For most users, it doesn't really matter. For the few users that do need the extra bands, I'm glad Apple finally sells the Sprint version fully unlocked. I certainly didn't expect them to do it this way.
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Unlocked, SIM-Free iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Models Now Available in U.S. with 3-5 Day Shipping
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For most users, it doesn't really matter. For the few users that do need the extra bands, I'm glad Apple finally sells the Sprint version fully unlocked. I certainly didn't expect them to do it this way.
If that statement is true, then they will show up on Verizon and Sprint's respective white lists. They should work.
This news article is misleading. The new unlocked version (A1586 A1524) is a truly world phone, with the capability to support TD-LTE bands used by China Mobile and SoftBank, two major carriers in China and Japan respectively.
If you only have the old T-mobile version, when travel to China and Japan, LTE networks of these carriers would be unavailable or coverage will be limited due to lack of support for TD-LTE bands.
If you only have the old T-mobile version, when travel to China and Japan, LTE networks of these carriers would be unavailable or coverage will be limited due to lack of support for TD-LTE bands.
Agreed. This now displaces the Verizon model as the "most desirable" in the US. I wonder why Apple just doesn't standardize on the A1586 in the US now. It would make SKU management a lot easier.
I don't know that most people buying a "SIM Free" iPhone will have an existing activated VZW SIM card. Tech savvy users, maybe, but certainly not the masses.
The copy from the Apple website says, "You can activate and use the unlocked iPhone on the supported wireless network of your choice, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, or Sprint in the United States."
I suspect that it's not going to work out that way for the people who try to activate their shiny new "SIM Free" phone at the VZW store. Either Verizon will need to change their policies or Apple will need to change the language on that webpage.
What will happen is that the Verizon store will enter in the IMEI, see that it's on the whitelist, and then give the person a SIM card. That should happen at Sprint, too.
Remember, all the carriers have agreed to make phones that are developed after February 11, 2015 unlockable once they are paid off or the contract term ends. So Sprint and Verizon will be updating their policies.
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$649, plus whatever the sales tax rate is in the jurisdiction of sale. There are around 10,000 different sales tax jurisdictions in the US.
http://taxfoundation.org/blog/state-sales-tax-jurisdictions-approach-10000
It would be practically impossible to advertise prices the same as they do in Europe.
Physical stores collect sales tax based on the rate where the store is located. Online sales are a bit different, but if there is a physical store anywhere in the state where the customer is located, the online seller is supposed to collect at least the base state sales tax rate from the customer. In theory, the customer is supposed to report out-of-state purchases on their tax returns and pay the difference, but in most states that is not strictly enforced for most retail purchases (big ticket items like cars are a bit different).
I'm happy for those forum members who have held out, against many of us who said that the unlocked 6/6+ was already available, for the officially unlocked 'world phone' model to become available. If you want/need those extra bands for LTE use outside the US, then these are the phones to get.
That depends whether or not Verizon will activate the A1586 and A1524 models. It definitely would simplify SKU management but, as of today, the iPhone LTE support page doesn't show them as being supported on the Verizon network. Stay tuned. Now that these are available at retail Apple stores, we should know pretty quickly how this will all shake out.
How that has worked, at least in the very recent past, is that Verizon sees that the IMEI isn't in their IMEI database (i.e not a "Verizon phone") and they've flatly refused to activate a SIM card for it. That's as true for Samsung and LG smartphones as it has been for iPhones.
Verizon iPhones have been unlocked since the 5S, due to the deal they made with the FCC for the 700MHz C-Block spectrum. That only means you can use a Verizon phone on another network, it doesn't mean they have to allow non-Verizon phones on their network if they chose not to.
�� ... �� this is not happening right now.
We were cheated!!!
To be fair, no one knew whether Apple would actually sell the unlocked Sprint model, and those of us who aren't planning to travel to China or use Sprint were able to get perfectly good phones unlocked from Day 1.
