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How can I use LTE in China and USA with the iPhone 6?

SMB

By SMB
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SMB Member Level: Smoke Signals

SMB

Posted
Posted

Hi Guys,

 

I'm new to the forum.  Stumbled upon this site searching for information on whether or not an unlocked  iPhone 6 bought here in the usa will be able to use 4g lte on China mobile.

 

I live and work part of the year in China and have been using unlocked iphones there for years.

However, a restriction that China mobile (carrier) has is that it only allows domestic model phones access to its 4G or LTE speeds. 

 

Apparently China mobile uses TD-LTE or Band 41 which was never available on US models of iphones until the iphone 6.   If I understand correctly,  only the sprint model A 1586 and 1524 will have these TD-LTE bands (38-41) ?

 

This article says even the usa unlocked iphone 6 will not have the TD-LTE bands I require. 

 

http://www.bgr.in/news/apple-iphone-6-unlocked-prices-in-the-us-announced-but-you-should-look-at-hong-kong-instead/

 

It says I should buy the Hong Kong unlocked model which works out to about $40 more.   That's fine,  I don't mind to pay the extra $40 but my question which is better way to go?

 

Can I buy an Iphone 6 here from sprint ,  pay them whatever fees required and let them unlock it for me for China carriers but no other domestic carriers?  Or pay full price and buy the Hong Kong model?  Will it work on all the carriers here in the usa?

 

I live in Hawaii and I don't think Sprint has 4G or LTE service here yet.  

 

Maybe you folks here who are much smarter than me can figure out the best way for me to be able to have access to LTE speeds in China and here in Hawaii using the iPhone 6.

 

Thanks so much.

SMB

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burnout8488 Member Level: eHRPD

burnout8488

Posted
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I can answer a few questions.

 

An international unlock from Sprint is easy - you should have no trouble with that.

 

Hawaii is just starting to get LTE, they've got a handful of sites recently accepted. Check out the Hawaii market thread, there are a lot of spottings within the last month. LTE just started to pick up steam and the users are getting very excited.

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WiWavelength Member Level: LTE Advanced

WiWavelength

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It says I should buy the Hong Kong unlocked model which works out to about $40 more.   That's fine,  I don't mind to pay the extra $40 but my question which is better way to go?

 

Can I buy an Iphone 6 here from sprint ,  pay them whatever fees required and let them unlock it for me for China carriers but no other domestic carriers?  Or pay full price and buy the Hong Kong model?  Will it work on all the carriers here in the usa?

 

If you buy the unlocked model in Hong Kong, you will not be able to activate it on Sprint in the US.

 

AJ

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bitslizer Member Level: 3G EVDO

bitslizer

Posted
Posted

I'm kind of in the same boat, not necessarily iphone related, but wondering if Sprint worldphone with Spark can enjoy regular GSM + TDLTE service in China where TDLTE is available, using a China Mobile sim card.  I know 3G won't work as China Mobile 3G is not regular HSPA+

 

eager to find out

 

 

As far as international unlock goes, I think you have to be either a long time customer, or out of contract, or you paid for your phone outright with no financing in order to get the the international unlock?

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king_edmund12 Member Level: Analog

king_edmund12

Posted
Posted

Hi Guys,

 

I'm new to the forum.  Stumbled upon this site searching for information on whether or not an unlocked  iPhone 6 bought here in the usa will be able to use 4g lte on China mobile.

 

I live and work part of the year in China and have been using unlocked iphones there for years.

However, a restriction that China mobile (carrier) has is that it only allows domestic model phones access to its 4G or LTE speeds. 

 

Apparently China mobile uses TD-LTE or Band 41 which was never available on US models of iphones until the iphone 6.   If I understand correctly,  only the sprint model A 1586 and 1524 will have these TD-LTE bands (38-41) ?

 

This article says even the usa unlocked iphone 6 will not have the TD-LTE bands I require. 

 

http://www.bgr.in/news/apple-iphone-6-unlocked-prices-in-the-us-announced-but-you-should-look-at-hong-kong-instead/

 

It says I should buy the Hong Kong unlocked model which works out to about $40 more.   That's fine,  I don't mind to pay the extra $40 but my question which is better way to go?

 

Can I buy an Iphone 6 here from sprint ,  pay them whatever fees required and let them unlock it for me for China carriers but no other domestic carriers?  Or pay full price and buy the Hong Kong model?  Will it work on all the carriers here in the usa?

 

I live in Hawaii and I don't think Sprint has 4G or LTE service here yet.  

 

Maybe you folks here who are much smarter than me can figure out the best way for me to be able to have access to LTE speeds in China and here in Hawaii using the iPhone 6.

 

Thanks so much.

SMB

 

I don't think China's 4g LTE is even close to acceptable speeds right now. I read somewhere in a blog, in Chinese, that it was just was just a little bit faster. I can't verify the speeds because i don't have a device that can be used on China Mobile, but i can tell you that Unicom's 3G speeds are pretty speed at least in SH.

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chappo2000 Member Level: 1x Advanced

chappo2000

Posted
Posted

 

I live in Hawaii and I don't think Sprint has 4G or LTE service here yet.  

