iPhone SE (and other iPhones) LTE Bands for US & EU

Hi,

I'm living in EU/Ireland and bought the Sprint version (1723) unlocked from Apple Store in US (in Tampa/FL). When buying from US Apple Store at full price all phones are unlocked, no matter the version (A1662 / A1723). The Apple Store sales rep recommended me to just buy the phone, test it and return it in case phone is locked or not working. I did so using a Three Ireland SIM card, it worked like a charm, connected automatically to AT&T network. Now I'm back in Ireland and everything is working as expected, I tested the phone with Three and Vodafone IE.

Conclusion: buy the Sprint version (A1723) from US Apple Store ONLY and PAY IN FULL ($399+TAX).

1. No. Actually, Probably not. It may work on some carriers in some areas. It depends on the specific network.

If LTE is important to you, just buy a phone when you get there. You're going to be there for 2 years. You may as well have a phone that supports their networks and that you can get serviced there if needed.

2. No. the carriers this model is sold for in the US do not offer unlocking. Those phones are locked.

Since the iPhone SE has not shipped to end users yet... for that matter, isn't even available to order yet, no one has first hand experience. At least no one who is permitted to post anything about it here.

The list of LTE networks in Europe is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks_in_Europe

Although the A1662 model would work for voice calls and slower cellular internet access, it may not benefit from the full speeds of missing LTE bands (especially band 7 for Europe, only found in model A1723).

Good to know, thanks. I did notice band 3 was always there with band 7, so at least, some towers should work. I still wish Apple did not intentionally cripple their phones. It must be to avoid reselling on the black market.

According to the FAQs in the Apple Store iPhone SE product page (see the item about "What does SIM-free mean?") "When the Sprint model is purchased at full price, it is unlocked.". But I can't be sure this is true, and that the actual phone you buy doesn't need some activation or unlocking process from the Sprint side. I'm looking for a way to get the A1723 unlocked, as I'll have to use it mainly in Italy with an Italian carrier, but I can't figure it out if it is possible, despite what written on the site. I tried to chat with the support people at Apple, but since I'm in Italy now, I can't even use the support chat. I'd really like to know two things:

1) to buy the Sprint iPhone SE (A1723 model) at full price (e.g. contract free, without carrier financing) in an Apple Retail Store, do I have to provide a Sprint wireless number and a Sprint account PIN? I know that these information are required to purchase the phone online, even if I chose to pay the full price. Maybe at a retail store you don't need them.

2) regardless of the answer to the previous question, does the phone you get buying the Sprint model contract free (whether at a retail store or online), come really unlocked, so that I can put my italian carrier SIM-card in after unpacking it and use it without doing anything else? Or do I need to activate it through Sprint?

Hope some of you or some Apple representative can help me!

thanks for the info. Yes it seems a lot of trouble to go through, and it's a shame because in Italy the A1723 costs the equivalent in Euro of 690 USD :-/

I believe Apple is doing an unfair policy to sell only the A1662 unlocked, and that they should cancel what they wrote in the FAQ as it looks like a lie

I'm still curious about what a retail store would tell you if you go there and try buying one and put a SIM like mine in, did anyone try that beside calling sprint?

Thank you for this post.

According to this page ( http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/#iphone-se ) there seem to be three SE models

- the A1662 with 15 bands (USA)

- the A1723 with 19 bands (Most world countries)

- the A1724 with yet another 19 bands (China).

I'm in Europe and can't chat with Apple but I called them a few minutes ago and the Sales rep. was unaware of the different model numbers for the iPhone SE.

He recommended that I stay away from any carrier phone if I plan to use outside the US (if I do not currently have any plan with ATT, Sprint etc.).

I told him that I was interested in the unlocked A1723 as most EU countries are listed there, and that model only seems to be available if I pick the Spring carrier.

He simply said that I should order a SIM-Free, not a "Pay in Full" option from any carrier.

The bands that I am interested in seem to be 3 = 1800 MHz and 7 = 2600 MHz (for 4G).

So it's going to be a trade-off. If I get the A1662, then I'll miss the Band 7.

If I get the Sprint A1723, then I might get it unlocked or NOT.

Great.

Cellular and Wireless

• Model A1662*
  • LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29)
  • CDMA EV‑DO Rev. A (800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
  • UMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)

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

• Model A1723*
  • LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28)
  • TD‑LTE (Bands 38, 39, 40, 41)
  • TD‑SCDMA 1900 (F), 2000 (A)
  • CDMA EV‑DO Rev. A (800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
  • UMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)