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When will iPhone 6 with no contract be offered in US?

B

brian1868

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 17, 2013
65
0
Columbus, OH
If the iPhone 6 with contract comes out in September as regular?

I thought people could only buy iPhone 5S with contract in US at first, but I forgot the date when unlocked iPhone 5S with no contract came out.

Do you guys remember the time?

Since I only buy iPhone with full price and I currently hold a uneasy-to-use iPhone 4S, I am thinking maybe I should get an iPhone 5S first, considering the long wait of unlocked iPhone 6 with no contract.

Should I buy an iPhone 5S now?
Please help, thank you guys!
 
Last edited:
brian1868 said:
If the iPhone 6 with contract comes out in September as regular?

I thought people could only buy iPhone 5S with contract in US at first, but I forgot the date when iPhone 5S with no contract came out.

Do you guys remember the time?

Since I only buy iPhone with full price and I currently hold a uneasy-to-use iPhone 4S, I am thinking maybe I should get an iPhone 5S first, considering the long wait of iPhone 6 with no contract.

Should I buy an iPhone 5S now?
Please help, thank you guys!
Click to expand...

the Verizon iPhone 5s is unlocked from factory (6 will likely be as well), so I believe you could just buy one outright from Verizon and it's essentially the "no-contract" iPhone. Question is, will Verizon let you walk in, buy an iPhone for full price and no service? or do you have to have service with them?
 
I'm soo excited for this and will be ordering the Verizon model again at full price like I did last year with the iPhone 5S.

I pay for my device up front and Verizon models are the best for the money due to offering CDMA + GSM capability.

Giving me and potential second hand buyer of my iPhone more choices:
- Verizon
- AT&T
- T-Mobile

You can always order the Verizon iPhone on contract and then when you get to the Apple Store, tell them you want to just pay it fully and they should let you (I would not go to a downtown location if you have more than 1 apple store near you, go to a outer location as downtown ones are more packed with people and apple would rather sell to fulfill carrier contracts than to sell outright from what we have seen with iPhone 5S last year)
 
brian1868 said:
If the iPhone 6 with contract comes out in September as regular?

I thought people could only buy iPhone 5S with contract in US at first, but I forgot the date when iPhone 5S with no contract came out.

Do you guys remember the time?

Since I only buy iPhone with full price and I currently hold a uneasy-to-use iPhone 4S, I am thinking maybe I should get an iPhone 5S first, considering the long wait of iPhone 6 with no contract.

Should I buy an iPhone 5S now?
Please help, thank you guys!
Click to expand...

The Unlocked 5S was out for sale at Apple on Nov. 22nd. I have this date in my iCal so that I can gauge how long the Unlocked iPhone 6 would come out.
 
The unlocked Iphone 5S was available day 1 from Apple. It just came with a T-mobile SIM card that you could toss away if that's not your carrier of choice.
 
CEmajr said:
The unlocked Iphone 5S was available day 1 from Apple. It just came with a T-mobile SIM card that you could toss away if that's not your carrier of choice.
Click to expand...
Well, not exactly any carrier of choice.
 
If you buy an AT&T iPhone off contract, it will be factory GSM unlocked (you need to sync it to iTunes first). To my knowledge, you can't buy a Verizon iPhone off contract (tried it with the 5s at the Apple store a week after launch).
 
carjakester said:
you can always buy an iPhone no contract...
Click to expand...

I thought Apple only sold iPhone 5s with contract in the first few months when iPhone 5s came out.

----------
co.ag.2005 said:
the Verizon iPhone 5s is unlocked from factory (6 will likely be as well), so I believe you could just buy one outright from Verizon and it's essentially the "no-contract" iPhone. Question is, will Verizon let you walk in, buy an iPhone for full price and no service? or do you have to have service with them?
Click to expand...

Exactly, but I don't want to take risk.

----------
ET iPhone Home said:
The Unlocked 5S was out for sale at Apple on Nov. 22nd. I have this date in my iCal so that I can gauge how long the Unlocked iPhone 6 would come out.
Click to expand...

Thank you man!! Exactly what I need!!

----------
CEmajr said:
The unlocked Iphone 5S was available day 1 from Apple. It just came with a T-mobile SIM card that you could toss away if that's not your carrier of choice.
Click to expand...

Your answer contradicts to the one of ET iPhone Home :confused:
Could you please specify?

----------
hungx said:
If you buy an AT&T iPhone off contract, it will be factory GSM unlocked (you need to sync it to iTunes first). To my knowledge, you can't buy a Verizon iPhone off contract (tried it with the 5s at the Apple store a week after launch).
Click to expand...

So if I pay full price, I will get an unlocked one?
Do I have to sign a contract if iPhone 6 is for sale at first?
 
brian1868 said:
I thought Apple only sold iPhone 5s with contract in the first few months when iPhone 5s came out.

----------



Exactly, but I don't want to take risk.

----------



Thank you man!! Exactly what I need!!

----------



Your answer contradicts to the one of ET iPhone Home :confused:
Could you please specify?

----------



So if I pay full price, I will get an unlocked one?
Do I have to sign a contract if iPhone 6 is for sale at first?
Click to expand...

