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

If you guys are gonna wait for two more months for the official fully unlocked iPhone 6/6+ Model A1586/A1524, bad news... Just talked with someone worked for Apple, if the unlocked version is similar to iPhone 5S, it would be the GSM only model just like the AT&T/T-Mobile ones, which would be A1549 and A1522.

Hi, thanks for your sharing!

What do you mean by "uncloking CDMA"?Is it a painful process? In my opinion, if you buy iPhone 6/6+ Model A1586 or A1524 from a carrier or apple and you ask to get it unlocked, it will unlock both CDMA and GSM since this model supports both CDMA and GSM, right? And after the unlocking it can be used in both CDMA and GSM 3G netwwork (like att tmobile in usa, also td-scdma in china), for 4G, it can support all the current iphone lte bands including 4 TD bands. Yes, this model is truly international model, just make sure it can get unlocked.

But the truth is unlocked iphone 6 can not bought online now, online has t mobile non-contract iphones, but it still get locked to tmobile. I knew for sure in apple store they have full price unlocked non-contract iPhones: sprint, verizon, att, tmobile. However, I just checked in my local store, they sold out.

There is one question in my mind: if it is a so called "unlocked phone", i think i should be able to take it to any carrier as long as that model  support the bands of certain carrier, but then why do we call it"ATT unlocked iphone?" or "Sprint Unlocked iphone"? Literally misleading

In my opinion, they are just the purely unlocked iPhone for that specific model.

For example, since att use Model A1522(GSM) for 6 plus, if i get a unlcoked A1522(GSM) 6 plus in apple store, i should be able to use it in other USA GSM carrier like tmobile an china unicome since they use GSM and the cellular bands are among those for A1522(GSM). Of course, this model can not be used in verizon and sprint because both will use cdma for 3G and A1522(GSM) does not support CDMA.

I was thinking the expression "ATT unlocked iphone" or "sprint unlocked iphone" is kind of misleading because after it is unlocked it is not bind to those carriers.

Another example is from iphone 5s, my friend bought a unlocked verizon iphone 5s Model A1533 (CDMA) in apple store and since it supports CDMA and also GSM (CDMA version always cover GSM, GSM version is poor in bands coverage, personal summary), he used in att and it works. On the ther hand, Att unlocked 5s is A1533(GSM) and can't be used in verizon. So you can use both model to be able to use in ATT.

In summary, when it comes to buying a unlocked Iphone in USA and plan to use internationally, we should:

1st  Get the information for different iphone models available in USA and all the cellular bands each model support

2nd Choose the model based on your potential cellular band needs(for example. you need to use in China mobile which is td-scdma in 3G and td-lte in 4G, then you should select the model which covers the China mobile those bands which is  iPhone 6/6+ Model A1586 or A1524 (one more model is also coming); if you want to use in china telecom which is a cdma in 3G and FDD-lte in 4G, you can actually choose both iPhone 6/6+ Model A1586 or A1524 and iPhone 6/6+ Model A1549(CDMA) or A1522(CDMA)

3rd, based on the model you need to buy, check where you can get that model. Maybe a carrier in USA sell that model and then you buy it and ask to get unlocked. Or apple store have that model in unlocked state, you buy it. That is it. Done

Correct me if I am wrong, thanks a lot!

One thing to note is that despite Apple's claims, the ATT and t-mobile versions do have CDMA enabled. I have a t mobile 6 plus and an ATT 6; both work on Verizon just fine, even the non-LTE modes. These models report a MEID in settings, which is an indicator that CDMA is enabled

Hi again iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Unlocked phone fans

