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

iPhone 6 china compatibility?

S

SHNXX

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 2, 2013
1,901
663
I travel frequently to China for business and would like to buy unlocked iPhones to use in USA, China and Korea.

Does anyone have recommendations as far as all the different GSM, CDMA etc go?
according to the iPhone product page, there are A1589, 1593, 1586, 1524 models on sale from China and 1549, 1522, 1524 and 1586 models on sale from USA apple website.

It seems that models 1586 and 1524 on sale from US would be useful for China, as they feature FDD-LTE and TD-LTE which I think are the China-compatible LTE technologies... but I'm not exactly sure because I've never carried LTE phones across the border.

Any advices?
 
Yes, you would want the A1586 or A1524 as the large Chinese carriers (China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom) all operate on LTE band 41, which the AT&T, T-Mobile, and VzW iPhones 6es lack.
 
myscrnnm said:
Yes, you would want the A1586 or A1524 as the large Chinese carriers (China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom) all operate on LTE band 41, which the AT&T, T-Mobile, and VzW iPhones 6es lack.
Click to expand...

I see.
Thanks!!

But what are 1586/1524 they exactly? iphone 6+?
 
myscrnnm said:
Yes. A1586 is the model number for the iPhone 6, and A1524 for the iPhone 6 Plus. You can also consult this table for a full list of LTE bands.
Click to expand...

What version of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are those?
It doesn't seem like the T-Mobile's iPhones are listed among the 1524/1586?
 
All iPhones are compatible for use with the carrier - for voice/text.

Are you looking at data? 3G? - that's fine.

LTE? now here u'll have an issue.


But first of all, when you head there, ru asking to use their LTE services?
 
SHNXX said:
What version of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are those?
It doesn't seem like the T-Mobile's iPhones are listed among the 1524/1586?
Click to expand...
Those would be the ones sold by Sprint and US Cellular. T-Mobile sells the A1549 and A1522 versions of the iPhone 6.
 
ttmrn said:
All iPhones are compatible for use with the carrier - for voice/text.

Are you looking at data? 3G? - that's fine.

LTE? now here u'll have an issue.


But first of all, when you head there, ru asking to use their LTE services?
Click to expand...

yes. LTE.

I don't want 3G. 3G internet is so painful.

----------
myscrnnm said:
Those would be the ones sold by Sprint and US Cellular. T-Mobile sells the A1549 and A1522 versions of the iPhone 6.
Click to expand...

So those are carrier-locked.

Any way to buy 1549 or 1522 unlocked?
 
SHNXX said:
So those are carrier-locked.

Any way to buy 1549 or 1522 unlocked?
Click to expand...
Yes. All T-Mobile iPhone 6es are unlocked. And VzW and AT&T iPhones 6es will come unlocked if you purchase them at full price (or can be unlocked on request in the case of the AT&T model).
 
myscrnnm said:
Yes. All T-Mobile iPhone 6es are unlocked. And VzW and AT&T iPhones 6es will come unlocked if you purchase them at full price (or can be unlocked on request in the case of the AT&T model).
Click to expand...


Sorry I meant to ask about the 1524/1586.

So the ones that I need, which are the 1524/1586 that support the TD-LTE and FD-LTE in China, are not available unlocked except through third party channels.
 
but in china, if u wanna access anything outside of china, it's all so.. awfully... painful.. lol

-edited-
 
ttmrn said:
nothing.
so getting lte or 3g, may make no difference at all. unless u surf chinese websites.
Click to expand...

you're not contributing at all to the thread.
go back to where you came from, please.

----------
stasha said:
The scalpers brought US iphones to china,must be work there
Click to expand...

yeah but apparently not on LTE... which would be incredibly dumb.
 
I bought mine unlocked online from Apple online in the US. 3G worked last week in China using China Unicom. Did not try 4G in China though. In Hong Kong 4G worked fine on CSL 1010 as well last week. 4G also worked in Taiwan although 4G was very very slow in Taiwan. Was slow in Taiwan due to local network service provider and not iPhone 6 problem.
 
China is a mess.

Only an unlocked Sprint version will support the TDD-LTE band 41 which is used in China by all 3 major carriers. The ATT, T-Mobile, and Verizon versions do not include support for TDD-LTE. You can only get, at best, 3G speed with those iPhone 6 models.

As for 3G...

China Unicom uses W-CDMA (UTMS) technology in the 2100 MHz band. This is the same as T-Mobile in the US. All US versions of the iPhone 6 support this band.

