Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

About to buy an iPhone, finger on the trigger...

U

username7410

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 15, 2008
50
0
I have T-Mobile and don't want to switch to AT&T. Can I purchase through Apple.com and unlock myself using ZiPhone or whatever? Or, will I be locked into AT&T the minute I place my order?

How risky is using a unlocked iPhone? If I don't update unless given a clear green light from the creator of whatever software I used to unlock am I sure to keep it operational and not end up with it bricked? Does it do anything like silent updates, things like Windows would do? Or is it strictly user initiated?

If bricking occurs is it more or less likely that I'll be able to unbrick it?

Resources on the net are endless, I would love to find a trustworthy and straight forward FAQ for all this.
 
Knowlege Bomb

Knowlege Bomb

macrumors G4
Feb 14, 2008
10,194
8,833
US
You won't be locked to AT&T unless you unlock your iPhone via iTunes. You are in no way obligated to anything when you purchase the phone from an Apple store. I'm not sure how the process goes at an AT&T store but I believe I've read posts by other users claiming that if you tell them you're buying it as a gift, they don't require activation on site.

There's definitely nothing to worry about as far as "silent updates" go. If there is an update, you'll know because iTunes always prompts before the download, giving you the option to simply download or download and install. There's no requirement so yes, it's all user-initiated.

As far as updating an unlocked iPhone and bricking, I wouldn't know. I was an AT&T customer before I got mine so I've never had to worry about it. I'm sure there's plenty of forums and other sites that would clearly explain the risks and workarounds for you. Best of luck!! You're gonna love it!
 
S

stevehp

macrumors 6502
Sep 4, 2006
459
0
It's not a house, it's a home.
Go for it!

There's really nothing to worry about...Just never update until you are 100% sure it's safe...

ZiPhone is really really easy to use and you really don't need to have any technical knowledge...If you're using a mac, I suggest iJailbreak...The new version that will do the same thing ZiPhone will, but on a mac.

If you mess up your phone, you can always restore and re-jailbreak, etc...

No worries.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom