Great, I'm glad the 6s and 6s plus have those added as well. We will see a big difference then.
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.
iPhone 6s LTE 30 Band and CDMA Version Megathread
- Thread starter milaround
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I reserved a 64GB Verizon 6S to pick up on September 25 at the Greenville, SC, Apple Store. Are you saying that I would have to have a Verizon account in order to buy the phone. What if I take a Selectel (Verizon MVNO) SIM card with me? Will they not let me buy the phone?
Also, are we certain that the T-Mobile contract-free phone is the same as the Verizon? If so, I may be better off to preorder that one.
We are certain of nothing until someone has a physical device from said carrier in hand with multiple Sims to try. Although I would hope there may be some early release phones floating around a few days before launch, some people always manage to get their hands on tech early.
If it is like the past, they will not let you leave the store without activating the phone on the carrier the phone is designed for. They only do this until supply settles. There are obviously exceptions, but that is how they did it last year. I honestly do not think anyone can say 100% they are identical phones. They should be based on what apple list online though.
When I bought a T-mobile 6 plus last year during the launch craziness, they didn't make me activate it in store. I just asked if I could do it at home and the guy was cool with it.
tmoble is the only exception b.c that is their "contract free" phone. That is why they sell it online for full retail without requesting any information.
New info from PCMag (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2491013,00.asp):
There's definitely a lot of confusion. I'd really like to know for sure which model Apple is using for T-Mobile. I use AT&T, but I pre-ordered a T-Mobile phone from apple.com (because I have a business account, which AT&T does not allow on Apple's website). Based on the specs provided by Apple, the T-Mobile phone could really be either model. But I'd really like to get the one with Band 30 support.
There's definitely a lot of confusion. I'd really like to know for sure which model Apple is using for T-Mobile. I use AT&T, but I pre-ordered a T-Mobile phone from apple.com (because I have a business account, which AT&T does not allow on Apple's website). Based on the specs provided by Apple, the T-Mobile phone could really be either model. But I'd really like to get the one with Band 30 support.
Reason why I cancelled my T-Mobile version iPhone 6s Plus. I would kill me knowing I am missing out on a much faster band.
Based on the LTE carrier sheet, T-Mobile is getting the same version as Verizon and Sprint.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
I've been following this thread, and I know there's a lot of confusion here. I've tried speaking with a few Apple reps online, but they seem pretty clueless as well.
I purchased an iPhone 6 last September and have decided that I'd like to start upgrading my iPhone every year (I'm an iPhone geek and love getting new ones). I decided that I wanted to go through the Apple Upgrade Program, so I went ahead and paid the $205 Early Termination Fee with AT&T to end my contract and get my phone unlocked (which may have been unnecessary if you're allowed to get a 6s through the Apple Upgrade Program while still in the middle of a carrier contract...whoops).
Anyway, I used the Apple Upgrade link to reserve my phone at the local Apple Store. I selected the model, color, size, and carrier (AT&T). I have not paid for the phone at all yet - I've simply made a reservation to pickup in-store.
Once I get there, I plan on going through the Apple Upgrade Program. Do you think it'll be possible to get the A1633 AT&T model, or will they force me to go with the A1688 model? I want to keep my AT&T service for the foreseeable future (I have an unlimited data plan), and would hate to end up with the A1688 model that doesn't support LTE band 30.
I don't think anyone will be able to give me a 100% concrete answer here, but my head is spinning trying to keep up with this thread and was hoping to get some clarification on whether the A1633 AT&T iPhone will be available at the Apple Store and eligible for the Early Upgrade Program.
Thanks!
I purchased an iPhone 6 last September and have decided that I'd like to start upgrading my iPhone every year (I'm an iPhone geek and love getting new ones). I decided that I wanted to go through the Apple Upgrade Program, so I went ahead and paid the $205 Early Termination Fee with AT&T to end my contract and get my phone unlocked (which may have been unnecessary if you're allowed to get a 6s through the Apple Upgrade Program while still in the middle of a carrier contract...whoops).
Anyway, I used the Apple Upgrade link to reserve my phone at the local Apple Store. I selected the model, color, size, and carrier (AT&T). I have not paid for the phone at all yet - I've simply made a reservation to pickup in-store.
Once I get there, I plan on going through the Apple Upgrade Program. Do you think it'll be possible to get the A1633 AT&T model, or will they force me to go with the A1688 model? I want to keep my AT&T service for the foreseeable future (I have an unlimited data plan), and would hate to end up with the A1688 model that doesn't support LTE band 30.
