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iPhone 3Gs - Italy and Belgium - unlocked?

celticfan1888 said:
buy on ebay from ausluck you will get it in 5 days no hassle :)

i did not have to pay tax ... either :)
Click to expand...

It's a bit late now - knowing my luck I'd get the call again to tell me that a 32GB White model is available for me just after I have placed the order on eBay. I just can't bring myself to buy from eBay and also incur the currency conversion costs. Besides, I don't see why I should have to go through all this hassle to buy something, that should be in my local shop, from a company on the other side of the planet. It just seems nuts to me.
 
Sonera in Finland

Are proving their customary "lack of helpfulness" and have so far not provided ANY updates at least to this customer with a back order of a month. Calls to their clueless customer help team seem to be in the form "it is ordered, we don't know when it comes, or even where you are in the queue".

Grrr..
 
i think after reading through most of these posts i'm going to go for the ausluck option - not overly pricey, according to evidence posted here they work properly and it means i won't have to risk screwing up an iphone by jailbreaking...which i would if i attempted it

it's been good looking at all the options available for unlocked iphones, well done all those people who posted here and made some people's lives a lot easier, i wouldn't have found ausluck if it wasn't for this thread so cheers :)
 
What are typical "delivery times" for 3gs in other countries from the authorised provider, i.e. US, UK? In Finland after presigning up in July, still waiting for the phone with no ETA as of today :(

Does the auslock really work without any problems, i.e for push, updates etc ?
 
Suppliers in Antwerp

Hi

I am going to a conference for a week in Antwerp from the 16th November.
I was wondering which stores are selling the unlocked iPhone 3GS 32GB.

Is the MediaMarkt in Central also selling these phones?

What is the stock situation in Antwerp?

What are the expectation on the stock available given that I have about six weeks to go?

Thanks in advance
 
Java Champion said:
Hi

I am going to a conference for a week in Antwerp from the 16th November.
I was wondering which stores are selling the unlocked iPhone 3GS 32GB.

Is the MediaMarkt in Central also selling these phones?

What is the stock situation in Antwerp?

What are the expectation on the stock available given that I have about six weeks to go?

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
In almost all shops they will sell the iPhone unlocked (it's forbidden by the law to have a simlock on it). It's true that there is a long, long waiting time but you can be lucky: the don't use waitlists or so.

The best thing you can do is call to a few shops to ask if they have a few on stock, if so than go there.
 
ThatsMeRight said:
In almost all shops they will sell the iPhone unlocked (it's forbidden by the law to have a simlock on it). It's true that there is a long, long waiting time but you can be lucky: the don't use waitlists or so.

The best thing you can do is call to a few shops to ask if they have a few on stock, if so than go there.
Click to expand...

Thanks for attempting to answer my post.

You said it was "almost". So which shops are breaking this law and only selling phones with a SIM lock on them?

Do you have an idea in Antwerp, which shops are the best to investigate?

So are you saying not to use waiting list?


I am debating whether to have a short break to Italy, a quick weekender to Rome or Milan, whether it would be better?
 
Ausluck??

I have been reading this post since the beginning and had always decided that as I have friends in Brussels I would go over there and get my unlocked iPhone. With the euro being so bad now and the stock in Belgium still being so low I am now considerig using ausluck instead. I know a few people on here also ordered from there and I was just after other peoples feed back on the service before I finally decide which way to go.
 
Java Champion said:
Thanks for attempting to answer my post.

You said it was "almost". So which shops are breaking this law and only selling phones with a SIM lock on them?

Do you have an idea in Antwerp, which shops are the best to investigate?

So are you saying not to use waiting list?


I am debating whether to have a short break to Italy, a quick weekender to Rome or Milan, whether it would be better?
Click to expand...
In some one-carrier shops (yea, a bit weird) they will sell it in combination with a 2-year deal, but there are very few one-carrier shops so...

And no, sorry, I don't know which shops are best in Antwerp. I'm just knowing this because I'm living in The Netherlands (at a place pretty close to the border of Belgium).

