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Unlock to go to England?

C

chatster18

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 14, 2007
132
0
So I am going to England in the summer of 2008. I would love to buy an iPhone, but do you think that Cingular would allow me to unlock it and use it with O2 or Orange while I am out of the country, or am I going to have to be stuck with Cingy for my iPhone and have to buy a prepaid phone to use?

Thoughts? Comment?
 
chatster18 said:
...Thoughts? Comment?
Click to expand...

How much you likely to use the phone and for what?

If you plan to use it to phone home you'd better be prepared for the roaming costs, if you want a phone to keep in touch with the people you're traveling with while you're away get a prepaid phone or SIM.
 
After the iPhone comes out, give it a couple of months and you will be able to go somewhere and get it unlocked,, problem is warranty is voided right away,, but then you ll be able to use it with whatever carrier uses sim cards around the world pretty much
 
juanster said:
After the iPhone comes out, give it a couple of months and you will be able to go somewhere and get it unlocked,, problem is warranty is voided right away,, but then you ll be able to use it with whatever carrier uses sim cards around the world pretty much
Click to expand...

If the iPhone is anything like some of the newer Nokia's then you've no hope in getting the thing unlocked unless you pay the service provider for the codes.
 
Addo said:
If the iPhone is anything like some of the newer Nokia's then you've no hope in getting the thing unlocked unless you pay the service provider for the codes.
Click to expand...


yeah, tahts what i ve' heard, there's a place in toronto where you can go and get that done.... pacific mall,, and asian mall wheremost cellphones are unlocked... there must be one of these round you somewhere..it seems like there snothign thus guys can't copy or unlock (i ve heard some just take way longer than others for them to get the "software" to do it? i dont know how it works t tell u the truth...
 
iMeowbot said:
I don't think they'll have much interest in unlocking it for you, not when they have visions of these kinds of rates in their heads.
Click to expand...

Ya I took a look at those rates... I bet I will be better off just getting a cheap prepaid phone. But I hope that Ill be able to just pop the sim in the unlocked iPhone and use it there.....just in my hopes and dreams..... ;)
 
iBenzin said:
wait isnt there a law that requires carriers to unlock the phone?
Click to expand...
laws are different from country to country, i know it's not ileggal to unlock a phone though, you just have to figure out a way to do it.. i dont know if a carrier would ever sell you a code to do so? has anyone in here ever bough a code like this? from whati understood it was done with a software that pretty much hacks into the phone to do so....but i don t know for sure,, i may be totally wrong
 
before I moved back to China, I had a T-mobile phone in the US. All I had to do was to call their customer service, verify my identity, and tell them my email address. within few hours, an email arrived with detailed instruction and a numerical code to unlock the phone.

I believe Cingular would do the same. it doesn't cost anything, except an international long distance phone call if u r not in the US...
 
I think you are misunderstanding the beauty of GSM. All you would need to do is to purchase an international package (which allows you to use your domestic minutes from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world), and use the phone as normal. There is no need to change providers, especially since Cingular (at&t mobility) has roaming deals with Vodaphone, Orange, and O2. From the experience I have gained by having friends travel to Germany for 3-months (for school), the extra charge can be as little $15/month.

TEG
 
TEG said:
I think you are misunderstanding the beauty of GSM. All you would need to do is to purchase an international package (which allows you to use your domestic minutes from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world), and use the phone as normal. There is no need to change providers, especially since Cingular (at&t mobility) has roaming deals with Vodaphone, Orange, and O2. From the experience I have gained by having friends travel to Germany for 3-months (for school), the extra charge can be as little $15/month.

TEG
Click to expand...


If you're on a US carrier and roam internationally, you're going to get raped on roaming charges. Some of those stupid "international plans" reduce your charges, but there's no way to get free roaming internationally
 
yg17 said:
If you're on a US carrier and roam internationally, you're going to get raped on roaming charges. Some of those stupid "international plans" reduce your charges, but there's no way to get free roaming internationally
Click to expand...

