[iMore Question]

If I buy a Iphone from sprint and pay it off will it work with other carriers looking forward to coming back to apple!
Thanks

[bakron1]

If I buy a Iphone from sprint and pay it off will it work with other carriers looking forward to coming back to apple!
Thanks

As far as I know, Sprint is a CDMA network and even if you pay the device off, it won’t work on a GSM network like T Mobile or AT&T. Unless something has changed?

[kataran]

Being on Sprint since 99 I never bother checking for other network compatibility but I do know Sprint iPhones have a Sim slot that is compatible with international carriers but I have no idea how that works.

[Annie_M]

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[mogelijk]

If you buy most iPhones from Sprint, they should work on any other US carrier -- once the phone is paid off and after you get Sprint to carrier unlock the phone. I believe the iPhone SE is the only Sprint phone that might have issues with other carriers -- my recollection is that the SE Sprint model is missing some of the bands other carriers use.

[mogelijk]

As far as I know, Sprint is a CDMA network and even if you pay the device off, it won’t work on a GSM network like T Mobile or AT&T. Unless something has changed?

I believe you are thinking backwards. Prior to the XS (with the exception of the 6, I believe it was, but may have been the 6s) the CDMA versions of the iPhone would work on all carriers -- they had radios for both CDMA and GSM. However, the GSM versions of the phones (AT&T and T-Mobile) did not have the CDMA radios, so would not work on Sprint or Verizon. And, with Verizon over the last year or two, you've still been able to use Verizon with the GSM phones -- the phone worked LTE only, as Verizon is preparing to move to LTE only (shutting down the CDMA portion of the network).

[bakron1]

I believe you are thinking backwards. Prior to the XS (with the exception of the 6, I believe it was, but may have been the 6s) the CDMA versions of the iPhone would work on all carriers -- they had radios for both CDMA and GSM. However, the GSM versions of the phones (AT&T and T-Mobile) did not have the CDMA radios, so would not work on Sprint or Verizon. And, with Verizon over the last year or two, you've still been able to use Verizon with the GSM phones -- the phone worked LTE only, as Verizon is preparing to move to LTE only (shutting down the CDMA portion of the network).

I stand corrected, it does look like the new Sprint iPhones will work on T Mobile and AT&T. I would still check the box and make sure the device is compatible with both CDMA and GSM networks and last but not least, put my sim into the device and verify it work with my T Mobile sim.

[bamf-hacker]

If you pay off the phone then you can request the device to be unlocked and you can move it to another carrier.