iPhone 7 Models From AT&T and T-Mobile Do Not Support CDMA Networks

[yeldarbecirp]

Tried to pre-order the Verizon model, but no success under any of the purchase options without a valid Verizon account. As I'm an AT&T customer, I ended up pre-ordering an unlocked AT&T model at full purchase price.

I guess it really doesn't matter in the end, although I was leaning towards the Verizon model for the added peace of mind should I switch to Verizon down the road, as well as feeling a little better about the Qualcomm modem vs. Intel modem.

Yes same here. Working through both the online store and the App, I tried various methods to preorder a Verizon iPhone 7 without having a Verizon account, and I couldn't get past the screen asking for existing wireless account. On a long shot I tried using my old Verizon iPad (data only) phone number, and tried using my home FIOS number. I think it's ridiculous that Apple shuts out folks from preordering because they are not already "carrier-committed". What about someone buying their first phone on their own (e.g. no longer on parents plan) who wants to switch carriers? Guess Apple doesn't want them to preorder.

Somewhere earlier in this thread someone (smartly) posted that likely we will not be able to buy a Verizon phone to use on AT&T until the Apple Retail Stores are offering them "Device Only". Or maybe that won't even be a thing with the iPhone 7, Apple may not want to deal with buyers favoring Qualcomm modem over Intel, who knows.

I ended up preordering AT&T version on the iPhone Upgrade Plan. When I show up at the Store and can actually talk to someone, I'll see if I can possibly switch anything around (doubt it, but I can at least complain to someone about why I'm uncomfortable paying the same price for a "lesser capable" phone just because I'm currently on AT&T). I can always cancel/return my order within the 14 day window, and then wait to buy a Device Only phone in the store (it could be months I guess?)

 

[jhersco]

Yes same here. Working through both the online store and the App, I tried various methods to preorder a Verizon iPhone 7 without having a Verizon account, and I couldn't get past the screen asking for existing wireless account. On a long shot I tried using my old Verizon iPad (data only) phone number, and tried using my home FIOS number. I think it's ridiculous that Apple shuts out folks from preordering because they are not already "carrier-committed". What about someone buying their first phone on their own (e.g. no longer on parents plan) who wants to switch carriers? Guess Apple doesn't want them to preorder.

Somewhere earlier in this thread someone (smartly) posted that likely we will not be able to buy a Verizon phone to use on AT&T until the Apple Retail Stores are offering them "Device Only". Or maybe that won't even be a thing with the iPhone 7, Apple may not want to deal with buyers favoring Qualcomm modem over Intel, who knows.

I ended up preordering AT&T version on the iPhone Upgrade Plan. When I show up at the Store and can actually talk to someone, I'll see if I can possibly switch anything around (doubt it, but I can at least complain to someone about why I'm uncomfortable paying the same price for a "lesser capable" phone just because I'm currently on AT&T). I can always cancel/return my order within the 14 day window, and then wait to buy a Device Only phone in the store (it could be months I guess?)

Ditto on how poorly Apple handled this. I checked three times with different online Apple Store online representatives who all told me I could specify Verizon as my carrier to get the more capable iPhone and activate it on on AT&T for now, with the idea that I may switch to Verizon later this year. I informed all of them that I didn't have a Verizon account and they said that wouldn't matter. Also, while going through the rejection process with Verizon, I had to start all over again and ended up with a two-to-three week shipping date instead of Sept. 16. That will likely cost me more than $100 due to expiration of my trade-in quote, which is much lower now than when I locked it. All in all, very disappointing.

 

[patrickbarnes]

Unless you want to be Intel's 1st gen radio guinea pig I'd stick with Qualcomm's maturity. I'd go with the Verizon carrier unlocked version using Qualcomm.

Err... Not 1st gen by a long shot. This is all acquired Infineon stuff.

Qualcomm "superiority" is debatable. 90%+ of sold iPhone 7's will be the one with (we assume) the Intel chip in it.

 

[pcmike]

Well, I emailed Tim Cook. Here's to hoping for an answer as to how someone in the Apple iPhone Upgrade Program can ensure they get a CDMA variant on launch day when they go to pickup their reservation, despite having a T-Mobile account.

Also, just an FYI... when I went through the reservation process via the website I was able to choose any carrier I wanted; I chose Verizon.

