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iPhone SE (2016) Kicking the tire on iPhone SE from Boost Mobile

JohnApples said:
I know we're off topic now and beating a dead horse, but I still find it hilarious how similar others' situations were to mine when I was with Sprint.

When I switched to T-Mobile from Sprint (you were on my thread helping me through the process if you recall!), it quite literally was a paradigm shift. I had no clue what I was missing out on before because my entire smart-phone life had been with Sprint's network. The best way to describe the difference I've experienced is that T-Mobile has LTE coverage with occasional small spots of 4G. Sprint was the opposite. 3G coverage with occasional small spots of LTE. And the LTE speeds sucked in comparison to T-Mo's.

Hell, the other day I was crossing the border going into Canada, UNDERWATER, and pulled 110mbps down. That is effing insane, especially when I think about how I was ecstatic for getting 15mbps on Sprint, right next to one of their towers. T-Mobile isn't perfect but Sprint shouldn't even be considered 'competition' anymore.
Click to expand...
I remember you and your thread!

Yeah, I'm still averaging around 2-18 down. But what's key for me is that it's usable. It never was usable on Sprint and I rarely exceeded 6 down.

It would be awesome to get above 100 down speeds but I'm totally good with being able to actually USE my data!
 
Update on the iPhone SE I got from boost mobile.
https://www.boostmobile.com/#!/shop/phones/apple-iphone-se/features/Gray,16GB/
$179.99 for a brand new one 16GB.
It arrived yesterday. I Submitted a 3rd party IMEI unlock with swiftunlocks for $40 and this morning its completed. Now I have a fully unlocked SE.
It activated with T mobile and AT&T sims with no problems.
Ended up being a good deal in the end since brand new unlocked SE's from Apple go for $350.
 
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The one guy said he has a fully working unlocked iPhone SE. Said it works on at&t and T-Mobile.

This isn't the older days when sprint phones were totally different model numbers than everyone else... NOW they pretty much are 2 model numbers and that's basically it...
[doublepost=1488079254][/doublepost]$179.99 for an iPhone SE has me interested. I went back to my 6s Plus for a while, but been missing my se. For $179.99 I could just switch back and forth I think
 
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Applejuiced said:
Update on the iPhone SE I got from boost mobile.
https://www.boostmobile.com/#!/shop/phones/apple-iphone-se/features/Gray,16GB/
$179.99 for a brand new one 16GB.
It arrived yesterday. I Submitted a 3rd party IMEI unlock with swiftunlocks for $40 and this morning its completed. Now I have a fully unlocked SE.
It activated with T mobile and AT&T sims with no problems.
Ended up being a good deal in the end since brand new unlocked SE's from Apple go for $350.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Do you know which service you selected from swift? I just checked out their website and I don't see any listing for the iPhone SE.
Thanks
[doublepost=1488080231][/doublepost]
eyoungren said:
I always wondered why Masa wanted Sprint. Apparently, it had been as one part of a two part plan. Buy it and then merge it. He made a critical error though in discounting the FCC. And now he's in the same spot only the value is significantly reduced and he's just looking to get rid of it.
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I agree with almost everything you wrote, except this section. Sprints stock price is actually the highest it's Ben in a long time. I know he paid some sort of premium when buying sprint, but the stock was trading aroudn$4 IIRC when he purchased it. It's now around $9/share. If/when he sells out to t mobile, he'll make quite a nice profit.
 
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reyalP said:
Did you receive model is A1662 or A1723? I want to do this but I am on Verizon.
Click to expand...

The box says A1723.
I guess it works on boost/Sprint so its gotta have CDMA enabled also.
[doublepost=1488082253][/doublepost]
Brandonjr36 said:
I don't think sprint phones work on other carriers and that's who boost uses is sprints towers.
Click to expand...

That's false.
This SE worked fine on Tmobile and with AT&T sim cards once I purchased an IMEI unlock for it and its now pretty much factory unlocked for any carrier in the world.
[doublepost=1488082306][/doublepost]
mk313 said:
Hmm. Do you know which service you selected from swift? I just checked out their website and I don't see any listing for the iPhone SE.
Thanks
Click to expand...
I used this one:
Unlock SPRINT [PREMIUM] IPHONE 6S/ 6S PLUS
$39.99



This service will unlock ANY Sprint/Boost USA iPhones. If devices are CLEAN ESN, it will work on USA GSM (ATT, Tmobile ETC). Blacklisted (lost/stolen/unpaid) will work ONLY OVERSEAS once unlocked


Average Timeframe: 1-5 business days.


