Differences between iPhone 6 Models (A1549, A1586, A1589, A1522, A1524 and A1593)

Comments

1. Joe says

   Sep 28, 2014 at 3:51 pm

   mines isn’t on the list. It’s NG4X2LL/A. was a replacement apple gave me when my at&t one was defective. came unlocked too.

   • mo says

     Jun 6, 2018 at 11:08 am

     mine too…NG4X2LL/A
     did you find out which kind your iPhone is?

2. Gysel says

   Sep 28, 2014 at 5:26 pm

   Hello Tuan,

   Asking questions a few times today ,can I answer me please.
   A friend of mine bought for me a 16GB iphone 6 in space grey from an apple store in Sacramento, USA.
   On top of the 650$ shelf price he has been charged another 50$ as ‘tax’ apparently & another 20$ for the t-Mobile SIM card.
   Considering that if ordered online, the same item (t-mobile contract free) one doesn’t have to pay anything extra at all on top of the 650$, could you please help me out and explain why the extra costs in store?

   Please answer Tuan ,thanks

   • Tuan Do says

     Sep 29, 2014 at 9:08 am

     That’s so weird.
     I’ve never had to pay for the included SIM card. I have no idea why that Apple Store charged for the SIM card.

3. Tache says

   Sep 28, 2014 at 7:31 pm

   I bought the iphon6 Model A1586 CDMA (Sprint) no contract from Apple store – MG6C2LL/A.

   After reading the comment, I’m concerned whether it’s unlocked. I plan to use it overseas in Asia.

   Help !! How can I find out if it’s unlocked and if it’s locked, how can I unlock it.

   Thanks

   • Tuan Do says

     Sep 29, 2014 at 8:52 am

     I posted requirements to unlock Sprint iPhones above. Hope it helps.

4. Danial says

   Sep 29, 2014 at 8:59 am

   Hi Tuan Do,

   I live in malaysia and im planning either buying the iphone from usa or singapore. May i know which is the best suitable for my country. Which the most compatible. Thanks

5. Lorenzo says

   Sep 29, 2014 at 1:19 pm

   I d like to buy the verizon 2years agreement iphone6 for 199(16gb). For what I read I will be able to put in it my Italian SIM card from h3g and use it in Italy right? Any issue with the lte or it will only work 2g?? Can you help??

6. mario says

   Sep 29, 2014 at 1:20 pm

   Thank you for your response. The price is the same, I wrote wrong. Is it possible to choose the model. How to check whether t-mobile to work in Bosnia and Herzegovina? In the apple store when we ask that we sell the unlocked version they do not know much about it. The only thing I can buy the T-Mobile cost $ 649 + tax..How can I be sure that it will work on my sim card in my country? Thanks a lot

7. Mo says

   Sep 29, 2014 at 3:01 pm

   Weirdly my iPhone 6 A1549 MG3E2CL/A does not connect to the local LTE network while other iPhone 6’s such as as A1549 MG5A2LL/A and A1549 MG4W2LL/A connect to the LTE network

   P.S. I am in the UAE and tried both carriers

8. Sergey says

   Sep 30, 2014 at 12:10 am

   Hello, Tuan!
   I want to buy iPhone 6 (GSM) T-Mobile Contract free, but I don’t sure will it work in Kazakhstan? Can you help me with this question?
   Thanks!

9. V M Rao says

   Sep 30, 2014 at 8:58 am

   Which model of 6 plus for use in India

10. Ken D. says

    Sep 30, 2014 at 2:12 pm

    Wow, this is the most detailed technical post about the iPhone 6+ that I want to buy, and I got some ideas what to do.

    Please help me see whether I fully understand your article:

    I want an world phone that I can use as many countries as possible, more emphasized the U.S. and South Korea. Curently, I’m an at&t customer and would like to buy an unlocked phone to do meet the above requirements.

    I can’t buy an unlocked iPhone 6+ from at&t.

    (1) So if I buy an unlocked A1522(GSM) iPhone 6+ from T-Mobile at the Apple site, it only works for at&t in the U.S., but not in South Korea.

