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T-Mobile's iPhone 5 is a Tweaked Model A1428 Phone with AWS Support

bradl said:
CDMA EV-DO Rev A is older and therefore slower than HSPA+ (at least as I have read). What helps VZW survive is that they've turfed more of the country with their towers, which results in them having more stable coverage. But more stable coverage doesn't equal faster service.

BL.
Click to expand...

There, fixed it for you.

EV-DO Rev B is on par with HSPA+ and Rev C would have been faster than LTE. Rev C was dropped when carriers chose to go with LTE and stop the standards fight (3GPP aka GSM vs 3GPP2).

To answer the original question. I regularly see 20-30 Mbps on my iPhone 5 on Verizon. It can get slower (8-12 Mbps) due to congestion. A larger percentage of VZW's customers are on LTE compared to AT&T at this time.
 
Prime85 said:
Does this mean that i wont get LTE on my iPhone 5 or does it just mean it will be slower without the new one?
Click to expand...

You'll get LTE. I put a T-Mobile pre-paid SIM into my ATT iPhone 5 today and after hacking around the carrier settings, got it onto T-Mobile's LTE. It won't do the AWS 3G stuff, but will do LTE. Got 18Mbps down, 6Mbps up today.

I'll be moving carrier in a few days. Even after the ETF from AT&T, I'll start saving $50 a month after 4 1/2 months :)
 
I wonder how this will affect refurbished units in store when you exchange an AT&T version.
I also wonder if the Canadian iPhone (same as AT&T) will be updated to include these new bands.
 
mamon343 said:
I'm on T-Mobile 2 yer contract which ends this Oct, does it mean I can buy this phone? But then I'll have to add $20 to the bill :(.

Wish I could just cancel my contract and not have to pay $200 early cancelation fee :(.

I am paying for 3 lines(1 line isn't even being used, so it's wasted). Add another $20 to that ....:mad:

I hate my GSII, the stock software("rom") in it is totally trash, 100% unusable phone. Thankfully you can install custom "roms" which are a lot better/faster.

Can not simply wait to get it, even though I may not "really" afford one now, I have to get it :(
Click to expand...

Try calling them :) AFAIK you should be able to move over to the new plans without any penalties (although you have to stay with them until your contract expires). In theory you should also be able to get an iPhone since it's not a subsidy type of deal and you're not upgrading anything.

I'm 4 months into a contract and have the option to switch in my account, but I'm not doing it because my loyalty plan is still cheaper lol.

Also, AWS iPhone? Everyone said it'd never happen but it did. Hahahaahha :D
 
rodavici said:
You'll get LTE. I put a T-Mobile pre-paid SIM into my ATT iPhone 5 today and after hacking around the carrier settings, got it onto T-Mobile's LTE. It won't do the AWS 3G stuff, but will do LTE. Got 18Mbps down, 6Mbps up today.

I'll be moving carrier in a few days. Even after the ETF from AT&T, I'll start saving $50 a month after 4 1/2 months :)
Click to expand...

Thank you! I was worried about all that. So this means we dont have to wait for an update from Apple so i wont lose my JB?

Also what did you change in your carrier settings to get LTE working?
 
Oh geez. What about folks that bought the factory unlocked iphone 5 from apple?! Have to re-buy if you want the tmo speeds from tmobile ?! Thanks
 
lukemcurley said:
Oh great $649, I just purchased an unlocked iPhone 5 direct from Apple last Friday and am using T-Mobile and their monthly plan.

What are the odds that Apple will swap out mine in three weeks?
Click to expand...

You have fourteen days. But if you go to Apple right now and explain your predicament, they might "grandfather" you in for a swap.

Not that the added frequency would probably do me much good on AT&T, but it's a bit odd that Apple had AWS built into the current iPhone 5 and simply "can't" activate it. Why build it in if it can't be turned on?
 
Terrin said:
I am confused. Apple didn't promise support for T-Mobile with the current iPhone 5. Further, it has publically came out and said it has to make the modifications at the factory.

Moreover, if you want to buy the T-Mobile iPhone, your loss might not be as great as anticipated. You probably can recoup at least $400 if it is in good shape and it is unlocked. If you jailbroke it maybe even better.

It sounds like T-Mobile will sell you the same phone for about $599, which is less than the $749 you paid. So you probably would be out around a hundred dollars. Consider that rent for the time you used this phone. Better yet, wait until summer when new phones might be announced.
Click to expand...