I have very good news to report!  I bought the Sprint version of the iPhone 6 Plus in Wisconsin and have done a fair amount of testing on it already, and it is one amazing device that works exactly as I was hoping. If you buy it for full price from Apple (so without a Sprint contract), it is completely unlocked - domestically and internationally.  In fact - it's even better than what Sprint or AT&T call "unlocked" because it never was locked.  It is the exact same configuration Apple will be selling via their website as an unlocked model A1586 or A1524 in a month or so.  It works on both AT&T and T Mobile even though it's not on their LTE list (http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/). I was using my 3 SIM from the UK which registers on either of these network. My model A1524 could also see Sprint, US Cellular, and several other networks. I know it would work on Sprint's network but didn't have other SIMs to try it on others but I'm pretty sure it would do just fine on them too.  I didn't get 4G speeds while there (got a lot of 3G and a little Edge and GPRS when I was some remote Wisconsin areas). I was in Chicago so either I didn't pass through any 4G areas or I'm guessing this may be because AT&T and T Mobile have chosen not to add the A1524 to their LTE list yet, so it might not yet benefit from these modern speeds until they do. The phone is perfectly capable of running at 4G speeds in LTE when they do.  LTE is still rolling out though so lack of 4G coverage may also have explained me not seeing 4G yet there as I did in Amsterdam and London, and I still hold out hope that AT&T and T Mobile will roll out 4G where I go or add this phone to their LTE list someday.  Either way, it worked just fine in 3G most everywhere I went.

If you travel outside the US at all or if you work on a couple different networks while in the US, I'd recommend you consider getting the world version of the iPhone 6 (that's the Model A1586 for the iPhone 6 or the Model A1524 for the iPhone 6 Plus) and not the slightly more limited AT&T, T Mobile, or Verizon versions of these phones (Models "A1549 (GSM)", "A1549 (CDMA)" for iPhone 6's or the Models "A1522 (GSM)" or "A1522 (CDMA)").  Calling these phones by carrier names instead of their model numbers can make it a bit confusing sometimes but when you review this chart (http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/) you'll notice that the A1586 and A1524 are supersets of the other phones in terms of which bands they have.  Since they are exactly the same price, and I'm already using these additional bands, I opted to go for the the more capable version phone. The only downside in the US is that carriers selling the less capable phone with their logo on it, may block some of the functionality of the world phone version.  I very much doubt they will continue to do that for very long (if they even are at all now). I don't know if I should have gotten any 4G speeds on my visit through Chicago or not but was quite happy to see my A1524 iPhone otherwise worked perfectly on both the AT&T and T Mobile networks even though it's not the version of the phone they sell.

The only thing you need to do to get a fully unlocked iPhone 6 or 6 Plus is go to an Apple store, pick out the phone you like (and again, I'd encourage you to consider most strongly the A1586 or A1524 i.e. "Sprint" version of your favorite memory, screen size, and color), and buy it for FULL PRICE (without a network contract). You'll also note when doing it this way is that even though it can be a bit of a shock to pay up to $949 for a 128 GB iPhone 6 Plus, you can save loads of money over the life of the phone because you'll not be paying the "Apple subsidy" in your monthly phone bill for 2 years. This subsidy can often total nearly double the full price of the phone. Europeans have been aware of this saving for a long time because their governments won't allow phone providers and networks to sell only bundled phone and network packages. By unbundling, the consumer can easily understand how much they are paying to the phone manufacturer and how much to the network. Until now, this information has been successfully blocked in the US by large networks who don't want consumers to understand that in fear they'll be commoditized and compared. Another thing an unlocked phone gets you is that you can freely and easily switch networks any time you like, again helping you get better prices from your network provider.

Note that even though apple is pointing out that the T Mobile version is "Contract Free", which it seems to be, ANY and ALL of the iPhones that Apple sells in their stores are "contract free" if you pay FULL PRICE for them.  This is true at any Apple store in the US, in the UK, and I suspect anywhere else in the world.  But until they make this option available on Apple's online store in about a month, you'll need to go into a retail store to get one (so yes wyfei123, that does mean Apple is already selling these same completely unlocked phones now in their retail stores that they'll soon be selling online too for full price).  It's far less difficult than you may have heard to find iPhones in Apple stores. I bought 2 in different stores in Wisconsin and had no trouble finding them - it only took about 4 calls. New inventory seemed to be coming in daily so a call over at opening time to the business team got me one each time.  They'll gladly hold it for you for the day.

