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Other Best way for US customers to buy iPhone 14 & 14 Pro with SIM tray

MisterAndrew

MisterAndrew

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Sep 15, 2015
2,902
2,395
Portland, Ore.
What are the best options for people like me who live in the USA and want a physical SIM for carriers like Verizon prepaid and traveling?

Drive across the border into Canada or Mexico? It looks like you might be able to order online for in-store pickup.

Another interesting thing I noticed is that Guam and the US Virgin Islands get the same iPhones as Canada and Mexico. Except Apple doesn't have a store there. On their website it says, "We are happy to ship your order to a friend or family member residing within the 50 United States if your billing address is within one of" [those territories]. So does that mean if you get a billing address in Guam or the US Virgin Islands Apple will ship you the physical SIM iPhone to your address in the US?

www.apple.com

Shipping & Pickup - Shopping Help

Shipping is free on all orders. Find out more about everything you need to know about delivery, pickup and managing your order.
www.apple.com

iPhone models by country:
www.apple.com

iPhone - Supported 5G and LTE networks

See the countries and regions that have certified 5G and LTE networks on iPhone including the U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, China mainland, and more.
www.apple.com
 
I thought Canada also gets no sim tray?

Edit. I take that back for Canada, looks like they do.
 
Last edited:
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All iPhones sold in Canada are unlocked. You could buy one from Apple directly and it will have a SIM tray. Only other difference is there will be no mmWave antenna.
 
r.d said:
All iPhones sold in Canada are unlocked. You could buy one from Apple directly and it will have a SIM tray. Only other difference is there will be no mmWave antenna.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don’t think I’d use the mmWave anyways. Only the top Verizon prepaid unlimited plan includes it and I don’t live in the city center where there is coverage.

The thing about buying one in Canada would be the sales tax. If I got a mailbox in the Virgin Islands and had it shipped to Oregon there would be no sales tax. Only question is if Apple would send the model that matches the location of the billing address.
 
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Just buy from a UK seller on Ebay.

There are loads every year, especially selling the 1TB model. Although at launch, given the price here is £1750 (just £1550 last year!) for the top model Max, they'll likely be on Ebay at £2500 (US$2900).
 
jimthing said:
Just buy from a UK seller on Ebay.

There are loads every year, especially selling the 1TB model. Although at launch, given the price here is £1750 (just £1550 last year!) for the top model Max, they'll likely be on Ebay at £2500 (US$2900).
Click to expand...
With that price I could also get 2 other phones already though
 
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dmacrye said:
Trying to guide tech in the way they want things to progress.
Click to expand...

Once it works it’s fine but there will be a rough adoption period

It’s not a deal breaker for me but I wish I had a SIM card it was never bothering anyone being there imo lol

If 12 pro iOS 15 gets a JB I wouldn’t mind “popping my sim in it. With this set up it will just be a glorified iPod touch on wifi (if I like and keep 14PM)
 
I checked with Apple's online chat rep and was told iPhones bought on apple.com will be US version regardless of your billing address. The only way to get A2889 would be through a local carrier/retailer in Guam or USVI.
 
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zxj said:
I checked with Apple's online chat rep and was told iPhones bought on apple.com will be US version regardless of your billing address. The only way to get A2889 would be through a local carrier/retailer in Guam or USVI.
Click to expand...
Thank you for checking! Perhaps the best way to get the SIM tray version is to order from Canada to have it sent to a mail forwarding service, besides physically driving over the border. I'm already set up for a mail forwarding service in Europe, but it looks like that model is missing a couple LTE bands compared to the Canada/Mexico/Guam/USVI version.
 
Amazon UK is selling them. It looks like you can deliver it to a tax-free address in Guernsey (Forward2Me).

www.amazon.co.uk

Apple iPhone 14 Pro (128 GB) - Deep Purple

iPhone 14 Pro. Capture incredible detail with a 48MP Main camera. Experience iPhone in a whole new way with Dynamic Island and Always-On display. And get peace of mind with groundbreaking safety features.
www.amazon.co.uk
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Change to T Mobile service.
I travel internationally with my TMO phone and always get free data and text without changing SIM.
(except for China, North Korea, and Venezuela).
 
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4sallypat said:
Change to T Mobile service.
I travel internationally with my TMO phone and always get free data and text without changing SIM.
(except for China, North Korea, and Venezuela).
Click to expand...
Nope. T-Mobile doesn't have very good coverage in my state. Not until they get that satellite thing going. Verizon has the best coverage, followed by AT&T.
 
MisterAndrew said:
Thank you for checking! Perhaps the best way to get the SIM tray version is to order from Canada to have it sent to a mail forwarding service, besides physically driving over the border. I'm already set up for a mail forwarding service in Europe, but it looks like that model is missing a couple LTE bands compared to the Canada/Mexico/Guam/USVI version.
Click to expand...
Canadian iPhones do not support MM Wave/high-band 5G so if that‘s important to you keep it in mind.
 
r.d said:
All iPhones sold in Canada are unlocked. You could buy one from Apple directly and it will have a SIM tray. Only other difference is there will be no mmWave antenna.
Click to expand...
Oops looks like someone already pointed this out - sorry!
 
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I travel to ghana and nigeria alot and I need the SIM card. I work for the airline industry so plan on buying one in the future. which country has the best phone features similar to United States?
 
MisterAndrew said:
What are the best options for people like me who live in the USA and want a physical SIM for carriers like Verizon prepaid and traveling?
Click to expand...

in case nobody else has mentioned this, Verizon Prepaid now supports eSIM...(not sure when they started allowing it, but worked for me about 4 weeks ago) Probably because they knew Apple was not going to put SIM card slots in the new iPhone 14? :)
 
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beerseagulls said:
in case nobody else has mentioned this, Verizon Prepaid now supports eSIM...(not sure when they started allowing it, but worked for me about 4 weeks ago) Probably because they knew Apple was not going to put SIM card slots in the new iPhone 14? :)
Click to expand...

That’s great news. Of course it doesn’t fix the issue people will have when traveling and can’t insert a local SIM.
 
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