) a few months ago and never dropped below LTE signal... so it may be a moot point.

 

[Menel]

Holy crap. What a mess.

Not really. Wait another 3-4 weeks and the Sim-Free version, like always, will become available. Business as usual.

 

[boltjames]

Two questions:

1. If I find someone on craigslist who has an 1865 for sale, will it be locked to Verizon or will I be able to pop in my AT&T Sim card and have service?

2. If I go to the Apple Store and get one of those lucky late night reservations to pick one up in the store tomorrow will I need a Verizon account or will they sell it to me as an AT&T customer?

My current phone is an iPhone 6, it’s three years old, it’s not under contract. I’m going to purchase this phone out right for $1200, no installments.

 

[boltjames]

So I found an A1865 on Craigslist locally, will it be locked to Verizon or will I be able to pop in my AT&T Sim card and have service?

 

[flat five]

Not really. Wait another 3-4 weeks and the Sim-Free version, like always, will become available. Business as usual.

i'm under the impression my A1865 is an unlocked phone.. a paid-in-full iPhone X on Sprint.
no?

 

[dave006]

So I found an A1865 on Craigslist locally, will it be locked to Verizon or will I be able to pop in my AT&T Sim card and have service?

It will be unlocked, Verizon is required to sell all their iPhones as unlocked. This was to meet a government requirement when they acquired additional LTE spectrum a couple of years ago.

Dave

 

[rsbacon]

My recommendation would be to try your luck at an Apple Store. Ask for the Verizon version and buy it as "Device Only" in person at the Apple Store. You won't have to provide any Verizon account info and the phone will be unlocked.

I wouldn't recommend Craigslist since the phone could have been bought on a device payment plan through Verizon, and if the seller defaults on the loan the phone is blacklisted and you'll end up with a $1200 paperweight.

 

[Blondie&Dagwood]

So I found an A1865 on Craigslist locally, will it be locked to Verizon or will I be able to pop in my AT&T Sim card and have service?

You will be able to pop in your AT&T SIM card. When you receive the phone, take out the existing Verizon SIM card and put in yours before turning on the phone for the first time. Honestly though, it’s better to purchase through SWAPPA.com than Craigslist. With SWAPPA, the site actually verifies the individual phones using the IMEI number before that phone is posted on the site.
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My recommendation would be to try your luck at an Apple Store. Ask for the Verizon version and buy it as "Device Only" in person at the Apple Store. You won't have to provide any Verizon account info and the phone will be unlocked.

I wouldn't recommend Craigslist since the phone could have been bought on a device payment plan through Verizon, and if the seller defaults on the loan the phone is blacklisted and you'll end up with a $1200 paperweight.

This will only work if you pitch up at the store without a reservation or in-store pick-up order. If you do a pre-order for instore pick-up, then you have to have a Verizon account for the order to go through.

 

[richard371]

The att version will Work fine internationally.

 

[Shadowbech]

Two questions:

1. If I find someone on craigslist who has an 1865 for sale, will it be locked to Verizon or will I be able to pop in my AT&T Sim card and have service?

2. If I go to the Apple Store and get one of those lucky late night reservations to pick one up in the store tomorrow will I need a Verizon account or will they sell it to me as an AT&T customer?

My current phone is an iPhone 6, it’s three years old, it’s not under contract. I’m going to purchase this phone out right for $1200, no installments.

1. First off, Verizon models are never locked to their carrier. They are permanently unlocked regardless. Even if it was on DPP or what not, it's unlocked.
2. If you use apple.com to purchase for in-store pick up, yes it requires Verizon account info. But if you do a walk-in reservation then no (good luck with that).

 

[richard371]

And if you want to do the Apple payments Your also screwed. The intel is fine. Too many hoops to jump through to get the cdma version. The world is mostly gsm.

1. First off, Verizon models are never locked to their carrier. They are permanently unlocked regardless. Even if it was on DPP or what not, it's unlocked.
2. If you use apple.com to purchase for in-store pick up, yes it requires Verizon account info. But if you do a walk-in reservation then no (good luck with that).

