Universal antenna to replace att antenna
Cannot port over my iPhones and iPads to Verizon. Need to replace icee antenna for universal ones
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This cannot be done.
There are 2 versions of the iPhone 5s, and the internals are different. You cannot simply replace an antenna.
Version 1 is GSM only, which means you can only use Tmobile, AT&T, Cricket, Straight Talk, etc.
Version 2 contains a CDMA chip, which is required by Sprint, Verizon, Boost Mobile, etc.
Even if you managed to swap out the chip, you still need to some how force the iOS on to the iPhone. It checks for iPhone model and other things. You cannot easily fool the iOS updater.
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Very helpful. Thanks SW. It has taken me a week to get to the bottom of this. It is disappointing that Apple would use it's good name to make an inferior version of their product to sell through AT&T. It is also disingenuous for AT&T to sell me, for cash, an "unlocked phone I can use anywhere" without even telling me in the fine print "except CDMA networks"
Not possible to swap chips. Two versions actually use different PCB layouts, where do you even plan to put the chips?
@gtmiller152, well its kind of a long story but the carriers are to blame more than Apple. The Tmobile/AT&T iPhones can be sold at buy one get one free because of they are GSM only. Verizon has higher prices and more expensive phones because they paid the high price of maintaining CDMA technology. Japan is the only other country that CDMA can be found, and they are CDMA only, unlike the US. GSM is more prevalent around the world, and AT&T and T-Mobile can be used easily if unlocked in other countries. Verizon CDMA cannot, they had to include GSM separately in their phones.
Actually Japan has UMTS and CDMA, but no GSM. China Telecom still operates CDMA and believe it or not, China Mobile still uses unencrypted GSM for the majority of the calls.
@tomchai, yeah about China... no LTE either. UTMS is there for outside travelers mainly. It's 3G and not very fast.
