iPhone Carrier-Locked LTE Bands

[profinite]

First, we have this official information from Apple.

An Apple store employee has told me that, when I purchase an Apple-unlocked (GSM) iPhone 5, its LTE bands are locked to the carrier whose SIM that I insert into the phone.

This is a very important question. And, I want to make sure that we have the right information.
Am I correct to assume that, with an Apple-unlocked iPhone 5, any GSM LTE bands (1,3,4, 5, and 17) can be active as long as an inserted SIM supports them?

That is:
[1] Insert an AT&T SIM in the U.S., and LTE bands 4 & 17 are active.
[2] Insert a Softbank SIM in Japan, and their LTE bands become active.
[3] Insert a Deutshe Telekom SIM in Germany, and their LTE bands become active.

Am I correct?

 

[shenan1982]

First, we have this official information from Apple.

An Apple store employee has told me that, when I purchase an Apple-unlocked (GSM) iPhone 5, its LTE bands are locked to the carrier whose SIM that I insert into the phone.

This is a very important question. And, I want to make sure that we have the right information.
Am I correct to assume that, with an Apple-unlocked iPhone 5, any GSM LTE bands (1,3,4, 5, and 17) can be active as long as an inserted SIM supports them?

That is:
[1] Insert an AT&T SIM in the U.S., and LTE bands 4 & 17 are active.
[2] Insert a Softbank SIM in Japan, and their LTE bands become active.
[3] Insert a Deutshe Telekom SIM in Germany, and their LTE bands become active.

Am I correct?

My understanding is the unlocked version they're selling in the stores are the AT&T models that simply have the lock not applied, thus it's still a US\CAN phone. Obviously they're not selling A1429s or everyone buying them would be unable to use ATT LTE here at home, hehe

 

[profinite]

shenan1982 – That's the core of my question.

[1] Do A1428 and A1429 GSM have internally identical electronics except that A1428 has only LTE Bands 4 & 17 for AT&T enabled while A1429 GSM has only LTE Bands 1, 3, and 5 enabled?

Or

[2] Do A1428 and A1429 GSM have internally different electronics in that A1428 has a circuit that supports only LTE Bands 4 & 17 and A1429 GSM has a different circuit that supports only LTE Bands 1, 3, and 5?
*

Am I correct that you are saying [2] is the case?
I am hoping that [1] is the case because, then, I would wonder if someone can open up LTE Bands 1, 3, and 5 for me.

 

[Applejuiced]

Yes, they have different internal LTE radios.
You cannot open up or whatever you're talking about radios/LTE bands that dont exist on that hardware.
Its a hardware limitation, not software.
That's why they are different models.

 

[profinite]

Applejuiced – Thank you. That's what I was afraid of.

I have finally located an Apple webpage that has a definitive answer to my question.
[1] Try to buy an iPhone 5.
[2] Select color.
[3] Then, click on "Or Or get iPhone unlocked and contract-free".

Then, below the row of three different models (sizes), Apple has this statement:

"The unlocked iPhone only works on supported GSM networks, such as AT&T in the U.S. When you travel internationally, you can also use a nano-SIM card for iPhone 5 from a local GSM carrier. The unlocked iPhone 5 is model A1428. For details on LTE support see www.apple.com/iphone/LTE. The unlocked iPhone will not work with CDMA carriers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint."