Buying a iPhone 11 Pro in USA

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jobe88

10 posts

Wannabe Geek
Inactive user

#256035 11-Sep-2019 14:14

Hi,

Quick question about LTE band support between US and NZ/international models of the new iPhone 11 Pro. I go a lot between the two places and I can buy it on the upgrade plan in the States.

US model is A2160* and supports FDD‑LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29, 30, 66, 71)

NZ model is A2215* and supports FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66)

As I understand Voda NZ and spark is Band 3, 7 and 28. And seems like 2DM is on band 3.

It would seem the US model has no Band 28 which, from reading other threads, seems like is important in NZ.

My question is, Is band 28 that important. Will Band 3 and 7 suffice? I imagine it should be to allow global roaming but just wanted to double check. Appreciate all the advice.

Thanks a lot in advance!

corksta

2405 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 382

Trusted

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#2315121 11-Sep-2019 16:09

Band 28 is on the 700Mhz frequency which is used a lot in rural areas. Others will correct me if I’m wrong but I believe Spark is the biggest user of band 28, but particularly in urban areas due to its better penetration of buildings.

So that US model will work here, but it won’t be as good as an experience as a NZ model, particularly if you travel around a bit. I personally wouldn’t buy it but that’s just because it wouldn’t work for me.

As a real world example, a year ago Spark upgraded the tower we connect to to include 4G 700. It was 4G 1800 but inside our house we only got 3G. Once 700Mhz was turned on we had 4G all through the house. So that’s the benefit it can bring.

See also https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=97&topicid=229162

boosacnoodle

1268 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 855

#2315195 11-Sep-2019 18:53

I have an iPhone XS from the USA. When I was purchasing the staff member did mention the lack of band 28 to me, which I already knew about. Gave it a bit of a think over, checked the coverage maps for band 28 (700 MHz) & figured it wouldn't affect me that much. Truth be told, nearly 6 months on, I haven't noticed any difference. However, I am living in a city and am mostly only travelling to towns (not ultra rurally). With that said, if you are living rurally or will travel rurally often I would not recommend it.

premiumtouring

357 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 143

#2316891 13-Sep-2019 07:00

boosacnoodle:

I have an iPhone XS from the USA. When I was purchasing the staff member did mention the lack of band 28 to me, which I already knew about. Gave it a bit of a think over, checked the coverage maps for band 28 (700 MHz) & figured it wouldn't affect me that much. Truth be told, nearly 6 months on, I haven't noticed any difference. However, I am living in a city and am mostly only travelling to towns (not ultra rurally). With that said, if you are living rurally or will travel rurally often I would not recommend it.

Wow, that staff member knowing about the lack of band 28 and mentioning it proactively is pretty awesome.

The tempting aspect to buying in the US is they're now offering Trade-Ins for reasonable credits towards an 11.