U.S. carrier T-Mobile has decided to offer "additional support" to customers using the iPhone on its network, reports TmoNews. While T-Mobile doesn't sell the iPhone, it reports that more than 1 million unlocked iPhones are used on its network and the additional support will be useful to T-Mobile's less tech-savvy iPhone users.

tmoiphonesupport
T-Mobile will support users who have questions about "common procedures, information about feature and specifications and other basic device questions." Most T-Mobile iPhone users are limited to T-Mobile's slower EDGE network due to the iPhone's incompatibility with the 1700/2100 MHz bands used by the carrier for its faster data networks. Late last year, though, some of T-Mobile's towers were adjusted for its faster HSPA+ network, moving them to the iPhone-accessible 1900MHz band in some "pockets" of the country.

Earlier this month, T-Mobile claimed the next iPhone chipset could be capable of supporting the carrier's Advanced Wireless Spectrum, but noted that it didn't have any specific knowledge of Apple's future products.

Top Rated Comments

Diode Avatar
182 months ago
The capability is in the qualcomm radio. Apple just needs to invest in the transceiver, PCB changes and modifications to the external antenna to support the AWS bands. Given these are small hurdles, the hurdle is a political/economics one, not a technical one.
Even handsets that support LTE over AWS like the AT&T HTC Vivid have the HSPA+ radio disabled on the AWS portion, again effectively locking out T-Mobile. This shows it's purely politics and probably stipulated by AT&T to have the phone on their network.

I suspect you will see Apple do something similar to "save battery" or something.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrmjenkins Avatar
182 months ago
The capability is in the qualcomm radio. Apple just needs to invest in the transceiver, PCB changes and modifications to the external antenna to support the AWS bands. Given these are small hurdles, the hurdle is a political/economics one, not a technical one.

The specs aren't going to advertise it because apple has no intention of running on those frequencies.

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1092599



AWS is UMTS 1700
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmwade77 Avatar
182 months ago
As much as people love to hate on AT&T, I've actually had better customer service with them than Verizon. When people say AT&T has bad service, I never actually hear any details about an encounter they had. It's just taken for fact.
Ok, I will give actual examples:

First off, please note that with AT&T, this is a business account, so there are a ton of lines on it and we spend a fair amount with them every month.

There was fraud committed on the account, which took several months to get the charges reversed, even though they acknowledged the fraud. Then when we went to order new phones, we were "not eligible for an upgrade" as they never fixed our upgrade eligibility status when they removed the line. I had to go to the vice president of AT&T to get this resolved.

They also had double billed us for certain lines and kept saying it was our fault.

Anytime that I need to call them, it takes 15-20 minutes to get a live person and this is through their key contact center, which is supposed to be a lot faster than the consumer side.


Now, let's compare this to T-Mobile, which I personally have as a family line with 5 lines:
We accidentally purchased something, it was our fault, but we called T-Mobile, they immediately reversed the charges.

When they started enabling data by default for smart phones and charging for it, we called them after we were charged about $100, they reversed the charges (and extra) and put a block on it within about 2 minutes.

My wife wanted to be able to tether her Android phone, she called them, they gave her instructions on how to do so without having to pay the extra $5 per month that they officially want you to pay.

We have never waited for more than 2 minutes on hold for a representative and that was when 1/2 the state was experiencing a service outage.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrmjenkins Avatar
182 months ago
As much as people love to hate on AT&T, I've actually had better customer service with them than Verizon. When people say AT&T has bad service, I never actually hear any details about an encounter they had. It's just taken for fact.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rcappo Avatar
182 months ago
Will I be allowed to tether my phone to my laptop? Will the data plan be reasonably priced?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WatchTheThrone Avatar
182 months ago
Good for tmobile supporting even phones they don't sell. I had an unlocked 3GS with tmobile and never did I have a problem with it but when Sprint got the iPhone and tmobile didn't I decided to give sprint a try.
Been very happy with Sprint even though their 3G was slow at launch but now I'm getting on average 1.2mb/s and for me thats pretty good o and having truly unlimited is a major plus!! (did 4.5 gigs last month and no throttling) :)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Wallet ID Illinois

Apple Plans to Expand iPhone Driver's Licenses to These 7 U.S. States

Wednesday December 24, 2025 8:40 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID Front camera in...
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
airpods color prototypes

Apple Tested AirPods in Bright Colors

Saturday December 27, 2025 6:06 am PST by
Apple reportedly tested a version of the first-generation AirPods with bright, iPhone 5c-like colored charging cases. The images, shared by the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami," claim to show first-generation AirPods prototypes with pink and yellow exterior casings. The interior of the charging case and the earbuds themselves remain white. They seem close to some...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Monday December 22, 2025 8:47 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones. iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features. Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen A new slider in the Lock...
maxresdefault

10 Mac Apps Worth Trying in 2026

Wednesday December 24, 2025 9:27 am PST by
2026 is almost upon us, and a new year is a good time to try out some new apps. We've rounded up 10 excellent Mac apps that are worth checking out. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Alt-Tab (Free) - Alt-Tab brings a Windows-style alt + tab thumbnail preview option to the Mac. You can see a full window preview of open apps and app windows. One Thing (Free) -...
top stories 2025 12 27

Top Stories: iPhone Fold Mockup, Where's the New Apple TV?, and More

Saturday December 27, 2025 6:00 am PST by
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from MacRumors! News in the Apple world has unsurprisingly been relatively slow over the past week, but Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone managed to make its way back into the news, while we also shared updates on current and future Apple TV news. iOS 26.3 will be bringing some new features, particularly for users in the EU, so we'll look for additional...