LTE not available on LTE enabled network in Belgium (Belgacom)

In the EU, it is certainly NOT legal if a device is advertised and sold as an unlocked LTE-equipped phone, only for the LTE to be disabled. Whatever kiltedTim and his knuckle-dragging cohorts think, this is both misleading and unethical behaviour on the part of Apple, and debatably serves no useful purpose other than to make them look bad.

The important question will be what information is provided in the stores where these unlocked phones were bought. Also, don't forget, this kind of restriction in an unlocked phone is unheard of in the EU, so it's not something that most people would even have considered as being likely to be a problem in the first place.

Why would the information provided in a store be of any importance?

Users that need advice from someone in a store are not likely to have any clue as to what 2G/3G/4G is...

I presonally have not had one single positive experience with a sales person in any shop whatsoever. Most of the time they don't even have a clue about the technological aspects of the stuff they're selling...

You can find more information about LTE on the Proximus network on this site: http://www.a-n-v.be/ios/apple-geeft-4g-netwerk-van-proximus-vrij/ (site in Dutch)

Apple is actually testing the network on this moment and LTE will be available in January

Of course the store is important. If someone goes to buy an unlocked LTE-equipped device and asks if he can use it on any LTE network, and the answer is yes, then that person has been misinformed by that store.

flibbertygibbet wrote:

In the EU, it is certainly NOT legal if a device is advertised and sold as an unlocked LTE-equipped phone, only for the LTE to be disabled. Whatever kiltedTim and his knuckle-dragging cohorts think, this is both misleading and unethical behaviour on the part of Apple, and debatably serves no useful purpose other than to make them look bad.

This issue has been resolved, support for Proximous LTE has been announced, and the thread marked "solved", yet you continue spewing your now irrelevant falsehoods and deliberate misrepresentations. Your true agenda to troll and bash Apple is undeniable. Whatever is is that compels you to degrade yourself this way, at least you're being paid well to do so.

Belgacom has already retracted their statement about LTE support on the iPhone 5 in January:

Eva van Belgacom @belgacom_eva_NL

Beste,sorry voor de vorige tweet.De info is niet correct.Ondanks de aanvragen,heeft Apple niet bevestigd wanneer ze 4G vrijgeven

The LTE support of the iPhone 5 is one big farce!

This issue has been resolved, support for Proximous LTE has been announced, and the thread marked "solved", yet you continue spewing your now irrelevant falsehoods and deliberate misrepresentations.

What are you on about? Nothing I said was false, but heh, don't let the truth get in the way of your fantasy...

Your true agenda to troll and bash Apple is undeniable.

You have no idea what my "true agenda" is, because, unlike you, I don't have one.

Whatever is is that compels you to degrade yourself this way, at least you're being paid well to do so.

As you have no idea what I'm paid, this is a truly pointless remark.

There is something contradictory to Apple wanting to first test the LTE-networks to see if their precious iPhone gets the best possible LTE quality it deserves.

As Auka mentionned in his first posts

"The same iphone 5 with a SFR sim card from France in roaming in France, no problem, connected on the 4G network"

So Proximus customers can't use their iPhone5 on the Proximus network because the LTE network could be bad.

But customers of the French provider SFR, can use the possibly bad Proximus LTE network when roaming. Hope they won't blame Apple for the bad Proximus LTE network.

Anyone else who finds this just a little bit strange.

And no, I'm not asking you Americans. I already know your answer.

ofcourse it is strange, noone disputes it. thats how cellular companies and phone manufacturers have made a mockery of standards.

If something is designed as per the specs, it should work no matter what 🙂 otherwise what are the specs there for? Why bother creating specifications and doing rigorous lab testing if you're going to test it out on every individual network anyways.

if apple was the original inventor of wifi, they'd have not enable wifi in macbooks or iphones till they tested it on every individual wifi hotspot in the world!

That's strange indeed.

Suppose Apple would reject a certain LTE network because it's not fast enough according to their standards. Then you would be stuck with 3G which is even slower. How on earth could that contribute to a better customer experience? It just doesn't make sense.

Also, it's not because a certain LTE network is fast at the moment of testing (when almost nobody is able to use it), that it will stay that way when many people start using it.

As long as Mobistar doens't tell Apple to anable the 4G network on the Belgians iPhones, none of the Belgians iPhone5's will be able to connect with the 4G netwerk in Belgium.

Mobistar is the 'head' carrier of iPhone in Belgium.. So wait, once Mobistar has an own 4G network, it will be possible.. This has nothing to do with Apple.. They have an agreement with Mobistar, so it's their call.

And apple has a complaint to european community about this because it´s illegal. The buyer of a unlocked iphone is not under contract with mobistar. It´s the same if i bought a car but i can not use the full gear box if i not refuel in a partner pump.

It's not that simple.

The problem is that the iPhone 5-users on the Proximus-network paid the full bucks for a device, advertised as being an unlocked device with model number A1429 GSM, so supporting LTE on bands 1, 3 and 5 (this is a standard, so not an exotic marketing word like Apple tends to use.. Retina anyone?).

Only to find out that 'Unlocked' does not really mean unlocked.

Let me draw you an analogy. This is like buying a TV advertised with having a HDMI-input that only works when it's connected to a Belgacom settop-box and not on a Telenet Digicorder, even when using the same HDMI-cable (same 1800 MHz band). Telenet customers will have to use the SCART-input Sounds rubbish doesn't it? That's because it is. Apple has no right whatsoever to block a certain carrier's LTE-bands when they said these bands are supported. Which they did.

Me and some others already have sent Test-Aankoop a bunch of e-mails asking to investigate that ****.

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Theys

before Apple removes your post, could you please send me your copy that was send to Test aankoop, I would like to do the same;

I have enough of this ..

MOre than 10 years I buy everything from apple, now with this attitude I am actively looking for alternatives! THIS AIN'T right simple as that;

I do have (for professional reasons) accounts both with Mobistar, Proximus and Base;

I do want to opt for the BEST product available; So I do want to select Proximus as

a) They have the best network

b) they are the only provider offering 4G/LTE in several cities and not only in a test city

I do prefer the UX of the iphone, although my samsung Galaxy IIIS LTE is technical better, the user interface of apple combined with the integrated cloud services are simply better.

But I do not have any problem to connect this Samsung on the LTE network of proximus;

I have paid 300 euro's more for the iPhone, thinking UNLOCKED = all options open;

No .. in this way apple you can censurate as much as you want .. if this is the base you want to communicate with loyal customers .. the loyal part will vanish quickly!!!