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I completely agree with you on this issue. I have an iPhone 7+ and noticed as soon as I got that phone that cell reception was not on par with my previous phones. It is disappointing since I did NOT want that intel chip in my phone. Had I known at the time I could have gotten a SIM free and the Qualcomm I would have done that.

The user you quoted has the exact same experience as me! I thought it was Tmobile's fault perhaps. So some on AT&T have the same issue with the Intel 7's? Heck maybe it's the Intel then.

I just got a great deal when I switched to T-Mobile on it. After the fact I found out I got the crappy Intel one. Wish I would have know also.
 
I'm on ATT and picked-up a sim-free 8. I now have 1 bar more (new iOS 11 4-bar display) than my previous GSM-only iP7. This is the case everywhere in my house. Where I had 1-bar, I now have 2-bars...where 2, now 3. I thought maybe the iP8 glass back allowed more signal thru, but forgot about the Qualcomm/Intel difference.
Nope you weren't imagining it. Went back and forth between my Qualcomm Sim-free model and my wife's 8+ ATT/Intel 8+. Her 8+ has the same worse reception problem as her Intel 7+ so it's not just the glass back or newer model making the difference. Intel's GSM implementation is just currently inferior to Qualcomm's in poorer signal areas. Once in a strong signal area, the differences go away. Sad we're paying over $1000 for these phones and Apple is shirking such a critical component by going with a cheaper supplier. Qualcomm are cow-poops too for their behavior so it's not entirely Apple's fault either...
 
For those wanting a ‘universal’ phone in the US, Best Buy only sells ‘universal’ iPhones if you purchase the iPhone 6s, 7/7+ and 8/8+ - they don’t come with SIM cards in the box and Best Buy will install an AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon SIM if you put it on a carrier installment plan.

If I understand correctly, all iPhone 8 come with a slot for SIM card. So a SIM-free phone just means the SIM card is not in the slot. Then, what's the difference between a SIM-free and one with SIM card phone?
 
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It’s wrong for Apple not to have talked about this in the keynote like every other year, or mention it in their website. People deserve to know the specifics.
You mean just like how they give precise details of benchmark results and cores and how much RAM is in the new phones? Oh wait, no, those are all details we don't get until the teardowns. Heck, some details have to wait until enterprising companies X-ray the chips. Apple doesn't give out a lot of precise details, they focus on telling you what the phone can do. Because people don't really care about how many cores the CPU has and which ones are big/high-power or little/low-power, they care if the phone will work well for them. Tech nerds (me included) care about these details - because knowing keeps them warm at night - but don't act like Apple has ever listed all the details of their devices.
 
You mean just like how they give precise details of benchmark results and cores and how much RAM is in the new phones? Oh wait, no, those are all details we don't get until the teardowns. Heck, some details have to wait until enterprising companies X-ray the chips. Apple doesn't give out a lot of precise details, they focus on telling you what the phone can do. Because people don't really care about how many cores the CPU has and which ones are big/high-power or little/low-power, they care if the phone will work well for them. Tech nerds (me included) care about these details - because knowing keeps them warm at night - but don't act like Apple has ever listed all the details of their devices.
Sure, but I still think just how they mention the LTE Advanced capabilities in every keynote since the iPhone 6, leaving it out now is kind of shady.

Probably they didn’t want to talk about having gigabit capabilities disabled.
 
This confuses me. So do they start out like the "sim free" version from Apple, but if you buy one on installments (with a Carrier) then they lock to that carrier? Does this mean they only sell the Qualcomm version?

If so I assume once it's paid off you could, for example, use one that was on AT&T on Verizon if you wanted?

Correct. To reduce inventory complexities, they only sell the Qualcomm version, and when purchased on installments with a carrier, it is then ‘locked’ to that carrier until you pay off the device and request it be unlocked. At that point, you could use your ‘AT&T’ iPhone on Verizon or Sprint’s network (or whatever). The phone can also be purchased at full retail price without being activated and the associate would then not select any carrier at the register and it will not add the carrier sku on the receipt and lock the IMEI to that carrier.

