Buying iPhone 6+

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

What is the difference between buying the iPhone 6+ directly from an Apple store VS Verizon? Are the phones from the Apple store unlocked and able to be used in EU and the USA? We got screwed on the iPhone 5 before our trip to France, Verizon told us 'yeah yeah the phone is unlocked so you'll have no issues calling people back in the states' - well we'll never go that route again. But the word is that Apple will sell you an unlocked phone VS having Verizon doing it for you when purchasing from them.

 

[mmntech]

Apple does indeed sell unlocked phones. When you go to the online Apple Store, select the phone you want, then scroll down to where it says "Unlocked and Contract-Free". I'm not sure what the deal with T-Mobile is all about. Some kind of optional installment plan. I'd go to a physical Apple Store to get more details on that.

The problem with the unlocked/off-contract phones is they're quite expensive. The iPhone 6 Plus is between $749 and $949 depending on how much storage you want. The phone will ship unlocked.

I can't speak for buying one from Verizon, but I bet an unlocked phone will cost you the same regardless of who you buy it from.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

We bought our last iPhones from Verizon and they said they'd unlock them before our trip and they screwed us. Not only not unlocking the phones but there we some important phone calls that were needed to be made ....

So will Apple sell Unlocked Verizon iPhone 6+ phones? And with a contract?

 

[mmntech]

So will Apple sell Unlocked Verizon iPhone 6+ phones? And with a contract?

When you buy an unlocked phone from Apple, it's unlocked for all networks that support its wireless technology. All you need to do is pop your existing Verizon SIM in and you should be good to go. When you travel, you're free to use a SIM card from another network.

Locking is all done within the firmware, or something like that. The SIM just tells it how to connect to the network.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

When you buy an unlocked phone from Apple, it's unlocked for all networks that support its wireless technology. All you need to do is pop your existing Verizon SIM in and you should be good to go. When you travel, you're free to use a SIM card from another network.

Locking is all done within the firmware, or something like that. The SIM just tells it how to connect to the network.

Thanks :thumbsup:

 

[stlc8tr]

That's weird. Every LTE Verizon phone is suppose to be unlocked. Supposedly this was because of the 700Mhz Block C agreement.

This includes the iPhone 5.

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022023953

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

That's weird. Every LTE Verizon phone is suppose to be unlocked. Supposedly this was because of the 700Mhz Block C agreement.

This includes the iPhone 5.

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022023953

This was maybe 2011 that we went to France

 

[Spineshank]

The 4 and 4S did not have GSM chips. The 5 and newer did. So your iPhone wasnt going to work in Europe not matter what.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

The 4 and 4S did not have GSM chips. The 5 and newer did. So your iPhone wasnt going to work in Europe not matter what.

Ah. I see what you did there. No. These were both iPhone 5 phones.. it was about the time when they came out.. i may have my year mixed up when we went to France but none the less they were both iPhone 5 phones. I still had my Droid Bionic at the time, actually still have it..

 

[Spineshank]

Ah. I see what you did there. No. These were both iPhone 5 phones.. it was about the time when they came out.. i may have my year mixed up when we went to France but none the less they were both iPhone 5 phones. I still had my Droid Bionic at the time, actually still have it..

Dont know then. I bought a 5 from Verizon and it was unlocked.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Dont know then. I bought a 5 from Verizon and it was unlocked.

My brother, this time, wants to make sure when he asks for an unlocked iPhone that it is indeed unlocked. The problems last time warrant further investigation and questions to ensure that his iPhone 6+ is indeed unlocked. So if that means going to the Apple store or ordering one from Apple directly then that's what we are going to do. The reason for this thread is because we got royally screwed by the Verizon salesmen before we left for France. It was a big issue when we came home too.

 

[Ichinisan]

I've read that Verizon LTE iPhones have the GSM/LTE part completely unlocked due to some agreement between Verizon and the FCC.

Verified with multiple Verizon iPhone 5 units.

In that case, a Verizon iPhone 6 should have greater resale value than an unlocked non-Verizon one because it can be used with any GSM carrier and/or Verizon.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I've read that Verizon LTE iPhones have the GSM/LTE part completely unlocked due to some agreement between Verizon and the FCC.

Verified with multiple Verizon iPhone 5 units.

In that case, a Verizon iPhone 6 should have greater resale value than an unlocked non-Verizon one because it can be used with any GSM carrier and/or Verizon.

Where did you read that at?

 

[Ichinisan]

Where did you read that at?

Lots of places. I've tried my AT&T SIMs in a few brand-new Verizon iPhone 5 phones and it worked fine.

I also read that it wouldn't work with LTE on AT&T, but the ones I tried worked fine with LTE.