Good morning Tim,

Upon hearing that the new iPhone 7 will again come in two different variants, one with only a GSM modem (T-Mobile/AT&T) and another with both CDMA and GSM modems (Verizon/Sprint) I am left wondering how people like myself who participate in the Apple iPhone Upgrade Program, which promises us an unlocked iPhone for use on ANY carrier, can make sure we get a phone that has both GSM and CDMA modems so that our phone will be compatible with the most providers abroad? Personally, my family travels to and from Brazil a couple times a year and we still need to be able to connect to CDMA networks in Brazil, but in the states we use T-Mobile. As I understand the program, on launch day the store is going to try and give me a T-Mobile phone, that while unlocked, will be useless when I travel to Brazil and thus defeat the entire reason I even joined the Apple iPhone Upgrade Program!

How can I, a loyal Apple iPhone Upgrade Program enrollee, ensure I get a Verizon (CDMA/GSM) variant of the iPhone 7 Plus when I show up to my reservation at 8am on the 16th?

P.S. Any word on how there was not a single iPhone 7 Plus in Jet Black available in any capacity in the entire state of Florida when the Apple Store went live at 12:01 today?

Loyal Apple fan,
Michael

Sent from my iPhone

 

[poppy10]

Wow, very un-Apple like to allow this kind of fragmentation

 

[BruiserB]

Wow, very un-Apple like to allow this kind of fragmentation

It's been like this since the first iPhone. Actually it was much worse....and over time it's been getting better. I don't think it was ever Apple driving the differences, but in the beginning it was the need to have physically different parts for the different technologies and the carriers having their locking requirements. Now the parts can be the same and the Qualcomm radios are the "universal" ones. Apple wants to have some supplier competition, so it looks like they bought some Intel chips to keep Qualcomm on their toes pricing wise. The Intel chips can't work for Verizon or Sprint yet, so Apple decided to put them in the T-mobile/ATT phones knowing that most people really don't care or switch carriers and they are used to carrier specific phones from the past. If you know and really care, you should get a Verizon phone. Maybe Sprint too as it's physically the same phone, but I'm not entirely sure of Sprint's locking/unlocking policies.

You can't pre-order a phone without selecting carrier. And you will get the phone that supports the carrier you choose. BUT...on launch day, you can get in line and then ask for a Verizon model "device only" and you won't be asked for any account information. Then you can put whatever SIM you want in it and it will be unlocked and it will work. Again this may also be true for the Sprint model, but I don't know for sure.

Incidentally, I believe it's been discovered that you CAN put a Verizon SIM in a non CDMA iPhone and if you live in an area with great VZ LTE coverage, you'll be just fine. Even though CDMA is being phased out....you can still find yourself wandering into areas that only have the "old" CDMA coverage and you would need the VZ/Sprint phone for it to work there. I don't know for sure if this paragraph is 100% correct, but it's what I have read here in the past.

EDIT: I notice that the person I quoted above is from the UK....this doesn't really affect you as the only countries that widely deployed CDMA were the US and I think maybe Japan and somewhere in South America??? Either of these models would work fine in the UK.

 

[coolbreeze]

So if you have T-Mobile, the Sprint version is just fine, right?

Edit: nevermind, Sprint has an account wall like Verizon. Stupid.

 

[davidsap1]

Hi, im from mexico. I bought t bmobile. could anyone tell me if its gonna work in mexico without problems? i paid full price but im not sure i saw a post from this page that the iphone its gonna be locked. but im afraid because in last iphones you was able to buy a tmobile full price iphone and use it without problems. the link is thishttps://www.macrumors.com/2016/09/08/att-and-tmobile-iphone-7-models-lack-cdma/ so i dont know if i need to cancel the order or go for it.
i also checked the lte page on apple and saw that its goona work fine in mexico but with that post im not sure right now!! could anyone help me!! thanks!!! i boought the t mobile iphone 7 plus that it supposed to be i think the model A1784.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

 

[Howyalikdemapls]

Hi, im from mexico. I bought t bmobile. could anyone tell me if its gonna work in mexico without problems? i paid full price but im not sure i saw a post from this page that the iphone its gonna be locked. but im afraid because in last iphones you was able to buy a tmobile full price iphone and use it without problems. the link is thishttps://www.macrumors.com/2016/09/08/att-and-tmobile-iphone-7-models-lack-cdma/ so i dont know if i need to cancel the order or go for it.
i also checked the lte page on apple and saw that its goona work fine in mexico but with that post im not sure right now!! could anyone help me!! thanks!!! i boought the t mobile iphone 7 plus that it supposed to be i think the model A1784.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

Yes, the T-Mobile phone is unlocked and will work just fine on any GSM network. Just pop in your SIM and you're good to go. The only thing that the T-Mobile iPhone 7 lacks is CDMA support so it won't work on Verizon or Sprint, but it will work on any GSM network around the world.