 

 

You could always become an S4gru Sponsor and see for yourself..... 

 

Check out the details here:

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/1195-information-about-s4gru-sponsorship-levels-and-how-to-become-a-sponsor/?p=23387

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  • 4 weeks later...
crazy_vag Member Level: eHRPD

crazy_vag

Posted
Posted

I'm kind of in the same boat, not necessarily iphone related, but wondering if Sprint worldphone with Spark can enjoy regular GSM + TDLTE service in China where TDLTE is available, using a China Mobile sim card.  I know 3G won't work as China Mobile 3G is not regular HSPA+

 

eager to find out

 

 

As far as international unlock goes, I think you have to be either a long time customer, or out of contract, or you paid for your phone outright with no financing in order to get the the international unlock?

 

My wife is getting an iPhone 6 soon and going to China in a few months.  Now that iPhone 6 has been out for a while, has anyone tried the Sprint model in China with TD-LTE Band 41?

 

Also, the iPhone 5s on VZ was unlocked, but Sprint's model was sold locked and needed to be unlocked to be used in China, is that still true for Sprint's iPhone 6?

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nahum365 Member Level: eHRPD

nahum365

Posted
Posted

My wife is getting an iPhone 6 soon and going to China in a few months.  Now that iPhone 6 has been out for a while, has anyone tried the Sprint model in China with TD-LTE Band 41?

 

Also, the iPhone 5s on VZ was unlocked, but Sprint's model was sold locked and needed to be unlocked to be used in China, is that still true for Sprint's iPhone 6?

 

For your second question, the Sprint iPhone 6 is still sold locked to Sprint, and needs to be unlocked for international use. Domestic use in the United States on carriers other than Sprint in the US is not currently possible (and probably never will be).

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Vince Member Level: 4G LTE

Vince

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Domestic use in the United States on carriers other than Sprint in the US is not currently possible (and probably never will be).

starting with phones released in 2015, legally, they have to be.

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Vince Member Level: 4G LTE

Vince

Posted
Posted

If the Sprint iPhone 6 is bought at full price, is the phone automatically gsm unlocked for international use? That wou,d seem to be the ideal situation for travelers.

No. Any Verizon iPhone and a full-price T-Mobile (gsm) iPhone are actually unlocked for domestic and international use out of the box. The Sprint variant is only internationally unlockable after meeting Sprint's unlocking guidelines. It can't be domestically unlocked by Sprint. Period. They just won't do it.

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Isaacc7 Member Level: Smoke Signals

Isaacc7

Posted
Posted

No. Any Verizon iPhone and a full-price T-Mobile (gsm) iPhone are actually unlocked for domestic and international use out of the box. The Sprint variant is only internationally unlockable after meeting Sprint's unlocking guidelines. It can't be domestically unlocked by Sprint. Period. They just won't do it.

That's a shame since the phones that are sold unlocked in the States won't give LTE internationally. Previous models of the Sprint iPhone were GSM unlocked for international use when bought full price. I know they won't unlock for domestic use, at least not yet.

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tij664 Member Level: Analog

tij664

Posted
Posted

So basically I cannot buy the sprint iPhone 6 and use it in China without unlocking it?

You can just buy the Apple store unlocked 1524 or 1586 iPhone 6/6+. It will work with any carrier in the US including Sprint and has all the TD-LTE bands for when you're in China. 

 

But no, you can't just insert another SIM card into a phone you buy from Sprint, it has to meet the requirements for unlocking before they will unlock it for you. 

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      Totally agree.  In my county and surrounding counties, TM did not place n-41 on every site.  When I look at the sites in question, I probably would have not placed it there either.  I can find just a few with n-71 only and in most of those cases if you live there and know the probable usage of the residents, you would not do a full upgrade on those sites.  One site in particular is set up to force feed n-71 through a long tunnel on the Turnpike.  No stopping allowed in the tunnel. No stores, movie theaters, bathrooms, so n41 would be a waste.    n25 is not really needed either, so it is not there.  The tunnel is going through & under a mountain with more black bears than people.  TM was smart.  Get good coverage in the tunnel but do not waste many many thousands of dollars with extra unused spectrum. I also see sites with only n71 & n25.  Again this makes sense to me.  Depending on what county we are talking about, they moved much of their b25 from LTE to nr.  Some counties have more n25 than a neighboring county, but luckily, it is plenty everywhere.   When you are in a very rural area, n41 can run up the bills and then be barely used.  I am NOT finding sites that should have had n41 but TM failed to provide it.  They may have to come back later in a few years and upgrade the site to n41.  However, we just may eventually see the last little piece on Band 25 leave LTE and move to n25. I am not sure if the satellite to phone service is using band 25 G block as LTE or nr. We also can possibly have at least some AWS move from LTE to nr at some point.  Yes, everybody wants n41. it is not justified in some cases.  When I travel, I desire some decent service along the entire route but it does not have to be 1 or 2 gig download.   If I can get 50/5 on a speedtest with data that will flow and not stutter, I am very happy. Yes, they will swap out the USC gear.  TM needs to match their existing network. The USCC equipment did the job for years, but it is time to retire it.

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