Is an American iphone 6 'different' to a UK version?

don9999

I've just bought an iPhone off ebay for my daughter.

It was sold as unused and unlocked. Having now received it, it looks clean and unused.
Have not yet tested it to check it is unlocked (I assume I have to go through the process of connecting to iTunes etc. which will take a while).

Anyway, my question is related to the fact that it appears to be an 'American' phone. That is because it comes with an American plug in the box. There is an additional box containing an equivalent white 'British' plus - since it is white, I am assuming it is an 'official' Apple plug. So I'm not sure if this might also have been provided like this in the UK, or whether the phone was purchased in America and brought to the UK, by the person who sold it to me.

If so, I don't know if it makes any difference. Am assuming (hoping) that the phones are otherwise identical and that there is no problem using an iPhone 6 purchased in America, and connecting it to a UK mobile provider.

Cuilean

There's an interesting article here about the differences between US iPhones and UK iPhones
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/iphone/why-not-buy-us-iphone-for-uk-3481491/


Scroll down a bit to the second part for the technical differences.

don9999

Hmmm...yes there are differences...

The article is quite detailed and I don't profess to understand it all.
But it does imply that the US phone 'may' not work with all UK providers. And that is only referring to 4G.

When considering 3G the article says :

"You also need to consider that UK 4G coverage isn't great yet, in many areas you will have to use 3G (and maybe just 2G, or Edge) and that US model may not support 3G coverage. Remember that the data in the table above only relates to 4G data, voice calls still use 3G.
When it comes to 3G coverage the bands supported by the iPhones are even more nightmareish than the picture painted by the LTE support. So let's not even go there..."


So there is even MORE concern over 3G usage, which is certainly what my daughter will be using for at least the medium term.


With this in mind, am I within my rights to return the phone and request a refund? There was no mention in the ebay advert that it was a US version of the phone.


Although the advert does state 'No returns'


Maybe I should ask ebay...

Cuilean

don9999 wrote: »

With this in mind, am I within my rights to return the phone and request a refund? There was no mention in the ebay advert that it was a US version of the phone.

Although the advert does state 'No returns'

Maybe I should ask ebay...

I'm by no means an expert on mobiles or eBay, although I'm sure one will pop up soon. You could probably claim on eBay for "Item not as described" if you really can't get it working.

don9999

Thanks for comments. I just contacted ebay and they agreed that I should return it as 'Item not as described'.

However, the item was 'sort of' as described. They sold it as :


Brand new 16gb iphone 6
Unlocked
Silver and white



Which I believe is all true (not checked the unlocked status yet).
However, they 'omitted' the fact that it is a US phone.


I believe this omission is crucial, and hence should have been disclosed. Hence I plan to return it.


It 'may' work, but I don't really want the hassle, now, and sometime in the future when I sell it on and the new purchaser has a problem.

Inner_Zone

don9999 wrote: »

I've just bought an iPhone off ebay for my daughter.

It was sold as unused and unlocked. Having now received it, it looks clean and unused.
Have not yet tested it to check it is unlocked (I assume I have to go through the process of connecting to iTunes etc. which will take a while).

Anyway, my question is related to the fact that it appears to be an 'American' phone. That is because it comes with an American plug in the box. There is an additional box containing an equivalent white 'British' plus - since it is white, I am assuming it is an 'official' Apple plug. So I'm not sure if this might also have been provided like this in the UK, or whether the phone was purchased in America and brought to the UK, by the person who sold it to me.

If so, I don't know if it makes any difference. Am assuming (hoping) that the phones are otherwise identical and that there is no problem using an iPhone 6 purchased in America, and connecting it to a UK mobile provider.

don9999 wrote: »

Hmmm...yes there are differences...

The article is quite detailed and I don't profess to understand it all.
But it does imply that the US phone 'may' not work with all UK providers. And that is only referring to 4G.

When considering 3G the article says :

"You also need to consider that UK 4G coverage isn't great yet, in many areas you will have to use 3G (and maybe just 2G, or Edge) and that US model may not support 3G coverage. Remember that the data in the table above only relates to 4G data, voice calls still use 3G.
When it comes to 3G coverage the bands supported by the iPhones are even more nightmareish than the picture painted by the LTE support. So let's not even go there..."


So there is even MORE concern over 3G usage, which is certainly what my daughter will be using for at least the medium term.


With this in mind, am I within my rights to return the phone and request a refund? There was no mention in the ebay advert that it was a US version of the phone.


Although the advert does state 'No returns'


Maybe I should ask ebay...

don9999 wrote: »

Thanks for comments. I just contacted ebay and they agreed that I should return it as 'Item not as described'.

However, the item was 'sort of' as described. They sold it as :


Brand new 16gb iphone 6
Unlocked
Silver and white



Which I believe is all true (not checked the unlocked status yet).
However, they 'omitted' the fact that it is a US phone.


I believe this omission is crucial, and hence should have been disclosed. Hence I plan to return it.


It 'may' work, but I don't really want the hassle, now, and sometime in the future when I sell it on and the new purchaser has a problem.

Have you actually checked the model number against the link above to see if it is a US model or not?

Silk

don9999 wrote: »

Which I believe is all true (not checked the unlocked status yet).
However, they 'omitted' the fact that it is a US phone.

Check it by going on the Apple website and putting your IMEI number in and get the details from it

anotheruser

If it comes with a US plug, it's highly likely to be an import.
Buy it in USA on holiday and sell it for double the price, meaning a 50% return in investment.

You could try starting off an ebay "not as described" - I'd go with wrong plug. Depends what the seller listed it as too, "new"? If new, then you'd expect it to come with a UK plug, but then you purchased a new phone and it is a new phone.

Remember, "not as described" doesn't cover everything:
If an advert simply says "i phone" and you get sent a toy phone, then PayPal won't cover you as the i and phone were not together. It's like the guy who wrote "playstation 3 of them" when the PS3's came out and sent the winner 3 playstation 1's. PayPal didn't refund as the description was right.

Kingsd316

I wouldn't worry about service etc as every 3G and 4G (LTE) bands that is used in the UK is covered by both versions of the Iphone sold in the USA, however if it is a US phone you will run into problems trying to get apple to repair it, iphone warranties are not international.

mije1983

anotheruser wrote: »

Remember, "not as described" doesn't cover everything:
If an advert simply says "i phone" and you get sent a toy phone, then PayPal won't cover you as the i and phone were not together. It's like the guy who wrote "playstation 3 of them" when the PS3's came out and sent the winner 3 playstation 1's. PayPal didn't refund as the description was right.

PayPal may not, but eBay might. Didn't that guy who bought an XBox One that was just a photo get a refund, even though the description did say 'photo'?

don9999

Inner Zone - yes, the box says it is model A1549 which per the article is an American phone.

anotheruser - yes the official Apple box it came in is actually thinner than the equivalent UK box, because this one only contains a US plug (which is smaller). However I was also sent another white box containing a white UK plug. I'm not sure if this is an official Apple-supplied UK plug since the plug has no marks on it, and the white box only has a bar code reading 9300000065475.

So....I think I'll start with a request for refund stating that it is a US phone and this was not mentioned - hence 'not as described' Having spoken with ebay on the phone, that is what they suggested I do.

My only concern is that they did not specifically state that it was a UK version either, so not sure where I actually stand.
I believe when you claim a refund, if they don't agree to it, you have to wait a week or so before ebay will step in. And I don't know what they will do then....