My 2 cents on iPhone 6 T-Mobile "Contract Free" based on iPhone 5S experience

Hi all,
So, here is my opinion on iPhone 6 "T-mobile" option based on my experience with iPhone 5S:
I reside in Pakistan and had a friend order an iPhone 5S "T-mobile" (A1533-GSM) mid-October 2013 directly from Apple website in USA which came installed with a T-Mobile nano-SIM. I took this SIM out before turning on the phone and inserted my SIM (another Pakistan GSM carrier) and went ahead with normal activation of the iPhone. It worked fine and accepted my GSM carrier.
Since then, I have used my iPhone 5S in different countries (Turkey [TurkCell], UK [3], Thailand [DTAC], Italy [Wind] etc.) with local SIMs and it has worked perfectly.
I have now ordered an iPhone 6 "T-mobile Contract Free" again from USA to be used primarily in Asia & Europe.
Since I have been reading a lot of discussions on forums about "T-mobile Contract Free" option being a true factory-unlocked device and a lot of confusion surrounding it, I just wanted to share my experience to help some of you who may be getting conflicted reports on ordering for such option and your potential use in foreign country(ies).

Then why are you asking us? Apparently you have the answer you want from the Apple specialist. We have supplied you with the information that we have. There is nothing more we can tell you at this point.
Cheers,
GB

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Can i use iPhone T-mobile contract free version outside USA with any carrier?

Hello everyone,
I am planning to purchase the iPhone 6 via Apple online store, on or after september 19th.
I am living in Sri Lanka and obviously we do not have AT&T or any other service providers listed, here. My only option would be to buy the T-mobile 'contract-free' version if I am not willing to wait till Apple releases an unlocked 'sim-free' version within next few months. Therefor, I want to confirm and make sure that I can use the iPhone T-Mobile version with any carrier of my choice and is not locked only for T-mobile and can be used here in Sri Lanka.
Hoping for your kind support
Regards,
Nimasha

Hey Nicolas,
I had the same question, so I went to the Apple chat, and I asked the same, 'cause I need an iPhone to works in South America and Europe as well.
so what the person on the chat answered me was that the T-mobile cellphone comes Unlocked, so you can use it anywhere.
I Guess I can get it and now.

How can i change my iphone mode from t-mobile contract free to unlocked?

i actually was cheated from the online assistant!
I always want an unlocked iphone 5s.Last time i was consulting the online agent, he or she recommanded me to choose t-mobile contract free mode.He said as long as its a nano sim card. it will work with any service
then i took it as he suggested. today when i was asking an online agent again that if there is any kind of iphone5s works with foreign sim card. after a while, i got that the t-mobile contract free modes only work with t-mobile service within US but you can use foreign sim card when you are abroad.
Is that a kind of cheating to make me just purchase it in the first place?
I am really disappointed with the apple agents wether they are not honest or not professional. I think i am going to be extremely careful next time even with those seemingly official enough company
Now does anyone know how i can change the funny t-mobile contract free mode to unlocked??
Thanks much!

Well the thing is Tmobile has to be the UNLOCKED version then. I have tmobile and I bought an Iphone 5s from Apple TMOBILE. Payed the 600$ and popped in my existing sim. I had no dealings with tmobile for my phone and have no contract. I should be able to go to ATT sign up and pop it in to work. So the Tmobile version is the "unlocked" version right now and a sim is included for convience.
If you notice the bottom of the phones it says it will only work with the carrier you choose. Which is a clever way to word it. Which leads me to believe its unlocked. I payed full price so they cant "lock" it.

Can I use a T-Mobile contract-free iPhone 6 in any country with any SIM Card carrier?

I'm from Uruguay and I want to buy an iPhone 6 contract free from T-Mobile. My doubt is if I'll be able to use it in my country with a local carrier. In other words, is a factory unlocked iPhone? Which is the difference between a unlock iPhone and a Contract-Free T-Mobile iPhone?

Hey Nicolas,
I had the same question, so I went to the Apple chat, and I asked the same, 'cause I need an iPhone to works in South America and Europe as well.
so what the person on the chat answered me was that the T-mobile cellphone comes Unlocked, so you can use it anywhere.
I Guess I can get it and now.

Why is T-Mobile contract-free iPhone 6 not unlocked , showing * SIM not Valid* erorr outside of US?

