iPhone 6s LTE 30 Band and CDMA Version Megathread

[TedJustAdmitit]

It seems if you pay full price at Apple.com for AT&T version it will be locked. I wonder if you can immediately request the unlock from AT&T or if you must use it on their network some time? Also, is there really a $15 activation fee when you're paying full price? That is wild.

I keep all my phones around and also pass them down to family, so I think Band 30 is pretty important. That has all dampened my excitement for the T-Mobile version I'm suppose to receive today.

The upgrade program phones are specifically listed as coming unlocked, it's a benefit Apple is promoting for that program, so that explains that.

A couple months later when Apple has an official unlocked model, I wonder if it will be the Band 30 model or the non-Band 30 model?

Apple should know people switch between AT&T and T-Mobile quite a bit and not have had the special AT&T version, but that is just my selfish opinion I guess.

Where do you live that you need that Band 30 so badly? Middle of downtown New York I can understand. Spending a ton of time at stadiums I can understand, but beyond that it so doesn't really matter and it will be years before it would begin to help outside of that type of environment.

 

[duaneu]

It seems if you pay full price at Apple.com for AT&T version it will be locked. I wonder if you can immediately request the unlock from AT&T or if you must use it on their network some time? Also, is there really a $15 activation fee when you're paying full price? That is wild.

I keep all my phones around and also pass them down to family, so I think Band 30 is pretty important. That has all dampened my excitement for the T-Mobile version I'm suppose to receive today.

The upgrade program phones are specifically listed as coming unlocked, it's a benefit Apple is promoting for that program, so that explains that.

A couple months later when Apple has an official unlocked model, I wonder if it will be the Band 30 model or the non-Band 30 model?

Apple should know people switch between AT&T and T-Mobile quite a bit and not have had the special AT&T version, but that is just my selfish opinion I guess.

I would think the official unlocked model would have to include band 30 if it's advertised as being fully compatible with all four carriers.

 

[KPOM]

It seems if you pay full price at Apple.com for AT&T version it will be locked. I wonder if you can immediately request the unlock from AT&T or if you must use it on their network some time? Also, is there really a $15 activation fee when you're paying full price? That is wild.

Apple should know people switch between AT&T and T-Mobile quite a bit and not have had the special AT&T version, but that is just my selfish opinion I guess.

It is not locked if you buy it directly from Apple, whether online or in store. I wasn't charged the $15 in store (but i get a corporate discount and don't pay upgrade charges regardless).

 

[KPOM]

I just ran Field Test Mode in downtown Chicago. I'm on Band 17. I'll try around other sites over the weekend. Chicago is supposed to be one of the markets with Band 30.

To get into Field Test Mode, type in *3001#12345#* on the Phone app and press Call. Click on Serving Cell Info. The Frequency Band Indicator says what band the phone is operating on.

 

[powerbook911]

Where do you live that you need that Band 30 so badly? Middle of downtown New York I can understand. Spending a ton of time at stadiums I can understand, but beyond that it so doesn't really matter and it will be years before it would begin to help outside of that type of environment.

I'm sure I wouldn't need band 30 "badly." However, if I ended up using it as a second phone in 2-3 years or next year when I pass it down to family for 1 year, they might get use of the band 30 at some point. Plus, when traveling, maybe I will need to pull up an important document in times square in six months, etc. Might as well have one that has the most capability. Plus, there seems to be a reason AT&T wanted to ensure Apple had the band 30, probably to help ease strain on their network, but still.

 

[solodogg]

I had a Verizon model reserved. I showed up for my reservation and they were able to swap it for an AT&T model. It was the last one they had, so YMMV.

that is great to hear! good confirmation that CDMA works in the AT&T model

 

[KPOM]

I would think the official unlocked model would have to include band 30 if it's advertised as being fully compatible with all four carriers.

If last year is any guide, the official unlocked model will include Band 30. Last year Sprint had the "special" model, and it was later sold as the SIM-free unlocked model later.

 

[PedCrossing]

It is not locked if you buy it directly from Apple, whether online or in store. I wasn't charged the $15 in store (but i get a corporate discount and don't pay upgrade charges regardless).

Just paid full amount in store for an att version, no upgrade fee whatsoever, no activation needed in store and yes it's unlocked. I originally reserved for the upgrade program and asked the staffs if I could just buy it outright they said it's the same phone and it's reserved for you, doesn't matter how you pay for it.

 

[terraphantm]

If last year is any guide, the official unlocked model will include Band 30. Last year Sprint had the "special" model, and it was later sold as the SIM-free unlocked model later.

