If your iphone doesnt have a sim card slot it probably is the iphone 4 cdma version. Would i be able to simply just insert the sim from cricket or will i have to unlock the phone. Unlocked iphone 4s coming in november, wont work with. Very interesting news came in today regarding the no contract carrier, straight talk. Below is a list of iphone models from iphone 4 onwards and its compatibility. There is no physical difference between one being sold on cdma carriers or gsm carriers. So the gsm carriers dont have total control of the phone youre using. No matter where you bought your iphone, you could bring it to another carrier as long as it was unlocked. For reference, the iphone 5 uses a nanosim, iphone 44s uses a microsim.
Every apple store in japan has sold the gsm iphone 4 since last year. This tutorial demos how to factory unlock your off contact att iphone 4 4s to another gsm carrier such as tmobile. Open itunes on your mac or pc and verify that you have internet connectivity. Product title apple iphone 8 plus 64gb gsm unlocked phone w dual. Carriers fool you into thinking your iphone 4s is unlocked. In preliminary testing, macworld reported that the reception no longer was. The good news is that many phones today come with both cdma and gsm chips inside, including some versions of the iphone as far back as the iphone 4. You can not use it with any carrier other than verizon or an mvno that they own with their approval. Also, notice that you may not be able to switch your older iphone version e.
But, i am traveling outside usa and i would like to purchase a sim card in the country where i am travelling to and be able to use it with my ip. Bring your own gsm phone carrier comparison whistleout. Freedom pop is a cdma carrier, and they use sprint towers, while the phone you bought is a gsm phone. Even if you were to jailbreak it or get verizon to unlock it, its only going to work with another cdma carrier. Cricket now supports gsm and will phase out cmda, but my phone is from att and i havent unlocked it. Before you do this, check on network compatibility between carriers. Apple aapl will, at last, sell you an unlocked iphone 4 in the u. How to unlock your iphone for use with a different carrier apple. Why you cant take your unlocked iphone 4s to another u. Everything you need to know about carriers and unlocking. The sim card in no way links to the verizon wireless network. The process works with the gsm iphone 4 and 4s running ios 5 and equipped with any baseband. The iphone 4 you have is model a49 that should be printed on the back of the device, and if so, it is a pure cdma phone so you cannot connect it to a gsm carrier due to differing radio technology. The verizon iphone 4 does not contain a gsm radio at all.
Why straight talk might just be the best carrier for your. Starting on january 6, 2015, apple also started selling an unlocked version of the a1586 global iphone 6 in the us, which apple refers to as the unlocked iphone 6. Easily switch sim cards between gsm carriers using the same iphone. Hsupa networks for compatibility with more cellular carriers worldwide. Its like not being able to listen to am radio stations with an fm radio, or vice versa. Sim card, both gsm and cdma with sim card slot phones must be unlocked. This means that users looking to unlock their devices for use on a different carrier dont have to wait until theyre out of contract. Unlocked iphones can be used with any gsm carrier, which you can read about below, and still need a sim card to be activated. Here at, we are committed to protecting your privacy. Factory unlocks ensure your iphone will still be unlocked when you. However, just because you cant bring your gsm phone to a cdma network doesnt mean youre stuck choosing only from the big guys. They do not work the sim really isnt used while a verizon wireless customer in the united states. You may be able to access 4g networks, but 4g networks are dataonly.
Now that its legal, heres how to unlock your phone on. Why straight talk might just be the best carrier for your iphone, period. This means the iphone can theoretically be used on any cdma or gsm network, in any country. However, if you have a phone made in the last couple of years, you probably dont need to worry about which carriers use gsm or cdma networks since most newer phones work on both networks. Apple is now selling carrier unlocked iphone 4 gsm models in the usa. If your iphone 4s network is not listed below under networks or you dont know the network your iphone is locked to, do not order this, as your network must be listed below. It will also inform your new carrier that it has been properly unlocked by the. No carrier contracts allow you to get service from a smaller carrier such as a mobile virtual network operator without the yoke of a twoyear contract. Contract cell phones prepaid phones smart phones unlocked cell phones. Im looking to change phone plans and i was wondering which no contract plans will let me use an unlocked iphone. Now you can take it to just about any gsm carrier and sign up for whatever service. Straight talk sim card for t mobile gsm network activation kit free shipping.