The only issues I see are when people buy the ‘universal’ iPhones and attempt to send them to, say, South America. The phones are usable on any US network if you buy them outright, but if you take them to another country without using them in the US, you could run into problems. I’m assuming, as the devices theoretically support worldwide networks, they’re region locked in some way to prevent export. I’ve not had anyone mention not being able to take them on vacation somewhere, but when people have specifically bought them to send to another country, I’ve heard reports back that they couldn’t be used. When asked if they’ll work if sent to XYZ country, I always let the customer know that they’re not guaranteed to work if not activated on a supported US carrier.
 
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Nope you weren't imagining it. Went back and forth between my Qualcomm Sim-free model and my wife's 8+ ATT/Intel 8+. Her 8+ has the same worse reception problem as her Intel 7+ so it's not just the glass back or newer model making the difference. Intel's GSM implementation is just currently inferior to Qualcomm's in poorer signal areas. Once in a strong signal area, the differences go away. Sad we're paying over $1000 for these phones and Apple is shirking such a critical component by going with a cheaper supplier. Qualcomm are cow-poops too for their behavior so it's not entirely Apple's fault either...

This is one instance I wish AT&T would throw around more power. Basically Apple is letting Intel make AT&T look bad. I’ve had perfectly fine service in my city and home until the iPhone 7.

I got almost directly hit by Hurricane Irma. Lost power well before the storm even got that close to us, but I couldn’t even load a web page inside my house over cellular to try to track the storm... as they were so wishy washy as to whether it was moving back toward Tampa, or toward me. (It split the difference.) Really made me realize how much I’ve let my personal WiFi setup that I pay for, let me let Apple off the hook for selling me a phone with a crap cell antenna. If I had to rely on cellular only, this phone would’ve been returned on day 3.
 
If I understand correctly, all iPhone 8 come with a slot for SIM card. So a SIM-free phone just means the SIM card is not in the slot. Then, what's the difference between a SIM-free and one with SIM card phone?

With previous iPhones, most retailers just stocked iPhones that were specifically tied to the carrier they were being purchased for. This meant having a ton of inventory. At Best Buy, iPhone 6 and SE still come for specific carriers, with the ICCID barcode on the box and SIM installed in the phone (except AT&T, which for some reason never has the SIM physically installed in the phone). iPhone 6s/6s Plus, 7/7 Plus, and 8/8+ are all ‘universal’ and thus do not come with an included SIM and are only locked to a carrier if an installment billing agreement is drawn up. Same can be said of recent cellular and WiFi models of iPad. I’m just not certain which model iPad Best Buy started selling ‘universal’ SKUs.

It has been a major improvement for Best Buy, as it means less inventory complexities and customer disappoints, especially when the devices are new and harder to come by. You used to run into problems where a customer wanted say, Sprint, but the only phone in the color and size they wanted was on AT&T. In that situation, you either had to order the phone, or the customer left and went elsewhere. With the ‘universal’ SKUs, you grab the color and size you want, grab a SIM for their carrier, and go.

With the ‘universal’ SKUs, a customer can either buy the phone on installments, which locks the phone to that carrier until paid off, or they purchase the phone outright and it’s not locked to a carrier. Best Buy only sells the Qualcomm iPhone 6s/7/8 series, which means there’s no compatibility issues if you want to switch carriers down the road.
 
With previous iPhones, most retailers just stocked iPhones that were specifically tied to the carrier they were being purchased for. This meant having a ton of inventory. At Best Buy, iPhone 6 and SE still come for specific carriers, with the ICCID barcode on the box and SIM installed in the phone (except AT&T, which for some reason never has the SIM physically installed in the phone). iPhone 6s/6s Plus, 7/7 Plus, and 8/8+ are all ‘universal’ and thus do not come with an included SIM and are only locked to a carrier if an installment billing agreement is drawn up. Same can be said of recent cellular and WiFi models of iPad. I’m just not certain which model iPad Best Buy started selling ‘universal’ SKUs.

It has been a major improvement for Best Buy, as it means less inventory complexities and customer disappoints, especially when the devices are new and harder to come by. You used to run into problems where a customer wanted say, Sprint, but the only phone in the color and size they wanted was on AT&T. In that situation, you either had to order the phone, or the customer left and went elsewhere. With the ‘universal’ SKUs, you grab the color and size you want, grab a SIM for their carrier, and go.