I just hope thats not the case. I want to unlock it and go to England, then come back and resume using it here in the US.
 
chatster18 said:
I just hope thats not the case. I want to unlock it and go to England, then come back and resume using it here in the US.
Click to expand...

You do not want to 'unlock'. There is nothing to unlock to use a GSM phone internationally. Just contact at&t mobility, explain your situation, the fact that you want to purchase an iPhone, and that you will be going to England for a few months. They will advise you on the best course, most likely involving the international plan.

TEG
 
TEG said:
You do not want to 'unlock'. There is nothing to unlock to use a GSM phone internationally. Just contact at&t mobility, explain your situation, the fact that you want to purchase an iPhone, and that you will be going to England for a few months. They will advise you on the best course, most likely involving the international plan.

TEG
Click to expand...

If you want to use a prepaid SIM from a UK carrier to get much cheaper rates, you do need to unlock.

The only international plans cingular offers is something to get discounted roaming rates, but you still pay out the arse. If you're traveling overseas, unlocked w/ prepaid SIM is the way to go
 
Personally, I don't think unlocking the iPhone would be easy and I'm pretty sure that Cingular won't let out the secret of unlocking this beauty. For several reasons; one, Apple and Cingular have a pretty tight and obvious contract, for the reason that they won't let you just use any operator. How would they know you are going to use it in UK or perhaps with T-Mobile. The second reason is that it's Apple! I mean how many people manage to actually hack into apple. Apple designs their products to be 'hack-proof' which is good as it is also for security right?

Just wait until Apple releases it for the UK. Actually I wonder what operator will they have a contract with.... hmm....

I just hate locked phones. I had to buy mine in Hong Kong for one unlocked.
 
Legally, I don't know if Suckgular can refuse to unlock it.


I love T-Mobile's unlocking policy. 90 days in good standing and they'll give you the unlock code. My 90th day with them is tomorrow, I'm going to get in touch with them and get the unlock code for my BlackBerry Pearl just for the hell of it. If only suckgular would do the same
 
yg17 said:
Legally, I don't know if Suckgular can refuse to unlock it.


I love T-Mobile's unlocking policy. 90 days in good standing and they'll give you the unlock code. My 90th day with them is tomorrow, I'm going to get in touch with them and get the unlock code for my BlackBerry Pearl just for the hell of it. If only suckgular would do the same
Click to expand...

Really? That's the t-mobile policy? I didn't know that, I've been with them for 3 years and i travel to europe several times a year - if only i'd known before.
 
I don't know about Cingular, but locked T-Mobile USA phones can use SIM cards from international affiliates. I successfully used my locked (too early to get it unlocked) T629 with a T-Mobile UK SIM card while in the UK a couple months ago...

Here's a list for T-Mobile USA locked phones of what they're programmed to accept, I imagine Cingular MIGHT be similar (the phones allowing SIMs from other carriers that are affiliated) but I don't know where to find out a list. Notice that MOST, BUT NOT ALL of these carriers are T-Mobile. Beeline, Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa, and MTS are the notable exceptions but I dunno if Cingular is close enough to any other carriers:

204-160 (T-Mobile Netherlands)
216-300 (T-Mobile Hungary)
219-010 (T-Mobile Hrvatska, Croatia)
230-010 (T-Mobile Czech Republic)
231-020 (T-Mobile Slovakia)
232-030 (T-Mobile Austria)
234-300 (T-Mobile UK)
250-010 (MTS, Russia)
255-020 (Beeline, Ukraine)
260-020 (Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Sp. z .o. - T-Mobile 49% ownership)
262-010 (T-Mobile Germany)

310-160 (T-Mobile USA - All 310's)
310-200
310-210
310-220
310-230
310-240
310-250
310-260
310-270
310-280
310-300
310-310
310-580
310-660
310-800
 
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