Yes, if you pay full price for either the T-Mobile or AT&T version and buy it directly from Apple, you will get an GSM unlocked iPhone (does not work with CDMA carriers such as Verizon and Sprint). The Verizon iPhone is factory unlocked, but I don't believe Apple will let you buy it outright (not sure if Apple changed its policies). No, you don't need to sign a contract.
 
Just to clarify, the Verizon iPhone 5 and newer is factory unlocked for GSM. Still locked to Verizon for CDMA.
 
Last edited:
hungx said:
If you buy an AT&T iPhone off contract, it will be factory GSM unlocked (you need to sync it to iTunes first). To my knowledge, you can't buy a Verizon iPhone off contract (tried it with the 5s at the Apple store a week after launch).
Click to expand...

Why? When I bought my 4S (directly from store.apple.com) I didn't have to connect to iTunes to activate or anything.

Also, can't he just buy an iPhone 6 directly from Apple without any contract? That's what I did in Mexico tho.
 
CarlosQG said:
Why? When I bought my 4S (directly from store.apple.com) I didn't have to connect to iTunes to activate or anything.

Also, can't he just buy an iPhone 6 directly from Apple without any contract? That's what I did in Mexico tho.
Click to expand...

The iPhones are initially locked. When you pay full price for an iPhone, Apple updates the IMEI in their servers for the unlock. Syncing it with iTunes completes the unlock and confirms that it is factory unlocked.

I did say that she could pay full price for an iPhone 6 directly from Apple, so I'm not sure what you're referring to.
 
Last edited:
hungx said:
The iPhones are initially locked. When you pay full price for an iPhone, Apple updates the IMEI in their servers for the unlock. Syncing it with iTunes completes the unlock.
Click to expand...

Once Apple adds the IMEI to their servers it's unlocked wether you connect it to iTunes or not. You certainly do not have to.
 
hungx said:
The iPhones are initially locked. When you pay full price for an iPhone, Apple updates the IMEI in their servers for the unlock. Syncing it with iTunes completes the unlock and confirms that it is factory unlocked.

I did say that she could pay full price for an iPhone 6 directly from Apple, so I'm not sure what you're referring to.
Click to expand...

Point is, will Apple allow you to buy an iPhone 6 with full price? Don't they usually give you a contracted one?
 
brian1868 said:
I thought Apple only sold iPhone 5s with contract in the first few months when iPhone 5s came out.

----------



Exactly, but I don't want to take risk.

----------



Thank you man!! Exactly what I need!!

----------



Your answer contradicts to the one of ET iPhone Home :confused:
Could you please specify?

----------



So if I pay full price, I will get an unlocked one?
Do I have to sign a contract if iPhone 6 is for sale at first?
Click to expand...

Yes. ET iPhone Home was talking about the iPhone 5S that was advertised as being factory unlocked by Apple.

The T-Mobile iPhone 5S sold by Apple was unlocked Day 1 from release day. It just wasn't advertised as such (most likely per the request of the carrier). I bought one of them myself. Apple Stores won't make a fuss about you buying that one because they only sell T-Mobile iPhones without contract anyway so you probably won't get the same hassle that they give sometimes when you try to buy the Verizon one off contract.
 
CEmajr said:
Yes. ET iPhone Home was talking about the iPhone 5S that was advertised as being factory unlocked by Apple.

The T-Mobile iPhone 5S sold by Apple was unlocked Day 1 from release day. It just wasn't advertised as such (most likely per the request of the carrier). I bought one of them myself. Apple Stores won't make a fuss about you buying that one because they only sell T-Mobile iPhones without contract anyway so you probably won't get the same hassle that they give sometimes when you try to buy the Verizon one off contract.
Click to expand...

Yes, thank you, I meant the Factory Unlocked was available on May 22, 2014. Before this date, Apple offered T-Mobile unlocked and the Verizon version, but there was confusion with those models. But the official "factory unlocked" was on May 22nd.
 
brian1868 said:
Point is, will Apple allow you to buy an iPhone 6 with full price? Don't they usually give you a contracted one?
Click to expand...

You can buy an iPhone for full price on launch day and have it unlocked. I have bought both the iPhone 5 and 5s this way.

The AT&T iPhone is automatically unlocked when you pay full price for it.
 
You can definitely buy off-contract iPhones on launch day. I bought a 5 on launch day and a friend of mine bought a 5s on launch day without signing a contract. Apple stores have no problem selling you this but the carrier stores may. You just have to tell them you want "Device only." Apple couldn't care less if you get a contract or not; they make their money on hardware sales and they are more than glad to take your $650+.

Everyone that wants a true unlocked and versatile iPhone should always get the Verizon "device only" iPhone. You can use this phone on Verizon, T-Mo and ATT.
 
I was wondering if the new non-contract promotions by T-Mo, ATT and VZW will alter this any.

For instance I'm on the Edge program so I really cannot pre-order my phone through apple like I used too. I'll have to go there or reserve it through VZW - I'm not sure of the process tbh and since I'll not pre-order it, I think the odds of getting one launch day may be against me
 
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