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Why is there a "Verizon" and AT&T iPhone SE at Best Buy if they are the same phone?

the difference and the relevance between the 6 series , the 6s series and the SE is the same thing as it always is. even if you buy the correct handset, the phone company might think that the device does not belong to them and you will have to wait 90 days for them to agree to sell and activate a sim card

could someone out there that owns a se actually call all 4 carriers and see if they have their imei on their list of devices, so i don't have to do it again this time?

here are my old posts, where i specifically mentioned that verizon would not activate the phone and i had to use a pulled sim on the 6, and i suspect that when you buy any iPhone brand new when it first comes out, it applies every time


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6552532?start=0
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/psa-verizon-works-on-t-mobile-and-at-t-iphone-6.1791187/

i believe the SE will be the same way , it might take a while for the carrier to catch up to you
 
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bufffilm said:
But going by the URL provided, you can see that not all channels on the AT&T are on the Verizon.
Click to expand...



Doesn't matter.... They sell TWO models in the United States ..... One Model that is used on Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile and One Model for Sprint. The Sprint model is the unlocked model that Apple sells which will work on all the carriers...
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bufffilm said:
For the SE, there is no difference.

For the 6s/6s+...there is.

Forgot that the SE reuses some old tech.
Click to expand...



No thats not true.... They use 2 Models for each the 6S and 6S plus.....
 
Closingracer said:
Doesn't matter.... They sell TWO models in the United States ..... One Model that is used on Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile and One Model for Sprint. The Sprint model is the unlocked model that Apple sells which will work on all the carriers...
Click to expand...

Actually, for the iPhone SE, the "SIM-free" (aka unlocked) model that Apple sells is the A1662 model (Verizon/AT&T/T-Mobile). There were a few other threads with people wanting an unlocked, full-priced Sprint model, due to bands in other countries, but it seems Apple is not offering this.
 
ecschwarz said:
Actually, for the iPhone SE, the "SIM-free" (aka unlocked) model that Apple sells is the A1662 model (Verizon/AT&T/T-Mobile). There were a few other threads with people wanting an unlocked, full-priced Sprint model, due to bands in other countries, but it seems Apple is not offering this.
Click to expand...



Yeah the sim free model is usually the verizon, t-mobile and AT&T model. You'll want to buy a Sprint model and get it unlocked which would work on all 4 carriers I'm the US
 
Closingracer said:
Yeah the sim free model is usually the verizon, t-mobile and AT&T model. You'll want to buy a Sprint model and get it unlocked which would work on all 4 carriers I'm the US
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that if you get a Sprint model, even at full-price, you must get it at the Apple Store, otherwise, Sprint will make you wait 50 days on their service: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-se-full-priced-sprint-unlocked.1966221/

The Sprint model also loses some LTE bands (13, 29) and adds some others (7, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41):

For the bands that are different, here's what you lose/gain in the US and Canada:

Band 13 is Verizon in the US and Bell/Telus in Canada (this is their 700MHz band, aka Verizon's XLTE, similar to T-Mobile's Extended Range LTE on Band 12)
Band 29 is AT&T in the US (no deployments yet)

Band 7 is Bell/Rogers in Canada
Band 28 is unused in the US and Canada
Band 38 is SaksTel in Canada
Band 39 is unused in the US and Canada
Band 40 is Telus in Canada
Band 41 is Sprint 2500MHz (I think this is branded as Spark)
 
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There are some minor difference between phones. For example, at&t version has at&t bookmarks in safari. Both phones may have different internal carrier software such as tracking and ads that are hidden in the phone.
 
BentTable123 said:
There are some minor difference between phones. For example, at&t version has at&t bookmarks in safari. Both phones may have different internal carrier software such as tracking and ads that are hidden in the phone.
Click to expand...
Tracking and ads that are hidden?
 
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BentTable123 said:
There are some minor difference between phones. For example, at&t version has at&t bookmarks in safari. Both phones may have different internal carrier software such as tracking and ads that are hidden in the phone.
Click to expand...
No tracking or ads hidden in the phone. the carrier updates are tied to the active SIM that is used in the iPhone. That is how you get the carrier unique features when you install different carrier SIMs. If you want to force the iPhone to check for carrier specific updates, go to Settings >General > About after you install a different carrier SIM.

C DM said:
Tracking and ads that are hidden?
Click to expand...
Yea there is no hidden tracking or ads based on the carrier or SIM-free model. :D

Dave
 
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I've tried getting AT&T LTE on a Verizon smartphone which is unlocked, I cannot do it so that's why it isn't the same smartphone.
 
ecschwarz said:
Keep in mind that if you get a Sprint model, even at full-price, you must get it at the Apple Store, otherwise, Sprint will make you wait 50 days on their service: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-se-full-priced-sprint-unlocked.1966221/

The Sprint model also loses some LTE bands (13, 29) and adds some others (7, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41):

For the bands that are different, here's what you lose/gain in the US and Canada:

Band 13 is Verizon in the US and Bell/Telus in Canada (this is their 700MHz band, aka Verizon's XLTE, similar to T-Mobile's Extended Range LTE on Band 12)
Band 29 is AT&T in the US (no deployments yet)

Band 7 is Bell/Rogers in Canada
Band 28 is unused in the US and Canada
Band 38 is SaksTel in Canada
Band 39 is unused in the US and Canada
Band 40 is Telus in Canada
Band 41 is Sprint 2500MHz (I think this is branded as Spark)
Click to expand...


Verizon XLTE is not their 700mhz network but it is their AWS bands which is around 1400mhz or whatever.
 
mrkramer said:
Not with the SE, or the 6S at least. The AT&T version is the same as the Verizon one. My guess as to why they have seep rate ones has to do with their contracts with the cell carriers. Verizon doesn't want to lose out on new customers because the first people to the store bought them all up as AT&T phones, and AT&T feels the same way about Verizon. Most likely you could buy them full price without a contract and use it on either carrier, but most people use financing which means you are stuck with a phone intended for the carrier you use.
Click to expand...
Not quite. With the 6s the AT&T version supports one more LTE band than the Verizon version. The SE does not support that LTE band at all, so in theory that is one advantage of the AT&T 6s over the AT&T SE (In real life usage currently it probably doesn't make a difference). With the SE the AT&T an Verizon models support the same LTE bands.
 
Yeah, it's pretty dumb. If you don't get the SE on contract or on a payment plan, you get it unlocked or you can unlock it, so I have to check Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and SIM-free when I check Apple's stock.
 
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