    (2) If I buy an unlocked A1522(CDMA) iPhone 6+ from Verizon, it works for at&t in the U.S. and also in South Korea.

    (3) If I buy an unlocked A1524 iPhone 6+ somewhere, not only it works for at&t in the U.S and in South Korea, but also in more countries.

    So (1) is not an option for me while (3) would be a better option than (2) if the price is no object.
    Did I understand your article correclty?

11. Javier says

    Sep 30, 2014 at 2:39 pm

    I currently have a sprint iPhone6 A1586 which is not on an account. I’m going to study abroad in China. My iPhone has a clean esn. Will I be able to use it over there?

12. Dean says

    Sep 30, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    Hi Tuan,
    I’m looking to buy an iphone 6 in the U.S and use it in the U.K on o2 mobile network. Which iphone will i need to purchase in order for it to be compatible in the u.k for 3g/4g ect.

    Thank you in advance.
    Dean

13. Sid says

    Oct 1, 2014 at 2:32 am

    Hii Tuan

    I live in India. I am going on a vacation to Dubai from where i am planning to buy a iphone 6.

    I am very confused as to which model is made for India as it is still to be launched in India.

    Hope you will make my mind clear as to which iphone 6 model would be launched in India so that i could buy a compatible one.

    Waiting for your reply

    Thank you
    Sid

14. Da says

    Oct 1, 2014 at 10:01 am

    Hi Tuan

    I’m from UK traveling to US and canada for holiday, I want to buy the T mobile unlocked iphone 6 from Apple store.

    Will it work with my UK carrier three network? Are there any network that the iphone 6 from US not compatible with in the UK?

    Thank you in advance
    Da

15. Iphone 6 says

    Oct 1, 2014 at 10:45 am

    Hi Tuan,

    I’m wondering if I buy an iPhone 6 in Japan will it work with my Vodafone sim in the UK? Secondly if I buy one in the US will it work – with my Vodafone sim – in the UK?

    Many thanks.

    Darren.

16. Mike A says

    Oct 2, 2014 at 2:11 am

    Tuan Do,

    I live in the US, and my girlfriend lives in China. I want to take her an iPhone 6 Plus. Which carrier should I be buying for her to use in China, on carrier China Mobile? Verizon (A1522 CDMA) or T-Mobile (A1522 GSM)??

    Thanks Tuan!!

    • Tuan Do says

      Oct 4, 2014 at 10:36 pm

      Mike,
      I’ve just updated the post with some new info of Chinese carriers. Let me know if it helps.

17. Bycile says

    Oct 2, 2014 at 9:45 am

    Hello
    can you please tel me something, i want to by 2 iphone 6+ from some carriers for 300$ in US, but i wannt to send one to my son in europe in serbia, so please answer me this, if buy some iphone6+(gsm or cdma) from at&t or verizon,or tmobile will it work in serbia? i heard some LTE phones are unloced,in serbia they use regular sim cards, they dont have LTE, i thing sim cards are 3G(128k)
    sorry for my poor english

18. Yago says

    Oct 2, 2014 at 10:33 am

    Hi Tuan,
    Thanks for a great article. I am thinking of buying my unlocked 64 GB iphone 6 in Australia. I would be interested in it being compatible in Sweden (Tele2) and Spain (Telefonica). The model available in the Australian apple store is MG4F2X/A. Is this a 1586 or a 1549?
    My other option would be to buy the T mobile unlocked version in the US. Which model would I get in this case?

    Thanks again!

19. bearmon2010 says

    Oct 2, 2014 at 3:45 pm

    Hi!

    I am not sure if I should purchased iPhone 6 plus here with a contract for 2 years? I am a customer of Verizon. Anyway, I want to use it in Portugal with a nano SIM card (Vodafona in Europe) for Viber (Or Whatsapp). Will it remain 3G instead of LTE ?

20. Ammar Aljuhani says

    Oct 2, 2014 at 6:15 pm

    Hi.