All versions of iPhone 6 Plus support all the same bands, so there's absolutely no reason to get an "unlocked" iPhone 6 Plus when the Verizon model is unlocked and should have a HIGHER resale value because it can even be used on Verizon's network. The "unlocked" "GSM" model costs more and doesn't work on Verizon.

 

[CZroe]

It was also mentioned earlier in this thread. It was a stipulation the government made when they sold a block of spectrum to Verizon.

Edit:

That's weird. Every LTE Verizon phone is suppose to be unlocked. Supposedly this was because of the 700Mhz Block C agreement.

This includes the iPhone 5.

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022023953

 

[Noo]

This was maybe 2011 that we went to France

the iPhone 5 wasn't released until like 2013. You have a secret connection with Apple test lab or something?

 

[CZroe]

the iPhone 5 wasn't released until like 2013. You have a secret connection with Apple test lab or something?

2012

 

[Noo]

2012

Yea, January 2012 and December 2012 is still 2012 I guess. You're right.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

...it was about the time when they came out.. i may have my year mixed up when we went to France ...

Ok, great. Thanks guys. I got it. 2012 :thumbsup:

I actually got it in 2016

 

[Ichinisan]

Yea, January 2012 and December 2012 is still 2012 I guess. You're right.

Try September.

iPhone 5 was released in September 2012.
iPhone 5s/c were released in September 2013.
iPhone 6/Plus were released in Seltember 2014.

[edit]

Ok, great. Thanks guys. I got it. 2012 :thumbsup:

I actually got it in 2016

OK.

 

[stlc8tr]

According to this, you can now purchase an unlocked device directly from Apple which you can use with any major US carrier.

http://www.cnet.com/news/iphone-6-now-available-unlocked-and-sim-free-in-us/

"This means you can activate the phone on any carrier in the US, including major carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon or Sprint, according to an Apple representative. You can also use it with a local carrier if you travel outside the US. To activate the phone, you simply need to get a SIM card from the carrier."

 

[Spineshank]

According to this, you can now purchase an unlocked device directly from Apple which you can use with any major US carrier.

http://www.cnet.com/news/iphone-6-now-available-unlocked-and-sim-free-in-us/

"This means you can activate the phone on any carrier in the US, including major carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon or Sprint, according to an Apple representative. You can also use it with a local carrier if you travel outside the US. To activate the phone, you simply need to get a SIM card from the carrier."

Not sure why they didnt do that from the start but technically you could order the T-Mobile one and do the same thing. It was unlocked if you bought from Apple.

 

[Ichinisan]

According to this, you can now purchase an unlocked device directly from Apple which you can use with any major US carrier.

http://www.cnet.com/news/iphone-6-now-available-unlocked-and-sim-free-in-us/

"This means you can activate the phone on any carrier in the US, including major carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon or Sprint, according to an Apple representative. You can also use it with a local carrier if you travel outside the US. To activate the phone, you simply need to get a SIM card from the carrier."

Wow. That's a first for Verizon and Sprint.

 

[stlc8tr]

Not sure why they didnt do that from the start but technically you could order the T-Mobile one and do the same thing. It was unlocked if you bought from Apple.

From what I understand, neither Verizon or Sprint will activate the TMobile device. There are some workarounds posted where you can take an already activated Verizon LTE SIM to use in a TMobile iPhone but I'm not sure if you can do this trick with Sprint.

Having a fully unlocked device just makes it easier since the ESN will be in the Verizon and Sprint databases. That way, you can deal with any carrier without jumping through any hoops.

 

[CZroe]

From what I understand, neither Verizon or Sprint will activate the TMobile device. There are some workarounds posted where you can take an already activated Verizon LTE SIM to use in a TMobile iPhone but I'm not sure if you can do this trick with Sprint.

Having a fully unlocked device just makes it easier since the ESN will be in the Verizon and Sprint databases. That way, you can deal with any carrier without jumping through any hoops.

They won't activate ANY device that doesn't have a Verizon or Sprint IMEI and wasn't sold originally as a Verizon or Sprint device. It's because they have to use CDMA for voice and fallback data which is NOT part of the LTE network the SIM connects to. There is no such thing as an unlocked CDMA phone. Until VoLTE, you will not be able to use an unlocked phone on Verizon, Sprint, U.S. Cellular, etc. Even then there will be SIGNIFICANT disadvantages versus using one with CDMA fall-back because you MUST have an LTE signal to do anything.

That's why the Verizon version of the latest iPhone is always better than the SIM unlocked one that is never available at launch (iPhone 6 SIM free unlocked phone just became available less than a day ago). It is unlocked for any GSM carrier (AT&T, T-Mobile, international carriers) AND it can also be used on Verizon.