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All iPads New iPads Not Carrier Locked?

I don't think iPads were ever carrier locked.

The very first iPad I bought, I got a Bell SIM card at the time of purchase (here in Canada). But Bell could not get their act together and I could not get it going, so I went back to the store and walked out with a Telus SIM card and a working connection.

The next iPad, I bought in Canada prior to a trip to Singapore. I set up a SIM card there for mobile 3G during the trip. Worked just fine.
 
I used the wrong title for this thread...the last iPad I bought you had to choose which carrier and that would tie you to that carrier's technology...so if you went with a Verizon iPad you were tied to CDMA (so you could also use Sprint assuming the iPad was unlocked). If you bought an AT&T iPad you had GSM/HSPA and could therefore use it with a T-Mobile SIM as well, at slower speeds.

These new iPads appear to have ONE chip with ALL possible bands onboard.
 
I'm assuming that, as with the iPhone 5S, you will be able to buy the Verizon iPad Air or iPad mini with retina display and use it on AT&T or T-Mobile with no issues. This gives the most flexibility and what I will be doing even though I will be using it with an AT&T grandfathered unlimited iPad data plan.
 
If I go into the US side and choose an iPad with celluar at the bottom it says:

"Choose a network carrier. Your iPad will work only with the carrier you choose."

So does that mean while they are unlocked they are still tied to a carrier you have to choose upfront?

In Canada, they are unlocked and you can choose/switch your carrier after.
 
tyche said:
If I go into the US side and choose an iPad with celluar at the bottom it says:

"Choose a network carrier. Your iPad will work only with the carrier you choose."

So does that mean while they are unlocked they are still tied to a carrier you have to choose upfront?

In Canada, they are unlocked and you can choose/switch your carrier after.
Click to expand...


Apple's site says it will only work with the carrier you choose because it only includes the SIM card of the carrier you choose. If you want to use it with another carrier you will have to track down a SIM card from the carrier you're looking for.
 
If you look at the comparison sheet, iPad 2 and iPad mini have each of the carriers broken out by name, however the new iPad Air and Retina Mini have it all listed and there is no carrier break down.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/

Chupa Chupa: Thank you...that's what I was looking for.
 
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