Apple starts sales of SIM-free iPhone 7, 7 Plus handsets in US

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone
Like clockwork, Apple started sales of factory unlocked SIM-free iPhone 7 and 7 Plus handsets on Thursday, nearly one month after the smartphones launched in September.









As noted by Apple, "SIM-free" iPhone 7 models are not associated with any single carrier, and thus do not include the usual carrier-specific SIM card. Purchasing a SIM-free version gives users the added flexibility of applying a SIM card from any supporting carrier.



Base prices for both SIM-free handsets are the same as those for units tied to U.S. telcos, with iPhone 7 models starting at $649 for 32GB of storage, $749 for 128GB and $849 for 256GB. Larger iPhone 7 Plus models start at $769 for the 32GB tier, then move up to $869 and $969 for 128GB and 256GB of storage, respectively.



Like their SIM-toting counterparts, black, silver, gold and rose gold iPhone 7 models are showing delivery dates between Oct. 17 and Oct. 19. The Jet Black version is still backordered and ships in 3 to 5 weeks. As for the iPhone 7 Plus iteration, all models save for the Jet Black option ship in 3 to 4 weeks. Orders for SIM-free versions of the high-gloss, high-demand Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus ship out in 6 to 8 weeks.



The company adds that SIM-free iPhone 6s units will work on a multitude of networks including those run by AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint in the U.S. International support is also offered thanks to iPhone's multi-band LTE radio; a full list of supported networks categorized by country can be found on Apple's website. Upon receipt, customers can activate SIM-free iPhones on any compatible GSM or CDMA network.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    moonwatchermoonwatcher Posts: 17member
    I think the carrier locked phones for ATT & Tmobile should be lower cost because claearly they are not "world-class". Kinda feel cheated and I don't even have my phone yet (ordered first day)..
    tyler82
  • Reply 2 of 24
    ivanhivanh Posts: 597member
    Going overseas and connecting to local carriers will be a problem. Roaming becomes the only option, expensive.
  • Reply 3 of 24
    spellingtorispellingtori Posts: 7member
    Why can't we do Apple Upgrade Program with sim-free? Right now that option doesn't appear when you select it. The terms at the bottom of the upgrade program page say you must activate a sim-chip with a phone in order to join the upgrade program. So silly...
    am8449
  • Reply 4 of 24
    dcgoodcgoo Posts: 280member
    Unfortunately, the Sim-free version cannot be purchased on the iPhone upgrade program, which would have been my preference. AUP requires actual activation, which of course the Sim-free cannot do.  However the Verizon phone is the exact same model.  All phones purchased for (or even from) Verizon are carrier unlocked (regulatory requirement). So not terrible, unless you do not want a Verizon account.
    edited October 2016
  • Reply 5 of 24
    dcgoodcgoo Posts: 280member
    ivanh said:
    Going overseas and connecting to local carriers will be a problem. Roaming becomes the only option, expensive.
    Just buy a local prepaid SIM when you reach your destination.  Or use T-Mobile for only 20¢/min
  • Reply 6 of 24
    rotateleftbyterotateleftbyte Posts: 1,630member
    The USA, late to the party again.
    It seems to me that the networks have the power here not apple. In other markets, buying a phone without a SIM is as easy as buying bread in a supermarket.
    My iPhone 7 was bought from Apple. No question of it being tied to a carrier.
    If I want to move carrier then I give them 28days notice and switch taking my number with me.
    As for roaming, I can remember the days when a call from my friends in NJ to their friends a mile up the road was long distance just because of the georgraphy and the arbitary boundaries of thr area codes.
    With my one month rolling contract I can use my plan minutes in the USA, Europe and other countries at no charge. Outside that I carry a dumb phone for local SIM cards. I wish Apple would implement the electronic SIM in the device and make it work on two numbers at once just like dual SIM phones.

    IMHO, the US Market really needs a big kick where it hurts because it seems to me that the end users are being taken for a ride by the Carriers and Apple is doing little or nothing to stop it.
    As I said, late to the party again.


