Will a sim free Iphone 3Gs bought in US work in Ireland?

[roguejedi]

Hi,A 8Gig Iphone 3Gs without a contract costs >400euro in Ireland, can I buy one sim free from the US and will it work in Ireland - all functionality?

Thanks.

 

[robbieduncan]

I don't think so: even SIM free iPhones in the US are locked to AT&T I think.

 

[MrBrekke]

iPhones are not unlocked originally. you would need to jail break it. i bought my 3Gs in ireland and i have moved to norway after that. all my phones are working perfectly. google: Dev Team and read up on that.

to answer your question.

without having it legally unlocked by Apple or free it from jail yourself it will not work with any carriers in Ireland. you will end up with a expensive iPod touch.

carphone warhorse in ireland have the old bah of 3Gs and can be freed. if you are in cork at the end of patrick street almost in grand parade there is a cw outlet i got mine there.

 

[roguejedi]

Hi,

Yes I understand it wont work straight away and I have to "jailbreak" it, but assuming I can do this rather inexpensively, will it work then. Would it just be like a sim free phone then in that I could put any sim in it??
Thanks...

PS. how much could I order a sim free 8G Iphone for in the US? $200???

 

[MrBrekke]

Hi,

Yes I understand it wont work straight away and I have to "jailbreak" it, but assuming I can do this rather inexpensively, will it work then. Would it just be like a sim free phone then in that I could put any sim in it??
Thanks...

PS. how much could I order a sim free 8G Iphone for in the US? $200???

It will work as any other unlocked phone. but i don't think you can find a 3g for only 200 us. if buying now i would advice to get the 3Gs instead.

You need to add import tex to ireland also if ordering abroad. so add 21,5 % on top of ther price you can get it for and you will have the total.

 

[iFerd]

The $200 price in the US is for a subsidized phone from AT&T. Getting that price requires a two year contract for service with AT&T. A contract free phone will likely cost quite a lot more.

 

[MrBrekke]

If you buy at&t iPhone you will have to jailbreak and unlock it. It means you will have to use turbo sim - special unlocking device. Then you can get a contract in Ireland and put Ireland O2 sim card (or other) into your unlocked iphone.

The problem with unlocked iPhone is that if you upgrade it to new iPhone OS you will have to unlock it again. Also, because of turbo sim it could have stability issues.


P.S. Like people said above $200 is for 3gs with 2 year contract. You can buy 3G for around $500 on ebay.

500 usd would be around the same as 400 Euros so actually better of buying it in a shop in ireland and jailbreak it.

no need for turbo sim. why would OP need that?

all iPhones can be unlocked by software only. if it is legal or not is a different thing.