Taking Another Look At The Current iPhone 5 And How It Works On T-Mobile

Screen Shot 2013-03-26 at 11.34.39 AM

Less than 30 hours after T-Mobile’s special media event yesterday, there appears to be a lot of confusion on the current iPhone 5 and what will or won’t work on T-Mobile’s network. So how about we try to clear that up and get right down to the nitty-gritty:

The Current iPhone 5: Model A1428…what will work?

  • HSPA+ 21Mbps on the 1900 band
  • LTE will work on this device, contrary to confusion surrounding some posts yesterday.
  • Apple/T-Mobile send out a .ipcc carrier update to enable LTE, otherwise current iPhone 5 unlocked owners do not need to do anything else.
  • 850/900/1900/2100 HSPA+ capable

The iPhone 5 releasing on April 12th: Model A1428…what will work?

  • HSPA+ 42Mbps on the 1700 band
  • HSPA+ 21Mbps on the 1900 band — this is due to the T-Mobile’s 1900MHz not being DC-HSDPA capable.
  • LTE on the 1700MHz band
  • This is a true worldwide phone and will access everywhere T-Mobile has AWS 1700MHz coverage and 1900MHz refarmed coverage.
  • 850/900/1700/1900/2100 HSPA+

Current iPhone 5 Verizon/Sprint: Model A1429

  • No T-Mobile LTE
  • No AWS T-Mobile 3G or 4G
  • 3G only on T-Mobile in the 1900MHz refarmed areas and 2G/EDGE elsewhere
  • 850/900/1900/2100 HSDPA/HSPA+/DC-DSDPA and CDMA

The iPhone 4 and 4S models…what will work?

  • Will get “4G” on the 1900MHz refarmed areas and 2G/EDGE everywhere else.
  • No LTE support
  • No 1700 AWS support
  • Will only be sold where the 1900MHz HSPA+ 21Mbps refarmed is available or planned.

Hat tip to user Satnam1989 on MacRumors forums for breaking it down and clearing the air.

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