Yeah this far into the year I'll probably be better off just upgrading to the 5s which I wasn't planning on doing. Outlay of cash will be similar so I might as well get a hardware upgrade out of it too.

The reason why mine was $749 was it's a 32GB, I'd have to assume the $580/$599 model is the 16GB.
 
bradl said:
CDMA has always been slower than GSM or HSPA (at least as I have read). It is just very old and antiquated, compared to GSM. What helps VZW survive is that they've turfed more of the country with their towers, which results in them having more stable coverage. But more stable coverage doesn't equal faster service.

BL.
Click to expand...

A bit of a nitpick here - CDMA is newer and faster than GSM. I'm having trouble finding specific data at short notice but here's the gist of it:

GSM with GPRS, 1997 - usually 43.2 kb/s
CDMA with 1x, 1999ish - 115 kb/s
GSM with EDGE, 2003 - seems to be around 150 kb/s
CDMA with EVDO, 2004? - 2.4 Mb/s
CDMA with EVDO rev A, 2005? - 3.1 Mb/s

UMTS, or "3G", first came along in 1999 and offered 384 kb/s, and was often provided by the same operators that deployed GSM due to compatibility. Despite this, and contrary to popular belief, UMTS itself is not part of the GSM standard and does not require a GSM network (Telecom here in NZ is an example; UMTS and HSPA+ are available but there is no GSM underneath, and a GSM phone will not work). HSPA+ is of course faster than EVDO rev A, but this has nothing to do with GSM.

You call CDMA "old and antiquated", but GSM is older and slower :)

Edit: I spent so much time making this post that eno12 managed to post 15 minutes ago with a shorter and clearer answer!
 
Ok, after spending a few hours researching this, here is how I understand it:

Existing A1428 on T-Mobile
--------------------------

- Will be 3G in refarmed (1900Mhz support) areas
- Will be EDGE in non-refarmed areas
- Will work on LTE once deployed (Band 4 LTE supported)

New A1428 on T-Mobile
-----------------------
- Will be 3G in all areas (due to AWS 1700 Mhz 3G/4G support added)
- Will work on LTE once deployed

So, it looks like the existing unlocked iPhone 5 users on T-Mobile won't have to buy new hardware to get LTE. The only difference is they will be stuck with EDGE in non-farmed areas, whereas the new iPhone 5 owners will get 3G everywhere.
 
So if I run to an Apple Store on Friday the 12th, I can simply take the nano sim out of my unlocked iphone 5 and buy a tweaked one and put it in that? Will this work?
 
bradl said:
Then why did you post in the thread?

I would say that you should care, because it means that not only is this version of the iPhone 5 now to be more sought after, you could now take it to another non-CDMA carrier without suffering any degradation of service due to the same bands being supported.

BL.
Click to expand...

Cut him some slack. His post could inform others that with ATT, this change doesn't give any benefit (if that is indeed the case).
 
Akack said:
The "retweaked" iPhone 5 ATT/TMobile version releasing April 12 will have support for EVERY T Mobile frequency.

If T Mobile does not have LTE activated in your area you still won't get LTE, but your iPhone 5 will be LTE-ready once LTE is activated by TMobile in your area.
Click to expand...

By the time T-Mobile gets LTE in my area, we will probably be on iPhone 7 or 8 :rolleyes: I will be sticking with Big Red for now...
 
apunkrockmonk said:
As an Apple supporter since ~1992 when I got my first computer this is one of their first moves that has royally pissed me off.

Glad I get to sell my unlocked iPhone a1428 and go buy the exact same phone again.

The built in radio already supports these frequencies I fail to see how they cannot update the baseband in a future iOS to save me from paying 8% tax on $749 again ($59.92). Plus the added joy of whatever loss I take from reselling an iPhone 5, doubt I'll be getting a full $749 for my used phone.
Click to expand...

This is the first thing to piss you off in 20 years?? Adding another wireless frequency to the iPhone? lol
 
gtgrad95 said:
Ok, after spending a few hours researching this, here is how I understand it:

Existing A1428 on T-Mobile
--------------------------

- Will be 3G in refarmed (1900Mhz support) areas
- Will be EDGE in non-refarmed areas
- Will work on LTE once deployed (Band 4 LTE supported)

New A1428 on T-Mobile
-----------------------
- Will be 3G in all areas (due to AWS 1700 Mhz 3G/4G support added)
- Will work on LTE once deployed

So, it looks like the existing unlocked iPhone 5 users on T-Mobile won't have to buy new hardware to get LTE. The only difference is they will be stuck with EDGE in non-farmed areas, whereas the new iPhone 5 owners will get 3G everywhere.
Click to expand...

