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T-Mobile iPhone UK on T-Mobile in the USA?

dualcore

dualcore

macrumors member
Original poster
anyone know if you could buy a UK iPhone and pop in a USA t-mobile sim card?
i dont live in the states its just an interesting thought if people could import them and no unlocking needed.
 
dualcore said:
anyone know if you could buy a UK iPhone and pop in a USA t-mobile sim card?
i dont live in the states its just an interesting thought if people could import them and no unlocking needed.
Click to expand...
The U.K. iPhone will be locked to o2. Do you mean a German iPhone which will be T-Mobile?
 
that is an interesting idea and worth a shot. I know 3 of my phones here in the US were not unlocked but work fine with my prepaid t-mobile card from germany so there is a chance but we cannot say how big of a chance it is.
 
haha yes right the germany t-mobile. my mistake.
anyone out there willing to try it?
 
USA T-mobile and German T-mobile are (for all intensive purposes) separate companies. They only share branding.

Germany it's Deutsche Telekom and in USA it is VoiceStream. Their SIMs aren't the same.

At least I'd only assume. :-D
 
7on said:
USA T-mobile and German T-mobile are (for all intensive purposes) separate companies. They only share branding.

Germany it's Deutsche Telekom and in USA it is VoiceStream. Their SIMs aren't the same.

At least I'd only assume. :-D
Click to expand...

Nope....

http://www.t-mobile.com/Company/CompanyInfo.aspx?tp=Abt_Tab_CompanyOverview


Ownership: T-Mobile USA is the US operating entity of T-Mobile International AG & Co., the mobile communications subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG & Co. K.G. (NYSE: DT). Deutsche Telekom is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, with more than 80 million customers worldwide.
Click to expand...
 
dualcore said:
haha yes right the germany t-mobile. my mistake.
anyone out there willing to try it?
Click to expand...

You'd have to activate it with your German iTunes account and get it assigned a German T-Mobile number. I guess you can put a US (or any T-Mobile) SIM card in it afterwards and it'll work... just don't try to update the phone - it'll see a non German T-Mobile SIM in it...
 
peharri said:
They both share the same parent, but the OP was right, they're different companies: T-Mobile USA is Voicestream, T-Mobile DE is Deutsche Telekom.

The two operators have little in common except branding. The SIM cards they provide are not compatible with phones locked by the other.
Click to expand...


If this is the case, they would mention it on their website. They could've been bought out like Cingular, etc...
 
T-Mobile SIM cards

Different T-Mobile subsidiaries in different countries are legally separated entities for well, legal purposes. They are all still owned by Deutsche Telekom. Deutsch Telekom bought VoiceStream a couple years ago.
I am a T-Mobile customer in the US and Germany. In my US SIM locked T-Mobile phones I was able to use my German T-Mobile SIM card when traveling over there. This does work with my Blackberry and Motorola Raizor phones. Same is true when my (German) parents come over here with their locked German T-Mobile phones and plug in a US T-Mobile SIM card.
So there is a big chance that a German iPhone will work with a US T-Mobile SIM card.
 
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