 

[boltjames]

The att version will Work fine internationally.

Confused. Apple specifically says the A1920 will not receive LTE in China, Hong Kong, and Japan.

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

And having just arrived from those countries today ironically, with my iPhone 6 dual band I had some challenges getting LTE coverage over there, I wouldn’t want to get stuck with 3G if that’s what it means to have a GSM only version.

 

[richard371]

They both use the same lte bands. Those are what carriers sell each model. If you go by that carriers then you would read it as the 1865 will not work on att and Verizon which we know it does. The 1865 doesn’t have any lte bands that the 1902 doesn’t. Yes it’s confusng but they both use the same lte bands.

 

[scott523]

Confused. Apple specifically says the A1920 will not receive LTE in China, Hong Kong, and Japan.

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

And having just arrived from those countries today ironically, with my iPhone 6 dual band I had some challenges getting LTE coverage over there, I wouldn’t want to get stuck with 3G if that’s what it means to have a GSM only version.

What you see in Apple’s supported LTE networks page shows which model Apple intends to distribute to each carrier/country.

Regardless of which model you get, it should work in all of the countries you mentioned. However, having A1901 will have its limitations (without CDMA) where it's best compatible with China Unicom and Softbank (Japan).

I came across a cool site, www.frequencycheck.com, that can crosscheck compatibility for each model.

 

[boltjames]

They both use the same lte bands. Those are what carries sell each model.

What you see in Apple’s supported LTE networks page shows which model Apple intends to distribute in each country.

Regardless of which model you get, it should work in all of the countries you mentioned. However, having A1901 will have its limitations (without CDMA) where it's best compatible with China Unicom and Softbank (Japan). I came across a cool site, www.frequencycheck.com, that can crosscheck compatibility for each model.

Thanks guys.

So I just purchased an iPhone X model A1865 from someone on Craigslist, I feel good about the quality of the person, I have the receipt showing it was paid in full, not worried about that.

I also read that the A1865 has a QUALCOMM chipset which is superior to the Intel chipset found in the A1901. So I’m thinking I have the best of both worlds right? Best chipset and CDMA as an option if I need it overseas.

Agree?

 

[Menel]

Thanks guys.

So I just purchased an iPhone X model A1865 from someone on Craigslist, I feel good about the quality of the person, I have the receipt showing it was paid in full, not worried about that.

I also read that the A1865 has a QUALCOMM chipset which is superior to the Intel chipset found in the A1901. So I’m thinking I have the best of both worlds right? Best chipset and CDMA as an option if I need it overseas.

Agree?

Its build on a more advanced process power efficient, has more LTE throughput(though apple didnt include the antennas to utilize that extra throughout)...

But Apple and Qualcomm are severing ties in a nasty way. There is some risk that future support and tweaks and improvements, firmware, etc.... may not get properly supported over the life of the phone.

 

[midlevels]

I'm writing here from Hong Kong and can confirm that the A1901 model definitely works with LTE in Hong Kong.

A1901 supports all LTE bands that Hong Kong carriers use. The reason (I surmise) why A1865 is sold in Hong Kong is that many Hong Kong people travel to China, where CDMA networks are still in use, and hence A1865 is necessary to access those CDMA networks.

However, in most urban areas in China A1901 should work okay as it will still be able to pick up on the GSM/LTE coverage that exists. It's mainly in non-LTE areas that the A1865 has an advantage in China where it will be able to pick up 3G CDMA networks that the A1901 cannot.

Japan I'm not 100% sure but I believe it's the same deal as China, the A1865 works "everywhere" whereas the A1901 works well in urban areas but in rural areas there will be gaps where A1865 would have worked but A1901 doesn't.

The Japan A1902 phone has some additional LTE bands that are Japan specific but if you don't have these bands it probably won't make or break your experience.