[LG V30 Questions & Answers] ChazzMatt:
This has all been discussed in other threads, but it's good it's now a separate topic so we'll discuss it again.

The official carrier unlocked US998 , which will probably be announced end of October. The official carrier unlocked version will be sold directly by LG themselves as well as by retailers like B&H, Best Buy and Amazon. Go to the

LG G6 US997 page

to see how it will eventually work.

However, right now U.S. Cellular is selling this same model (US998) -- but locked to them -- as their carrier model. If you pay in full, they will unlock so it will work on ALL other U.S/Canada carriers. Other than the "temporary" carrier lock, there's no other difference RIGHT NOW between the U.S. Cellular LG V30/V30+ and the official unlocked carrier model which is coming in about 3 weeks. (EDIT: in another forum, someone said the U.S. Cellular model my not be eligible for official bootloader unlock, even though it's the same model number.)

Your other questions about T-mobile LTE band 71 on the US998 are answered below, which I copied and pasted from other thread.

Yes, what U.S. Cellular is selling does not have LTE band 71. But while this is the US998, it's not the official carrier unlocked US998. (When you buy this phone from U.S. Cellualr, pay in full, upon request U.S. Cellular will unlock it for you to use on other carriers.)

The official carrier unlocked version has not been "announced" by LG yet -- even though it's listed on B&H website, and we all know it's coming. When it's announced and released (probably end of October, according to B&H website), we are hoping

LG will have filed an FCC amendment to enable LTE band 71 on the US998. An amendment can be filed less than 2 weeks from actual release.

Or that with root, we can enable that band by flashing T-mobile radio over it.

The official carrier unlocked version will not need to have a carrier unlock it, of course. It will be unlocked out of the box. After that, then LG will add that model to the official bootloader unlock list. (EDIT: in another forum, someone said the U.S. Cellular model my not be eligible for official bootloader unlock, even though it's the same model number.)

If you buy this phone from U.S. Cellular right now, pay for it in full, get it carrier unlocked, you would still need to wait for LG to add the US998 to the official bootloader unlock list, to be able to root. Earlier this year it took them SIX WEEKS after the LG G6 US997 was released to be add that phone to their bootloader unlock list.

So, while we know this U.S. Cellular US998 right now does not have LTE band 71, it's possible the official unlocked US998 will have it -- or it can be enabled after root. Exciting times right now, with lots of stuff happening!

To get really specific, here you go:

If you buy this phone right now from U.S. Cellular -- and get unlock code from U.S. Cellular -- it will work on all U.S./Canadian carriers including T-mobile. However, right now it will not have T-mobile's LTE band 71 (600 MHz) which T-mobile has installed in a very few places. (It does have the T-mobile band 66 which is something else.)

If you buy this phone right now from U.S. Cellular, you will have the LG V30+ with 128GB internal storage + microSD card. Will T-mobile eventually sell the V30+ version of this phone, maybe in November, December? Possibly.

If you buy this phone right now from U.S. Cellular, YES you will have a phone that will EVENTUALLY have bootloader unlock and root. You will just have to wait for it a few more weeks, for LG to add it to the official bootloader unlock list. (EDIT: in another forum, someone said the U.S. Cellular model my not be eligible for official bootloader unlock, even though it's the same model number.)

Will T-mobile LG V30 ever have root? Probably not, unless LG/T-mobile has changed their minds since the T-mobile LG G6 was released.

If you buy this phone right now from U.S. Cellular, will you EVER have LTE band 71? Right now, we don't know. Before release, LG can file an FCC amendment to add LTE band 71 to the official carrier unlocked US998 or it possibly LTE band 71 can be enabled on US998 via root. Since this U.S. Cellular US998 and the official carrier unlocked US998 are the same hardware, you can flash any firmware meant for one over the other. IF the official carrier unlocked US998 ever gets LTE band 71, one way or the other, then YES so will this U.S. Cellular phone. (EDIT: in another forum, someone said the U.S. Cellular model my not be eligible for official bootloader unlock, even though it's the same model number.)