Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Being that 2 year contracts are almost gone, most likely they will sell a sim free model at launch. Apple will gladly take your money.
 
I really hope they do sell the SIM free phone at launch, that would be awesome.

I have heard there was an issue in the VZW iPhone 6 that caused it to be locked internationally for some folks. So the VZW phone may not be fully unlocked.
 
Buying it outright or using a financing option (like Next or Edge) is essentially the same as far as pricing goes--in one case you are paying it all right away, in the other case you are just paying off the same amount over time.
Nope. Financing means you have to keep the same service as long as you are still paying for the phone.
 
I really hope they do sell the SIM free phone at launch, that would be awesome.

I have heard there was an issue in the VZW iPhone 6 that caused it to be locked internationally for some folks. So the VZW phone may not be fully unlocked.
It's unlocked for use anywhere. I've used mine in Dubai, London, Doha and manilla.
 
Nope. Financing means you have to keep the same service as long as you are still paying for the phone.
If we are talking about it in the sense of leaving the carrier, you can simply pay off the balance, which is something you can do at any time, and you are done. Which is not that different compared to buying the phone outright, except that you are paying it off if and when you decide to leave rather than at the very beginning basically.
 
Can I go to a Verizon store launch day and buy at Full price. Will they let me? Or will they not let me because I don't have service with them?
 
Can I go to a Verizon store launch day and buy at Full price. Will they let me? Or will they not let me because I don't have service with them?
Depends on store. Most likely not. My brother had issues getting a s6 outright. He had to get edge plan even though he paid for the phone in full. He called customer service and they removed the edge plan. Took a lot of calls. Just buy it from Apple if you can.
 
Depends on store. Most likely not. My brother had issues getting a s6 outright. He had to get edge plan even though he paid for the phone in full. He called customer service and they removed the edge plan. Took a lot of calls. Just buy it from Apple if you can.

You can buy the t-mobile iPhone on the apple site on the first day of pre-orders orders right?
 
or just buy the sprint iPhone outright and you have the fully unlocked iPhone model. As long as it is the same as the last couple of years for the iPhone.

Sprint phones are now unlocked, if purchased without a payment plan or contract and they are the same exact phone as the unlocked model.

Sprint iPhone works on all U.S. carriers. Has all the bands.
 
or just buy the sprint iPhone outright and you have the fully unlocked iPhone model. As long as it is the same as the last couple of years for the iPhone.

Sprint phones are now unlocked, if purchased without a payment plan or contract and they are the same exact phone as the unlocked model.

Sprint iPhone works on all U.S. carriers. Has all the bands.
Is Sprint's unlocked model whitelisted on Verizon like the SIM-free version is?
 
Depends on store. Most likely not. My brother had issues getting a s6 outright. He had to get edge plan even though he paid for the phone in full. He called customer service and they removed the edge plan. Took a lot of calls. Just buy it from Apple if you can.

Verizon store won't let you walk out without a new contract. The Apple store however is another mystery.
 
I really hope they do sell the SIM free phone at launch, that would be awesome.

I have heard there was an issue in the VZW iPhone 6 that caused it to be locked internationally for some folks. So the VZW phone may not be fully unlocked.
A VERY small minority, but if someone contacts Apple, higher up techs/advisors are aware of the issue and can issue a server-side fix. Afterwards, all the user needs to do is reset the device.
 
I would also like the true SIM-Free version of the 6s. My unlocked AT&T iPhone 6 didn't have all the LTE bands, so I was stuck with 4G in every country I visited in Asia this summer.

I also noticed that the Sprint version of the 6 and 6 Plus do have the missing bands that the AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile phones don't have. Can anyone confirm for sure that buying the Sprint version at full price at the Apple Store results in a completely unlocked phone that works with domestic and international carriers? One downside of buying the Sprint version is that the trade-in values are usually less, since most Sprint phones are locked.
 
I would also like the true SIM-Free version of the 6s. My unlocked AT&T iPhone 6 didn't have all the LTE bands, so I was stuck with 4G in every country I visited in Asia this summer.

I also noticed that the Sprint version of the 6 and 6 Plus do have the missing bands that the AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile phones don't have. Can anyone confirm for sure that buying the Sprint version at full price at the Apple Store results in a completely unlocked phone that works with domestic and international carriers? One downside of buying the Sprint version is that the trade-in values are usually less, since most Sprint phones are locked.
This should cover it: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/question-about-sprint-iphones.1911196/#post-21773932
 
That doesn't really answer my question...

"if you want to buy a spint phone unlocked, go to the apple store or apple.com and buy the sim free unit."

The SIM-free version isn't available until months after the release. I've never seen confirmation that buying the Sprint version from the Apple Store at full price will get you a fully unlocked phone.
Well, that post and the thread it is in talk about all of this kind of stuff in relation to Sprint phones. So far it seems that buying the Sprint phone at full price will still get a locked version of it which then needs to be unlocked via Sprint (which Sprint now does it seems).
 
Well, that post and the thread it is in talk about all of this kind of stuff in relation to Sprint phones. So far it seems that buying the Sprint phone at full price will still get a locked version of it which then needs to be unlocked via Sprint (which Sprint now does it seems).

What if you're not even a Sprint customer? I doubt you can simply call them and ask them to unlock it.
 
Wow. Bad news for me if no SIM-Free at launch.

I've already sold my iPhone 6 to get a decent price, and this Moto X is driving me crazy.

I doubt I will be able to tolerate waiting for SIM-Free and will break down and buy T-Mobile again to use on AT&T.

Darn it. Just didn't think of that.
 
I doubt I will be able to tolerate waiting for SIM-Free and will break down and buy T-Mobile again to use on AT&T.

You don't need to buy the T-Mobile version to use on AT&T. If you purchase the AT&T iPhone at full price or even the Verizon one, it will be unlocked. You just might not get the extra LTE bands. However, there's still a chance that Apple will ship a single version that has all the bands this time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HarryWild
A VERY small minority, but if someone contacts Apple, higher up techs/advisors are aware of the issue and can issue a server-side fix. Afterwards, all the user needs to do is reset the device.

Glad to know there is a potential fix for folks with this issue. The original thread didn't seem to have a common resolution, and I saw a new thread pop up recently where someone had this issue when they sold their Verizon phone to someone who then found out it was locked internationally.

I originally decided to buy the SIM free phone this year just to get the Apple phone that is completely non-associated with any US carrier that I could easily take anywhere. I think they have a little better resale value as well. But based on past releases, it won't be out on pre-order day. So my challenge will be NOT ordering the VZW iphone on pre-order day and giving into all the hype. Bonus for waiting for the SIM-free version is I will probably be able to walk into an Apple Store and buy it once it does come out vs all the chasing one does right after a release

I would love for there to just be ONE iphone and not all these stupid different models. Maybe two iphone models if it isn't possible to put all the bands in one unit, but the tons of various models is so confusing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: willmtaylor
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.