Models Supported: 6S / 6S Plus / SE

Swiftunlocks took less than a day to unlock it.
 
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mk313 said:
I agree with almost everything you wrote, except this section. Sprints stock price is actually the highest it's Ben in a long time. I know he paid some sort of premium when buying sprint, but the stock was trading aroudn$4 IIRC when he purchased it. It's now around $9/share. If/when he sells out to t mobile, he'll make quite a nice profit.
Click to expand...
That may be because the Street liked the moves Marcelo was making. Marcelo has incentive to do well because he gets certain bonuses if the stock price reaches a certain amount for a certain length of time.

But this didn't start happening until Son replaced Hesse with Marcelo. That was a year after he bought Sprint and some time after the failure to merge with T-Mobile. It's these last two facts that are the reason I made that statement.
 
Applejuiced said:
The box says A1723.
I guess it works on boost/Sprint so its gotta have CDMA enabled also.
[doublepost=1488082253][/doublepost]

That's false.
This SE worked fine on Tmobile and with AT&T sim cards once I purchased an IMEI unlock for it and its now pretty much factory unlocked for any carrier in the world.
[doublepost=1488082306][/doublepost]
I used this one:
Unlock SPRINT [PREMIUM] IPHONE 6S/ 6S PLUS
$39.99



This service will unlock ANY Sprint/Boost USA iPhones. If devices are CLEAN ESN, it will work on USA GSM (ATT, Tmobile ETC). Blacklisted (lost/stolen/unpaid) will work ONLY OVERSEAS once unlocked


Average Timeframe: 1-5 business days.


Models Supported: 6S / 6S Plus / SE

Swiftunlocks took less than a day to unlock it.
Click to expand...
If I understand you correctly, you got the phone, paid the unlock fee, and the unlock will work on Verizon as well as Att etc. ?
 
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BasicGreatGuy said:
If I understand you correctly, you got the phone, paid the unlock fee, and the unlock will work on Verizon as well as Att etc. ?
Click to expand...

It may work on Verizon but be careful. The sprint version of the se has a band that the Verizon one doesn't ( I think it's 41) that is part of the sprint network. It is missing one of the Verizon bands though, so you won't get the same Verizon service you would get on a Verizon iPhone se. I think it is also missing an at&t band, IIRC.
 
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I liked the idea of the OP. I too decided to purchase the SE to use as a iPod. I got the 64GB model just now for $121.89 after tax, tag, and title. :D. Too good a deal to pass up at that price.

Edited to add: I may try and activate it with Freedompop as well. An iPod that can also be used as a limited cell phone works for me.
 
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BasicGreatGuy said:
I liked the idea of the OP. I too decided to purchase the SE to use as a iPod. I got the 64GB model just now for $121.89 after tax, tag, and title. :D. Too good a deal to pass up at that price.

Edited to add: I may try and activate it with Freedompop as well. An iPod that can also be used as a limited cell phone works for me.
Click to expand...

Wow! That is an amazing price. Was that a one off sale, or is that something that's still available online somewhere? FWIW, I put freedom pop on my old iPhone 5 when I upgraded a couple of years ago. it works great as a backup phone/ internet device. I wouldn't want to use that service as my main phone, but for a spare, you can't go wrong.
 
mk313 said:
Wow! That is an amazing price. Was that a one off sale, or is that something that's still available online somewhere? FWIW, I put freedom pop on my old iPhone 5 when I upgraded a couple of years ago. it works great as a backup phone/ internet device. I wouldn't want to use that service as my main phone, but for a spare, you can't go wrong.
Click to expand...
If you are interested in getting the same kind of price I did, send me a pm.
 
Applejuiced said:
All you need is to stick an active Verizon sim and you're good.
It works fine. Not sure about all bands available but it works and connects on Verizon and uses most of their popular frequencies.
Click to expand...

I'm not doubting you, but I did want to confirm that you've actually tried this with Verizon? The reason I'm asking is that I checked out the swift unlocks site as I'd love to grab one of these to use on Sprint, but the block specifically states that it will work on GSM carriers like AT&T and T-mobile. It doesn't mention Verizon or Sprint, which makes me wonder if there is something with the unlock method that doesn't work on non GSM networks. I sent an email to the site, but I haven't heard anything back yet.
 
