I'd really like to get an iPhone 5 this fall but I need to learn some things first.
I have 1 rule. I will not get stuck in a contract ever again (never has it not caused me great grief) and will only do month to month.
My plan initially was to go buy an iPhone 5 straight from Apple and just take it to a service like Tmobile or Verizon and say give me service please. Apparently it isn't that easy. Verizon told me if I buy a phone from Apple it will have to be the 'Verizon' version of the iPhone. Are they not all the same as far as hardware? What do they mean by this? Does that mean if I buy a 'Verizon' iPhone from apple I am always and forever stuck with using Verizon and no other service, even though I payed full price for the phone? Why? What if I'm not happy with Verizon and want to take my iPhone 5 to another service at some point?
What makes a 'Verizon' iPhone a Verizon iPhone? Why can't I pay full price from Apple, get it activated at Verizon and use their service for however long, and then next year decide to go with Tmobile? Remember this is all assuming I find month to month plans which I can quit anytime I want. I just don't understand WHY if I pay 6-800 dollars for a phone that I don't have a choice of who's service to use.
An iPhone sold in the US will operate on the technology of the carrier that service is established. There are two distinct networks CDMA (used by Verizon and Sprint) and GSM (used by At&t and T-mobile). If you buy a phone for use w/ Verizon, you cannot use it with At&t or T-mobile for example.
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Ok let's say I went with ATT initially, on a month to month plan, which they just told me i should be able to do with the iPhone 5 when it comes out. So I'd get the gsm version of the phone. Since ATT and Tmobile both use gsm, wouldn't I be able to quit my att service at some point and take my phone to tmobile if i chose to do that? assuming that maybe i found att service lacking or something (never actually used att)
You could use T-mobile, just not Verizon or Sprint with an iPhone originally activated with At&t since both carriers use GSM. My point is that you cannot start with a GSM cellular carrier and switch to a CDMA provider with the same iPhone.
Keep in mind that this is the current process with the iPhone 4S. When the next iPhone is released, things could change or they may not. Nobody can say with any certainty right now.
Unlike previous models, the 4S is a world phone. It contains both CDMA and GSM radios, but for some reason customers must still decide which one during purchase.
To clarify a previous post, CDMA and GSM are cellular technology standards, not cellular networks.
I've been seriously contemplating doing the same when my AT&T contact expires... switching to their Go Phone service and dropping the whole contract thing. $25/mo for 250min & Unlimited texts.. + $25/mo for 1GB of data (I never use more than 1GB anyway...). So, $50/mo for a no contract plan sounds pretty awesome to me!!
I've been seriously contemplating doing the same when my AT&T contact expires... switching to their Go Phone service and dropping the whole contract thing. $25/mo for 250min & Unlimited texts.. + $25/mo for 1GB of data (I never use more than 1GB anyway...). So, $50/mo for a no contract plan sounds pretty awesome to me!!
Straight Talk SIM can use the same network and phone but has unlimited talk, unlimited text, and "unlimited" data (some suspect a 2GB limit) for $45/mo. Unfortunately, their customer service is horrendous.
That's true. While the CDMA 4S has GSM radios as well, it has been disabled to not work on the network codes used by TMobile and AT&T. Not only will it work on GSM networks outside the US, it will work on GSM networks here with a foreign sim in it.
Originally Posted by Slinkwyde
Unlike previous models, the 4S is a world phone. It contains both CDMA and GSM radios, but for some reason customers must still decide which one during purchase.
The phone hardware is the same, but the unique phone ID codes are different for each phone (of course!)
Here is the simple explanation:
Verizon (and Sprint) use a CDMA network. There is no SIM card (except in VERY few circumstances) so the phone is registered to the network using its unique ID code. Verizon and Sprint will NOT allow a phone that is not in their database to access their network - even though they are really supposed to...
AT&T and T-Mobile use SIM cards for their network. They don't care what phone you use. As long as the phone is compatible with their system and you're using one of their SIMs, you will have access.
If you want to be able to use (almost) any network, you'll have to buy an unlocked Verizon or Sprint phone. You'll be able to use it on either Verizon or Sprint AND AT&T and T-Mobile. You will NOT be able to swap between Verizon and Sprint.
So I'm going to assume that even if I want to use ATT or Tmobile for service I should probably get the unlocked 'verizon' version (straight from apple?) ?
I would say No. The verizon/spring versions of the 4s, while both CDMA/GSM, the GSM part will only work if you do not have a tmobile/AT&T sim in the phone. The network codes used by AT&T/tmobile are disabled on the phone, as I said above.
Originally Posted by spacemanjupiter
So I'm going to assume that even if I want to use ATT or Tmobile for service I should probably get the unlocked 'verizon' version (straight from apple?) ?
I would say No. The verizon/spring versions of the 4s, while both CDMA/GSM, the GSM part will only work if you do not have a tmobile/AT&T sim in the phone. The network codes used by AT&T/tmobile are disabled on the phone, as I said above.
But isn't that the point of getting the GSM portion of the phone unlocked?
I don't have a Verizon iPhone 4S, but I do have another Verizon world phone (HTC Droid Incredible 2) and I know for a fact that I can get it unlocked so that it will work on AT&T and T-Mobile instead of only overseas GSM. I don't see why the Verizon iPhone 4S would be any different. As far as I know, it applies to all Verizon world phones.
I can assure that the verizon phone you have, after being unlocked, will NOT work in the US with a tmobile and AT&T sim in the phone. If you put, say a Digicel Jamaica (or any foreign carrier) sim in the phone it will work. Yes, the phone may be unlocked, but the GSM Mobile network code (MNC - NOT the carrier lock code) used by AT&T and tmobile or any MVNO that uses their network, such as simple mobile, etc. have been disabled. The GSM network codes for the US are in this format and available online. (310-XXX)
But isn't that the point of getting the GSM portion of the phone unlocked?
I don't have a Verizon iPhone 4S, but I do have another Verizon world phone (HTC Droid Incredible 2) and I know for a fact that I can get it unlocked so that it will work on AT&T and T-Mobile instead of only overseas GSM. I don't see why the Verizon iPhone 4S would be any different. As far as I know, it applies to all Verizon world phones.
I can assure that the verizon phone you have, after being unlocked, will NOT work in the US with a tmobile and AT&T sim in the phone. If you put, say a Digicel Jamaica (or any foreign carrier) sim in the phone it will work. Yes, the phone may be unlocked, but the GSM Mobile network code (MNC - NOT the carrier lock code) used by AT&T and tmobile or any MVNO that uses their network, such as simple mobile, etc. have been disabled. The GSM network codes for the US are in this format and available online. (310-XXX)
What about this 35 page thread on XDA-developers with lots of Verizon HTC Droid Incredible 2 owners talking about how they're using it on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks? Sure, it only gets EDGE data speeds on those networks, but that's because the phone's GSM radio doesn't support the 3G bands used by AT&T or T-Mobile. The iPhone 4S does.
Confused about phones and services
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Originally Posted by Thomasjtsi
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