    I live right now in US and I want to buy a new iPhone 6 plus, which model you prefer A1522 (GSM) or A1522 (CDMA)?

    just to let know, I might use my phone in Saudi Arabia.

21. Panda says

    Oct 3, 2014 at 3:18 am

    it’s possibile buy a Iphone 6 model A1586 sim unlocked on USA?
    I found this answer on the apple forum:
    “…
    I had exactly the same thing. I wanted to buy the iPhone 6 model A1586 for use in europe. What you need to do is: Go to a apple store and ask them for the iPhone 6 sprint model for the full price. You will get the iPhone without a contract, simcart unlocked and just for the normal price. The iPhone 6 sprint models are all A1586. I did the same and it worked perfectly.
    …”

    it’s true?

    • Tuan Do says

      Oct 4, 2014 at 10:51 pm

      Panda,
      I called a few Apple Stores and asked them about the unlocked Sprint iPhone 6. They said that this version is locked to Sprint when buying at Apple Store. So, they recommend to buy it at full price at Sprint. As this is a contract-free version, you can request to unlock the phone and they should do it right away.
      You can contact Sprint to verify the info.
      Hope it helps.

22. Peter says

    Oct 3, 2014 at 6:49 am

    Hi

    I am living in Denmark, where we use LTE frequencies of 800(19), 1800(3) and 2600(7) MHz and GSM. I can see on http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/ that Apple say I need a Model A1586 (GSM). However I am travelling to Miami, US in November and an iPhone 6 is approx. 26% cheaper in the US than in Denmark. As I can read of your answers, A1586 (GSM) will be impossible to buy un-locked / contract free in the US.

    Will a model A1549 (GSM) work in Denmark as it also supports 800, 1800 and 2600 MHZ? and is it possible to purchase an unlocked/contract free in the US e.g. in an official Apple store?

    Thanks
    Peter

    • Tuan Do says

      Oct 4, 2014 at 10:43 am

      Yes, the T-Mobile iPhone 6 is actually unlocked and you can use it in Denmark.

      • Peter says

        Oct 10, 2014 at 5:06 am

        Just to be 110% sure. The T-mobile iPhone 6 sold at Apple Retail stores is a A1549 (GSM) model?

23. Faye says

    Oct 3, 2014 at 1:06 pm

    Hi tuan,

    I hope you can reply and help me, i have an ip6+ mgc72ll/a, model number a1522 bought from tmobile contract free, i will be visiting the philippines next week, will it work using smart/globe telecom there..? Im also planning to hand it over to my daughter i wanna be sure she’ll be able to use it with their network. Thanks !!

    • Tuan Do says

      Oct 4, 2014 at 10:41 am

      Faye,
      Sure it will work in Philippines. I heard Globe is deploying TD-LTE which is not compatible with this phone but you still can use FDD-LTE bands.

      • Faye says

        Oct 9, 2014 at 9:53 am

        Im confused as well coz i went to the tmobile store, they told me i had to wait for 40 days to have the device unlocked and that to unlock it i have to meet the requirements for them to unlock the device,base on what i heard if you bought it straight from apple store with the tmbobile contract free phone, it comes unlocked already. In my case, i bought it at tmobile.. With staggard payment so i think that answers my own question on why i should wait for 40 days before it becomes unlocked

    • Mary says

      Oct 8, 2014 at 7:15 pm

      Hi faye! Please comment back if the iphone 6+ you bought, contract free t-mobile, worked in the Philippines. I’m planning to buy one at the Apple store and bring it with me to the Philippines. I asked the someone from Apple Store and he said they are not selling unlocked yet. I’m confused.

      Thank you! Hope to hear from you soon!

24. Nelson says

    Oct 3, 2014 at 2:25 pm

    Hi Tuan,

    I was wondering what iphone 6 model does the contract free t mobile from the Apple Online Store correspond: A1549 or A1586?
    And if i go to a physical Apple Store which model will they give me?
    Thanks

25. Ken D. says

    Oct 3, 2014 at 5:18 pm

    According to the apple website info, you can buy A1586 and A1524 in Japan, but the mobile carriers won’t unlock your phone for other countries.