With the ‘universal’ SKUs, a customer can either buy the phone on installments, which locks the phone to that carrier until paid off, or they purchase the phone outright and it’s not locked to a carrier. Best Buy only sells the Qualcomm iPhone 6s/7/8 series, which means there’s no compatibility issues if you want to switch carriers down the road.

Thanks for the thorough explanation! If I decide to get rid of my 7 plus, I'll probably go to BB then. It's within walking distance and sometimes not crowded at all. The Apple Store, however, is avout 30 minutes away and always packed!
 
Last year, Apple employee refused to sell me a Verizon model (on their installment plan) because I am on ATT, but am NOT under contract. At the time, I just wanted to leave my options open to switch carriers, so I wanted the more universal phone.

I can honestly say that my Intel iPhone 7 has had the worst signal strength of any cell phone I’ve ever used, going back to the days of Nokia candybar phones.

I have no service in any large store (Wal-Mart, Target, local grocery store). I am completely reliant on their WiFi now.

I get 1 dot/bar in my house and people complain that I’m cutting out until I go outside.

I live 15 minutes from Disney World, surrounded by vacation rental properties, it’s not like this is a rural area.

I just want to switch carriers at this point to hopefully get a decent signal, but I can’t switch to Verizon for the same reason I have such crappy reception in the first place.

Is this an official Apple policy? If I’m not on contract with any carrier, can I use Apple’s upgrade installment program to upgrade to the 8 by getting the Qualcomm (Verizon) model, but activate it on ATT? As I said, last time they insisted on activating in store and made me take an ATT phone.

Just to see what would happen I just popped the SIM card out of my work issued iPhone on Verizon and popped it into my Intel modem 7 Plus that is part of the iPhone upgrade program and opened up the Apple Store app. I started the upgrade process for an 8 and I instead of forcing me to select the T-Mobile model like it does when my personal SIM card is installed it actually let me choose any of the 4 carriers. I got all the way to the checkout screen having selected the Verizon model. On preorder night for the X I’m going to try this again and see if I can get the Verizon model that way.

I would suggest borrowing a Sprint/Verizon SIM from someone and trying to upgrade that way. I’m wondering if maybe even an unactivated Verizon SIM you could pick up for $3.99 on Amazon would work?
 
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Nope you weren't imagining it. Went back and forth between my Qualcomm Sim-free model and my wife's 8+ ATT/Intel 8+. Her 8+ has the same worse reception problem as her Intel 7+ so it's not just the glass back or newer model making the difference. Intel's GSM implementation is just currently inferior to Qualcomm's in poorer signal areas. Once in a strong signal area, the differences go away. Sad we're paying over $1000 for these phones and Apple is shirking such a critical component by going with a cheaper supplier. Qualcomm are cow-poops too for their behavior so it's not entirely Apple's fault either...

Completely correct. Yesterday the wife and I were driving home. She has an iphone 6 and I have a 7+. My vehicle had 5 bars of rececption, (expected because the car has a bigger cell antenna)my wife had 3, and I had one!! I HATE the intel modem in my 7+. It is awful. All devices are on AT&T btw.
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With previous iPhones, most retailers just stocked iPhones that were specifically tied to the carrier they were being purchased for. This meant having a ton of inventory. At Best Buy, iPhone 6 and SE still come for specific carriers, with the ICCID barcode on the box and SIM installed in the phone (except AT&T, which for some reason never has the SIM physically installed in the phone). iPhone 6s/6s Plus, 7/7 Plus, and 8/8+ are all ‘universal’ and thus do not come with an included SIM and are only locked to a carrier if an installment billing agreement is drawn up. Same can be said of recent cellular and WiFi models of iPad. I’m just not certain which model iPad Best Buy started selling ‘universal’ SKUs.