Vitas09 and scorpiongal: I would check back with your Apple store, find out at what time of day their inventory tends to be replenished, and call then. I tried going to a carrier to get one and (1) the carriers are not at all helpful when they realize you don't want their contract, (2) I spent over 10 hours on the phone with Sprint with several people telling me that what I wanted to do (buy a full price phone without a contract) should be easy do but then mysteriously got cut off in transfer about a dozen times or on hold for more than a half hour at a time, and (3) at the end of the day, buying from a carrier would be risky technically too if you really do want the phone to be fully unlocked. Sprint locks the phone then needs to send it for 2 unlocks (domestic and international) and their international team was very upfront about the many issues they are having in unlocking the domestic side.  If you simply buy it from Apple for the same full price, it will never have been locked to any network in the first place.

Hope that helps,

Kevin Q.

Hi. I'm also in Qatar and I was planning buy the iPhone from the US. Could you please tell me which one should I go for so that it works with Ooredoo 4G network. The T mobile contract free from Apple store or the Verizon contract free full priced model for Verizon store?

Also I would like to know if you bought form Lulu or Carrefour. Are you using it on Vodafone or Ooredoo? Are you getting 4G network on it or only 3G?

Thanks in advance.

and warranty ???

,what do you plan to do if the iPhone  need warranty or post warranty service ??

"In any case, it is very puzzling to me why Apple would release a version of the iPhone 6 in the USA that has 4 fewer LTE bands than the international version with everything else being the same. In any case, I want that international version fully GSM unlocked in the states. "

Well that sounds easy to answer. Perhaps they want you to use the phone you purchase in the USA to stay in the USA. Make sense to me, since there are so many people coming to the states, buying phones, and then going over seas to sell them as gray market items. ***** that that happens.

but i think the sprint version in apple retail store is still locked to sprint,i asked them,you can not use tdd lte and td- scdma.Additionally,sprint uses cdma rather than gsm,so you cant use att and t mobile

Thanks so much for the great info Kevin.

I do have a further observation and question though:

What was not clear to me in your post is whether it actually works with US GSM carriers (eg. AT&T, T-Mobile).  I understand that you used a UK "3" SIM and it worked.  However, accessing the AT&T network using a non-US carrier SIM is not necessarily the same as using a US carrier SIM.

Have you used an AT&T (or other US carrier) SIM in the phone?

Hello Kevin,

Thank you for the informative post on the Sprint iPhone. In order to purchase A1586 model (iPhone 6) with the 4 extra TD-LTE bands, do you suggest the following steps be taken?:

1. Go to Apple store and ask for A1586 model (iphone 6),

2. Purchase the phone with full price (given colour and screen size),

3. Out of box the phone should work on the International GSM networks, TD-LTE bands (and T-mobile and ATT 3G/EDGE networks)

Please correct me if I am wrong.

P.S. I travel a lot to Asia and would like to use the local SIM cards to latch onto their LTE networks on the TD-LTE bands (39 and 40).

Peter G: I asked about the warrantee in both Wisconsin and the UK and got the same good news answer. The warranty does cover a like-for-like replacement so if Apple's repair system deems a model MGD02LL/A (the /A means I bought it in America) to be different that a model MGD02LL/x (where /x is the UK's location code), then they will get a /A model to replace mine with - even if I'm in the UK. Neither Apple employee felt they would insist on this, but if they were required to, it would only take 1-2 days for them to get one from America so they assured me I'm covered here.  I bought my AppleCare while in the US but my friend whose phone I also purchased in America while I was there just added his AppleCare onto it here in the Birmingham, UK store.  Either way is OK.  To add it later, you need to get to a store with your phone and receipt within 60 days of purchase.

Druk75: Sorry - I don't know Qatar or those networks at all but I'd guess the full priced Sprint version purchased from the Apple store would be your best and safest bet too.  The T Mobile and AT&T versions of the phone offer less bands for the same price. If you don't have a workable experience, I believe there is a 30 day full refund return policy.

nantongzds: I don't think that's quite right. The Sprint version of the phone that you buy from Apple for full price is not locked to any network - and should never become so.  It would only be locked to Sprint if you pay less than full price and "subsidize" it over time by entering into a contract with Sprint.  Being never locked is better then getting a locked one from Sprint and then asking to have it "unlocked" in my experience.

