Is buying this iPhone on this plan a good idea?

Question

Level 1

4 points

Is buying this iPhone on this plan a good idea?

I currently have an iPhone 4S with Virgin Mobile USA as my provider (no contract, 30$ / month for 300 minutes, unlimited text and data). I didn't want to be on contract and at the time VirginMobile was the only carrier in the US to offer iPhones without a contract. I bought the phone just last year when Virgin started to offer it but it had already been out for 2 years. I paid around 400$ without tax and it's a CDMA device (meaning it's locked to Virgin) and it cannot be legally unlocked.

My iPhone 4S still works and is in good working condition but I'm starting to get a little sick of it. I've lately been getting the craze to buy an unlocked iPhone 5S (32 GB, white and silver) so I'm not tied to a contract and because I foresee some international travel. I've been told to ask for a Verizon device-only because they have the best bands but I'm thinking if using a T-Mobile sim. Their prepaid plans don't require a contract, Im thinking of going with their 30$ / month plan (100 minutes, unlimited text, first 5GB of dats at LTE speed) or the 40$ / plan (unlimited, talk, text and 500 MB of data).

is this a good idea if I want to future-proof my phone (I know iPhone 6 will be released soon but I don't necessarily want the latest and greatest) Or am I just being impulsive? Is it worth upgrading from the 4S to the 5S? Is TMobile's coverage generally better than VirginMobile and Sprint's? I live in Orlando, FL and their coverage map seemed to cover this area well.

i Know these are subjective questions, but I would appreciate any opinions. Thank you!

Posted on Jul 6, 2014 11:29 PM

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Answer 1

Ethmoid

Level 6

11,488 points

Jul 6, 2014 11:55 PM in response to GStreakT

Okay, so if you are going to be doing some international travel and want to go and buy an unlocked iPhone 5s, then go and buy one, but you will need to go and buy one directly from an Apple store because they are the only ones who currently sell unlocked phones.

Buy a GSM model if you want to use T-Mobile and if you purchase an unlocked GSM, you will be able to use it for international travel and can use local sim cards all you want with an unlocked phone without the fear of locking.

There is no point in buying a CDMA phone - go to Apple and buy an unlocked GSM phone and if you do this it will not be tied to any company like Verizon and it will be fully unlocked and you can use any sim card in it. If you want to use T-Mobile then it makes more sense to buy an unlocked GSM phone directly from Apple rather than a CDMA Verizon phone. You can then just use a T-Mobile sim card in the phone and do not need to have anything to do with Verizon at all.

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Answer 2

GStreakT Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 7, 2014 12:08 AM in response to Ethmoid

Thanks for the response, Ethmoid. In a previous discussion, you had the same advice (to buy an unlocked sim-free phone from Apple and don't do a verizon device-only). I'm guessing it will cost the same ?

Also, another person had responded to what you said:

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Ethmoid wrote:

If you don't want to use Verizon, then don"t buy a CDMA phone at all. Buy a GSM unlocked phone directly from the Apple store itself - The Apple store is the only place that sells full unlocked phones.

The iPhones sold by Verizon are fully unlocked. All current iPhones have both CDMA and GSM chips. But only CDMA carriers use the CDMA part.

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is it true that Verizon iPhone 5S comes unlocked? Then what is the different between buying a Verizon device-only iPhone 5S vs a factory unlocked sim-free iPhone 5S from Apple besides for the fact that the Verizon device will come with a Verizon sim? And will the 2 devices cost the same?

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Answer 3

Jul 7, 2014 12:12 AM in response to GStreakT

GStreakT wrote:

I've been told to ask for a Verizon device-only because they have the best bands but I'm thinking if using a T-Mobile sim.

Verizon's iPhone 5S is an unlocked phone and will work fine on TMobile or any other GSM carrier. Remember that you need to specify that you are buying a full retail phone with no plan.

The only difference between buying an unlocked phone from Apple and buying a phone from Verizon is that, should you ever decide you want to use your phone on Verizon (or sell it to someone who does), you will be able to do so with the Verizon phone. An unlocked phone from Apple cannot be used on Verizon. The price will be exactly the same.

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