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So I had a question about the iPhone 4s CDMA/GSM capabilities.
I was watching the iPhone 4s video about its capabilities and the senior vp of marketing said that every iPhone 4s has CDMA AND GSM capabilities in its phone... So does this mean if I have my iPhone 4s from ATT and for some reason drop the GSM ATT network, and I go to a CDMA network like verizon I will be able to have it unlocked and use it on verizon? If i am understood correctly what i heard is that it has both capabilities.? Is this true
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dww0311
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13 years ago
No. From what we have been able to find, once the phone is activated on a standard, it is locked to that standard. A GSM phone isn't going to roam over to CDMA and vice versa.
It remains to be seen what the verdict is on the unlocked iPhones that Apple intends to begin selling in November, but AFAWK, the carrier phones will remain locked. Neither AT&T nor Verizon allows the unlocking of phones, even after their contracts have been fulfilled.
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dww0311
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13 years ago
It is possible, in theory, IF the phone was produced with antennas that work on both standards, IF radios for both standards were installed, IF the CDMA phones all come with SIMs installed and IF the modem chip was wired into both radios. The odds of all that happening are zero, IMO.
They've made a big deal out of the phones having the same modem chip, but there is a tad more to it than just that chip.
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nickk513
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13 years ago
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nickk513
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dww0311
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13 years ago
Put it this way - the current Verizon iPhone 4 has a dual mode Qualcomm MDM 6600 modem. It can do both GSM and CDMA. Can you use that phone on AT&T's network?
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nickk513
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13 years ago
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dww0311
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13 years ago
iPhones won't do it.
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nickk513
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13 years ago
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JaTaN
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13 years ago
Apple has left it up to the carriers to set their own agreements -- the phone was mainly designed to let CDMA users use GSM while going overseas (not using GSM in the US), but it'll depend on what agreements VZ/Sprint setup with international GSM carriers (dont expect it to be fully unlocked). Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon so expect GSM agreements with them in the future
Apple doesnt really care about letting GSM users use CDMA or else they wouldn't have made the unlocked 4s GSM only. GSM is more popular worldwide so you'll find GSM networks in pretty much every country, but CDMA isnt available everywhere
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