Using US iPhone abroad with non-US SIM card

[gretafour]

Hey all,

I have a 3GS running 3.1.2 on AT&T. I've JailBroken it before, but restored back to normal because I personally wasn't using JB features.

Soon, I'll be moving to Taiwan for six months, and I'd like to know your suggestions for using the phone on Taiwan's ChungHwa network, which is also the official iPhone carrier there. I know that I'll need to JailBreak and Unlock. What's the best way to unlock currently for 3.1.2?

I'll most likely just be buying a pre-paid SIM once I'm there, since I don't want to mess with contracts. And I know that using data on pre-paid is pricey, so I'd like to disable the cellular data completely. I once heard there's a carrier-settings file that can turn off the EDGE/3G connection but leave WiFi enabled. Anyone have experience with using that option?

Thanks for the help!

 

[jayeskreezy]

Hey all,

I have a 3GS running 3.1.2 on AT&T. I've JailBroken it before, but restored back to normal because I personally wasn't using JB features.

Soon, I'll be moving to Taiwan for six months, and I'd like to know your suggestions for using the phone on Taiwan's ChungHwa network, which is also the official iPhone carrier there. I know that I'll need to JailBreak and Unlock. What's the best way to unlock currently for 3.1.2?

I'll most likely just be buying a pre-paid SIM once I'm there, since I don't want to mess with contracts. And I know that using data on pre-paid is pricey, so I'd like to disable the cellular data completely. I once heard there's a carrier-settings file that can turn off the EDGE/3G connection but leave WiFi enabled. Anyone have experience with using that option?

Thanks for the help!

Did you do a search at all?

If not, look up Blacksn0w...you should be able to unlock your phone as long as it doesn't have the newest software.

You need to jailbreak it to unlock it. SBSettings will allow you to easily turn 3g, Edge, and Wifi on and off, but that's also something that you'll need to jailbreak with.

You should do a search though-it should answer all your questions.

 

[gretafour]

Yes of course I searched before posting, and I know how to unlock. I am hoping for more holistic suggestions like which JB + Unlock would suit my situation best, rather than step-by-step how do I unlock my phone.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Moi un Mouton]

Go for BlackRa1n and BlackSn0w, Geohot has done a really good job with that.

Possible hiccup that I've experienced: wifi doesn't work after you do it - this happened to me but when I repeated the process it was OK.

Possible hiccups that others have had: search this forum for Blackra1n and you'll find a few, though most seem to get sorted out

 

[dhlizard]

Hey all,

I have a 3GS running 3.1.2 on AT&T. I've JailBroken it before, but restored back to normal because I personally wasn't using JB features.

Soon, I'll be moving to Taiwan for six months, and I'd like to know your suggestions for using the phone on Taiwan's ChungHwa network, which is also the official iPhone carrier there. I know that I'll need to JailBreak and Unlock. What's the best way to unlock currently for 3.1.2?

I'll most likely just be buying a pre-paid SIM once I'm there, since I don't want to mess with contracts. And I know that using data on pre-paid is pricey, so I'd like to disable the cellular data completely. I once heard there's a carrier-settings file that can turn off the EDGE/3G connection but leave WiFi enabled. Anyone have experience with using that option?

Thanks for the help!

If they are the official iphone carrier, what's the chance you could just drop their sim in and it would work ?

Obviously, they are putting their sim cards into stock iPhones in Taiwan.

 

[Moi un Mouton]

If they are the official iphone carrier, what's the chance you could just drop their sim in and it would work ?

Obviously, they are putting their sim cards into stock iPhones in Taiwan.

The official carriers are not interchangeable though. eg I have a UK phone on O2 but if I want it to work on at&t in the USA I have to unlock it. So the OP is right, unlock is necessary.