I don't think anyone will be able to give me a 100% concrete answer here, but my head is spinning trying to keep up with this thread and was hoping to get some clarification on whether the A1633 AT&T iPhone will be available at the Apple Store and eligible for the Early Upgrade Program.
Thanks!
T-Mobile doesn't use band 30, so there's no reason for the T-Mobile phone to have it. It's not Apple's or T-Mobile's problem if people choose to buy one of their phones to use on someone else's network.
While it would be nice if all the phones were the same, there's probably a reason for the difference. I would guess a shortage of the baseband chipset that includes the new band, so it's only being offered for the only network that has plans to use it in the foreseeable future.
I don't think you'll have any problems. As far as I know, the Upgrade Program is being offered for customers of all major carriers. You should be able to purchase the phone you reserved.
Most of the carriers use 3-5 of the bands on the iPhone. That said, your explanation makes sense. Only Sprint uses the TD-LTE bands in the U.S. and last year they had an exclusive model with those bands. I think the only difference between the Band 30 and non-Band 30 phones is an RF filter of some sort, as Band 30 needs it to avoid interfering with satellite radio and wi-fi. My guess is that next year all the phones get Band 30.
Putting your SIM card into the phone is "activating" it. That said, I've never had an issue buying a phone "device only" on launch weekend. I did that with the iPhone 5, 5S, and 6. I bought the 4S device only a few weeks after it was released (well before there was a SIM-free version).
That's interesting since you are in NYC. In Dayton, Ohio it would probably never matter. But, more phones every year. So, who knows. I think in case i keep this phone a couple years, it is worth getting the ATT A1633/34.
It's already been rolled out in some markets though. It's an easy upgrade according to the article the OP linked so it may not take long.
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/att-begins-deploying-23-ghz-wcs-spectrum-lte/2015-09-09
Anything that relieves slow AT&T LTE performance due to tower congestion in NYC (and other large cities) is a benefit in my opinion -- and I've ordered the AT&T model. It's good to hear that it also has the same CDMA support the other models have as well.
After reading your post, I did the same, calling our closest Apple Store that is 45 miles away. I explained that I had reserved a Verizon 6S for September 25 and asked if I had to have a Verizon account or if I could activate the phone with my Selectel SIM card. The specialist said that they had been told that phones were locked (at least the early ones), that if I had preordered a Verizon phone, then I would have to have a Verizon account. She said that she couldn't say for sure that the Selectel card wouldn't work, but she was doubtful.
I really cannot fathom this. Do the major carriers have this kind of stranglehold on Apple that they cannot sell a reserved iPhone on launch day to customers that use MVNO's? I've also read where people went into Verizon stores on launch day and bought device-only Verizon iPhones.
There is no such thing as a locked Verizon LTE phone. Legally they cannot lock their phones, as a condition of the auction in which they won the LTE Band 13 space.
We go through this every year. Don't worry about it. If you pay full price and buy it from Apple, then your phone will be unlocked. Sprint used to be an exception, but I believe even they no longer lock full-priced phones sold at Apple stores. The CSRs at the Apple Stores are either misinformed or parroting a script.
I've been buying "device only" phones on launch weekend since the iPhone 5. This year I have a reservation for an "AT&T" model because I actually use AT&T and want Band 30 support.
I think its highly dependent on who you get at the store. I can't imagine that only the first shipment of phones are carrier locked and afterwards they aren't. That seems crazy.
However, I have encountered lots of trouble buying phones "device only" at various outlets (Verizon stores, Radio Shacks, Best Buys, etc), which seems to be store policies more than anything. Usually the Apple store is the most likely to allow you to buy it device only, everywhere else is YMMV. But there is no reason Apple couldn't have a policy in place for launch weekend and a store employee give you a hard time about it.
I would keep the reservation and then just take your chances at the Apple Store. If you are really worried about getting a phone launch day, you could reserve a 2nd T-mobile phone if they still have availability and use that as a backup.
In order to place an online order you need to enter in wireless account details, even on the full-price devices. However, that may be more of an attempt to reduce resell activity. Apple Retail is allowing everyone up to 2 in-store reservations with 2 devices each time, so my guess is they will allow device-only sales as in past years.
All of these conflicting messages are really frustrating. A person just wants to buy a phone to use with the carrier of his choice, and not one of the major four. Why does Apple care who your carrier is, outside of wanting the customer to be sure that the phone he chooses works with his carrier? If the spec information that Apple has on its site is accurate, any iPhone will work with any carrier, though the model with the Band 30 may one day work better for AT&T.
And, yes, I also thought all Verizon phones were now unlocked.
And, yes, I also thought all Verizon phones were now unlocked.
Except when you order full-price online and select T-Mobile...then, no wireless account info is asked for.