American iPhone to British

[thisisblondi]

Hey guys!

Right, so I'm looking at buying an iPhone 4s (simply because I don't think the 4 is good enough and I can't afford any of the 5's!) - and I've been saving up for one for ages!

Looking at buying one online (don't want to buy on a contract) and I've found some on Ebay that are a good price for me, for example, labeled as 'Apple iPhone 4S 16 GB - Verizon Wireless - Black'.

I've found out that Verizon Wireless is an American Network: Does that change anything about the phone? Is the fact that's it's from America affect the phone at all? Is there anything I should be cautious about?

Will I be able to unlock the phone to my current network: Giffgaff. I don't want to change from it because it really works for me and it's the cheapest!

One of these costs £190, in comparison to one from Apple which is around £350.

Would you buy? Why/why not? Can you please give me some pointers?
I am a teenager about to throw out a lot of money and I do not want to make a large error! Thanks

 

[old-wiz]

I have a Verizon iPhone 4S and was on vacation in York England last summer. I called Verizon and asked them to unlock for international use, and they said fine, here is the procedure ....

In York I went to the Three store and purchased a sim and it worked fine.

The issue is whether or not the phone is legit - has it been stolen? it can be hard to find out. Has the current ownere been paying bill? Is contract over?

 

[thisisblondi]

I have a Verizon iPhone 4S and was on vacation in York England last summer. I called Verizon and asked them to unlock for international use, and they said fine, here is the procedure ....

In York I went to the Three store and purchased a sim and it worked fine.

The issue is whether or not the phone is legit - has it been stolen? it can be hard to find out. Has the current ownere been paying bill? Is contract over?

Unfortunately I am unaware of that as the phone is off Ebay. Is the phone the same as I'd get in the UK?
So you're suggesting I'd need to call up Verizon and say that I've bought the phone, and because I live in the UK, I'd need it unlocking to get a British sim?

 

[old-wiz]

Verizon phones have both CDMA and GSM capability. It is not exactly the same as a phone you would buy in the UK - UK doesn't use CDMA, just GSM. I'm not sure about Verizon's policy on selling phones - it would depend on whether or not the seller paid for the phone i.e. is it off contract? I'm not sure how to check this out unfortunately.

can you point me to the eBay link? I could look at it to see if it sounds legit.

 

[Zcott]

Try Amazon. Get one in the UK that's unlocked. It's your best option.

 

[Col Ronson]

Unfortunately I am unaware of that as the phone is off Ebay. Is the phone the same as I'd get in the UK?
So you're suggesting I'd need to call up Verizon and say that I've bought the phone, and because I live in the UK, I'd need it unlocking to get a British sim?

You need to have the owner call Verizon and tell them to unlock the phone for international use.