carl2000 and shivang.acharya: That's right - or at least my experience. I wish I could say I've tested your exact situation, but I'd be willing to bet on it if I were in your shoes. But do assure yourself that you can return it with them before you buy if there are any troubles just in case.  If possible, please circle around to let us know if your trial works out as well as mine has (I talked to Carl offline and I'm glad you're trying exactly what I did - especially since your Apple and AT&T stores are just across the street from each other). My 3 Sim registers as if it's a AT&T or T Mobile Sim so if anything, I'd get slower speeds / more restrictions (depending on what sort of deal 3 and these guys arranged for) but I've been happy with it so far. I would like to know if you get 4G / LTE speeds while on AT&T or T Mobile - I didn't find any in my last stay in the US so couldn't tell if I was being kept off of them or if there were none around me (I was in mostly rural areas).

Hope that helps!  I'm loving this new super Phone!

Kevin Q.

I

MPORTANT RESTRICTION FOR iPHONE AND iPAD SERVICE.

Apple may restrict warranty service for iPhone and iPad to the country where Apple or its Authorized Distributors originally sold the device.

From the Apple warranty document

That means the warranty is NOT international and therefore warranty service is NOT guaranteed as it is with MAC products for instance

I an sure if Apple want to make the warranty international then you will not find the words above

Apple may support an iPhone purchased in another country but there is no obligation

Thanks Kevin Q.

Since here in Qatart we do not have CDMA networks, I think even the contract free version of T Mobile sold by Apple would be just fine.

The LTE bands supported here are 7 and 20 which almost all iPhone models support. So I guess it shouldn't be a problem.

I have told my friend to look for the Sprint version, if not then he might take the T Mobile one.

I'll keep you posted.

Ciao.

Okay, so today was a big FAIL with the A1586 and non-Sprint domestic carriers in the USA. 

What I hoped:

Purchasing a full-priced A1586 directly from an Apple store would give me a fully unlocked phone which I could use anywhere (Specifically, that I could use with AT&T in the US and with the carrier of my choice in other regions.)  Others on this forum have indicated that this would  be true.

What I discovered:

The A1586 will not work on AT&T in the US.  At least not currently.    Today, I purchased a shiny new gold A1586 ("Sprint"-version iPhone 6) from the Apple Store.  I took it across the mall to the AT&T store.  Prior to powering up the phone, AT&T removed the Sprint SIM (yes, there really is a Sprint-labeled nanoSIM in the slot, regardless of whether it is used for anything other than verification), and inserted a new AT&T SIM.  Powered it up and tried to activate the new SIM.  After repeated attempts, they were unable to activate any AT&T SIMs in this phone.  The phone displayed "Invalid SIM.....  {blah blah} this is not a hardware problem. You must insert a SIM from a supported carrier {blah blah}".  So... it is in fact domestically locked to Sprint.  I took the phone back across to the Apple Store.  They informed me that Apple does not sell fully unlocked phones and they would not / could not unlock this phone for me.  They also gave me a lame story about "hardware compatibility issues" and one "still being developed".  So I returned the phone, very disappointed.

The person I spoke with at Apple was unaware of the US legislation regarding unlocking (S 517 - Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act.) or the unlocking-related section of CTIA's "Consumer Code for Wireless Service", which is supposed to be implemented by Feb 11, 2015.  Not surprising.

As a side note, Sprint has committed to provide domestic unlocking for devices released after Feb 11, 2015.  It is still not clear as to whether they will actually do that for the iPhone 6, since it was released in 2014.  I don't think we'll have a reliable answer until Feb 12.

That does not require any cell provider to provide immediate unlocking and does not restrict Sprint from unlocking it only for foreign carriers.

Not sure where you found information here that said Sprint was unlocked on the GSM side, every one I can find says it is locked. You can have it unlocked by Sprint (not Apple) but only by the cell provider it is locked with. The Verizon version of the same model phone is unlocked on the GSM side out of the box and you could have purchased it and gone to the AT&T Store and it would have worked. That fact is repeated here a number of times.

Apple has nothing to do with locking/unlocking other than their contracts with cell providers and that agreement is with cell providers. Since Apple is not a cell service provider it is no surprise that their employees have no familiarity with it.