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Please help
I bought an iPhone X on Apple Store App and I select AT&T carrier but I did pay in full, I got 2 questions!
¿It's my iPhone ready to be use with T-mobile?
¿What do I have to do for unlock the iPhone X ?
Thank for your help!
Will be unlocked and can be used with T-Mobile sim
 
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Please help
I bought an iPhone X on Apple Store App and I select AT&T carrier but I did pay in full, I got 2 questions!
¿It's my iPhone ready to be use with T-mobile?
¿What do I have to do for unlock the iPhone X ?
Thank for your help!

If you paid in full then it is already unlocked. Just pop in the T-mobile SIM.
 
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I've had the Intel X for one day so far, T-Mo version purchased outright ~12 days ago from apple.com. Spent a lot of time in UPS hell before being delivered yesterday morning. I wish I had known about this modem issue beforehand but I credit this thread and others for putting me on the fence about swapping for the X Qualcomm sim-free.

I live in an area (pine barrens region of Long Island -- it's the barrens for goodness sake) which struggles when it comes to anything cellular. Basically any help I can get to have even slightly better experience in those cellular fringe areas, the better.

But alas, there's that quality-control lottery as someone stated before. I'm a little nit-picky about that stuff but not as bad as I used to be. Sitting on the swap-or-not-swap fence, I called tails (that I would swap) and had Siri flip a coin three times. Best of three, I would swap! (Perfect algorithm for investment decisions, right?)

It was tails three times straight. In fact, nine times in a row. 10th was heads. lol

Local Apple store has a pile in stock, ordered and will pick up after work. I'll have to return my existing one tomorrow though since all the bits and pieces (box, etc) are home.

(yeah yeah... cool story, bro. haha)
 
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Interesting to see my local Apple Store seems to have piles of SIM free models in stock, but they don't have any other carrier in stock since launch.
 
tap on that sequence in General to see 4-digits e.g. 1865, 1901, 1902, etc

Thanks for your help.

Its the A1901 which is the GSM model from TMobile and ATT as I expected. Im mainly wondering if i took it over to say Vietnam, put in a GSM SIM from a carrier over there, would it say "Sorry, You're locked to T-Mobile"

I dont see how T-Mobile could justify that.

But everyone is throwing the term "Sim Unlocked" around which creates the impression that people Sims are locked to their carriers. If it being locked to a specific carrier is not the case, perhaps a better term would be 'Band Locked'?
 
I drank the Sim Free kool-aid and ordered this a.m. to test hopefully gsm/cdma option against my launch-day AT&T A1901. arrival 13th should give me time to Christmas-travel test thru the boonies as well as home b4 return window lapses.

the X A1901 has been great but for rocky cellular use in somewhat rural home space. if new one fairs no better, perhaps it’s husband’s Verizon service that keeps his cell use on gsm/cdma 6s-plus more reliable than mine on AT&T on previous and current iphones.
 
Towards an upgrade? I don't know of a single US carrier that actually offers a discount for upgrading. I see only the following three options

  1. Pay full price, which doesn't count "towards an upgrade" since you can do this every day if you please
  2. Pay full price - $xxx dollars for turning in a phone usually worth close to that anyways. Again this is not an upgrade option as most carriers allow this unlimited times because they profit from the trade-ins.
  3. Switch and save, in which it doesn't go towards an upgrade but still usually requires handing in a phone. This usually results in a large bill to pay the phone off

Verizon, ATT, Sprint, TMobile all don't offer subsidized pricing anymore, I have checked ad nauseam. The closest you can get is option #2 or #3.

On a separate note unrelated to the quote above, once paid in full from Sprint or Verizon they will unlock the device. Some people say it is difficult, but I have never encountered any issues having it done. Additionally the FCC applies heavy pressure to service providers to unlock fully paid devices.

What I meant was that if you bought one for yourself and then tried to purchase another one to sell, it would probably say that your account already has a purchase towards it and not allow you to get it. If it was unlocked then the purchase would go through and everyone would keep coming back to put those phones on eBay.
 
