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Spryfly Author

Level 1

11 points

Rumor or Fact: iPad Air comes with all GSM & CDMA bands UNLOCKED ?

After reviewing the details of the cellular networks for iPad Air, I noticed that Apple no longer gives two different stats for the Verizon (CDMA) and AT&T (GSM) networks.

I called Applecare and they spoke with their tech services regarding whether ALL bands were unlocked no matter which version (Verizon or AT&T) was purchased. (I was thinking of getting a Verizon iPad and using it with my AT&T sim card because in the past, Verizon allowed their GSM bands unlocked, while AT&T seemed to have the CDMA bands locked up with possible firmware and not able to be unlocked...)

Applecare stated the following: The AT&T iPad Air had the CDMA bands unlocked and the Verizon iPad Air had the GSM bands unlocked.

Has anyone (ie: some of the press who got iPad Airs to play with,) read or seen this in person?

In a perfect world, I would LIKE Apple to just release a cellular version of the iPad and then let the user pop in any sim card they wanted. Could this possibly be it? And maybe the network designations (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) simply refer to the sim card that is with the device? And not the device's limitations for network access?

I have read all the iPad Air review articles (about 12,) and don't see this addressed - has anyone?

Thank you!

iPad (3rd gen) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iOS 5.0.1

Posted on Oct 30, 2013 1:24 PM

64 replies

Oct 30, 2013 8:05 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

Thank you again. I believe you are right that GSM is older. There must be an interesting history in how CDMA came about in the U.S. and remained confined within its borders.

Byerspc

Level 1

6 points

Oct 31, 2013 5:08 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Hello VZW iPad Air with t-Mobile sim for the 200 MB free :-)

This is exactly the information I have been looking for.

Spryfly Author

Level 1

11 points

Oct 31, 2013 10:15 PM in response to Byerspc

I've been reading additional articles such as "Why I chose a Verizon 4G iPad to use with AT&T's HSPA+ Service" (dated March 2012, so its an iPad 3 discussed,) and also several others, and it seems that even with the iPad 4, that you can use the Verizon iPad on AT&T, but you won't get the LTE speeds of AT&T (if available in that area of the country, etc.)

So with the iPad Air, (or iPad 4,) does anyone know *in the United States* if a Verizon iPad (3, 4, new Air,) will run at LTE speeds on AT&T's network with a AT&T sim ? (And the sim has previously been used in an AT&T iPad reaching LTE speeds on AT&T's network... Perhaps the specific LTE bands, or GSM bands are different in other countries for LTE access, so I'll keep my question specific to the US.)

Not that 4G HSPA+ speeds from AT&T are anything to sniff at... just curious. I'm starting to think that the one "catch" to using a Verizon iPad on AT&T is that it won't get AT&T LTE. Only HSPA+/4G.

Thoughts? Thank you for everyone's previous replies, they have been very helpful.

carl wolf

Level 6

14,631 points

Oct 31, 2013 10:49 PM in response to George Johnson

"There must be an interesting history in how CDMA came about in the U.S. and remained confined within its borders."

Huh? CDMA evolved from the older TDMA technology, and was first used in Russia. Today, many countries use CDMA technolongy.

Nov 1, 2013 3:49 AM in response to George Johnson

George Johnson wrote:

Thank you again. I believe you are right that GSM is older. There must be an interesting history in how CDMA came about in the U.S. and remained confined within its borders.

If you look online, at least 70+ countries have companies using CDMA cellular networks, from Afghanistan, Bermuda, Canda, Denmark, Hong Kong, to Japan and Vietnam. China has one of the worlds largest CDMA networks.

GSM may be the majority technology in gloabl cellular networks, but it is nowhere near as large a majority as many people seem to think.

Byerspc

Level 1

6 points

Nov 1, 2013 6:48 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Quick question...purchased the iPad Air VZW model....

I have the t-mobile nano sim that isn't activated yet. When I put it in the iPad it asks to activate it and lets me see the t-mobile login etc for the data. Any danger in actually activating an iPad with a t-mobile sim before activating it first with VZW since they are cdma?

Nov 1, 2013 8:18 AM in response to Byerspc

No, there is no danger. Just save the VZW nano SIM in the event you want to switch to VZW. It will save you having to go to a store to get a new one.

Best of luck.

Byerspc

Level 1

6 points

Nov 1, 2013 8:25 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Thanks!

Nov 1, 2013 8:31 AM in response to Michael Black

Thanks to Carl Wolf and Michael Black. I hadn't known that CDMA was used outside the U.S.

tfoster3

Level 1

9 points

Nov 1, 2013 11:58 AM in response to Byerspc

Any update on how that worked, Byerspc (or anyone else who has done this), using a T-Mobile nano sim in a Verizon iPad Air?

That is exactly what I want to do, as I'm leaving for Europe next week and want to be able to use the T-Mobile data plan there. (My iPad Air is waiting for me at the Apple store.)

Thanks!

Byerspc

Level 1

6 points

Nov 1, 2013 12:17 PM in response to tfoster3

It works like a charm....

I initially did activate the vzw sim just to be sure but you don't need to. (i will be suspending my vzw account until I need it in the future)

I then put in my new .99 cent tmobile nano sim and it recognized it as an inactive t-mobile sim....if you get stuck you can change the apn settings to fast.t-mobile.com or epc.tmobile.com, I believe but the iPad seems to do it on its own.

After that it was like the iPad was a t-mobile iPad and I was able to create a t-mobile account via the iPad and select no data plan and my data was working!

Pretty cool!

tfoster3

Level 1

9 points

Nov 1, 2013 1:43 PM in response to Byerspc

Cool!

Thanks!

Nov 1, 2013 1:51 PM in response to Byerspc

It sounds like the only rational choice is to get an iPad that is provisioned by Verizon, even if you plan to use one of the GSM providers. Otherwise you're limiting your options. Is there something I'm missing? The only advantage to ordering, say, the T-Mobile version seems to be that it would come with the sim card installed. But that's a minor advantage.

Does anyone know how long a Verizon, T-Mobile, or ATT account can be suspended before the sim expires, requiring you to start again with another?

tfoster3

Level 1

9 points

Nov 1, 2013 7:56 PM in response to George Johnson

I tried to buy T-Mobile sim cards in 2 different T-Mobile stores tonight. In both cases, I was told that the sim card would cost $10 (not 99 cents) and that it would not work in a verizon ipad and that it would not include international roaming. Sigh. I got the impression they didn't know what they were talking about, but, all in all, maybe just sticking with Verizon is the better choice?

Spryfly Author

Level 1

11 points

Nov 2, 2013 12:59 AM in response to tfoster3

Ok, clearly I missed this information on cnet's extensive report, but they clearly state on page 2 under connectivity that its one Air model and you just change the nano sim card for each carrier and it works perfectly for each carrier. (Whew! Reselling nightmare over! 🙂)

This was also confirmed by the Apple store employees when I picked up my Air. Seems like this news should get more fanfare, but there we go.

Rumor or Fact: iPad Air comes with all GSM & CDMA bands UNLOCKED ?