It has been a major improvement for Best Buy, as it means less inventory complexities and customer disappoints, especially when the devices are new and harder to come by. You used to run into problems where a customer wanted say, Sprint, but the only phone in the color and size they wanted was on AT&T. In that situation, you either had to order the phone, or the customer left and went elsewhere. With the ‘universal’ SKUs, you grab the color and size you want, grab a SIM for their carrier, and go.

With the ‘universal’ SKUs, a customer can either buy the phone on installments, which locks the phone to that carrier until paid off, or they purchase the phone outright and it’s not locked to a carrier. Best Buy only sells the Qualcomm iPhone 6s/7/8 series, which means there’s no compatibility issues if you want to switch carriers down the road.

Good post. Unfortunately for me I ran into the EXACT problem you stated when buying my iphone 6plus at release. That phone was difficult to get at launch and they had all the other carriers I didn't have in the configuration I wanted. Because of this I bought the 7+ at ATT knowing I would get that crummy Intel modem. I was already aware of the issue with that modem before I bought and thought I was stuck. Wish I knew that when the 6s came out that BB went to universal SKU. Would have bought there had I known.
 
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Even if the Qualcomm could get gigabit LTE, it would be disabled to try to level the playing field with the inferior Intel. I'm using my 6s as my primary device as I can no longer stand slow data and bad call quality in my 7 Plus. In low signal areas my 6s will hold onto a call or give me 4G data. My 7 Plus will drop to Edge or no service and any call will be dropped. Getting data is near to impossible. It's really frustrating to be honest.

I've got the Intel 7 Plus.

I really feel for people getting the X. To me the difference between the Intel and Qualcomm are blaring obvious. I've borrowed a 7 Plus from a friend on Verizon, in just a few hours the service from T-Mobile was like night and day between the Intel and Qualcomm. I wished I had either skipped this model or got the unlocked version.
 
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Even if the Qualcomm could get gigabit LTE, it would be disabled to try to level the playing field with the inferior Intel. I'm using my 6s as my primary device as I can no longer stand slow data and bad call quality in my 7 Plus. In low signal areas my 6s will hold onto a call or give me 4G data. My 7 Plus will drop to Edge or no service and any call will be dropped. Getting data is near to impossible. It's really frustrating to be honest.

I've got the Intel 7 Plus.

I really feel for people getting the X. To me the difference between the Intel and Qualcomm are blaring obvious. I've borrowed a 7 Plus from a friend on Verizon, in just a few hours the service from T-Mobile was like night and day between the Intel and Qualcomm. I wished I had either skipped this model or got the unlocked version.

So you're on T-Mobile, and her VZ 7plus did much better than your Intel 7 plus? Care to elaborate in what areas it was better?

I'm tired of my crappy combination of T-Mobile Intel 7plus. Was hoping I could keep by 7 plus but just switch to AT&T on it and hoping that would help reception on calls and data.
Thanks
 
So you're on T-Mobile, and her VZ 7plus did much better than your Intel 7 plus? Care to elaborate in what areas it was better?

I'm tired of my crappy combination of T-Mobile Intel 7plus. Was hoping I could keep by 7 plus but just switch to AT&T on it and hoping that would help reception on calls and data.
Thanks

In low reception areas, her device went to 4G and my data was still available. Calls didn't break up and drop. With my Intel it would go to E automatically and calls would either fail or not go through at all.

Even in my my apartment, I got about 1-2 more bars in all areas in comparison. The speed tests constantly showed faster data speeds too. My Intel would get about 10-13 Mbps in my apartment, the Qualcomm got around 18-25 Mbps.

I don't know if AT&T will be better with the Intel model. I haven't been able to try that as my Intel is locked to T-Mobile.

I'd recommend getting a prepaid AT&T SIM or see if anyone you know will let you borrow their SIM just for a little while.
 
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In low reception areas, her device went to 4G and my data was still available. Calls didn't break up and drop. With my Intel it would go to E automatically and calls would either fail or not go through at all.

Even in my my apartment, I got about 1-2 more bars in all areas in comparison. The speed tests constantly showed faster data speeds too. My Intel would get about 10-13 Mbps in my apartment, the Qualcomm got around 18-25 Mbps.

I don't know if AT&T will be better with the Intel model. I haven't been able to try that as my Intel is locked to T-Mobile.