Just before Christmas I purchased my iPhone 6 64 at full-price from the Stonebriar Apple Store, TX. At the time of purchase, I indicated several times that I want to use my phone outside of US and Apple Store representative assured me that my only option was T-Mobile contract-free iPhone which came totally unlocked and I would be able to use it internationally with no problem. I used my phone about 3 weeks in US with my prepaid AT&T SIM card without any problems and I was the happiest with my purchase but since I came back to my country my biggest nightmare has started : Just arrived at airport trying to use my local SIM, I faced the *SIM not valid* message due to a *Activation Policy*. My awful experience just started with both my family and I had the most frustrating time trying to find each other at airport. The next day when I called Apple care and explained the situation the adviser told me that although I bought the phone contract-free, my phone is now locked to AT&T and I had to contact them. I contacted AT&T several times spending countless hours to explain the situation and I spoke to near 9 different people including a manager ; at first they did not even believe me and they told me that it is impossible for AT&T to just block ppl's phones just because they activated their phone with their SIM -and it is totally making sense- but I insisted that Apple Care told me that my phone is locked by them and this is evident from their system. Anyway, one of them suggested me to request unlock my device via ATT website and I waited 4 days for their response till I received the denial because according to their record I used my prepaid service less than 6 months and I am not eligible for unlock request!!! Angry me called them again and after being on the line more that one hour, the adviser told me that my phone is not locked by them and it is actually Mercury who did this and they are the one that I had to call - at that moment I remembered that the night before I just tried my T-mobile SIM in my phone for few seconds to see what would happen and that's it - no service no activation ! When I called Apple this time and after speaking with at least 3 different pple, they told me that their system is actually unable to show which carrier has locked the device and they could only see which SIM card is the last one used in the phone and the problem is merely because of a latent Activation Policy that some iPhones can be used only in US and nowhere else and in US you may use it with different carriers but it does not mean that the phone is unlocked, and my only option is to contact the Apple Store I made my purchase to see whether they can(!! it is up to them to do it, they can easily say they can not) exchange the phone or not ! I told them that it is impossible for me to go there because I will not come back to US in next 9 months and I do not have access to any apple stores in my country, but this is the only thing that they could do , to say that they were sorry for the inconvenience.
The sad part of story is that after waiting 2 weeks without phone and spending more than 100$ to make international phone calls, this is the only answer they had for me. It is very hard for me to believe that Apple does not have any control over their own Activation Policy and for some one with my situation they are completely clueless. Apart from being frustrated, I am very disappointed with Apple and their costumer care because the advisers seemed very confusing or maybe they themselves were confused even more ! It is very abusive and it is like that I am robbed almost 1000$. Please help if you have the same experience or if you suggest that it is a good idea to file a complaint !

I managed to chat with an Apple Online Store representative, and he assured me that if purchased online it's completely unlocked from day 1...
So i guess that counts as official confirmation.
I'm still worried though, something is not right with all this contradicting information, or it's probably just marketing!
I know they are in the business of making profit and I myself work in an Apple related business, but i have to stress that there are moral and freedom-of-market issues with locked phones, they really are illegal in many countries (correct if you ask me).
Locked phones paid full price is troll, really makes no sense at all!

I'm from Brazil and I'm living in USA for while, if I buy a t-mobile contract free iPhone 6, it will work when I back to my country?

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Pedrosimonetti wrote:
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If you want an unlocked iPhone then you have to wait until unlocked iPhones are sold, yes.

IPhone 6 T-Mobile contract free (gsm)

HI
I ordered IPhone 6 T-Mobile contract free (gsm)
on apple compare no words about IPhone 6 T-Mobile contract free (gsm), only with contract and Unlocked.
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Enes,
There are 2 ways of buying a T-Mobile iPhone 6 (Model A1549) in the US. The first one is directly from a T-Mobile shop where, like imobl stated, you must activate T-Mobile contract for 40 days after which you can end the contract. The second one is directly from Apple Retail Stores or Apple.com, where the phone comes with a T-Mobile SIM card which you may opt not using it. Essentially the iPhone 6 you would get in the second option will be contract free and unlocked and you would not have to wait 40 days to use your Turkish SIM card.
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Recientemente adquiri un Iphone 6 modelo A1549 T-Mobile Contract Free este equipo se puede utilizar con operadores de telofonia en China?

That is not the iPhone model sold by Apple in China ,so no-one can say .You will have to try it

IPhone 6 T-Mobile Contract free, does that mean its unlocked? And I can use it worldwide?

HI there,
IPhone 6 T-Mobile Contract free, does that mean its unlocked? And I can use it worldwide?
please advise me?

As long as you do not activate the phone with the T-Mobile sim card initially and just use the sim card you want, then the phone should remain unlocked.
These were exactly the same questions asked when the iPhone 5s was released - if you want the phone to be unlocked then purchase the sim free T-Mobile phone, but DON'T activate it with the T-Mobile sim card. If you do activate it with the T-Mobile sim, then the phone will be locked to T-Mobile, but if you activate it with another sim card, then it should remain unlocked.
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My 2 cents on iPhone 6 T-Mobile "Contract Free" based on iPhone 5S experience

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