China Mobile uses a Chinese developed 3G technology TD-SCDMA which the ATT, T-Mobile, and Verizon version do not support. You will likely only get EDGE speed. The Sprint version should support 3G on China Mobile.

China Telecom uses CDMA2000 technology for 3G. The Sprint and Verizon versions should work.

In other words...

- Any US iPhone 6 for China Unicom 3G. Sprint version required for LTE.
- Sprint iPhone 6 for China Mobile 3G and for LTE.
- Sprint or Verizon iPhone 6 for China Telecom 3G. Sprint version for LTE.

I have a T-Mobile iPhone 6 Plus that I will use with a China Unicom prepaid SIM card. I used the SIM card on my last visit to Beijing in my Verizon iPad Mini. Even at 3G speeds, I managed to use 1 GB data over a 2 week stay.

You can purchase prepaid SIM cards at any China Unicom shop. I paid 100 USD for 6 GB that is good for 1 year. There are different prices depending upon if you want city-only or nationwide coverage. There were 3 and 6 GB options for each.
 
cjake said:
China is a mess.

Only an unlocked Sprint version will support the TDD-LTE band 41 which is used in China by all 3 major carriers. The ATT, T-Mobile, and Verizon versions do not include support for TDD-LTE. You can only get, at best, 3G speed with those iPhone 6 models.

As for 3G...

China Unicom uses W-CDMA (UTMS) technology in the 2100 MHz band. This is the same as T-Mobile in the US. All US versions of the iPhone 6 support this band.

China Mobile uses a Chinese developed 3G technology TD-SCDMA which the ATT, T-Mobile, and Verizon version do not support. You will likely only get EDGE speed. The Sprint version should support 3G on China Mobile.

China Telecom uses CDMA2000 technology for 3G. The Sprint and Verizon versions should work.

In other words...

- Any US iPhone 6 for China Unicom 3G. Sprint version required for LTE.
- Sprint iPhone 6 for China Mobile 3G and for LTE.
- Sprint or Verizon iPhone 6 for China Telecom 3G. Sprint version for LTE.

I have a T-Mobile iPhone 6 Plus that I will use with a China Unicom prepaid SIM card. I used the SIM card on my last visit to Beijing in my Verizon iPad Mini. Even at 3G speeds, I managed to use 1 GB data over a 2 week stay.

You can purchase prepaid SIM cards at any China Unicom shop. I paid 100 USD for 6 GB that is good for 1 year. There are different prices depending upon if you want city-only or nationwide coverage. There were 3 and 6 GB options for each.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.
I think I will just buy the phones in China unless the unlocked versions from Sprint become available.
I have no interest in using Sprint while in the US anyway.
(Would have considered T-Mobile but not anymore)

alternatively I might buy the iPhone in Korea or Hong Kong if they also have the TDF versions b they're cheaper.

It's too bad that USA price is so much better.
 
cjake said:
China is a mess.

Only an unlocked Sprint version will support the TDD-LTE band 41 which is used in China by all 3 major carriers. The ATT, T-Mobile, and Verizon versions do not include support for TDD-LTE. You can only get, at best, 3G speed with those iPhone 6 models.

As for 3G...

China Unicom uses W-CDMA (UTMS) technology in the 2100 MHz band. This is the same as T-Mobile in the US. All US versions of the iPhone 6 support this band.

China Mobile uses a Chinese developed 3G technology TD-SCDMA which the ATT, T-Mobile, and Verizon version do not support. You will likely only get EDGE speed. The Sprint version should support 3G on China Mobile.

China Telecom uses CDMA2000 technology for 3G. The Sprint and Verizon versions should work.

In other words...

- Any US iPhone 6 for China Unicom 3G. Sprint version required for LTE.
- Sprint iPhone 6 for China Mobile 3G and for LTE.
- Sprint or Verizon iPhone 6 for China Telecom 3G. Sprint version for LTE.

I have a T-Mobile iPhone 6 Plus that I will use with a China Unicom prepaid SIM card. I used the SIM card on my last visit to Beijing in my Verizon iPad Mini. Even at 3G speeds, I managed to use 1 GB data over a 2 week stay.

You can purchase prepaid SIM cards at any China Unicom shop. I paid 100 USD for 6 GB that is good for 1 year. There are different prices depending upon if you want city-only or nationwide coverage. There were 3 and 6 GB options for each.
Click to expand...

One correction to make is that for the iPhone 6, AT&T and T-mobile also have CDMA2000 enabled (which is why they work fine on Verizon)
 
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