Is the ability for employees to get a discount new? When I worked for Apple years ago, the iPhone was the one piece of hardware we could never get any discount on, because of how the carrier contracts were structured. (Which was ironic, because people thought we got them for free.)
I've been in since '15 and its been 25% since I got here, normally a month or so after launch, once we start hitting equilibrium

Edit: Delay is specifically for phones, we got series 0 and 3 on launch day with 25 % and 50% when series 0 came out.
 
Because in US no one cares about unlocked phones yet. Different country different market.
That may also be in part the reason that the US is the 6th most expensive country in the world to own a mobile. Of course they fare better as a % of GNI :) but there are plenty in the US below this threshold

It seems to me for US residents the A1865 is the best version since it’s equipped with QUALCOMM chip and it supports both CDMA and GSM networks, so it will work with all carriers in the US including AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon

However

The A1901 version should be considered the international version as it is more widely supported and sold

Why should this make a difference, none for US residents but those that travel there may be a few issues vs the Pros

There is more to just GSM bands. There are many idiosyncrasies with different carriers around the world and you are more likely to bump in to one of these using an unsupported country model and it may well nullify any theoretical performance gains of a QUALCOMM for example

If your IPhone goes wrong an overseas store may refuse to repair locally if it's an unsupported country model

Your model may be technically illegal to use in another country if it has not been through their telecom advisory testing

Some countries have specific IPhone features removed and so may be both illegal and refused local repair if not a local specific IPhone

Of course many countries turn a blind eye to the legality issues simply as its not easily enforceable and is negative PR for tourists, it however exists.
 
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I don't know what the other carrier rules are, however if you buy the iPhone X from ATT or using your ATT account through the Apple store, the phone will NOT be unlocked. It won't be unlocked even if you pay in full and even though the Apple store says you are getting an unlocked phone. ATT will not unlock your phone for 90 days. That is their policy. Apple should stop selling carrier specific phones in the USA. It's archaic and ties back to the original iPhone. They do this no where else in the world.
 
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Maybe to prevent so many scalpers? That’s normally the version they buy so it doesn’t go towards an upgrade on their account.

Likely that and to keep carriers happy with the incentive toward postpaid vs prepaid and MVNOs.
[doublepost=1512563045][/doublepost]
So if you plan to use AT&T as a carrier, do you think you are better off sticking with the GSM version? Sounds like CDMA will work, but if GSM is the better network, I can't understand why people would forgoe a better network just for a chipset.

Both models support GSM (not so needed anymore on ATT except for roaming purposes), the same LTE bands. The Qualcomm model also supports CDMA on Verizon/Sprint/USCC if you want to move to those carriers.
[doublepost=1512563134][/doublepost]
Can the sim free CDMA iPhone actually use the GSM network, or does it simply use CDMA on the AT&T network without the benefits of GSM?

ATT doesn't support CDMA. My 7+ Verizon model worked fine in Australia's LTE/GSM network last January.
[doublepost=1512563342][/doublepost]
is it really fringe remote areas, and even driving interstate a lot of the times you'd probably be alright?

just curious, I have no plans to go to Verizon/Sprint ever (if anything it'd be Tmo or a Tmo/ATT MVNO) but

Verizon has better coverage in many rural areas than ATT. Especially with LTE. Verizon has been reducing CDMA bandwidth due to being less efficient than LTE and as fewer people have CDMA only devices.
[doublepost=1512563540][/doublepost]
Makes you wonder why they even bother with the SIM version of the phones. Seems like an unnecessary expense and complicates phones being resold or moved between carriers. Are there advantages to the SIM version over the SIM-free version? Do the SIM-free versions work internationally when you travel?

Due to carriers wanting to be able to lock the phones they sell until the phone is paid off, and reduce churn. Most phones are sold through carriers from what I understand. Make them happy, the carriers pay for advertising on TV, put the phone in prominent locations in the stores, etc.
[doublepost=1512564020][/doublepost]This came out earlier than I expected or I might have just waited a couple weeks longer. Instead I went with ATT financing on the phone (bought through BestBuy). I have been trying different carriers in the last couple years, so wanted full flexibility. Now I have to wait until my phone is paid off before I can unlock. Seeing posts that ATT won't unlock for 90 days so I can just wait another 75 days to pay off. Or next August before I visit London.

I sure like the size better than my 14 month experiment with the 7+. More easily fits in pocket. The 4 was the best pocket fitting model, but I would have difficulty in dropping that small again.
 
