How to buy a fully unlocked iPhone 6/6+ Model 1586/1524 in the U.S.?

According to an article in "Computerworld" you can purchase the iPhone 6 (& 6+) unlocked. Here is an excerpt from their article:

An "unlocked" iPhone 6 Plus -- one not tied to a two-year contract with a carrier -- starts at $749 for the 16GB model and climbs to $949 for one with 128GB of storage

According to this page, they claim that the A1586 model WON'T work on Verizon, AT&T etc... Not sure if it's accurate, but the best information I've been able to find: http://digwhich.com/2014/09/11/iphone-6-contract-free/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium =rss&utm_campaign=iphone-6-contract-free

Some light at the end of the tunnel...

From the following website:

http://www.fcc.gov/device-unlocking-faq

"Mobile Phone and Device Unlocking FAQs

Consumers often question why they may not have the choice of using their existing mobile wireless device when they change between compatible wireless service providers. The answer is usually a practice called cell phone locking and it is about to change.

On February 11, 2014, CTIA-The Wireless Association adopted six standards on unlocking into the CTIA's Consumer Code for Wireless Service. Implementation of these six standards by major mobile wireless service providers will give consumers greater freedom and flexibility while increasing incentives for service providers to innovate. Participating wireless service providers will implement at least three of these six standards by May 11, 2014, and all of these standards by February 11, 2015."

TrueDichotomy -

I'm trying to do the exact same thing and I think I've found the way. I called Apple at 1-800-275-2273 and got almost the same answer as you. The initial call taker just kept repeating a canned line that Apple doesn't sell unlocked phones and can't guarantee mobile providers would either. When I mentioned the model number (A1524) and part number (MGD12LL/A) I wanted and that I wanted to pay full price, she eventually let me talk to someone in sales there who could tell me specifically what I needed to know. By the way, the chart at http://www.techwalls.com/differences-between-iphone-6-6-plus-models/ for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus (or for iPhone 5s see: http://www.techwalls.com/iphone-5s-a1533-a1453-a1457-a1530-differences/) is extremely helpful in understanding the technical differences in the various iPhone models. I travel a lot too and want the truly "World Phone" - the A1524 (that's for the 6 Plus - the equivalent for the iPhone 6 is the A1586).

What I learned from the Sales rep there was that when the chart says you won't be able to get the A1586 or A1524 unlocked, what it means is that you won't be able to get the CDMA portion of it unlocked (and even that is not completely necessarily true - but more on that later). You will not need to unlock the rest of the channels on the phone because they come already unlocked. The GSM and all the other bands (TD-SCDMA?, GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA, FDD-LTE, and TD-LTE) are already ready to be used in other countries. The good news is that only the US uses CDMA so locking your CDMA portion simply means that if you buy it from Sprint, you'll only be able to use the CDMA portion of the phone on Sprint when you're in the US (the only other 2 providers that Apple knew of who sold this in the US and did this were US Cellular and C-Spire - so that simply means, this locking will only cut out the other two networks from that list that you don't choose to buy it from - it's truly a world phone otherwise and you'll be able to use it pretty much anywhere else including in the US on GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile, Europe, Australia or wherever). Or you could buy it from Singapore or Japan and technically be able to use it on all three of them (but getting Pay-As-You-Go deals or any reasonable short-term deal in the US has always seemed to be another hurdle that has nothing to do with the technical challenge).

2 more notes: I was reassured enough by the information I received to decide to buy mine from a Sprint store in the US (even though I now live in the UK) for full retail price with no Sprint contract. Because of the bill Pres Obama just signed into law, mobile providers are mandated to unlock phones when you've paid off any contract requirements for subsidies to the phone maker (which I will have done by buying the phone for full price)...so.... I guess I might be testing that new law out (but it's not really too big a deal for me because where I travel to in the US, sprint has always had better coverage than US Cellular anyway and I've never even seen C-Spire yet so I'm not put out with the small link to Sprint anyway). I have an address and brothers in the US and get there often so I don't need to try geex4's re-routing service but it's nice to know that kind of thing exists. If you want AppleCare, you have 60 days from the purchase date to add it at Apple for $99 (which actually seems like a good deal to me since their service extends to all the countries I'm in for a full 2 years).

In the UK, 3 (three - the network provider) is offering "Feel At Home" service for FREE on their £20/month OnePlan customers - I've been to Sweden, France, and the US now and gotten Free unlimited Data there for my first time ever! No strings. Amazing. I can't tell you how many times I tried in France and the US and been completely ripped off by Orange or AT&T and other networks who promised they could get me data, so I was completely floored when they gave me this for free! So now when I travel almost anywhere, I just keep my home 3 sim in and can also make and receive calls and texts from/to the UK for free too!

(I'll try to check back in here with an update once I get my iPhone - but if I forget, feel free to DM me here after Oct 2014).