26. Monica says

    Oct 3, 2014 at 11:13 pm

    Is the A1549 the same as the T-Mobile contract free version? I have an H2O sim card right now, but I want to use the phone in India on Idea network too. Will this model be okay?

    • Tuan Do says

      Oct 4, 2014 at 10:34 am

      Yes, it is the T-Mobile version. I’m not sure about your carrier, I just know that its 4G LTE bands won’t be compatible on Aircel and Airtel.

      • Monica says

        Oct 4, 2014 at 10:54 am

        Thanks a lot Tuan! Will it be compatible with existing 3G/2G bands? Or will I have to go for the A1586 model?

27. Luis says

    Oct 4, 2014 at 3:45 am

    Hi,

    I live in Italy right now if I buy a unlocked iPhone 6+ here will it work in the US when I get back next year. Thanks

28. Annie says

    Oct 4, 2014 at 8:22 am

    Hi Tuan, first of all thanks for answering everyone’s questions. Your review is the most complete and thorough out of all that I have read so far. I would like to double check with you on one thing I summarize based on your review: you mentioned that for iPhone 6 plus model A1522 (CDMA) by Verizon all come factory unlocked but the iPhone 6 model A1549(CDMA), however, may not be unlocked unless we buy the unlocked version. Am I rephrasing correctly? In addition, the CDMA unlocked model A1522 should be able to work on China Telecom and China Unicom 3G/4G network?
    Thank much!

    • Tuan Do says

      Oct 4, 2014 at 10:23 am

      All Verizon phones are sold unlocked and yes, you can use the CDMA A1522 on China Telecom and China Unicom.

      • Hi Tuan Do says

        Oct 16, 2014 at 1:32 am

        Hi tuan,
        I am in US. I bought a iPhone 6+ from a re-seller . He sold me a phone with Model A1524( Is it Sprint carrier ?) with Part No. MGA92LL/A and he said this phone is Unlocked. I did not see that Part No is current in US. Would you please help me to check it up ? Is that phone unlock or not . Because i was try to use my T-moble but it was not work. Thank You.

29. Akhilesh Tekchand says

    Oct 4, 2014 at 9:04 am

    Hey! I wanted to know which one of these models will be fully compatible for use in India.
    Thanks :)

30. Jorge Contreras says

    Oct 4, 2014 at 10:53 am

    Hello Tuan! I want to know which model will be fully compatible for use in Mexico. My carriers are Telcel and Iusacell. Thanks in Advance!

31. Harrys says

    Oct 5, 2014 at 9:09 am

    Hi Tuan, I’m moving to France for two yrs. Could you tell me what is the model I need there (just 6 not 6+)…. It seams that the 1586 is what I need… But there is two 1586 – GSM and CDMA. Up to you, witch one I have to chose? Nothing sure for the moment but I think to subscribe a Free mobile network. Thanks in advance Tuan.

32. Jon says

    Oct 5, 2014 at 5:42 pm

    Hy tuan , I asked my friend to buy me an iPhone 6 plus, I live in israel
    And my provider has umts and gsm
    Wich model should I get

33. Bobby L. says

    Oct 5, 2014 at 8:43 pm

    Hi all,

    Good news for people wanting to buy unlocked A1586/A1524 for global use:

    Buying a Sprint A1586/A1524 in USA from Apple Store (Retail) without a Sprint contract, then your phone will be unlocked, and NOT be tied to Sprint.

    This means that your “Device-Only” purchase will be globally unlocked for use on any carrier, including for use in China (China Mobile, China Unicom, etc). You will have to pay full price, starting at $649, plus local state tax.