 

[KisakiSama]

I'm currently on the iPhone upgrade program. I went to reserve a phone a bit late - I have AT&T, but all available 7+ models in my area were Verizon phones (which I prefer anyway). It let me reserve a Verizon phone with no hassle. The email actually doesn't say anything about a carrier on it, just the type, color, and storage.

 

[kdarling]

It's been like this since the first iPhone. Actually it was much worse....and over time it's been getting better. I don't think it was ever Apple driving the differences, but in the beginning it was the need to have physically different parts for the different technologies and the carriers having their locking requirements. Now the parts can be the same and the Qualcomm radios are the "universal" ones. Apple wants to have some supplier competition, so it looks like they bought some Intel chips to keep Qualcomm on their toes pricing wise.

This. Plus Apple has been sending engineers back and forth to the former Infineon (now Intel) plant in Germany.

The Intel chips can't work for Verizon or Sprint yet, so Apple decided to put them in the T-mobile/ATT phones knowing that most people really don't care or switch carriers and they are used to carrier specific phones from the past.

Interestingly, a few months ago when it became known that Apple was actively helping Intel, analysts were predicting that all the US, Canadian, UK, Australia and EU phones would keep the universal Qualcomm modem, and only Asian and Latin countries would get the Intel version.

 

[Nepok]

How can I pre order a sprint or verizon iphone if i am an ATT customer? When i try to do so on the website, they ask me for the sprint/verizon account info.

 

[yeldarbecirp]

Ditto on how poorly Apple handled this. I checked three times with different online Apple Store online representatives who all told me I could specify Verizon as my carrier to get the more capable iPhone and activate it on on AT&T for now, with the idea that I may switch to Verizon later this year. I informed all of them that I didn't have a Verizon account and they said that wouldn't matter. Also, while going through the rejection process with Verizon, I had to start all over again and ended up with a two-to-three week shipping date instead of Sept. 16. That will likely cost me more than $100 due to expiration of my trade-in quote, which is much lower now than when I locked it. All in all, very disappointing.

What's interesting to me is that the way Apple set up this Preorder system, they are blocking an entire group of potential customers. Anyone without an existing carrier (doesn't have a cell phone, or doesn't have their own cell phone - leaving a parent's plan etc) as well as anyone who is PLANNING to switch from AT&T or T-Mobile in the near future, is basically prevented from preordering since they won't be able to enter account information.

This is an artificial restriction, especially for the FULLY PAID iPhone. Pay full price for an unlocked device, you should get to pick the exact model and not have to enter anything about any carrier or even a phone number.

 

[MalcolmTucker]

CDMA should no longer exist. It's literally one of the oldest technologies ever, yet companies like Verizon still use them? So goddamn evil.

CDMA was originally a spread-spectrum technology developed for the US Department of Defense. The technology itself makes the calls while traveling through the air, more secure. Calls are also encrypted. For these reasons, many Government agencies continue to rely on CDMA technology as part of a Government Vendor (and technology) Selection Process.

GSM is consumer-grade technology.
[doublepost=1473447899][/doublepost]

How can I pre order a sprint or verizon iphone if i am an ATT customer? When i try to do so on the website, they ask me for the sprint/verizon account info.

Just purchase a Verizon phone. Verizon has a company policy to sell all of its handsets in an unlocked status. Sprint requires multiple hoops and an act of American Congress to unlock a device.

 

[overfedexed]

Right now every iPhone 7 comes with a SIM preinstalled that is linked to your phone number. The phone is still unlocked and you can throw away that new sim and use whatever sim you like. In the near future they will offer a sim-free model and that's the one we all want. You don't have to give any account details for a sim free model.

Edit: apparently the TMobile one comes with a new sim that is not associated with your number. My point remains the same that you can't buy a CDMA iPhone 7 without it coming with a sim that is linked to your number unless maybe you can sign up for a new Verizon account and then cancel it when the phone gets here. They don't offer the sim free model online. Rumor has it that you will be able to buy the sim free CDMA version iPhone 7 in store on the 16th but I don't see any official info on that anywhere.

The Mac rep that I spoke to yesterday said that when I receive my Verizon contract free 7 plus, I SHOULD NOT turn on the phone with the Verizon SIM card in it.

When ordered, the Verizon phone is attached to my account of course, but I'll be using an AT&T SIM card in it for a short time. He said that Verizon COULD lock that phone to Verizon, if it's activated on the network with their sim in it, but that they probably wouldn't.

