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thasan

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 19, 2007
1,104
1,031
Germany
hi all,
I am able to get an iPhone xs max from china for use in the EU. I heard iOS 12 in those phones will be heavily modified and different from the rest of the world. I’m worried that I may not be able to use the phone properly or use it in EU AppStores or use EU sims easily. Can anyone confirm this?
Many thanks for this.
 

thasan

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 19, 2007
1,104
1,031
Germany
It's not modified. The only limitation is FaceTime Audio is not available.
Thanks. But how about a full reset or with EU AppStore account? Do you know.
[doublepost=1538341044][/doublepost]
Additionally, setting the region to a EU country and re-installing the iOS *may* result in an iPhone that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
That’s what I am hoping for. But Want to know for sure. :)
 

makr

macrumors regular
Feb 16, 2016
187
173
Thanks. But how about a full reset or with EU AppStore account? Do you know.
[doublepost=1538341044][/doublepost]
That’s what I am hoping for. But Want to know for sure. :)

I guess activating it outside China and setting up your location somewhere else would do the trick. :)
 

JPack

macrumors G5
Mar 27, 2017
13,505
26,135
Why is that?

There's no official answer, but it's most likely a move to protect domestic carriers.

FaceTime audio was introduced in iOS 7 and during that time, China was trying to protect its domestic carrier business from these free phone services.

We saw a similar move in 2009 with the iPhone 3G which lacked Wi-Fi. During that time, China was trying to protect its new 3G networks.
[doublepost=1538342128][/doublepost]
Thanks. But how about a full reset or with EU AppStore account? Do you know.

No, phone features are linked to the region-specific model.

FaceTime audio is the only restriction. But in exchange, you get dual physical SIM.
 
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AppleHaterLover

macrumors 68020
Jun 15, 2018
2,048
2,051
There's no official answer, but it's most likely a move to protect domestic carriers.

FaceTime audio was introduced in iOS 7 and during that time, China was trying to protect its domestic carrier business from these free phone services.

We saw a similar move in 2009 with the iPhone 3G which lacked Wi-Fi. During that time, China was trying to protect its new 3G networks.
[doublepost=1538342128][/doublepost]

That's another coin in my "I will never ever visit China on vacation" piggy bank.
 

DeanL

macrumors 65816
May 29, 2014
1,345
1,287
London
That's another coin in my "I will never ever visit China on vacation" piggy bank.

...as if the US never engaged in protectionism in any form ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We saw a similar move in 2009 with the iPhone 3G which lacked Wi-Fi. During that time, China was trying to protect its new 3G networks.

Don't spread misinformation. The iPhone 3G lacked Wi-Fi in China because it didn't support their standard, WAPI.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLAN_Authentication_and_Privacy_Infrastructure
 
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