Well last year the Sprint model was also the international model. So if they're trying to keep the sim free the same as the international phones, it might not support band 30

 

[solodogg]

Well last year the Sprint model was also the international model. So if they're trying to keep the sim free the same as the international phones, it might not support band 30

considering that the only difference between the international and the AT&T model is band 30 support, I would think the AT&T model would be the most universal.

 

[terraphantm]

considering that the only difference between the international and the AT&T model is band 30 support, I would think the AT&T model would be the most universal.

I am aware, but I'm just saying there is no guarantee the sim free version will be the att version. Maybe they'd make it the international version so that it is easier to get warranty support abroad.

 

[PedCrossing]

There's no need to wait for an international version, I paid full price for my AT&T 6s plus in the store and was never asked what my AT&T account was and the phone comes unlocked. It has band 30, it has CDMA, it is unlocked, it's the best version you could get IN THE WORLD!

 

[ZigZagLens]

This is excellent info. Like I mentioned before, even if it's an Apple Store and the unit is paid in full, Apple needs to enter AT&T account information into the POS in order to complete the transaction, even if the hardware itself is not locked/can accept non-AT&T SIM cards.

And - at least when buying from Apple.com - AT&T customers had to agree to a $15 "upgrade fee" despite paying in full for the device. Whether they will actually add this to our bills remains to be seen.

 

[ZigZagLens]

It seems if you pay full price at Apple.com for AT&T version it will be locked. I wonder if you can immediately request the unlock from AT&T or if you must use it on their network some time? Also, is there really a $15 activation fee when you're paying full price? That is wild.

Yes. We all had to agree to the fee when ordering the AT&T device from Apple.com, even when specifying we were using it on an existing line and not entering into any contract. It's bizarre AT&T thinks they can justify that from those of us who paid full price directly to Apple to use it on an existing line. If I see it on my bill I'm going to make a stink. It's not about the money, it's the principle.

 

[randian]

It's bizarre AT&T thinks they can justify that from those of us who paid full price directly to Apple to use it on an existing line.

No, what's bizarre is Apple letting them do it. Apple doesn't allow carrier mods to their phones so why let the carriers charge crap fees to iPhone customers?

 

[terraphantm]

Yes. We all had to agree to the fee when ordering the AT&T device from Apple.com, even when specifying we were using it on an existing line and not entering into any contract. It's bizarre AT&T thinks they can justify that from those of us who paid full price directly to Apple to use it on an existing line. If I see it on my bill I'm going to make a stink. It's not about the money, it's the principle.

I don't think we'll actually get charged. Just keep an eye out for it

 

[fisherman188]

So I think I found the buy AT&T model outright work around. I pre-ordered a 6S this morning by selecting pay in full and getting the lowest $45 dollar a month share plan on the AT&T website. When the phone gets here I'll just put my current pre-paid AT&T Sim in it and fire it up never activating the new postpaid account. Worst case it auto activates and I have 14 days to call and cancel for a refund. So I keep my $55 dollar a month 4GB of data AT&T pre-paid line while still getting a pre ordered iPhone 6S. By the way, order date was this morning and I already have a preparing to ship status on a 64GB space gray with a Thursday expected ship date.

Alright guys so here's the report. Even a "bought outright" "payed in full" phone ordered online from ATT seems to come locked. I don't have another carrier's SIM to try but I don't have any band options under "Settings"-> "Cellular" (which people online say is a way to see if it's unlocked. If anyone knows another way to check for locked/unlocked status, I'll be glad to try it out.

Now, I unboxed the phone and immediately removed the SIM it came with (before powering it on) If you currently have a Nano SIM, you can just throw it in the slot and turn it on, it should be good to go. My old LG phone had an older Micro SIM so after removing the Nano SIM it came with, I went to the ATT store and had them move my number from old pre-paid (contract-less ATT) account to a brand new Nano SIM. I put the new SIM in the phone and bam it worked immediately in the ATT network with no problems.

Then, I went home and called ATT Customer Service at 800-331-0500. I told the agent that, "I ordered new ATT phone service online but decided I didn't want it and would like to cancel it before ever activating it." I gave her the number that the original order assigned me. I then explained that I would be keeping the phone but wanted to make sure the service was canceled and wasn't billed. She did ask if I was going to be using the phone on another account to which I replied yes and already had it activated. She did Not ask any more questions regarding the phone. The only thing she needed was the security PIN that you either create when ordering the service online, or it may have had you create the PIN when you first called Customer Service. It took about 8 minutes tops. She informed me that the service was canceled and that I would receive a paper bill next month in the amount of $0.00 simply for account records. I verified that there is no activation fee since I didn't activate a new phone. I submitted an Unlock Request here https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/#/ although I have a feeling I'll have to wait at least 14-days before I get that approved. I am curious though since I have a pre-paid account if they will make me wait the 6 months to unlock it. But, if you're buying the ATT phone for future resale, and wanting to take it to another carrier, only the 14-day unlock policy applies.