I'd recommend getting a prepaid AT&T SIM or see if anyone you know will let you borrow their SIM just for a little while.

Yes that's what I was going to do. If my Intel 7 plus still didn't perform well I will likely get a Qualcomm 7 plus.
 
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Well let us all know how it goes. I'd like to know how the Intel performs on AT&T.

It will be another month or so probably as I still owe on this 7 plus. I meant to say if this phone doesn't work well with AT&T I'll try out the Qualcomm 8 plus.
 
So did this help your signal strength at all?
Im not sure if really helped me however it did allow me to switch between Verizon and At&t with out any issues. I will never buy a iPhone that is "locked" to at&t again. Its ridiculous
 
Which of the modems delivers the best battery life?

Can't honestly tell you that as I've never owned the Qualcomm 7/8 or spent enough time using it (Only used it for a few hours). I'd assume the Qualcomm purely based upon the fact that it continues to keep a signal more consistently. So the fluctuations I experience with my Intel would likely be less. A big battery draining issue is when the cellular signal is unstable.
 
Correct. To reduce inventory complexities, they only sell the Qualcomm version, and when purchased on installments with a carrier, it is then ‘locked’ to that carrier until you pay off the device and request it be unlocked. At that point, you could use your ‘AT&T’ iPhone on Verizon or Sprint’s network (or whatever). The phone can also be purchased at full retail price without being activated and the associate would then not select any carrier at the register and it will not add the carrier sku on the receipt and lock the IMEI to that carrier.

The only issues I see are when people buy the ‘universal’ iPhones and attempt to send them to, say, South America. The phones are usable on any US network if you buy them outright, but if you take them to another country without using them in the US, you could run into problems. I’m assuming, as the devices theoretically support worldwide networks, they’re region locked in some way to prevent export. I’ve not had anyone mention not being able to take them on vacation somewhere, but when people have specifically bought them to send to another country, I’ve heard reports back that they couldn’t be used. When asked if they’ll work if sent to XYZ country, I always let the customer know that they’re not guaranteed to work if not activated on a supported US carrier.

Two questions, so if you buy an Unlocked Full Price phone for ATT from apple, do they give you the qualcomm model, or the GSM ATT/Tmobile model? I assume they give you the ATT model no matter what if youre buying it with an att account, even if you pay full price.

Second question, even if thats not the case, its safe to assume ATT stores only carry the GSM/Intel model, and when bought from them, even if unlocked, you get a Intel model phone? thanks
 
But at least say it’s a 600Mbps modem, every year they have made a mention about that.

they couldn't say that, because then they'd either have to have an asterisk that says *though Qualcomm's chip is capable of higher speeds, we crippled it to match Intel's, for which theyre currently suing us as we sue them for suing us for suing them for Being as ruthless with their patents & manufacturing partners as we are with ours, and thats our thing, they can't do it too"

or they'd have to say capable of at least 600Mbps and then clarify which can do more, and then clarify why although it can do more it actually can't anymore because they want so badly to not have to pay qualcomm so much in royalties that they were happy to force inferior hardware on as many customers as possible, and the moment customers found out & began trying to buy the qualcomm versions that only made their goal that much harder.

I agree they should cover the specs, but i completely get why they didn't, **** even if both chips performance was equal naturally i bet they'd have avoided a slide on modem's just because of the qualcomm dispute.
 
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Two questions, so if you buy an Unlocked Full Price phone for ATT from apple, do they give you the qualcomm model, or the GSM ATT/Tmobile model? I assume they give you the ATT model no matter what if youre buying it with an att account, even if you pay full price.

Second question, even if thats not the case, its safe to assume ATT stores only carry the GSM/Intel model, and when bought from them, even if unlocked, you get a Intel model phone? thanks
The only legit way via the Apple Store to get a Qualcomm equipped X is waiting for Apple to release a Sim free version of the X. Otherwise, you're gonna need a very close friend willing to share his Verizon info (Sprint is useless is all their phones are locked). Regardless if through NEXT, IUP, or full price, if you click on ATT or Tmo on the checkout, you're getting the Intel modem.
 
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