Apple Details iPhone 5 LTE Carrier Compatibility

Wednesday September 12, 2012 12:46 pm PDT by Eric Slivka

In order to help customers understand which iPhone 5 models will support LTE in which countries and on which carriers, Apple has posted a new guide outlining the three different model variants and their compatibility.

The North America-focused GSM model is compatible with LTE service on AT&T in the United States and Bell, Rogers and Telus in Canada. The CDMA model is compatible with LTE on Sprint and Verizon in the United States, as well as KDDI in Japan.

For the international-focused GSM model, LTE is supported on ten different networks in Germany, the UK, Australia, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

This information is for the first round of launches taking place on September 21, and Apple will presumably be updating this page with additional entries for later markets that are also rolling out LTE on frequencies compatible with these devices.

Related roundups: iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6

Top Rated Comments

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chrmjenkins

Posted: 24 months ago

Do your research and stop spreading false information.

What he said is a subset of the information you presented, meaning it is logically correct by extension. At no point did he say those were the only networks/standards it would roam on. Get off your high horse.

Rating: 4 Votes

chrmjenkins

Posted: 24 months ago

Aaaaanyhoww..... here is another confirmation of what I already said: http://gigaom.com/apple/4g-fragmentation-forces-apple-to-build-3-separate-iphones/

And a confirmation you're not actually reading my comments. No one said you were wrong, ever.

Rating: 3 Votes

milo

Posted: 24 months ago

Aaaaanyhoww..... here is another confirmation of what I already said

And what he already said, since everything in your post agreed with what he said. Still can't figure out what the "no" was about with all your info confirming what he said.

Rating: 3 Votes

grad98cofc

Posted: 24 months ago

I'm currently living in Germany, using Vodafone. I'll probably be moving back to the states in a year or so, and will probably go with T-Mobile's unlimited 4G plan. So which unlocked GSM version should I get??? Or do I buy the unlocked CDMA version? Thanks in advance. I suppose sprint's unlimited pan is an option too...

Rating: 2 Votes

John.B

Posted: 24 months ago

Just to note that if you want global LTE coverage (sans Canada), get a Verizon LTE unlocked phone. You are covered wherever you are WITH LTE not only HSPA.

AT&T's unlocked version will get you covered globally on HSPA, and potentially on T-Mobile's LTE once they launch since it's also band 4, as well as MetroPCS Band 4. Also Canadian LTE carriers use the same LTE bands so that's covered.

And that Global version, I honestly have no idea why anyone in the US would buy knowing that Verizon iPhone give you all those bands and more.

But Verizon's LTE fallback is to slow-as-**** EVDO.

Rating: 2 Votes

chrmjenkins

Posted: 24 months ago

No.
1. All phones roam on GSM/HSPA

2. AT&T only roams on Canadian LTE. HSPA it'll roam globally.

3. Verizon roams in Europe, Asia, Australia on LTE (no Canada) and globally on GSM/HSPA/CDMA.

4. All phones use SIM cards. Required for LTE.

What he said isn't incorrect. You just provided a more detailed version (adding locales other than Japan where Verizon version roams on LTE).

Rating: 2 Votes

milan03

Posted: 24 months ago

Really confused by a few things!

1. If I'm on Verizon, and I'm out of LTE coverage, I drop back to 3G, right?
1a. If I drop back to 3G, on a Verizon iPhone 5, can I talk and surf at the same time? I know you can't on an iPhone 4, but what about the 5?
1b. Did I read correctly earlier in the thread that by mid-2013 Verizon will have LTE everywhere and no dropping back to 3G?
2. If I'm on Verizon and I go to Canada (frequently, since my family is there), I will be good for voice roaming?
2a. However, if I use data in Canada, I will end up on 3G? (and then, no talk and surf?)
3. If I go somewhere random (e.g. South Africa) will I be able to roam for voice on Verizon? (NOT data)

1. Yes.
1a. No.
1b. Yes.
2. Yes.
2a. Yes 3G HSPA+ 42mbps/21mbps... you'll be able to talk and surf at the same time(GSM)
3. Yes.

Rating: 1 Votes

Giuly

Posted: 24 months ago

I'm blown away by the LTE speeds. What was it again, 64kbits/s for 29.9 days each month? :rolleyes:

Rating: 1 Votes

milan03

Posted: 24 months ago

Do we know yet which of the two hardware models is going to be sold unlocked in the US?

I'm pretty sure both.

Rating: 1 Votes

milan03

Posted: 24 months ago

Why do you think both will be sold unlocked? This wasn't the case with the 4S, right?

Yeah because 4S on Verizon and Sprint used ESN activation method and no SIM involved. The iPhone 5 will be CSIM based so you actually have a SIM to unlock. It's the same A1429 version of iPhone 5 that's gonna be sold overseas as a global GSM.

Rating: 1 Votes

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