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Carrier What would happen if I did this?

XTheLancerX

XTheLancerX

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 20, 2014
1,911
782
NY, USA
I have a Verizon iPhone 6. As I have seen T-Mobile's service expanding in my area, I kind of would like to test out how things are. It looks bad to be honest, but I just want to know how bad.

I was thinking, I could just get a pre-paid T-Mobile SIM, and it would work in my Verizon iPhone 6 as it has CDMA and GSM bands, and the same iPhone model is sent to Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile customers.

However, I'm still under contract. What kinds of horrible things would happen if I put a T-Mobile pre-paid SIM in my iPhone? Would it just not work? Would it throw a huge charge on my phone bill? Just curious. I can't really partake in T-Mobile's "Test Drive" program as their nearest store is 100 miles away, and I think I read into it and you have to return the phone to a store.
 
As already mentioned the Verizon iPhone 5 and newer all come unlocked out of the box.

Whether you can used the LTE bands that T-Mobile uses is a different matter.
 
timeconsumer said:
You can swap SIM cards at anytime as Verizon iPhones (5, 5C, 5S, 6) are unlocked.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't there be issues if my phone is under contract? That's the main thing I'm wondering. Since the contract pretty much is meant to make you stay with Verizon for 2 years, this would be... Not staying with Verizon. Would it just make it so I would pay for the current Verizon plan and the T-Mobile prepaid plan? That's fine if it's the case because I just want to "dip my toes in the water" with T-Mobile, temporary sort of idea I have here. I just don't want this to cause issues with Verizon or anything.
 
XTheLancerX said:
Wouldn't there be issues if my phone is under contract? That's the main thing I'm wondering. Since the contract pretty much is meant to make you stay with Verizon for 2 years, this would be... Not staying with Verizon. Would it just make it so I would pay for the current Verizon plan and the T-Mobile prepaid plan? That's fine if it's the case because I just want to "dip my toes in the water" with T-Mobile, temporary sort of idea I have here. I just don't want this to cause issues with Verizon or anything.
Click to expand...
The unlocked status of your phone is irrelevant to your contract. It's unlocked period. Verizon has to do this per an agreement with the FCC. They can't lock the phone.

That said there have been some instances where people reported their phone's locked. There is a thread on this. But it's not something common.

It's entirely possible for you to get T-Mobile service and still be paying Verizon however because you are in contract. Frankly though, they'd (Verizon) probably just charge you ETF at some point.
 
XTheLancerX said:
Wouldn't there be issues if my phone is under contract? That's the main thing I'm wondering. Since the contract pretty much is meant to make you stay with Verizon for 2 years, this would be... Not staying with Verizon. Would it just make it so I would pay for the current Verizon plan and the T-Mobile prepaid plan? That's fine if it's the case because I just want to "dip my toes in the water" with T-Mobile, temporary sort of idea I have here. I just don't want this to cause issues with Verizon or anything.
Click to expand...
Being in a contract doesn't matter. As long as you keep paying for your Verizon plan, Verizon wouldn't care if you also had an AT&T sim and/or t-mobile sim. Even if you stopped paying for your Verizon account Verizon could only blacklist the phone for Verizon service. But I wouldn't recommend doing that.

Also to touch on the LTE a bit, I used my Verizon 5S before I had the 6 and was able to get LTE on t-mobile. Assuming they still have the same LTE bands you should be able to with the 6.

Edit: added Verizon before 5S for clarification purposes.
 
Last edited:
eyoungren said:
As already mentioned the Verizon iPhone 5 and newer all come unlocked out of the box.

Whether you can used the LTE bands that T-Mobile uses is a different matter.
Click to expand...
I believe the 5 doesn't have support for certain bands that some carriers (like T-Mobile) use for LTE, but anything beyond that should support LTE just fine (as far as going from Verizon to T-Mobile goes).
 
C DM said:
I believe the 5 doesn't have support for certain bands that some carriers (like T-Mobile) use for LTE, but anything beyond that should support LTE just fine (as far as going from Verizon to T-Mobile goes).
Click to expand...
Yes, I agree. I'm just covering my bases. If I say, "Oh sure you'll be totally fine" and for some reason all OP can get is 3G I'm sure there will be questions. ;)
 
eyoungren said:
The unlocked status of your phone is irrelevant to your contract. It's unlocked period. Verizon has to do this per an agreement with the FCC. They can't lock the phone.

That said there have been some instances where people reported their phone's locked. There is a thread on this. But it's not something common.

It's entirely possible for you to get T-Mobile service and still be paying Verizon however because you are in contract. Frankly though, they'd (Verizon) probably just charge you ETF at some point.
Click to expand...
Okay, that makes sense. Sort of would be dumb if I got charged an ETF fee because I still would be giving Verizon my money for their service.
timeconsumer said:
Being in a contract doesn't matter. As long as you keep paying for your Verizon plan, Verizon wouldn't care if you also had an AT&T sim and/or t-mobile sim. Even if you stopped paying for your Verizon account Verizon could only blacklist the phone for Verizon service. But I wouldn't recommend doing that.

Also to touch on the LTE a bit, I used my Verizon 5S before I had the 6 and was able to get LTE on t-mobile. Assuming they still have the same LTE bands you should be able to with the 6.

Edit: added Verizon before 5S for clarification purposes.
Click to expand...
Okay, so this is more what I was thinking. Before I possibly get the SIM I want to double and triple check that an ETF fee won't happen for some dumb reason, or if anything else will occur.
 
XTheLancerX said:
Okay, that makes sense. Sort of would be dumb if I got charged an ETF fee because I still would be giving Verizon my money for their service.

Okay, so this is more what I was thinking. Before I possibly get the SIM I want to double and triple check that an ETF fee won't happen for some dumb reason, or if anything else will occur.
Click to expand...
ETF and contract is tied to your line/number and not the device itself basically, so as long as you aren't changing as far as dropping your line or something like that, none of that would apply.
 
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I can't really partake in T-Mobile's "Test Drive" program as their nearest store is 100 miles away, and I think I read into it and you have to return the phone to a store.
Click to expand...

cousintim said:
Free T-Mobile Test Drive.
Click to expand...

Step three:
"After 7 days you must return it in good condition to a T-Mobile retail store (not an authorized retailer) so it's important you know where your nearest retail store is."
 
timeconsumer said:
While the test drive program would be nice, the OP mentioned that wasn't an option due to having to return the device to a store.
Click to expand...

I knew the Test Drive was not an option for the OP. I provided the link as a reference for others who may have a similar issue.
 
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