And yes, I'm saying not to use the waiting list. Some people signed up in August and are still waiting, but I also know people who just went to the shop and got it directly. The best thing to do is just to make a few phone calls to some shops and ask if they have one or more on stock. The best thing to do is, is at the day you are going to these shops because if you call a few days ahead it can be out of stock once you are there.
 
Update to my own message: Sonera /finally/ delivered my 3gs 32gb after only eight weeks or so :) Who says we Europeans (or Nordics in any case) get the bleeding edge...
 
Hi there. I will be in Brussels on 4th of October. I want to buy a 3gs from there. 32GB or 16GB doesnt really matter actually. Can you please help me out in a few things...

1-) What is the current stock situation in Belgium. Is it possible to find 3gs ? Where and how can I buy it easily ?

2-) Except the electronic shops like Media Markt, Saturn etc... are Mobistars selling it without contract ?

3-) Are they factory unlocked or has a simlock on it ?

4-) Can you suggest or if there is any place in Brussels which sells used 3gs. Just incase of, if i cant find it because of out stock issues

Please do me favor and help me out I'll be so glad. Thank you, Merci beaucoup, Hartelijk dank, Danke, gracias,domo arigato.... :)
 
Hello

What is the latest in Belgium now?
What is the latest in Italy now?

Are there still people waiting to get their unlocked 3Gs from the supplier?

I am still set to go Antwerp next month. In fact, it is four weeks away now.

mfg
 
You know it's so funny you go to the Hong Kong website that apple has set up and it's like every one of our dreams what's printed below about it working on any carrier. Is it possible to order from the Hong Kong site and have it shipped to the US? Or is apple going to totally block that?. I would think the latter but idk....
 
nateo200 said:
You know it's so funny you go to the Hong Kong website that apple has set up and it's like every one of our dreams what's printed below about it working on any carrier. Is it possible to order from the Hong Kong site and have it shipped to the US? Or is apple going to totally block that?. I would think the latter but idk....
Click to expand...

No you can't order it from the HK site and have it delivered anywhere else. The easiest way to get a HK one is have a friend here send it to you, or order one from one of the Authorised Sellers that will ship to another country.

By the way, that official iTunes unlock screen really makes you smile. ;)

----> http://www.iphonehacks.com/images/09-Aug/official_iphone_3g_unlock.png <----
 
Got my unlocked phone - eBay

Hi there, Wanted to share a little with you.

Wanted to get a factory-unlocked phone and did research. Saw the recommendation here for Ausluck on ebay. Looked expensive (well, every place did, really) and I wanted to save a few bucks so I bid on someone else's phone and won. It was maybe $50 less.

But it turns out it was a fraud. They took the money and ran, and from a whole bunch of other people too. Now this person had been an eBay member for over a year and had like 73 positive ratings. Fortunately, I went through the process with PayPal and my money was returned by them. But I was very disappointed.

Then, I saw how many ratings Ausluck had (thousands) and all very high. This person is reliable. So, I bit the bullet and did it. Sure enough, several days later it arrived via FedEx, under the Customs radar. Works perfectly and I'm happy!

There's a moral to this story...but I'm just not sure what it is!

- R
 
Dreambiz said:
Hi there, Wanted to share a little with you.

Wanted to get a factory-unlocked phone and did research. Saw the recommendation here for Ausluck on ebay. Looked expensive (well, every place did, really) and I wanted to save a few bucks so I bid on someone else's phone and won. It was maybe $50 less.

But it turns out it was a fraud. They took the money and ran, and from a whole bunch of other people too. Now this person had been an eBay member for over a year and had like 73 positive ratings. Fortunately, I went through the process with PayPal and my money was returned by them. But I was very disappointed.

Then, I saw how many ratings Ausluck had (thousands) and all very high. This person is reliable. So, I bit the bullet and did it. Sure enough, several days later it arrived via FedEx, under the Customs radar. Works perfectly and I'm happy!

There's a moral to this story...but I'm just not sure what it is!

- R
Click to expand...