  • Reply 7 of 24
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    When you buy SIM FREE iPhone 7, do you get Model A1660 or A1661 or depending on USA Carrier ?
    edited October 2016
  • Reply 8 of 24
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,102member
    Just ordered the SIM free iPhone 7 plus 128g in black.. hellllla excited, currently have he space grey 5s. Didn't really plan on upgrading but was at Target getting some new earphones and they had them on display, I was very impressed with the design, quality build, screen size, 3D Touch, camera, speed, and color of the black and jet black. I hated the iPhone 6 antenna band design but this looks really cool. I kind of like the new camera bulge too, it looks like less of an afterthought and he dual camera bulge gives it a very powerful look, you know you're using a powerful sophisticated device. 

    Anyway im stoked and have to wait 3-4 weeks to get it.. you think there is a chance it will ship sooner?
    edited October 2016 peterhart
  • Reply 9 of 24
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    tyler82 said:
    Just ordered the SIM free iPhone 7 plus 128g in black.. hellllla excited, currently have he space grey 5s. Didn't really plan on upgrading but was at Target getting some new earphones and they had them on display, I was very impressed with the design, quality build, screen size, 3D Touch, camera, speed, and color of the black and jet black. I hated the iPhone 6 antenna band design but this looks really cool. I kind of like the new camera bulge too, it looks like less of an afterthought and he dual camera bulge gives it a very powerful look, you know you're using a powerful sophisticated device. 

    Anyway im stoked and have to wait 3-4 weeks to get it.. you think there is a chance it will ship sooner?
    Apple sometimes lies (in a good way) about its ship dates. They say 3-4 weeks, but from what I've seen with regular iPhone 7 orders, they've actually shipped sooner. There is a chance you could it fast than 3-4 weeks. If not, maybe it will be closer to 3 weeks rather than 4. I assume it really depends on how they're doing on current orders and how many orders they take in for SIM Free iPhone 7's. 
  • Reply 10 of 24
    ddawson100ddawson100 Posts: 514member
    wood1208 said:
    When you buy SIM FREE iPhone 7, do you get Model A1660 or A1661 or depending on USA Carrier ?
    A1660, A1778, A1779 (Japan*) is iPhone 7 supports GSM and CDMA networks.
    A1661, A1784, A1785 (Japan*) is iPhone 7 Plus supports GSM and maybe some CDMA.

    I don't know what each carrier is selling. For the US it looks like 1660 would support the widest number of networks so if you do need to roam or may switch networks that's the safest one. My carrier is a MVNO in the US so I always do have to pay close attention.

    edit: add linebreaks
    edited October 2016
  • Reply 11 of 24
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    ddawson100 said:
    wood1208 said:
    When you buy SIM FREE iPhone 7, do you get Model A1660 or A1661 or depending on USA Carrier ?
    A1660, A1778, A1779 (Japan*) is iPhone 7 supports GSM and CDMA networks.
    A1661, A1784, A1785 (Japan*) is iPhone 7 Plus supports GSM and maybe some CDMA.

    I don't know what each carrier is selling. For the US it looks like 1660 would support the widest number of networks so if you do need to roam or may switch networks that's the safest one. My carrier is a MVNO in the US so I always do have to pay close attention.

