Yay! AT&T is raising upgrade/activation fees for NEXT, BYOD, & 2-yr contract customers on Aug 1st!
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rui no onna
Contributor
Except with current generation, the Verizon model doesn't have the same LTE bands as the Sprint/world model and you can't buy it online at Apple Store without a Verizon account. The only phones you can currently buy online for full price without the annoying pre-requisite of having a current account or opening a new account with the carrier are the T-Mobile and SIM-free models.
The T-Mobile model technically works on Verizon but it's not eligible for the $25 contract-free line discount. You need a Verizon whitelisted IMEI in order to take advantage of the discount.
The SIM-free model is the only one that works hassle free on all 4 major carriers and given the price gouging going on, I'd love to have its flexibility carrier-wise.
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JerryGarciaBandFan
macrumors newbie
Really makes me want to leave att
Ludatyk
macrumors 604
I gotta feeling they will soon change course... All it takes is some banter from T-Mobile..
ggibson913
macrumors 65816
The $15 is annoying at most. I am upgrading my sister and niece this weekend so hopefully I won't have to deal with this. Also have a FAN # which used to prevent activation fees on a phone.
the sim free model actually won't work with Sprint in the U.S
Ive used the Verizon one oversees in 3 different countries and the LTE works perfectly.
Why wouldn't it work with Sprint? Are they somehow refusing to activate it as they are supposed to?
The Verizon model won't work on Sprint though, while the real SIM-free model would work, or it least is supposed to work, on either (and a lot of other carriers).
Sprint iPhone 6 only works with Sprint, even if its unlocked in the U.S.
A Sprint one might, but a SIM-free iPhone will (or at least supposed to) work with Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.
No, a sim free won't work with Sprint. the only way a iPhone 6 will work with Sprint is buying through Sprint. Thats why Sprint iPhones sell for 200-300$ less on ebay and swappa then an AT&T/T Mobile and Verizon. Even an unlocked sprint iPhone 6 will not work with any carrier.
I still don't see how/why it won't work on Sprint. Everything I've come across, including information on Apple's own site, says that the phone will work on Sprint (seems like it would be problematic and basically false advertising if that wasn't the case).
https://community.sprint.com/baw/message/911942
Here is proof. Sprint will not activate an iPhone unless its IMEI is in the Sprint database. YES in theory the sim free/Verizon will work just fine on Sprint but Sprint will not allow it.
A sim free iPhone will not be in Sprints database therefore they will not activate it.
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
OK. Now I see why I was asked in another thread to chime in here.
First off. The SIM free iPhone (6 and 6+) is the Sprint model. It has the most bands. It works on all four carriers, including Sprint because the SIM free model has it's IMEI whitelisted in Sprint's allowed phone list.
However, an actual Sprint model iPhone (6 or 6+) sold by Apple or Sprint FOR Sprint's network specifically is not automatically a SIM free model and is locked to Sprint until the terms of contract/Easy Pay/lease are met. Sprint will issue a DSU (Domestic SIM Unlock) for devices that fulfill the terms.
All Verizon model iPhones since the iPhone 5 come unlocked out of the box because of an agreement with the FCC in regards to the LTE band Verizon uses. However, unlocked does not mean LTE will work on Sprint nor does it mean Sprint will activate.
Verizon will refuse to activate a Sprint iPhone on their network. A workaround to this is to insert an already active Verizon SIM into the Sprint phone. There is no guarantee LTE will work.
Note. I purchased a Sprint iPhone 6 for my wife two months ago and an iPhone 6+ for myself. Sprint did not have my 6+ in store. My wife's iPhone is a Sprint model and it is locked to Sprint. However, through some bizarre twist of fate Sprint seems to have screwed up and given me the SIM free model (which is automatically whitelisted in their database) and activated it because my 6+ is fully unlocked.
First off. The SIM free iPhone (6 and 6+) is the Sprint model. It has the most bands. It works on all four carriers, including Sprint because the SIM free model has it's IMEI whitelisted in Sprint's allowed phone list.