But the fact that Apple is advertising it on their website as compatible with Sprint and Verizon means that they got those two carriers to agree to it, and have whitelisted them. They specifically excluded Sprint and Verizon from the list of available carriers for the unlocked iPhone 5s.
People have pointed out that the warranty replacement devices for the AT&T and T-Mobile iPhone are whitelisted on Verizon, too.
Are you sure about this?
Where did you see that this version will be the sprint version?
KPOM, I'm not trying to be argumentative. I sincerely hope you are right. An unlocked World-iPhone would benefit a lot of people. I don't know yet how Verizon is moving forward on this, but I do have some experience with Verizon and "non-Verizon" phones, as recently as a week ago, and I'm a little skeptical Verizon would do an about-face from their longstanding hardline position.
As I said above, either Verizon has to have changed their policies or Apple will need to change that ad copy.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
I don't think these will be the "Sprint version" per se, which I suspect will remain locked on-contract.
I think these will be an unlocked version of the same model numbers -- A1524 and A1586 -- that Sprint is currently using (and locking). IOW, the new phones will support the same LTE bands as the Sprint/US Cellular/etc. versions, but in an unlocked phone.
Since it's quite prominent on Apple's site that it works with both Sprint and Apple, I'm pretty comfortable that it means that they have whitelisted the phones on both their networks. That's not to say it would work on US Cellular, etc. but the language on their website is different from what it was in the past.
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Here is from Apple's website:
Verizon will not activate a phone unless it was sold as a Verizon phone. It isn't a technology thing it is a corporate policy. So if you want to use Verizon you need a Verizon phone. It can be off contract. You can go into Verizon and buy a full price phone and be off contract. And they will even give you a small discount on your bill. But you can't just use any unlocked phone.
But this is just a policy thing. So Verizon could change it at any time or make an exception for all unlocked phones bought through Apple Store.
Occasionally I use the phone as a GPS (with cached maps) and I notice that the GPS chip only works when the phone is NOT in airplane mode. However, especially when one is in an area with marginal service, the battery life is highly impacted as the phone struggles to get a reasonable connection.
A good solution, when I want to use GPS to the exclusion of phone service, is to remove the SIM so the phone does not even try to connect. The battery lasts considerably longer without the SIM.
Is this new phone going to close this solution to my GPS usage? It would be awfully nice to have the GPS and the cellular receiver be disconnected, but I have seen no indication that it is going to happen.
Any insights on this issue?
A good solution, when I want to use GPS to the exclusion of phone service, is to remove the SIM so the phone does not even try to connect. The battery lasts considerably longer without the SIM.
Is this new phone going to close this solution to my GPS usage? It would be awfully nice to have the GPS and the cellular receiver be disconnected, but I have seen no indication that it is going to happen.
Any insights on this issue?
The "T-Mobile" iPhone 6 purchased at full price at the Apple store (not on a payment plan from TM) was unlocked. You just had to switch out the SIM card. Don't see what the big deal is about having it SIM free...
Just one more reason I stay away from Big Red. Their policies are so anti-consumer. Don't understand their popularity because their network ain't really all-that.
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Why didn't you just use the AT&T SIM in your original 6+? Or are you being sarcastic?
Because there really are huge swaths of the country that AT&T, T-Mo, etc. don't adequately cover. I didn't give up my AT&T unlimited data plan willingly, their lack of coverage forced me to.
I'm doing the same. I'm returning my T-Mobile 6+ for a Sim-Free version. Heading to Apple to do this now.
I think it's better I make the purchase first, then return the T-Mobile 6+ later in the day. I'm afraid they may not exchange it even though I'm within that extended Christmas return policy. I won't open the Sim-Free version until I'm sure my T-Mo 6+ has been returned with refund receipt in hand.
I think it's better I make the purchase first, then return the T-Mobile 6+ later in the day. I'm afraid they may not exchange it even though I'm within that extended Christmas return policy. I won't open the Sim-Free version until I'm sure my T-Mo 6+ has been returned with refund receipt in hand.