buying a new boxed iPhone 3G from New Zealand

[hekokimushi]

Hi fellows.

about to take a trip down to Auckland. Going down to grab a bargain with the NZ$ being low. now question is, do i have to activate the iPhone IN new zealand? and want to confirm the Kiwi iPhone off vodafone are ALL unlocked, and can be used with ANY sim cards over the world please?

another question is, on the buyers guide: it still says, Don't Buy, Update Soon.
if waiting... how long could this wait be? my HTC has died. and would like to get an iPhone for my birthday.

thanks
~h~

 

[ojstagg93]

they arent all unlocked to start with you activeate then stuff more money into vodafones pockets for them to unlock i believe cause thats what we do in australia it maybe diffrent over there though

 

[hekokimushi]

thanks OJStagg.

i read about Ozie... paying some $80 or something to get unlocked?

i think HKG and NZ are the only few places that the phones are unlocked. NZ$ being at a good exch rate. NZ's phones are cheaper in this sense. any Kiwi or anyone bought from NZ can verify the locking status of the iPhone3G bought from Vodafone.nz please???

 

[ojstagg93]

http://www.vodafone.co.nz/iphone/16gb-black.jsp
edit: i think it already may be unlocked see for yourself
$1129 nz prepaid and then i think you cough up more muller

 

[Nermal]

All NZ iPhones are unlocked out of the box. Confirmed by Vodafone.

 

[hekokimushi]

Thx Nermal, so for the 16Gb model, 1129 is the final price to pay?
sounds too good to be true.

 

[hekokimushi]

just bought it. and fully working. but not much stock at vodafone thou.

 

[dave006]

Just note that your warranty is only valid in NZ.

Dave

 

[worntilltorn]

sorry to bring up an old thread.. but i received an email from Vodafone earlier today on whether the phone is unlocked.

this is the response i got from Vodafone..which means if we actually did get it now, it should have been locked right?

Dear Aik,

Thank you for your response.

From May 2008 Vodafone NZ will begin locking mobiles sold through official Vodafone channels. This means that any customer who wishes to use another network’s SIM card (local or international) in their locked Vodafone NZ mobile will be unable to do so unless they have purchased an unlock code from an authorised unlock agent.

If you have any further questions please reply to this email, call our Customer Contact Centre on 777 from your Vodafone mobile, or 0800 800 021 from any other phone. From overseas you can contact us on + 64 9 355 2007.

Yours sincerely

Liuliu T
Vodafone Customer Support
Customer (Aik Ming teo) 05/03/2009 03:16 PM
Dear Liuliu

It is stated in the apple webpage that it is fully unlocked in NZ.
When was this agreement made?

On 3/5/09, Vodafone Customer Services
<vodafonenz_customer_services@custhelp.com> wrote:
Auto-Response 05/03/2009 03:16 PM
.
Response (Liuliu T) 05/03/2009 12:10 PM
Dear Aik,

Thank you for your email and I apologise for the delay in response.

With the agreement between Apple and Vodafone NZ, we had agreed to not sell the iPhone's for foreign use. Therefore the iPhone handset will be locked to the Vodafone NZ network.

If you wish to unlock the handset, then I would recommend that you contact Brightpoint on 0800 838 656, or + 64 9 3687069 if you're calling from overseas to confirm whether they will be able to unlock the iPhone handsets for foreign use.

If you wish to find out which of our Vodafone stores sell the iPhone, you can visit our website at http://www.vodafone.co.nz/maps/iphone-stores.jsp

We appreciate your patience and hope you have a great day.

If you have any further questions please reply to this email, call our Customer Contact Centre on 777 from your Vodafone mobile, or 0800 800 021 from any other phone. From overseas you can contact us on + 64 9 355 2007.

Yours sincerely

Liuliu T
Vodafone Customer Support

 

[worntilltorn]

hey guys..anyone can confirm that?

 

[r6girl]

hey guys..anyone can confirm that?

I had a friend buy an unlocked iPhone 3G for me in NZ in October '08 from a Magnum Mac store and it was unlocked out of the box. I didn't have to do anything at all to it to get it to work with my AT&T SIM (on an official 3G iPhone plan).

I don't think that rep knew what they were talking about. Apple's own list here shows that they are sold without a carrier lock in NZ still.

 

[worntilltorn]

sounds gd! thanks alot man...i guess i will have to take the plunge then. Maybe these guys are just trying to stop their iphones from leaving the country.