There you go folks. ATT model A1633 model iPhone 6S bought outright without having ATT Post-Paid service.

 

[ZigZagLens]

I unboxed the phone and immediately removed the SIM it came with (before powering it on) If you currently have a Nano SIM, you can just throw it in the slot and turn it on, it should be good to go. My old LG phone had an older Micro SIM so after removing the Nano SIM it came with, I went to the ATT store and had them move my number from old pre-paid (contract-less ATT) account to a brand new Nano SIM. I put the new SIM in the phone and bam it worked immediately in the ATT network with no problems.

For what it's worth, when I got my new AT&T 6S today, I took out the SIM it came with (before powering it up) and inserted the SIM from my old 6. The new 6S showed "no service" until I put its original SIM back in (the one that it shipped with).

 

[nemker]

Pick up an ATT 6s, paid full amount. Tried a Verizon sim and it found the network, but when I tried the IMEI number on Verizon web site it said wasn't compatible with the Verizon network. Any ideas?

 

[randian]

Pick up an ATT 6s, paid full amount. Tried a Verizon sim and it found the network, but when I tried the IMEI number on Verizon web site it said wasn't compatible with the Verizon network. Any ideas?

Verizon has a program to add non-Verizon phones to its whitelist. You probably have to contact customer service to set it up.

 

[KPOM]

Pick up an ATT 6s, paid full amount. Tried a Verizon sim and it found the network, but when I tried the IMEI number on Verizon web site it said wasn't compatible with the Verizon network. Any ideas?

As randian pointed out, it isn't whitelisted. However, it should still work. It just would show up as an "unknown" device when you log onto the Verizon website to check your bill, etc. Customer Service should whitelist it, though.

 

[terraphantm]

My AT&T phone was unlocked out of the box. Just tried a Verizon SIM and it got a signal. Turned off LTE and the signal was still there (meaning CDMA works)

 

[nemker]

My AT&T phone was unlocked out of the box. Just tried a Verizon SIM and it got a signal. Turned off LTE and the signal was still there (meaning CDMA works)

Turned off LTE also and still had signal. Thanks

 

[Florida Gator]

Alright guys so here's the report. Even a "bought outright" "payed in full" phone ordered online from ATT seems to come locked. I don't have another carrier's SIM to try but I don't have any band options under "Settings"-> "Cellular" (which people online say is a way to see if it's unlocked. If anyone knows another way to check for locked/unlocked status, I'll be glad to try it out.

Now, I unboxed the phone and immediately removed the SIM it came with (before powering it on) If you currently have a Nano SIM, you can just throw it in the slot and turn it on, it should be good to go. My old LG phone had an older Micro SIM so after removing the Nano SIM it came with, I went to the ATT store and had them move my number from old pre-paid (contract-less ATT) account to a brand new Nano SIM. I put the new SIM in the phone and bam it worked immediately in the ATT network with no problems.

Then, I went home and called ATT Customer Service at 800-331-0500. I told the agent that, "I ordered new ATT phone service online but decided I didn't want it and would like to cancel it before ever activating it." I gave her the number that the original order assigned me. I then explained that I would be keeping the phone but wanted to make sure the service was canceled and wasn't billed. She did ask if I was going to be using the phone on another account to which I replied yes and already had it activated. She did Not ask any more questions regarding the phone. The only thing she needed was the security PIN that you either create when ordering the service online, or it may have had you create the PIN when you first called Customer Service. It took about 8 minutes tops. She informed me that the service was canceled and that I would receive a paper bill next month in the amount of $0.00 simply for account records. I verified that there is no activation fee since I didn't activate a new phone. I submitted an Unlock Request here https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/#/ although I have a feeling I'll have to wait at least 14-days before I get that approved. I am curious though since I have a pre-paid account if they will make me wait the 6 months to unlock it. But, if you're buying the ATT phone for future resale, and wanting to take it to another carrier, only the 14-day unlock policy applies.

There you go folks. ATT model A1633 model iPhone 6S bought outright without having ATT Post-Paid service.

The Settings>Cellular thing doesn't indicate whether it's unlocked or not. I've had tons of unlocked iPhones and I never have access to it. That's why I often have to download and install profiles when changing out SIM cards.

 

[terraphantm]

The Settings>Cellular thing doesn't indicate whether it's unlocked or not. I've had tons of unlocked iPhones and I never have access to it. That's why I often have to download and install profiles when changing out SIM cards.

Correct. The cellular settings only show up if your carrier allows it or your using a carrier that doesn't partner with Apple. Otherwise the iPhone will just obey what the carrier settings file allows