    I’ve tested this already. Purchased a Sprint A1586 from Apple Retail Store, asked to purchase at full price “Device-Only”, paid $649 plus tax (for 16 GB) model. Then I was able to insert a China Mobile nano-SIM card, and it works. :-)

    Therefore, the “Sprint lock” only applies to customers who either:
    – buys at discounted $199 price and activates service from Sprint
    – buys from non Apple Store, such as BestBuy, Target, RadioShack, etc
    – buys directly from Sprint

    If anyone disagrees with my above (and has proof), then please discuss with me.

    thanks,
    Bobby

    • Alex says

      Oct 9, 2014 at 9:57 am

      Does this prove that “苹果的高层公开告诉运营商, 美国的iPhone 6和iPhone 6+只有国内锁,没有国际锁”? Could you test whether Verrizon and AT&T’s cards work for your phone to verify whether Sprint phone is domestically locked even it is a full-price one from Apple store?

    • ian says

      Oct 9, 2014 at 6:47 pm

      Hi Bobby,

      When you bought Sprint iPhone from Apple store, is it any Sprint SIM card inside? Did you pull it out before powered it up?

      So you tried SIM cards from China and the other US local carriers and they are all working perfectly?

      Thanks,
      Ian

      • Bobby L says

        Oct 9, 2014 at 7:50 pm

        I only tried using SIM card from China Mobile, and it works perfectly. I’m back in China, and it all works out, with 4G on China Mobile. I clearly assume that the same would work for China Unicom. (China Telecom is different, as it’s a CDMA provider, and would need the CDMA phone directly provisioned from Apple.)

        As for US local carriers, I assume it would work. However, if you actually lived in the USA and want to use a US local carrier, just go buy the phone and try it! Worse comes to worse, just return the phone if it didn’t work! :-)

      • Alex says

        Oct 10, 2014 at 9:17 am

        Bobby,
        Could you comment on this document?
        爱疯6/6+购买攻略—供老中们的简版
        iPhone 6和iPhone 6+ 火爆上市了。全世界人民为之疯狂。一方面新一代的iPhone的确招人喜爱，另一方面它又带来了兼容性方面的混淆和困惑。其主要原因是有多达八个型号的新一代iPhone, 包括A1549/A1522(GSM)，A1549/A1522(CDMA), A1586/1524 以及A1589/1593, 供用户进行选择。这香苹果的臭爱疯够坑爹的。看官们别着急。兼容性在不同的型号中实际上是一种简单明了的叠加关系。如果你不想知道技术细节，就无锁的手机而言，下面为大妈级别的爱疯6/6+购买攻略。
        iPhone 6 / 6 + 购买全攻略
        iPhone6/6+型号 AT&T Verizon T-Mobile Sprint 中国移动 中国联通 中国电信
        A1549/A1522(GSM) Yes! Yes! Yes!
        A1549/A1522(CDMA) Yes! Yes! Yes! ? Yes! Yes!
        A1586/A1524 Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
        A1589/A1593 ? ? ? ? Yes! ? ?

        A1549/A1522(GSM) [A1549 是iPhone 6; A1522是iPhone 6+。在美国是AT&T和 T-Mobile的官机]: 通吃AT&T 和T-Mobile的所有标准。在中国通吃中国联通的所有标准(不含TD-LTE)。
        A1549/A1522(CDMA) [A1549 是iPhone 6; A1522是iPhone 6+。在美国是Verizon的官机]: 在通吃AT&T和 T-Mobile的所有标准和中国联通的所有标准的基础上通吃Verizon和中国电信的所有标准(不含TD-LTE)。
        A1586/A1524 [A1586 是iPhone 6; A1524是iPhone 6+。在美国是Sprint的官机。]: 在通吃AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, 中国联通以及中国电信的所有标准基础上通吃Sprint和中国移动的所有标准。真正的全球高大上 – 全球通吃。
        A1589/A1593 [A1589 是iPhone 6; A1593是iPhone 6+]:是苹果公司为中国移动定制的手机。手机原设计应该是通吃全世界的所有标准。看官且慢，听说中国移动对其上了锁。 在中国只能在中国移动用。在中国联通和中国电信都不能用。在国外只能用漫游,不能用本地的SIM卡入网。最后的真相要等10月下旬发布后才能大白。
        本人没有亲自测试过，但已有很多网友证实后报告说苹果店里的T-Mobile全价机和Verizon合同机(用非Verizon的SIM卡激活时)没有锁。苹果的高层公开告诉运营商, 有锁的美国iPhone 6和iPhone 6+只有国内锁，没有国际锁。有网友证实后报告说苹果店里的Sprint全价机可以用中国移动的微卡。真够乱的。
        结论 — 牛气排行榜: A1586/A1524> A1549/A1522(CDMA) > A1549/A1522(GSM) 。
        (作者为美国Syracuse大学通信和网络管理专业的Alex Tan教授。更多相关内容请访问www.studentcellplan.com/ch/Resources-ch.aspx)

