Using Verizon LTE iPad with AT&T 3G

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As I recall, the note on the Apple website says that to work an iPad will only work with the 4G LTE network of the carrier you choose, but will work "worldwide" on 3G. And remember, the US is part of the "world." So I don't think Apple could justify not allowing a Verizon iPad to work on AT&T's 3G network.

That doesn't mean they won't, but if there is some software policy restriction that treats AT&T differently from a Canadian or UK GSM carrier, someone could probably successfully sue over it. That's how clearly, IMHO, the marketing materials are written.

Don't get me wrong... I wouldn't sue over this. But someone probably would.

 

[BiggAW]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

As I recall, the note on the Apple website says that to work an iPad will only work with the 4G LTE network of the carrier you choose, but will work "worldwide" on 3G. And remember, the US is part of the "world." So I don't think Apple could justify not allowing a Verizon iPad to work on AT&T's 3G network.

That doesn't mean they won't, but if there is some software policy restriction that treats AT&T differently from a Canadian or UK GSM carrier, someone could probably successfully sue over it. That's how clearly, IMHO, the marketing materials are written.

Don't get me wrong... I wouldn't sue over this. But someone probably would.

Very interesting point.

Because they're not subsidized, I think Apple would make them all fully unlocked. The only reason the VeriPhone isn't fully unlocked is because Verizon subsidized it, and thus has the right to lock AT&T and T-Mobile out.

The payment system should go with the SIM. The VeriPad will need a Verizon SIM because it's LTE, which holds both CDMA and LTE subscriber info. Thus, you can effectively SIM swap, even though nothing about the two carriers' networks is remotely cross-compatible. I don't think it would be any different for payment than if I were to say, have a VeriPad, and take a trip up to Montreal, and pop in a Rogers SIM, and I would then be able to pay $35 Canadian to activate the 5GB plan on Rogers for 30 days. When I got back to the US, I could pop in the Verizon SIM if I ever wanted to get Verizon service. Wow, "Verizon SIM" that just felt really weird to type. The only thing that wouldn't work is T-Mobile, since they don't have a payment system for the iPad. Not very useful anyways, since only a few places have HSPA+ that would work with the iPad on T-Mobile.

Not sure why someone would keep both active, and I don't know why anyone would pay for AT&T service on it, since you don't get mobile hotspot, but it is an interesting question.

 

[jsnuff1]

I think people forget that there are actually 4 main models of the iphone 4s sold in the US:

1. AT&T - subsidized & locked
2. Verizon - subsidized & locked
3. Sprint - subsidized & locked
4. Factory Unlocked - not subsidized

The Ipad 2 had three models

1. Wifi
2. Wifi + CDMA
3. Wifi + WCDMA / GSM - unlocked

This is wrong. The AT&T and Verizon iPhone 4S are identical hardware wise. They use a worldwide modem chip that works both GSM and CDMA networks. Only the iPhone 4 had different hardware for each carrier. The only difference between the 4S is that they are locked to each carrier.