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It's definitely unlocked. However, Your phone will only be able to work with other gsm network phones. If you don't know what that means the quick rundown is that there are two types of cellular technology that are common. CDMA (Verizon, sprint) and GSM (at&t). They aren't compatible with each other unless phones have 4g antenna bands that work with both types. This year the GSM phones only work with gsm carriers. You must stick with at&t or (T-Mobile I think). The cdma phones do work with gsm this year though. So if you got a Verizon iPhone 7 it would switch to at&t fine.
The good news is gsm is pretty much the standard everywhere else in the world. So your phone will still work elsewhere
The good news is gsm is pretty much the standard everywhere else in the world. So your phone will still work elsewhere
Apple told me once I put in a Verizon SIM and restore phone my ATT iPhone7 it will work. They imply that Verizon is going to LTE and thus it is compatible? Apple Upgrade program certainly suggests any carrier usage. I was wondering if Restore needed even for European GSM carriers.
Welcome to my nightmare. I just started a thread outlining the circus that I have gone through trying to find the answer to this question.
I bought a 6s and a 7 with the upgrade program and they were both unlocked. I have two lines, one tmobile and one at&t and bought the phones under my tmobile account. However, I use my at&t sim in it most of the time.
Verizon already is LTE. Your at&t phone is 100% never going to work on any cdma network. Not Verizon, not sprint. The apple employee who told you that was not aware of the lack of cdma support in the iPhone 7 GSM models. This worked with the 6s, but it will NOT work for the iPhone 7. For European gsm carriers you won't need to restore. You will only need to switch sims. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201328
I'm sure you have been told by now, but you can't use your GSM iPhone 7 with cdma networks. No matter what. It just does not work because the intel modem in it won't work with cdma.
The proper term is "Is it really a world iPhone?" A world phone means it's compatible with both GSM and CDMA.
We didn't always get a world iPhone with every iteration. The 4s was a world iPhone but we didn't get that with the iPhone 5. It returned for the iPhone 5s and 6 series (except Sprint) and it's gone again for the 7 (at least the at&t and T-Mobile version).
We didn't always get a world iPhone with every iteration. The 4s was a world iPhone but we didn't get that with the iPhone 5. It returned for the iPhone 5s and 6 series (except Sprint) and it's gone again for the 7 (at least the at&t and T-Mobile version).
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Correct, if you care about having a world iPhone 7. The SIM-free version will most likely be Verizon.
I am in same boat. I went to 2 apple stores and told this to their managers. They understood the issue and were dumbfounded(rarely seen any genius or store manager not having an answer or solution). They were "we honestly don't have an answer now and will ask their superiors and get back". Waiting to hear.
Why are you "waiting to hear" from them? We already have the answer for you here.
I'm ready to purchase. Should I go ahead and get the Verizon unlocked phone or wait for sim free model.
As already stated, this year the Verizon and Sprint models of iPhone 7 with work with gsm carriers, the AT&T model will only work with AT&T and T-Mobile or other regional gsm carriers. An AT&T model will NOT work on Verizon. But a Verizon model will work on AT&T. With the 6s all models were world phones except the Sprint model.
You can go ahead and get the Verizon model. Some members are rather anal retentive and insist on waiting for the SIM-free model so they can have an "officially unlocked" iPhone, but it'll most likely be the Verizon model anyway.
Thanks but no thanks. either Apple changes either official stand that iUP phones cannot work with all carriers or they somehow give me a sim free phone (which might be the case).
Also my 14 day return policy might be up before sim free versions are out. Hence need apple to override the return policy. That's what I am waiting to hear
The IUP doesn't guarantee a world iPhone so you're barking up the wrong tree.
Kind sir. It does. And the fact that Apple Store employees plus the iUP team have clear stated(and accepted) that iUP phone can work on any network.
If I were u I would get my facts straight
Can you? I mean it's clear that you can't buy a VZW iPhone online w/o an account. But will Apple sell you one at the store w/o a VZW account and the intention to use w/ a different provider?
Kind sir. It does. And the fact that Apple Store employees plus the iUP team have clear stated(and accepted) that iUP phone can work on any network.
If I were u I would get my facts straight
Please provide an source/link where Apple has stated that a customer is guaranteed a world iPhone with the iPhone Upgrade Program. Otherwise, it's just Apple employees BSing like what we see all the time on this forum.
Online, no, but there seems to be a workaround in stores based on some members' reports.
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Glad u asked
Unfortunately, all this means is you do not have a contract with any single carrier, not that you're able to use said iPhone on any carriers.
Glad u asked
Are there differences between an iPhone for AT&T or T-Mobile and an iPhone for Sprint or Verizon Wireless?
iPhone offers the same innovative features regardless of the wireless carrier you choose. If you choose AT&T or T-Mobile as your wireless carrier, your iPhone will use 3G cellular technology for voice services and either 3G or 4G LTE cellular technology for data services. iPhone can roam internationally on many GSM carriers around the world. If you buy iPhone with AT&T or T-Mobile, it will not work on Sprint or Verizon Wireless.
If you choose Sprint or Verizon Wireless as your wireless carrier, your iPhone will use CDMA cellular technology for voice and data services. If you buy an unlocked iPhone with Verizon or Sprint, it will work on AT&T or T-Mobile. An iPhone activated on Sprint or Verizon Wireless also has the ability to roam internationally on GSM networks. For details on LTE network support, please see www.apple.com/iphone/LTE.
So what if I change to a CDMA
The wordings say: "You aren't tied to a single carrier". How would you interpret that?
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This is right. Not denying it. But I am specifically talking about iUP and their wording "You are not tied to a single carrier" on their iUP page!
You are right, with the At&t model, you are more then welcome to switch to any carrier that uses GSM.