Will an unlock iPhone 6 CDMA support all carriers?

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Level 1

1 points

Will an unlock iPhone 6 CDMA support all carriers?

I noticed on the cellular specs for the iPhone 6/6+ (copied below) that CDMA versions support all of the standards including those of the GSM phone but the opposite is not true. So it's seems that an unlocked CDMA version would support all the US carriers including AT&T and T-Mobile which are considered GSM carriers? Is this true?

Model A1549 (GSM)*

Model A1522 (GSM)*

UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)

GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26,
28, 29)

Model A1549 (CDMA)*

Model A1522 (CDMA)*

CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)

UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)

GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26,
28, 29)

Posted on Sep 13, 2014 7:30 AM

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Answer 1

deggie

Level 10

167,519 points

Sep 13, 2014 11:38 AM in response to mikef22

Not exactly. The GSM side of Verizon phones are unlocked and will work on domestic carriers but there is no guarantee all features will work. It is not the same for Sprint, the GSM side of that phone is unlocked and unlocking it will only allow it to work with non-domestic GSM carriers.

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Answer 2

mikef22 Author

Level 1

1 points

Sep 13, 2014 9:08 PM in response to deggie

That's good information. Do you know this for sure with the 6 or was this based on how the 5S CDMA iPhone worked with GSM carriers?

I noticed that the 5S GSM is offered as sim-free but I'm not sure why Apple didn't offer the CDMA as like the 6 it should have supported all carriers? Apple does some weird stuff with there marketing!

What features are you thinking may not work? It looks like the specs for all iPhone 6 models were the same other than the Carrier support? I guess one way to know for sure is to wait to order my iPhone 6 until people have tried using the CDMA phone on AT&T and T-Mobile?

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Answer 3

deggie

Level 10

167,519 points

Sep 13, 2014 9:03 PM in response to mikef22

Verizon does not lock the GSM side of their iPhones as part of an agreement with the FCC which is still in place. The Verizon phone does come with their LTE nanoSIM, they don't offer it SIM-free.

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Answer 4

mikef22 Author

Level 1

1 points

Sep 13, 2014 9:11 PM in response to deggie

Can't the Verizon nanoSIM be swap with a different SIM? SIM-free I thought meant you have to provide a SIM?

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Answer 5

deggie

Level 10

167,519 points

Sep 13, 2014 9:14 PM in response to mikef22

Contract free means when you buy it there is no contract attached.

SIM free means it doesn't come with a nanoSIM.

Unlocked means the phone is not locked to any particular carrier.

Even though the GSM side of the Verizon phone is unlocked they do not advertise that fact and it always comes with their LTE nanoSIM. You can remove it and use a nanoSIM from another carrier.

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Answer 6

Sep 30, 2014 7:26 PM in response to mikef22

I am a customer of both Verizon and T-Mobile. At this very moment I am using my T-Mobile Sim card in my Verizon iPhone 6 and it is working just fine. LTE, texting, and phone calls are all going through.

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