Bear4Asian

Just upgraded from 5s to SE. For me I like the size. I can out it in my pocket easily. Don't need a hug he screen. Pluses include faster, Touch ID and Apple Pay which the 5s didn't have.

WIRunner

The 5s had TouchID, it was the first that had it. It didn't have Apple Pay since it lacked the NFC radio though.

radiowell

I can't wait to switch to SE. I have the 5 and an android 5.7 incher. While a big screen is nicer at times, I realize I need a phone that is compact for a person on the move like me.

Error 601

Finding no bargains to be had on the 5S I finally pulled the trigger on an unlocked 16GB model, I contemplated waiting for a model with Band 66 support since that is what Wind Mobile's LTE network is going to be deployed on initially but that could be a very long wait.

Unfortunately finding it in stock at the Apple Store was difficult, unless I wanted pink or gold so I ordered online.

wcj1

I'm not getting band 12 at work, as I hoped, but I did get band 12 finally in the grocery store today. So I think it is just that T-mobile must not have a band 12 tower near my office.

wco81

How do you tell which band you're connecting to?

stimpy

If you Jailbreak there are nice apps that tell you all about your connection to the tower and map where the tower(s) are.

dtsm

Which tweaks? I have a Verizon model 5s and curious what band works when on TMO.

As far as SE, I have TMO set up and notice it switching from 4G to LTE. When I'm at home, get 3 bars LTE. At office (with new TMO tower literally 300 yard direct sight line away), it shows 3-4 bars 4G? What is difference btw seeing a 4G vs a LTE signal.

stimpy

There is a Cydia program called Signal which will tell you all you need to know about the link, down to the technical details such as RSSI, channel, etc.

As for LTE versus 4G showing up on your phone, that is simply down to how the phone company programs their network. At most Euro operators they send out 4G and most American operators send out LTE. Maybe TMO or some TMO networks send out 4G. It is a German company after all. LTE and 4G are just two ways of saying the same thing and there is no difference in the meaning.

dtsm

Too bad but apparently both Signal (Legacy) and Signal 2 are not compatible with JB 5s on 8.x.x. Thanks and will see if it works when 9.3.xx jb is released

stimpy

That is too bad, but doesn't phase me because I have an old JB'd iPhone that I keep around for this sort of thing.

javabytes

I have an AT&T phone. It will display 4G or LTE at different times. 4G for AT&T indicates HSPA+, which is fundamentally different from LTE. So it is not the same thing. This despite the fact that 4G is a completely meaningless term now that it's been so thoroughly abused by marketers.

stimpy

OK, maybe it means something with AT&T. But it's just a string of characters that the operator programs into their RAN. In Europe everywhere I've been it just says 4G no matter what type of 4G it is. And on VZ here it says LTE.

WIRunner

I can't find it anymore, but the original Verizon iPhone 4 (not the 4s) was CDMA/EvDo only. It did not have GSM abilities, so there was no SIM card (CDMA had a RUIM card option that was never used.) The iPhone 4s gained a CDMA/GSM chipset, that allowed for a SIM card for Sprint or Verizon. US Cellular (the other "major" CDMA carrier) did not use a SIM in the 4s, but left the GSM side unlocked on that device, it was carrier locked on the 5c and up though, and unlocked for international SIMs on all devices. Verizon is required, as part of their 700 MHz purchases a few years ago, to have all LTE phones fully unlocked.

It has more to do with the fact when T-Mo US was rolling out the HSDPA+ network it was just as fast (if not faster) than most of the LTE networks that had been minimally deployed. It was leaps and bounds faster than what they had as a 3G network. It also helps when you have T-Mobile and can see when you're on a specific network. (GPRS, Edge, 3G, 4G, and LTE.) Not every market has all the networks though, some are GPRS/EDGE, and LTE only.

You'll have access to their full LTE network, except for band 12, which the 6s, 6s+, and SE have. 4G is their HSPDA+ Network, it is different than LTE. They'll frequently deploy a network, and have it running on the older specifications prior to launching LTE on it. LTE having parts of CDMA in the background does need to be load and network balanced. There may also be a lack of backhaul for the LTE side. I would probably say it should have LTE within 6 months of being consumer ready. There is a difference between consumer ready, and network ready.

T-Mobile is the same way.

dtsm

Thanks for answers. Just one minor correction.

All Vz iPhones from 4s up were factory unlocked - although 4s was initially locked but then bulked uplocked via OTA Feb 2014.