 

[wechelle]

The Mac rep that I spoke to yesterday said that when I receive my Verizon contract free 7 plus, I SHOULD NOT turn on the phone with the Verizon SIM card in it.

When ordered, the Verizon phone is attached to my account of course, but I'll be using an AT&T SIM card in it for a short time. He said that Verizon COULD lock that phone to Verizon, if it's activated on the network with their sim in it, but that they probably wouldn't.

That makes sense, but this post and post #289 don't make it clear how to go about ordering the Verizon phone. Both the Apple website and the Verizon website have blocks in the process that require one to enter Verizon customer information. Much like others, I'm not a Verizon customer. But I want the Verizon phone so that it is unlocked on all relevant networks.

 

[packman2006]

I ordered a 7 plus through the iPhone upgrade program, and am a current AT&T customer. I contacted support and (after many hours) I was able to speak with someone, who went into my order and confirmed that I would be receiving Model A1660/A1661, which is the model that works with both GSM and CDMA networks, rather than the GSM only model.

 

[jhersco]

MalcolmTucker: "Just purchase a Verizon phone" is what I tried to do. I was required to enter my Verizon phone number. With no Verizon account or phone number it was not possible to proceed without an error message. Perhaps when my AT&T iPhone arrives three weeks from now, there will be Verizon phones in the store that I can get in trade for my limited use AT&T phone. Until then, I will remain disappointed with Apple for the way this was handled.

 

[MisterAndrew]

There may be another issue with buying the VZW/Sprint IP7 to use on ATT: AT&T may not support advanced features like Wifi-calling and VoLTE.
We purchased a TMO iPhone 6s on launch to use on ATT, since it was the only version available for "unlocked" use during pre-order. Turned out Wifi calling and HD Voice were not available on this model (even though it had all the required radio), and we had to exchange for the SIM-free model that became available outside of the return period (Apple made an exception for us)

According to the article below this shouldn't be an issue. If it was it looks like you'd just need to create a ticket with their technical support team so they can certify the phone. All iPhone 7 variants support AT&T's WCS band (30) too.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/9/9488403/att-wi-fi-calling-problem-unlocked-iphone-6s

 

[overfedexed]

That makes sense, but this post and post #289 don't make it clear how to go about ordering the Verizon phone. Both the Apple website and the Verizon website have blocks in the process that require one to enter Verizon customer information. Much like others, I'm not a Verizon customer. But I want the Verizon phone so that it is unlocked on all relevant networks.

I have both an AT&T and Verizon postpaid account. A lot of good it did me.

I started trying to buy a black Verizon 7Plus 128gb at 2:59, but the Apple site would not load. When it did it was 3:11. Then it had a problem connecting to Verizon's servers to verify. Finally it said don't worry, we have one reserved for you with a Sept 16th delivery date!!! Then the order page loaded correctly and it took me to the checkout. It said Sept 16th delivery in the cart, then it changed to a later date like Sept 27th. Then I clicked expedited delivery for $10 extra dollars and it refreshed and gave me an Oct 4th to 10 date!

Crazy for sure.

 

[rocknblogger]

CDMA should no longer exist. It's literally one of the oldest technologies ever, yet companies like Verizon still use them? So goddamn evil.

Jeez, what makes them evil? This is what they built out from the beginning. You might be able to argue it was a mistake but evil...I just don't get this kind of thinking.

 

[nealh]

I ordered a 7 plus through the iPhone upgrade program, and am a current AT&T customer. I contacted support and (after many hours) I was able to speak with someone, who went into my order and confirmed that I would be receiving Model A1660/A1661, which is the model that works with both GSM and CDMA networks, rather than the GSM only model.

How did you get them to do this. I'm buying a paid in full phone that's connected to AT&T but I want to make sure that it has CDMA and GSM in case I ever want to switch to Verizon. I shouldn't be limited if I'm paying full price to a carrier limitation. That's BS

I'm going Monday when it's less crazy since I got Oct 4-10 delivery date

 

[campyguy]

Head into a VZW store on Day One and buy a VZW iPhone. That's what I've done for years now.

 

[headcase]

Head into a VZW store on Day One and buy a VZW iPhone. That's what I've done for years now.

Is that with you successfully buying a "device only" iPhone at the VZW store?

 

[MisterAndrew]

Head into a VZW store on Day One and buy a VZW iPhone. That's what I've done for years now.

They let you buy one outright without service? Even if you're not a VZW customer? That doesn't seem likely to me.