Age Old Quandry: VZW or AT&T

[Neutrino]

An interesting thought comes about with the 4S: buy an AT&T iPhone and unlock for use with Verizon/Sprint; buy a VZW iPhone for use with AT&T.

Clearly, we're looking at a future JB/unlock problem. But it raises the question: if such an unlock existed, would it more likely work for one or the other carrier iPhones.

Might steer a buyer to one carrier or another to get maximum flexibility.


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[liquidzoo]

CDMA phones are ESN locked to a carrier. You will likely be able to buy an unlocked 4S and use it on T-Mobile or AT&T, but the Verizon and Sprint phones will likely be locked to those carriers (on the CDMA side, anyway).

 

[kch50428]

But will the GSM side of the Verizon or Sprint iP-4s be locked in such a way that even a US GSM carrier can't unlock it - but be available for use outside the US?

 

[Neutrino]

With world blackberries, we were able to unlock the SIm and toggle radios between CDMA and GSM. We won't be able to do that with the 4S?


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[kch50428]

With world blackberries, we were able to unlock the SIm and toggle radios between CDMA and GSM. We won't be able to do that with the 4S?

I looked into it with my former VZW BB Tour but never did it... it may be physically possible to do it, but the question is - will AT&T allow the CDMA side of their version of the iP4s to be unlocked in the US? Will Verizon/Sprint allow the GSM side of their versions of the iP4s to be unlocked for use in the US? Does Apple have a say in it?

Lots of questions... and I guess we'll know next week, or sooner??

 

[liquidzoo]

My guess:

The CDMA radio will be carrier locked. Buy it on Verizon, and you can only use it on their CDMA network (with roaming/international roaming on other CDMA networks).

But...

Much like the BB Storm, you should be able to unlock the GSM antenna to use on any GSM carrier.

 

[ghostface147]

This is all speculation until a 4S is in someone's hand and tries it. Let's revisit this after release.

 

[liquidzoo]

Someone did a little fine-print reading:

What's not in the iPhone 4S ... and why • The Register

 

[noaim]

one thing to keep in mind is that at&t will not unlock an iPhone and im sure verizon will so if you plan on going out of country you might be better off using verizon