Hi

My current iphone 16GB the 2G I got off eBay 20 months ago. I got it from a UK importer [saabman] [saabman2007], I think he/she drove a Saab and they are no longer trading in new iphones.

In the UK, O2 is about to lose its exclusive deal, I could go with Orange or T-Mobile whenever they decide to sell the 3GS. I had hope for better news from Belgium on the supply of unlocked iPhone 3GS 32GB.

Do you think that Apple are artificially holding back these iPhone, because they are trying to protect the network providers backyard? It feels like a political game. A bunch of providers are going to be offering the iPhone with non-exclusive deals and only on a contract basis. Where is the incentive for network providers, if they can just go abroad or ask for unlocked one to ship easily back to the UK.

I factor in the cost, or Orange or T-Mobile £35 per month on contract.

35 * 24 == 840

Or even better if the medium plan (not yet announced or published to world)

45 * 24 == 1080

I still think an unlock phone is more value.

Say you get a iphone for £700 then the monthly cost in comparison is:

700 / 24 == £29.17

So you have £15 head room to spend on a network, which probably too little for decent line rental contract. You will want unlimited Internet / 3G data access. So a good network plan in the UK on T'Orange / Vodafone is about £25 + VAT. It works out more expensive by about £10. In truth, you will be paying realisticly £55 per month for 24 months, but you have the freedom to change network or move to PAYG or something cheaper whenever their price war between the providers as they surely will be.

Thoughts
 
So, quick question -- I'm headed to Italy in a couple of weeks. Reading this thread, it appears that Italy has unlocked iPhones, but supply has been limited. Does anyone know how the current supply situation is -- and which vendors should I check out?
 
biggerboy said:
So, quick question -- I'm headed to Italy in a couple of weeks. Reading this thread, it appears that Italy has unlocked iPhones, but supply has been limited. Does anyone know how the current supply situation is -- and which vendors should I check out?
Click to expand...

Hope it's not like here in Belgium: waiting times are almost indefinite... I wonder who's to blame: Apple or it's exclusive local mobile operator.
 
sash said:
Java, you can buy here only a 3G model. For a new 3GS you have to wait months, and I mean quite a lot of months.
Click to expand...

Sash

I will be in Belgium in less than a weeks time. This is really pi55y f8cking b*ll**** news matey! Why hold back on the product, especially if people want to buy it?

Let my sanity return.

Walled gardens

The phone network providers have their own gardens. So a disruptive technology like a customisable mobile phone and an application store affects the mobile phone network companies. Consequently they are forced to lower there barriers and open up. The risk is Apple moves in it (or Google with Android or Palm with Web OS) suddenly rolls up with its own trucks and starts building wall gardens of their own. So the flipping pohone componies like T'Orange or Vodafone wonder what the hell is going on? This is so frustrating. I just a phone and I do not want to pay the network provider "tax" or be forced to upgrade my network plan in order to get a smart phone.

Road "Tax"

Ok I admit and hold my hand here, because "roads don't build themselves". I just wish the Belgian government had more b8lls, m8therf*****r to force the network companies and apples to release the supplies of unlocked phone just like their law dictates.

Does no here, speak Italian?

I knew I should made a weekend jaunt to Rome, now it is too late.
 
Belgium - country locked for 6 months?

Hi All

A friend of mine lives in Belgium (and hopefully will buy an iPhone for me). He went today to the local app store and here is what salesman told to him:

1. You can buy operator-unlocked phone, but it will be country-locked for 6 month. I.e. you'll be able to use it with any Belgium operator, but not with foreign ones

2. After these 6 months, it will be fully unlocked and you can use it wherever

What is that? Sad truth? Plain lie or incompetence?
Is there anybody who bought an iPhone in Belgium lately and use it with foreign SIMs within the first 6 months?

Thanks for your attention.
 
AppleWisher said:
What is that? Sad truth? Plain lie or incompetence?
Click to expand...

Hi,

I think the latter. As far as I know, that's still forbidden here in Belgium to sell a phone locked to a certain operator. You're paying the full price in any case, so they have to let you choose your own operator.

To be sure, I can check it out tomorrow if it still matters.

sash
 
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