If I purchase an iPhone 6, 6 Plus or SE, with say, Verizon service which is CDMA, can I later switch to a GSM Network on the same phone. In other words are the phones fully compatible with both systems and not dedicated to the one used at time of purchase.
iPhone SE, iOS 9.3.1
Bottom line, I want to totally control the phone I pay for in full with the freedom to make any carrier change I see fit any time I want, without having ANY carrier lock my phone so I have to go running back begging them to unlock it. So what is the BEST thing to do.
czvet wrote:
Bottom line, I want to totally control the phone I pay for in full with the freedom to make any carrier change I see fit any time I want, without having ANY carrier lock my phone so I have to go running back begging them to unlock it. So what is the BEST thing to do.
Buy a new, unlocked phone directly from Apple.
Or buy a Verizon phone, 5S or newer, because all Verizon phones are sold unlocked.
The best thing to do is to avoid Sprint.
Beyond that, an unlocked iPhone 6s from Apple will work on any GSM carrier by simply switching the sim cards, and on Verizon by requesting activation.
It will not lock to any carrier.
Thanks for your help. I had planned on buying it from Apple, maybe at the Local Store so I can get some questions answered and choose a carrier there. I'm kind of liking the New SE because it's small and has all the features. Thanks again.
czvet wrote:
Bottom line, I want to totally control the phone I pay for in full with the freedom to make any carrier change I see fit any time I want, without having ANY carrier lock my phone so I have to go running back begging them to unlock it. So what is the BEST thing to do.
It depends on where you want to start. If you want to start by having service with Verizon, get a Verizon phone. It will meet your criteria. However, Verizon will not sell you a phone without activating it. So, if you're not starting off with service through them, you may want to go the unlocked through Apple route.
Thanks
Even when unlocked, there are LTE band differeces between modeles sold for different carriers.
So, if I buy a "no-SIM" iPhone 6s from Apple Store and put an AT&T SIM in it and activate it, it will have some of the GSM bands and work in Europe. Is that correct?
pjlimon wrote:
So, if I buy a "no-SIM" iPhone 6s from Apple Store and put an AT&T SIM in it and activate it, it will have some of the GSM bands and work in Europe. Is that correct?
It will have all GSM bands, but not all LTE bands. It will work in Europe on GSM (3G), but may or may not work on LTE (4G) depending on region.
You can find out exactly what model phones support what LTE bands here: http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
CDMA & GSM Capability.
