Apple
T-Mobile Update Bringing LTE Support to Unlocked iPhone 5
New evidence suggests that T-Mobile will be issuing an update to unlocked iPhone devices on April 5th which will enable them to utilize the carrier’s brand new high speed 4G LTE network.
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Last month, T-Mobile announced that it would not be eschewing the iPhone 5 in favor of the iPhone 5S and would instead, start offering the iPhone 5 on its 4G LTE network in the days ahead. And while that will be the first time that T-Mobile sells the iPhone outright, it won’t be the first time that users have taken an iPhone to T-Mobile’s network.
The iPhone 5 hits T-Mobile later on this month.
In fact, owners of unlocked iPhones have been utilizing T-Mobile’s network for quite some time. However, while they’ve had access, they haven’t had access to 4G LTE data speeds. Soon, that will change as T-Mobile looks prepared to issue carrier update from Apple that will enabled 4G LTE data speeds with unlocked iPhones.
According to evidence procured by TMoNews, the update will roll out on April 5th. Like all Apple updates, this update will become available Over-the-Air or through iTunes. It will not, like most Android updates, roll out in waves to iPhone owners.
Once the software is on board, 4G LTE data speeds and visual voicemail will be enabled. The iPhone 5 of course is the only iPhone that supports 4G LTE, but many owners have been using the iPhone 5 on T-Mobile’s network since launch.
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T-Mobile will issue an update that enables LTE on unlocked iPhones.
The update also claims to be bringing Network/Device optimizations, though, it’s unclear just what those optimizations might be. We should find out in the near future.
T-Mobile’s unlocked iPhone update will come just a few days before T-Mobile officially launches the iPhone 5 on its 4G LTE network, a launch that will be taking place on April 12th. This will mark the first time that T-Mobile has ever officially sold the iPhone, something that had been rumored for years, but only came to fruition last month.
So while T-Mobile hasn’t confirmed anything yet, iPhone owners should be on the look out for an update later on this week. It will be small, so it shouldn’t take too long to get up and running.
Ruben
04/24/2013 at 12:06 pm
Some of my friends received this update on their unlocked iPhone 5s, but seeing that T-Mobile hasn’t released LTE in Denver, they are still on the 2G networks. I have the updated iPhone 5, so I can use the 4G network until they decide to release it here, and I sure can’t wait until they do. A little while ago, I took a little vacation from my job at DISH and got to try out LTE in Vegas. On the trip, I was able to keep up to date with my shows using the DISH Anywhere app on my phone, and as a result of using the speedier network, streaming quality was awesome.