Here in the UK they are all unlocked if bought from Apple (not sure about when you buy from a network store), but due to frequencies the 4th gen iPad and mini only worked on one networks lte.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Executive Tweet Suggests Cellular iPads Coming to T-Mobile
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Here in the UK they are all unlocked if bought from Apple (not sure about when you buy from a network store), but due to frequencies the 4th gen iPad and mini only worked on one networks lte.
No, they are not and never haven been. I have used my iPad abroad with local SIMs many times.
A shame that T-Mobile doesn't allow the use of their pay-by-the-day prepaid plans in iPads. That's the one I would have most use for.
Nothing that runs on LTE and sold by Verizon can be locked anymore. FCC made them agree to those terms when the US Government sold VZ their LTE spectrum.
Depends how they implement the carrier lock.
It could be that they do it like they do on the iPhone. ie, it's set to lock to the first provider of the first sim card to be inserted.
The T-Mobile guy who set up my service told me that the iPads would be coming to T-Mobile with these new generations. That was a month ago. I don't know that it was a secret with T-Mobile.
I see.
Is it true that if you attempt to get a SIM card from any carrier to place in the iPad that you lose the ability to create a pre-paid (contract-free) account through Settings? I had heard that no carrier will give you a SIM without activating it as a post-paid (2 year contract or similar) account. That is to say, they will not hand you a SIM, let you put it in the iPad, and watch you activate it as a contract-free service via Settings app?
But people who want to use Verizon should buy a Verizon iPad, and those who use Sprint should buy a Sprint iPad. Those carriers will not allow a foreign MEID onto their CDMA networks.
No.
Depends on the carrier. AT&T does allow this. In the store they may try to convince you to sign up for a post-paid plan, but if you insist they will give you a SIM that can be activated in the settings. Some other carriers do not allow this at all or have weird restrictions (e.g. Rogers in Canada allows in-device activation only on iPad 1 and 2), but if you switch back to an AT&T SIM later, it will work again.
Last edited:
I'm in the U.S., I walked in to an Apple Store in San Francisco in Nov/Dec last year and bought an unlocked iPad Mini (the "AT&T" version). I then walked to a T-Mobile kiosk and they installed a Nano-SIM and connected it to my existing tablet plan. The Apple Store employees weren't sure it would work, but I now get LTE on the tablet since T-mo rolled it out here. I know T-mo still uses some odd bands for 3G, but I believe LTE always runs on bands that my Mini has. I guess this means that Apple will have an official T-mo version?
Last edited:
So if I were to pop an AT&T SIM into my (currently) Verizon iPad, the interface in Settings would recognize it as being from AT&T and allow me to sign up for an account through their service?
If that is all true, then great. I didn't expect/hear that it could work that way.
He's been watching Sid the Sexist!
This tweet reminds me of one of Sid the Sexist's chat up lines from the Viz comics...
It's 2mins 53secs in. LOL!
Some of you may have a hard time deciphering the Geordie dialect! Oh and it's really rude so be careful! NSFW!
This tweet reminds me of one of Sid the Sexist's chat up lines from the Viz comics...
It's 2mins 53secs in. LOL!
Some of you may have a hard time deciphering the Geordie dialect! Oh and it's really rude so be careful! NSFW!
Last edited:
I can't speak for the Verizon iPad. You may have to manually configure the APN in those if it doesn't come with a proper carrier profile.
Yeah, I guess when I said "carrier-locked" I was referring to the ability to create a pre-paid, contract-free account via Settings.app (you popped a SIM in that was setup on a post-paid account).
Sounds like the next generation will come pre-loaded with T-Mo SIMs and the option to create pre-paid plans via Settings.app like Verizon/Sprint/AT&T do now.
----------
Yeah, it sounds like these devices may not be outright "carrier locked" from a technical standpoint, but they certainly aren't making it easy for a typical Joe on the street to cancel one carrier's service and simply add another.
In the U.S. I suspect that a great deal of users attempting to switch are told in the carrier store that they have no choice other than to add the SIM to an existing post-paid account or create a new one. They don't like the idea that you can cancel at any time without an ETF or at least a decent amount of friction. That ability is the beauty of the setup in Settings.app.
iPad Mini + a controller that it can dock into (basically making it look like a large PSP) could be a major game changer.
No pun intended.
The Verizon iDevices have always been strange hybrid beasts somewhere between CDMA and GSM/3GPP, so I'm not sure they behave the same. But the 3GPP iPads (such as the AT&T version) allow the in-device activation everywhere where the carrier enables it. I have activated local SIMs in Canada, Germany, the UK and Sweden in my US iPad 2.
I figure it'll carry the same LTE radio as the iPhone 5S. Which would hopefully mean if you get yours hands on a CDMA iPad it would work with verizon, att, tmobile, and a handful of MVNO or super regional carriers as long as THEY support it.
(Typing this from a retail device only CDMA iPhone 5S (gold
) running on the AT&T LTE network right now)This would also reduce apple's manufacturing differences to only TWO skus for each wireless size. One CDMA/GSM and one CDMA-Sprint. Unless there isn't this issue with sprint keeping the lte locked down and refusing to activate a compatible device NOT purchased from them. If there isn't an issue then it's one wireless sku, though they're paying licensing on the CDMA bands for every device, even if it's destined for an att/tmo store shelf...
I'm very curious about plan prices. Doing a fast google it looks like Walmart has a few mobile broadband refill cards at interesting prices. $25 for 1.5gig, $35 for 3.5gig and $50 for 5gig. (As well as the ridiculous $15 for 300meg, but that only lasts seven days)
Wonder if those would work if you already had a nano sim...
Also, if I bought like five of those cards, do they expire if I don't activate? Might be a half decent way to lock in that $25 price or something before tmo can remove it and make the minimum like $35 or something...
Wonder if those would work if you already had a nano sim...
Also, if I bought like five of those cards, do they expire if I don't activate? Might be a half decent way to lock in that $25 price or something before tmo can remove it and make the minimum like $35 or something...
Unfortunately, that's the sad truth these days. "It's not what you know, it's who you know".
All this means is that the new iPads will have support for T-Mo's LTE bands and AWS 3G. You can currently use an iPad on T-Mo, you are just limited to EDGE or 3G (in places that have moved to frequencies other than AWS).
One of my greatest hopes is for the cellular models to have a single SKU per capacity, meaning compatibility with all the major (and hopefully smaller carriers too). We have users in a wide range and while Verizon coverage is great in a large portion of the market and AT&T is pretty good in a portion as well, I'd love to be able to activate on US Cellular.