    edit: add linebreaks
    But, A1784 does not support CDMA according to official Apple spec - http://www.apple.com/iphone-7/specs/ What I was trying to ask if someone wants to buy unlocked all 4 main USA carrier(to switch around), world wide(use overseas) iPhone 7 than which one best ? Looks like from Apple's iPhone 7 Specs page either Model A1660 or A1661 covers both criteria.
  • Reply 12 of 24
    thisisasjthisisasj Posts: 64member
    It's all about resale value, people. A phone that works on both GSM and CDMA carriers have the most value. So don't buy the version specific to AT&T/T-Mobile. The Verizon version works on all the major carriers and MVNO's throughout North America.
    dasanman69
  • Reply 13 of 24
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    It's 2016, why are we still using physical SIM cards?
  • Reply 14 of 24
    dcgoodcgoo Posts: 280member
    wood1208 said:
    When you buy SIM FREE iPhone 7, do you get Model A1660 or A1661 or depending on USA Carrier ?
    If purchased in .US, you get the A1660 or A1661.  Not sure about other countries.
  • Reply 15 of 24
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,054member
    moonwatcher said:
    I think the carrier locked phones for ATT & Tmobile should be lower cost because claearly they are not "world-class". Kinda feel cheated and I don't even have my phone yet (ordered first day)..
    ATT just emailed me saying that my Jet Black 128GB will come 3 weeks earlier than estimated date. Now, that's a good news
  • Reply 16 of 24
    chadbagchadbag Posts: 2,000member
    I bought a T-Mobile 7+ (ordered on launch day).  I have not yet used the T-Mobile SIM.  Before I turned it on when it arrived about 9 days ago, I put my AT&T SIM in from my 6S+.  I turned it and started to set it up. When it came to the activation part, it couldn't activate and listed the phone number to call T-Mobile I needed plus the system numbers they would want.  I had no desire to do that.  Then I noticed it gave me the option to continue setting up the phone and explore it while Inwas waiting for activation.  I chose that option.  I popped the AT&T SIM out and started to do the normal setup of the phone.  When I was done I decided to pop the AT&T SIM back in and it must have activated as the AT&T network came up and I was able to call and be called, use cell data, etc. on AT&T with it.  

    I then logged in to my online AT&T account and noticed it said my phone was an iPhone 7 plus.  Even though I bought it from Apple and never told AT&T about it and it is ostensibly a T-Mobile phone.  

    YMMV and all that but it worked for me. 
  • Reply 17 of 24
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,102member
    ^The T-Mobile and AT&T iPhone 7 plus are the same thing.
  • Reply 18 of 24
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    thisisasj said:
    It's all about resale value, people. A phone that works on both GSM and CDMA carriers have the most value. So don't buy the version specific to AT&T/T-Mobile. The Verizon version works on all the major carriers and MVNO's throughout North America.
    The value is always going to be there regardless. It just makes it easier to sell. 
  • Reply 19 of 24
    chadbagchadbag Posts: 2,000member
    tyler82 said:
    ^The T-Mobile and AT&T iPhone 7 plus are the same thing.
    And your point?  The "new" SIM-Free model is also going to have one of the standard Apple part numbers as well.   Yet it is a different part, and the difference is not just the lack of a SIM card in it.

    While the AT&T and T-Mobile iPhone 7 plus are the same part number, that does not mean they are the same.  The T-Mobile one is sold with a T-Mobile SIM card but is unlocked, but it "knows" it is supposed to activate on T-Mobile, even when the SIM card inside is not T-Mobile.   And the AT&T ones are usually sold with an AT&T SIM card and are carrier locked when sold.

    The point of my story is that you have been able to buy the "equivalent" of a SIM-Free model since the beginning as the T-Mobile one is unlocked, and while it tries and fails to activate against T-Mobile's activation servers, it will activate on other carriers (at least with AT&T) at a later point in the system activation and configuration process.

  • Reply 20 of 24
    spellingtorispellingtori Posts: 7member
    I heard/read somewhere that all the phones in the store, even in carrier-specific boxes with carrier SIM cards, are all unlocked. If they turn the phone on in the store, then it will attempt to activate with whatever SIM card is present within the phone. And then I wanna say I recall reading that the primary account holder of whatever carrier it is will need to "activate" the phone and will not let anyone do anything until they put in that account holder's Last4SSN and billing zip code. So in one case, somebody asked someone to buy them a phone and sell it to them and then they got the phone but couldn't activate it until they got the carrier billing info of person who actually bought the phone for them.

    A1660 and A1661 are 7 and 7+ CDMA+GSM models. I want the Japanese one too actually for the resale value. Seems like there is always some person in year from now who will want the most feature filled model (Japanese one supports the FeLiCa protocol and something else, only used in Japan, but essential to remain competitive in the crowded Japanese technology market)
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