      • Tong says

        Oct 12, 2014 at 2:51 am

        Hi Bobby,

        So you just bought the Sprint phone for full price at an Apple store, and you didn’t call Sprint to unlock it, and the phone worked with China Mobile. Is that correct?

        Best Regards,
        Tong

34. Mary says

    Oct 5, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    Hi Tuan,

    Which iPhone6 model should I buy in US Apple Store to use in the Philippines. Globe Telecom is GSM.

    Thank you!

35. Mohamed says

    Oct 6, 2014 at 4:42 am

    Hi Tuan Do,

    I desperately need an answer!!Can I buy the t-mobile contract free from the US and use in Malaysia?? I will be using the carrier Maxis…thank you very much :)

36. Saleel dalal says

    Oct 6, 2014 at 10:55 am

    Hi tuan do,
    I am from india. I am purchasing the iPhone 6 from Switzerland next week. Just wanted to ask if this is a good idea. Will there be issues of any kind? Please let me know at the earliest.
    Thanks

37. FredNewengland says

    Oct 6, 2014 at 10:59 am

    Hi, Tuan,
    Paid the full price with contract free iPhone 6 Plus (A1522(GSM)) for AT&T in US Apple store. Do I need to unlocked it even I paid full price in Apple store?

    • Tuan Do says

      Oct 7, 2014 at 10:20 am

      After you buy a full priced AT&T phone, you will be able to unlock it after 60 days from the days of the activation.

      • thang says

        Oct 9, 2014 at 11:37 am

        Are yo sure because my friend bought AT&T iphone 6 full priced at Apple store, brought to Viet nam, put VN sim card and everything fine without 60 days from AT&T. Could you confirm that?

38. Neil says

    Oct 7, 2014 at 9:08 am

    Hi Tuan,

    Thanks for a very interesting and informative blog.

    I just have a couple of questions about the iPhone 6:

    1) I have heard a rumour that if you buy the Sprint phone from Apple (which is the A1586 model) at full price without a contract and take out the sim card before you switch it on, the phone will not be locked to Sprint. Do you know if this is true or not or have you heard anything similar in relation to this?

    2) I want to buy an iPhone 6 in the US and take it back to the UK with me. From all the information above, is my understanding correct that it doesn’t really matter which model I purchase as the A1586, the A1549 (CDMA) and A1549 (GSM) models will all work in the UK and that the only differential is that the A1586 is the most versatile (i.e. would work on virtually all carriers), the A1549 (CDMA) the second most versatile and the A1549 (GSM) the least versatile (i.e. would only work on a select few carriers)? Therefore the best option for the UK is to buy the Sprint phone as long as it is unlocked (or able to be unlocked)?

    From what I can work out on the Apple website the A1586 is only sold with Sprint, the A1549 (CDMA) is sold with AT&T and Verizon and the A1549 (GSM) is sold with T-Mobile.

    Any responses to these questions would be greatly appreciated!

    Many thanks,

    Neil.

    • Tuan Do says

      Oct 7, 2014 at 10:07 am

      Hi,
      A Sprint representative told me that you can call 888-211-4727 to unlock your device or when you purchase in store, you will need to have the representative unlock your device.
      Hope it helps.

      • Neil says

        Oct 7, 2014 at 10:32 am

        Hi Tuan,

        Thanks for your quick response!

        Just to clarify, if I buy the Sprint phone from an Apple store, will I be able to unlock it if I call the number you mentioned on your reply or can it be unlocked by the Apple staff at the Apple store?

        Thanks very much,

        Neil.