GSM vs Global (CDMA) – How To Find Out What Your iPhone Is

VKRepair

7 years ago

gsm-vs-global

Want to know whether your smartphone uses GSM or CDMA or want to know what the differences are between the two? Read through this article to find out.

GSM and Global (CDMA) are essentially different types of mobile technologies used by mobile devices across the world. Do note that in this article Global is referred to as CDMA as that is the same thing.

Global Vs GSM - The Major Differences

In terms of overall performance, you won’t find any noticeable differences between GSM vs CDMA. However, there are some limitations depending on which country you’re in.

Typically, CDMA devices are found commonly in the United States and Russia. Interestingly, CDMA was originally developed during World War II as a technology that could be used to communicate without axis forces being able to intercept or jam signals.

These days, CDMA has evolved into being widely used as a smartphone and mobile technology for everyday consumers in the USA and Russia.

CDMA devices do not use SIM cards and are instead tied directly to a specific network.

GSM, on the other hand, uses a SIM card to allow a user to send messages to and from other mobile owners. GSM is the network we see most commonly throughout the world.

These days, the United States has started to use GSM technology more commonly to give users more freedom over the network they use.

In the past, Verizon and Sprint would use CDMA in the USA, whilst AT&T and T-Mobile used GSM.

With the fast spread support of LTE, more smartphones in the USA are moving over to GSM from all four networks.

GSM is considered to be the better technology - you can switch out your SIM card to use other networks across the world, and you’re given more freedom over which network you use.

How To If Your iPhone Uses GSM VS CDMA

If you’d like to learn about what network type your iPhone uses, the easiest way to find out is to find your model number and compare it with data available online.

To begin with, you can find your iPhone model number by looking at the back of your device. The model number will be printed onto the bottom of the back plate.

If the text on the back of your iPhone is worn out, you can also visit the settings to find your iPhone model.

Head to the Settings app, tap General, and then tap About
Scroll down and search for the Model listing
If you do not see the model number starting with "A", tap on it and it will toggle it

Once you know your iPhone model, you can compare it with the model numbers provided below to find out which network your iPhone uses.

iPhone X

GSM:

Model A1865

Model A1901

Model A1902

CDMA:

Model A1865

iPhone 8

GSM:

Model A1863

Model A1905

Model A1906

Model A1897

CDMA:

GSM:

A1549

A1589

CDMA:

A1549

A1586

iPhone 6 Plus

GSM:

A1522

A1593

CDMA:

A1522

A1524

iPhone SE

GSM:

Model A1662

Model A1723

Model A1724

CDMA:

Model A1723

iPhone 5S

GSM:

Model A1533

CDMA:

Model A1453

iPhone 5C

GSM:

Model A1532

CDMA:

Model A1456

iPhone 5

GSM:

Model A1429

Model A1428

CDMA:

Model A1429

Model A1428

iPhone 4S

GSM:

Model A1387

Model A1531

CDMA:

Model A1387

iPhone 4

GSM:

Model A1332

CDMA:

Model A1349

iPhone 3GS

GSM:

Model A1325

Model A1303

iPhone 3G

GSM:

Model A1324

Model A1241

iPhone 1

GSM:

Model A1203

Summary

Hopefully, the information in this article has proven to be useful in determining the difference between GSM vs Global. Leave us a comment below if you have any questions!