I am thinking about getting a iPhone, but this hinges on the fact that I'll be able to use it in both the UK and India as I travel back and forth a lot. I know vodafone will be offering iPhone service next year, and they have this vodafone world plans, but is this actually a good plan? Or, is it possible to switch from a UK vodafone SIM to an Indian vodafone SIM without unlocking the phones?
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Using iPhone in India and the UK
- Thread starter liamrees
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The only sane way would be to get one unlocked and swap between UK and Indian SIMs - Indian operators will be extremely cheap next to any UK roaming scheme. Legit unlocked ones from play.com (at a price!) or you can look into doing it yourself (covered in these forums) with a subsidised Pay/Go or PayMonthly phone.
I spotted these as well the other day, until then I had no idea you could get them legally unlocked in the UK. Play is an awesome site though!
AnDy
I'd offer my opinion that the new Blackra1n / blacksn0w unlock released yesterday is easy, quick and free.
99% of the time there are no problems, and I too unlocked my iphone when I went to India. I loved their prices and when I came back the US, I cried a little when I got back on ATT.
Just make you don't flash that phone around too much, beggers are smart these days and some will get not leave you alone. Even one of the servants kept eyeballing it a little too much (I happened to lose a watch that same vacation).
Just make you don't flash that phone around too much, beggers are smart these days and some will get not leave you alone. Even one of the servants kept eyeballing it a little too much (I happened to lose a watch that same vacation).
Did you have any problem using the internet while in India? And I know most of India doesn't have 3g coverage except for a few places...
Obviously I'm not going to go flashing it around, but the area I live in isn't really prone to many problems like that. You just gotta be careful is all.
Well when I went last, I had the original 2g iphone, so I couldn't say. I also didn't want to pay for data, so I just got a prepaid SIM for voice and text. So sorry can't help you with the whole 3G thing. Do let me know though how the 3G is out there, cause I know my next trip I'll be at least taking an iphone 3g (if I don't upgrade).
edit: I used the wi-fi and had no problems though.
edit: I used the wi-fi and had no problems though.
QFT.
One button for Blackra1n and it's done in like 10 seconds. No need to restore or sync or anything!
Is paying 300 pounds extra the only way to get a legitimately unlocked phone? Because thats a bit steep. And what are the repercussions (i.e. warranty, downloading of updates, apps etc) of unlocking a phone yourself, or could someone point me to a thread or guide which could explain that? Is this blackra1n unlock legit?
Agree that the extra £300 is very steep!
The main repercussions of jailbreak and unlock are this:
1. Apple will not give you warranty service if you take them a jailbroken phone with a problem, they do not like jailbreaking. However, the good news is that you can easily unjailbreak and put the phone back to "out-of-the-box" condition via iTunes. And if the phone should totally die, ie it won't turn on, then Apple won't know it's jailbroken anyway. Just remember to take your unofficial SIM out before taking it in
2. Apple are continuously trying to close jailbreak exploits, so we often find that we can't apply the latest firmware update immediately - but eventually someone finds a new exploit. This forum is the place to come to keep abreast of updates.
3. You can have a lot more fun with your phone once it's jailbroken - there are lots of ways to theme the phone, to give it new sounds, to do things that Apple don't want you to do (eg jailbroken phones could use Skype over 3G when standard ones couldn't)
4. Jailbreaking and unlocking is very easy, and there are detailed tutorials on how to do everything at http://www.iclarified.com/tutorials/iphone/index.php
One final thing to say - the very latest 3GS's (ie the last few weeks' manufacture) have new boot-up software which means that the jailbreak is "tethered". The implication is that if your phone is powered off totally after jailbreaking it, you will have to reconnect to your computer to run Blackra1n again when you power it back on. That's the current state of play anyway, though that will probably get sorted out before too long.
The main repercussions of jailbreak and unlock are this:
1. Apple will not give you warranty service if you take them a jailbroken phone with a problem, they do not like jailbreaking. However, the good news is that you can easily unjailbreak and put the phone back to "out-of-the-box" condition via iTunes. And if the phone should totally die, ie it won't turn on, then Apple won't know it's jailbroken anyway. Just remember to take your unofficial SIM out before taking it in
2. Apple are continuously trying to close jailbreak exploits, so we often find that we can't apply the latest firmware update immediately - but eventually someone finds a new exploit. This forum is the place to come to keep abreast of updates.
3. You can have a lot more fun with your phone once it's jailbroken - there are lots of ways to theme the phone, to give it new sounds, to do things that Apple don't want you to do (eg jailbroken phones could use Skype over 3G when standard ones couldn't)
4. Jailbreaking and unlocking is very easy, and there are detailed tutorials on how to do everything at http://www.iclarified.com/tutorials/iphone/index.php
One final thing to say - the very latest 3GS's (ie the last few weeks' manufacture) have new boot-up software which means that the jailbreak is "tethered". The implication is that if your phone is powered off totally after jailbreaking it, you will have to reconnect to your computer to run Blackra1n again when you power it back on. That's the current state of play anyway, though that will probably get sorted out before too long.
That doesn't work, it's specifically locked to Vodafone UK. However, I suppose you might be lucky in persuading Vodafone UK to do an official unlock if you told them that was why you wanted it. We don't yet know what their unlocking policy will be.
Yeah different cell networks, thus different SIM card needed. It would be awesome if they were the same, but then how can companies try to charge you international roaming fees?
Too bad you're smarter than them. Just remember to perform your unlock before leaving.
Don't forget to have a paper clip or that nice little metal thingy to pop open your sim tray.
Too bad you're smarter than them. Just remember to perform your unlock before leaving.
Don't forget to have a paper clip or that nice little metal thingy to pop open your sim tray.