So that means that having an old iphone 5 wont matter in a refarmed area?
 
gtgrad95 said:
Ok, after spending a few hours researching this, here is how I understand it:

Existing A1428 on T-Mobile
--------------------------

- Will be 3G in refarmed (1900Mhz support) areas
- Will be EDGE in non-refarmed areas
- Will work on LTE once deployed (Band 4 LTE supported)

New A1428 on T-Mobile
-----------------------
- Will be 3G in all areas (due to AWS 1700 Mhz 3G/4G support added)
- Will work on LTE once deployed

So, it looks like the existing unlocked iPhone 5 users on T-Mobile won't have to buy new hardware to get LTE. The only difference is they will be stuck with EDGE in non-farmed areas, whereas the new iPhone 5 owners will get 3G everywhere.
Click to expand...

This pretty much sums it up nicely and should be a "sticky" post since there still is a bit of confusion among the masses :)
 
VPrime said:
I wonder how this will affect refurbished units in store when you exchange an AT&T version.
I also wonder if the Canadian iPhone (same as AT&T) will be updated to include these new bands.
Click to expand...

I plan on forcing Apple to replace my 5 because it's a lemon. And I am with you, I wonder how this impacts this? I would want to insist on the newer AWS phone just for value reasons. But I doubt I could insist...
 
Rot'nApple said:
When April 12th comes around will T-Mobile be the only place you can buy a "tweaked' iPhone 5? Or will it be available for purchase through Apple's website as well?

And when Apple updates the iPhone later this year, will it be available from day one as a 'tweaked" model on T-Mobile's website and again, would that be available on Apple's website as well for immediate purchase?

Anyone have an opinion on this? :confused:
/
/
/
Click to expand...

From what I've read, Apple is doing away with the current "AT&T" model and replacing ALL of them with the new "tweaked" version. Meaning if you sign up for a contract with AT&T after the April date you will be getting one of the new ones as well. It would just be locked to AT&T of course, but the AWS band would be there.

I'm sure there will be some lag as they clear out older models though - so if you are buying with the hopes of getting one at the Apple store then I would double check what you get supports AWS.


gotluck said:
from what I understand refarmed areas (old iphone5) have a theoretical limit of 21mbps while tmobiles AWS 3g (hspa+ whatever) is capable of 42mbps.

We shall see what happens in practice.
Click to expand...

The current iPhone is capable of 42mbps HSPA on the 1900 band, T-Mobile just limits the speed on that band for some reason. Probably because they don't have enough spectrum.
 
So from the comments i am reading i got that AWS on the new iPhone is just with 3G and the LTE will be identical between both phones once it launches? Is this correct?
 
ProudLoz said:
Right? I'm thinking of just getting the Nano-Sim with this amazing $70 unlimited data plan, and then I'll just wait till the next iPhone gets announced to get it at the $99 price. Either that, or just pay it in full.

Unfortunately that means I have to cut my contract with AT&T and pay an ETF.
Click to expand...

But I could sell my current phone, pay off my current ETF and still have money for the down payment. It is a win-win! AT&T better be shaking in their boots.
 
4S Operation on T-Mobile

My AT&T contract ends in October and I have an iPhone 4S. If I were to get the phone unlocked and then take it to T-Mobile, what limitations would I see?
* Will visual voicemail work?
* Will 3G or 4G work?
etc
 
gtgrad95 said:
Ok, after spending a few hours researching this, here is how I understand it:

Existing A1428 on T-Mobile
--------------------------

- Will be 3G in refarmed (1900Mhz support) areas
- Will be EDGE in non-refarmed areas
- Will work on LTE once deployed (Band 4 LTE supported)

New A1428 on T-Mobile
-----------------------
- Will be 3G in all areas (due to AWS 1700 Mhz 3G/4G support added)
- Will work on LTE once deployed

So, it looks like the existing unlocked iPhone 5 users on T-Mobile won't have to buy new hardware to get LTE. The only difference is they will be stuck with EDGE in non-farmed areas, whereas the new iPhone 5 owners will get 3G everywhere.
Click to expand...

Not true! AWS is an enhanced service w/ up to 42mbps for TMO. I still have 12mbps 3G everywhere.
 
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