However, an actual Sprint model iPhone (6 or 6+) sold by Apple or Sprint FOR Sprint's network specifically is not automatically a SIM free model and is locked to Sprint until the terms of contract/Easy Pay/lease are met. Sprint will issue a DSU (Domestic SIM Unlock) for devices that fulfill the terms.
All Verizon model iPhones since the iPhone 5 come unlocked out of the box because of an agreement with the FCC in regards to the LTE band Verizon uses. However, unlocked does not mean LTE will work on Sprint nor does it mean Sprint will activate.
Verizon will refuse to activate a Sprint iPhone on their network. A workaround to this is to insert an already active Verizon SIM into the Sprint phone. There is no guarantee LTE will work.
Note. I purchased a Sprint iPhone 6 for my wife two months ago and an iPhone 6+ for myself. Sprint did not have my 6+ in store. My wife's iPhone is a Sprint model and it is locked to Sprint. However, through some bizarre twist of fate Sprint seems to have screwed up and given me the SIM free model (which is automatically whitelisted in their database) and activated it because my 6+ is fully unlocked.
Oh so if I buy a Sim free iPhone off Apple and insert a Sprint sim card, it will work?
Thats weird, I've read on google where it didn't work for people.
The thing is that the SIM-free is not the Verizon version, it's basically the Sprint version. It's set up so that it can work on all the carriers essentially (meaning it is supposed to be white-listed with Sprint and similarly with Verizon, when it comes to the major CDMA carriers in US).
Yup I think you are correct. Ive used my Verizon 6 in Canada, China, Japan and now England with full LTE so I wonder how the sim free and verizon models are different.
Are they only different in regards that Verizon won't work with Sprint?
They are actually different models. The SIM-free model (which is essentially the Sprint model) actually supports more bands/frequencies in addition to what the Verizon model supports, so it will work with even more carriers in US and throughout the world.
http://www.redmondpie.com/the-diffe...obile-and-sim-free-iphone-6-6-plus-explained/ has a fairly good explanation of the differences, with the unlocked T-Mobile version being the same model as the one that is used for Verizon (minus being white-listed with Verizon).
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
All things being equal. Yes.
However, if the SIM you are trying to use is from an iPhone 5 then no, it won't work. The part number of those SIMs are different from the part number for the iPhone 5c and above (including the 6 and 6+). You can switch a SIM from a 5c between a 5s a 6 and a 6+ but you cannot switch SIMs between those models and an iPhone 5.
The above is most likely why. The SIMs between the 5 and the 5c and above are different, even though physically they are the same.
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
This is correct.
So whats the difference between the Verizon and sim free 6?
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
The Verizon iPhone, although unlocked, is intended for Verizon's network. So Apple didn't put all the bands in it that they did in the SIM free model.
The SIM free model, by design, is intended to work on all four domestic carriers. Thus it HAS to have most of the bands that ALL the carriers use.
The fact that the SIM free model just happens to be the unlocked Sprint model is just coincidence.
c55
macrumors regular
AT&T, I think "free upgrade with your next plan, BYOD, etc." is better off in the long run rather than charging $15 and not being able to use that as a selling point. That was one of the reasons I upgraded to the plan. Now all those sad sale reps can only say; with good credit, we'll only slightly hammer you in payments compared to other carriers who moderately hammer you. Take a look at our multi-thousand dollar security system while you wait for us to setup your new phone. You can turn your sink off from anywhere in the world!
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
Not much better elsewhere. Sprint reps will lie to your face and the online reps will tell you one thing while the store reps tell you another.AT&T is one of the most ****ing greedy companies on the freaking planet. I hate them and I wish they become bankrupt and I wish the US/Canada mobile/cable monopoly just ended already. It makes me so darn angry that any of this is still legal!
Contract renewals without your permission. Plan changes without your permission. Insurance added when you did not ask for it. Little things like that which makes Sprint one of the most hated carriers among the four.