Great info. Let me know how you get on - I'm looking to do exactly the same thing (buy a A1586 from Sprint in the US and use it in the UK on Three). From what I understand there will be zero restrictions or limitations outside the US

Norfolkdonkeybreeder wrote:

Great info. Let me know how you get on - I'm looking to do exactly the same thing (buy a A1586 from Sprint in the US and use it in the UK on Three). From what I understand there will be zero restrictions or limitations outside the US

Apart from No warranty or post warranty service outside the US on a US purchased iPhone

Warranty is not international ,never has been

If you want AppleCare, you have 60 days from the purchase date to add it at Apple for $99 (which actually seems like a good deal to me since their service extends to all the countries I'm in for a full 2 years).

Apple Care+ is NOT international and is only available and valid in the Original Country of iPhone sale

Purchased in US it is not valid in UK or anywhere else except the US

Go to this link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_network_operators_of_the_Asia_Pacifi c_region

Above link shows which carriers offer what bands in their country.

The chart indicates that 2nd and 3rd largest carriers in China, China Unicom(GSM) and China Telecom(CDMA), do have our favorite 1800(B3)Mhz LTE FDD technology. However, I believe the current LTE coverage in China is mostly offered in 2500(B41)Mhz TD-LTE and perchance one could hardly receive and enjoy 4G LTE support on your iPhone 6/Plus Model A1549/1522(not Sprint iPhone 6/Plus) due to lack of signal strength of 1800(B3)Mhz LTE FDD or unavailability of the actual 1800(B3)Mhz LTE FDD technology in their coverage(spot me if I'm wrong, but honestly I'm not even sure if it's out there unless I travel to China and test it for myself).

Unfortunately, the biggest carrier in China, China Mobile(GSM), excluded 1800(B3)Mhz LTE FDD support, thus you would need the "global" iPhone 6/Plus Model A1586/1524(fully unlocked Sprint iPhone 6/Plus) to stick with the largest coverage in China.

Lastly, I am totally fine with current 3G speed with Verizon in US and I barely use LTE function(I mean I have an access to free wifi almost everywhere). So one should take into account the speed differences between 3G and LTE of your local carrier and decide which iPhone 6/Plus to buy now. I'm sure the quality, coverage, and speed of LTE will continuously improve and carriers will start offering even more affordable unlimited LTE plans near future. It's not too late to make that decision when that happens.

Hi jpgsg9 - I think true dichotomy may have answered your question - I'm hoping anyway because I'd like to be able to use AT&T or T-Mobile while in the US,.

Thank you Peter Gillespie - that is very sound advice and a great warning. I have bought MacBooks and iPads in other countries before and Apple in the UK has fully supported me with them and never mentioned this. Maybe they were just being nice to do that. I've not yet been able to find the A1524 fully unlocked in the UK for full price yet which would probably be my safest buying option from this warrantee protection standpoint. The downside here is that the UK price of iPhones is quite inflated over the US prices after converting currency and considering taxes. A third buying location option for me would be getting it from Singapore or Japan where it is fully unlocked but I don't know anyone there well enough to help with the transaction and I never get there, the price might be higher, and the warranty would be the most difficult for me to work with if Apple in the UK ever wouldn't service it (not at all on my usual travel routes).

Norfolkdonkeybreeder - I wish I could contact you directly because maybe we could help each other get our iPhones more quickly and share what works in more detail. My email is Kevin.Quincey at mac dot com (the spam bots will never get through that high tech obfuscation 🙂).

And thank you beyondE - very nice and helpful table.

It is confirmed that one is able to get 4G LTE support in most mega cities and some 20 other cities in China on iPhone 6/Plus Model A1549/1522 from either China Telcom or China Unicom.

China Mobile would still require fully unlocked global iPhone 6 Model A1586/1524 to enjoy their 4G LTE network.

Problem solved.

I'm trying to do the exact same thing and I think I've found the way. I called Apple at 1-800-275-2273 and got almost the same answer as you. The initial call taker just kept repeating a canned line that Apple doesn't sell unlocked phones and can't guarantee mobile providers would either. When I mentioned the model number (A1524) and part number (MGD12LL/A) I wanted and that I wanted to pay full price, she eventually let me talk to someone in sales there who could tell me specifically what I needed to know. By the way, the chart at http://www.techwalls.com/differences-between-iphone-6-6-plus-models/ for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus (or for iPhone 5s see: http://www.techwalls.com/iphone-5s-a1533-a1453-a1457-a1530-differences/) is extremely helpful in understanding the technical differences in the various iPhone models. I travel a lot too and want the truly "World Phone" - the A1524 (that's for the 6 Plus - the equivalent for the iPhone 6 is the A1586).

Thanks,

Your resources are very helpful.

AApple does sell fully u locked versions of their phones at full price but they don't come out until later. I had to wait 2-3 months to get the 5s unlocked from apple. TThe 6 unlocked will sell in a few months.

Kevin

Mac devices do have world wide warranty and you may be lucky with a wifi only iPad

iPhones and iPads do not because ot the cellular issue

The ONLY place to get an unlocked iPhone in UK is Apple Retail stores or Apple.com/uk

Singapore ,yes unlocked from Apple

Japan No and even the Carriers do not offer unlocking

When I went to Apple store, before the iPhone 6 came out. I asked one of the sales, she said the unlocked 5s came out 3 months after the initial 5s sales. We might wait for a while for the unlock 6+. Apple couldn't keep up with the demand. Although, I wonder if a1524 verison will be available as unlock dirctly from Apple Store.