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mk313 said:
Wow! That is an amazing price. Was that a one off sale, or is that something that's still available online somewhere? FWIW, I put freedom pop on my old iPhone 5 when I upgraded a couple of years ago. it works great as a backup phone/ internet device. I wouldn't want to use that service as my main phone, but for a spare, you can't go wrong.
Click to expand...
If I do decide to go with the free plan from Freedompop, I will need to get it unlocked in the same type manner ApplJuiced did correct?
 
mk313 said:
I'm not doubting you, but I did want to confirm that you've actually tried this with Verizon? The reason I'm asking is that I checked out the swift unlocks site as I'd love to grab one of these to use on Sprint, but the block specifically states that it will work on GSM carriers like AT&T and T-mobile. It doesn't mention Verizon or Sprint, which makes me wonder if there is something with the unlock method that doesn't work on non GSM networks. I sent an email to the site, but I haven't heard anything back yet.
Click to expand...

All iPhone 6, 6S, SE models work on any cdma and gsm networks once they are unlocked.
Well known fact and it's something that unfortunately changed with the i7 release and the Apple use of 2 different baseband chips. 1 iPhone 7 model with cdma/gsm and another one with just gsm tech.
My old AT&T unlocked 6 plus worked fine on Verizon also.
Boost runs off Sprints cdma network.
I educated you plenty today :)
 
BasicGreatGuy said:
If I do decide to go with the free plan from Freedompop, I will need to get it unlocked in the same type manner ApplJuiced did correct?
Click to expand...

Yes, it would have to be unlocked. That once that's done, it's a very simple process with Freedompop. I'm still not certain that the swift unlock site will work with Sprint (the network that Freedompop runs on) or Verizon though. I'll post back here once they reply to my email.
[doublepost=1488124559][/doublepost]
Applejuiced said:
All iPhone 6, 6S, SE models work on any cdma and gsm networks once they are unlocked.
Well known fact and it's something that unfortunately changed with the i7 release and the Apple use of 2 different baseband chips. 1 iPhone 7 model with cdma/gsm and another one with just gsm tech.
My old AT&T unlocked 6 plus worked fine on Verizon also.
Boost runs off Sprints cdma network.
I educated you plenty today :)
Click to expand...

I appreciate the reply, but my concern isn't whether the phone is capable, but whether the unlock method used by swift unlocks and/or other sites is compatible with the CDMA networks. The reason I asked is that swift specifically states that their unlock works on any GSM network, such as AT&T and T-Mobile, or any GSM based network worldwide. It seems odd to me to put such a restriction in the service description if it would indeed work on any network, not just any GSM-based network.

I sent the same question to swift unlocks. I'll post here when they reply.
 
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mk313 said:
Yes, it would have to be unlocked. That once that's done, it's a very simple process with Freedompop. I'm still not certain that the swift unlock site will work with Sprint (the network that Freedompop runs on) or Verizon though. I'll post back here once they reply to my email.
Click to expand...

All unlocks are the same.
There is no different swift unlock that unlocks it partially or carrier unlock that unlocks it fully.
Never heard of freedompop so if you can't find an imei unlock for that company or particular device I wouldn't risk it.
Once any of those i6,6S or SE devices are carrier unlocked they will function on any cdma and gsm network.
I know on Verizon they work fine once you stick an active Verizon sim.
Now if Sprint allows it to be activated/whitelisted and used on their network is different story. Sprint is always different and stricter.
 
Applejuiced said:
All unlocks are the same.
There is no different swift unlock that unlocks it partially or carrier unlock that unlocks it fully.
Never heard of freedompop so if you can't find an imei unlock for that company or particular device I wouldn't risk it.
Once any of those i6,6S or SE devices are carrier unlocked they will function on any cdma and gsm network.
I know on Verizon they work fine once you stick an active Verizon sim.
Now if Sprint allows it to be activated/whitelisted and used on their network is different story. Sprint is always different and stricter.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. That sounds promising.
 
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Applejuiced said:
Update on the iPhone SE I got from boost mobile.
https://www.boostmobile.com/#!/shop/phones/apple-iphone-se/features/Gray,16GB/
$179.99 for a brand new one 16GB.
It arrived yesterday. I Submitted a 3rd party IMEI unlock with swiftunlocks for $40 and this morning its completed. Now I have a fully unlocked SE.
It activated with T mobile and AT&T sims with no problems.
Ended up being a good deal in the end since brand new unlocked SE's from Apple go for $350.
Click to expand...
Did your boost mobile phone come with an unactivated SIM card?
 
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