Interesting observation

[daneoni]

I have an unlocked US iPhone using a generic non-iphone O2 sim from my normal contract and i just restored this morning because i needed to jailbreak again.

After restore and i got to the Activation screen in iTunes i was presented with this:

It seems iTunes isn't doesn't mind letting me buy an iPhone tariff after upgrading to 7.5.....even if i have an unlocked US iPhone

EDIT: Out of curiosity i connected the phone to a mac running 7.5 and got some interesting things

 

[bobobo]

Cool. Anyone want to confirm this with a locked phone?

 

[TonyHoyle]

I just got 'your SIM is not one of the supported providers'. Presumably with an O2 or T-Mobile Germany SIM you get their signup page.

 

[mattpreston11]

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.50 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.0.8993/204; U; en))

uis this a major problem for anyone with an unlocked US iphone?im thinking of inporting one..

 

[daneoni]

I suppose if you buy a fresh phone from the US and swap the AT&T for any O2 sim it'll let you buy a normal iPhone tariff (T-Mobile/O2) and let you activate the phone regardless. My theory anyway....

 

[subtle]

Which would be a saving of up to £70... enough to persuade me to hold off buying til I'm in the US next week!

 

[Nimiety]

Confirmation would be fantastic.

I, like many canadians, would love to drive over the border and pick up an iPhone, but the only reason I don't is the fear that it would never be "visual voicemail" -able.

Each carrier would be able to track the IMEI of the phones sold in that country, and therefore disallow "imports" from being fully activated, right?

 

[CD3660]

Each carrier would be able to track the IMEI of the phones sold in that country, and therefore disallow "imports" from being fully activated, right?

I would have thought so, but the example quoted by the OP suggests that O2 system in the U.K. is not set up to catch imported unlocked iPhones, assuming I'm reading it right (and it is very early in the morning here).

 

[antibact1]

Confirmation would be fantastic.

I, like many canadians, would love to drive over the border and pick up an iPhone, but the only reason I don't is the fear that it would never be "visual voicemail" -able.

Each carrier would be able to track the IMEI of the phones sold in that country, and therefore disallow "imports" from being fully activated, right?

The only reason you aren't buying it is because you might not be able to get visual voicemail? Seriously?

 

[polishmacuser]

i dont if anybody saw this but it said it would chargeyou 219 pounds for transferring if you transfered to O2 earlier or w/e thats scary

 

[Nimiety]

The only reason you aren't buying it is because you might not be able to get visual voicemail? Seriously?

I know it sounds silly, but yes - the logical point being that there may also be other things that would be useless by the same condition. Understand, of course, that I take about a dozen calls a day and live in a region of low cell signal and often work in portions of buildings with low cell signal as well - this means that on a daily basis I may have to return 2-4 vms, and it would be very handy to know which ones are critical and which aren't.

Also, for all I know, Rogers (the only GSM carrier in Canada) may come out with a new voice/data plan for the iPhone when they release it but only allow the IMEIs that they have sold to select it.

Personal position and personal choice, but for me, I would rather wait an extra month rather than give up the opportunity of ever using one (or several) key features that attract me to a particular product. Unlocking the phone itself sounds like a very easy process (from everything I've read), but it can't get around the fact that there may (or may not) be a way of tracking which cell phones can and can't get these features.

That's why I'm asking - because I don't know if my concern is legitimate or not - if not, I'll be across the border to the US faster than you can say "speedy gonzales".

 

[CD3660]

Visual voicemail is quite nifty, but it would not be a deal-breaker for me. I think it's a bit over-rated!