However, unlocking a cell phone youve paid for without your carrier s permission is currently a crime in the usa. In the us, the gsm version of the a1549 iphone 6 is sold unlocked and without a contract on tmobile and it does not support cdma networks. There are plenty of smaller gsm phone carriers to consider. If you have a sim card from a carrier other than your current. For a list of carriers that have certified their lte network on iphone, refer to the chart below. I payed the full retail price with no contract month to month. Apple refers to this model as the tmobile iphone 6. If you have a cdmaonly phone you will not be able to access 3g networks in australia, which means no talk and text. If the serial number of your iphone 4 starts with a49, then your phone is cdma and no big network will accept it other than verizon. Unlock iphone 4s, network unlock codes cellunlocker. A contract carrier offers various monthly plans that can include minutes, texts and data, as well as a handset.
Att, tmobile, verizon, sprint, nextel, alltel, boost mobile, metropcs, cricket and much more. Alaska communications wireless got bought by gci and gci is not taking any new cdma customersphones, even if the customer currently has a cdma phone programmed through them, unless they are not telling the whole story. What smartphones are compatible with both cdma and gsm. What smartphones are compatible with both cdma and gsm networks.
If you want to use freedom pop, you will need an unlocked cdma phone. You generally have to enter into a 12 or 24month contract. No matter where you bought your iphone, you could bring it to another carrier as long as. Unlike the iphone 4s, the iphone 4 had two models, a gsm model and a cdma model. So my friend is going to unlock his old sprint iphone and give it to me. Cdma, which stands for code division multiple access, is a competing cell phone service technology to gsm, the worlds most widely used cell phone standard. The iphone 6 and 6s, for example, were compatible with both standards. But it will not work with any cdma carriers, including verizon wireless or sprint. What cell phone carriers will let me use an unlocked iphone 4. It is unlocked only for international gsm networks. This is a list of united states wireless communications service providers. International sim cards for iphones the essential guide wraptel. You can find no contract phone plans with international calling, mobile hotspot usage, and addons like more data.
This method may or may not work for all gsm iphone 4 models around. Yes, cdma iphone 4 can not be used with any gsm network. Weve found that most wireless users are over paying on their monthly bill. Unlocked iphone models may support lte networks outside the country of. How to use a iphone 4s that was activated on a cdma carrier with.
List of united states wireless communications service. Is it possible to use a verizon cdma iphone 4 with any. These lesserknown providers are called mvnos mobile virtual network operators. Use sam package to unlock jailbroken iphone 4s iphone 4. Competitive carriers association cca has over 100 members. No contract cell phone plans often require you to bring your own phone. The one side effect of switching carriers is that a little extra setup is. Now that att owns cricket wireless, i wanted to go with the cheaper service from cricket and i am sure i will get the same reliability since cricket is using att service. Both the iphone 4s sold on gsm and cdma have the model no. Verizon or sprint iphone 4 wont work on gsm networks because it came with no sim card slot. In the united states cdma is the protocol for verizon and sprint, while gsm. No matter gsm or cdma, sprint, or verizon, these iphone models will work on any. Whats more, to be considered gsm, a carrier must accept any gsmcompliant phone.
In my case i was with att, with an iphone 4s, and wanted to unlock it and move to tmobile. See a list of carriers that have certified lte networks on iphone in the u. With lte on iphone 5 and later, you can browse the web, stream content, or download apps and games at blazingfast speeds. Your email address will never be sold or distributed to a third. A full list of gsm carriers in the usa unlocked shop. Cellular carriers will generally unlock your phone for you as long as youre no longer in a contract with them. Bring your own phone wireless carriers comparison whistleout.
After your carrier confirms that they unlocked your iphone, follow the steps below. I have an unlocked iphone 5c and its gsm copatible but want to add to my verizon account. Compatibility depends on whether your new carrier uses a gsm or cdma network. Youve probably heard of these acronyms when you were told that you cant use a certain phone on your mobile network because theyre using different technologies that are not compatible.
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