I don't know what the other carrier rules are, however if you buy the iPhone X from ATT or using your ATT account through the Apple store, the phone will NOT be unlocked. It won't be unlocked even if you pay in full and even though the Apple store says you are getting an unlocked phone. ATT will not unlock your phone for 90 days. That is their policy. Apple should stop selling carrier specific phones in the USA. It's archaic and ties back to the original iPhone. They do this no where else in the world.

I have had them unlock before 90 days for travel. Is this a new policy?
[doublepost=1512573182][/doublepost]
This came out earlier than I expected or I might have just waited a couple weeks longer. Instead I went with ATT financing on the phone (bought through BestBuy). I have been trying different carriers in the last couple years, so wanted full flexibility. Now I have to wait until my phone is paid off before I can unlock. Seeing posts that ATT won't unlock for 90 days so I can just wait another 75 days to pay off. Or next August before I visit London.

I sure like the size better than my 14 month experiment with the 7+. More easily fits in pocket. The 4 was the best pocket fitting model, but I would have difficulty in dropping that small again.

Check your model number if you bought at BB. They used to sell only one model (the VZW one, which is basically the unlocked one). Inventory reasons. They would allot it as AT&T, but it would be the actual VZW model of phone.

Maybe that has changed since I last bought one from them.
 
I have had them unlock before 90 days for travel. Is this a new policy?

That is a really good question. If you buy the phone from Apple and pay in full - checkout will say you are receiving an "unlocked phone with an ATT SIM." If you call Apple they will tell you that you are receiving and unlocked phone but you need to call the carrier to check on their "policy." If you call ATT they will tell you the policy is the phone won't be unlocked for 90 days...which of course means you AREN'T receiving an unlocked phone from Apple.

I am sure the rules are bent and the policy is ignored and it could possibly depend on the retail ATT employee at your local ATT store - but the 90 day policy is what I was quoted.

It's all a bit ridiculous. People aren't going to stop buying iPhones if Apple only sells unlocked phones and the carriers aren't going to abandon the iPhone if Apple only sells unlocked phones at full retail. You can buy a subsidized iPhone from a carrier in Singapore or Hong Kong and it is unlocked. I don't really see why the carriers even care if the phone is unlocked or not as long as there is a contract and you agree to pay a certain amount every month. I'd think they would encourage you to use someone else's network.
 
I'm French and I'm thinking to buy an iPhoneX when coming to US, but I'm a bit confused by what I read here:

You say that the SIM FREE (model 1865) is compatible with all bands, and so with all countries and all operators, but when looking at Apple LTE models webpage, they seems to indicate that, even if they (1865, ans 1901) are compatible with same bands, the 1865 is not compatible with France (and lot of Europe operators), nor with T&T. While 1901 is.
Is it a software restriction ? So I could only buy the phone with T&T to ensure being able then to put my French sim inside ?
 
sim free shipped and arrives tomorrow without sig required. interesting.
Signature requirement often is at the drivers discretion; even with no signature required, the driver won’t leave the package if he/she doesn’t think it will be safe to do so. They’ll try again a couple times then leave it at the station for you to pickup or re-schedule.
 
I'm French and I'm thinking to buy an iPhoneX when coming to US, but I'm a bit confused by what I read here:

You say that the SIM FREE (model 1865) is compatible with all bands, and so with all countries and all operators, but when looking at Apple LTE models webpage, they seems to indicate that, even if they (1865, ans 1901) are compatible with same bands, the 1865 is not compatible with France (and lot of Europe operators), nor with T&T. While 1901 is.
Is it a software restriction ? So I could only buy the phone with T&T to ensure being able then to put my French sim inside ?
This should help you:
https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
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Mine was an 8 and not an X but it did come with the Sim tool.
Ok thanks. The X Sim-Free doesn't come with the tool. You think it's safe to use a narrow sharp needle to open the sim tray? Where can I buy the sim tool? I know the official sim tool has a flat surface.
 
sim free shipped and arrives tomorrow without sig required. interesting.
When did you order it?
And If I order it today, its showing delivery on 15th dec at champaign, illinois. Will I receive my order before 15th december, what are the chances?
 
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