Buying an Unlocked iPhone off eBay

[hieuky]

Hello! I'm pretty much a newbie with all of the "unlocked" iPhone concept. My aim here is to purchase an used iPhone in an excellent condition, so I could send it to someone in Germany. Can he just insert his SIM card to his iPhone just like that? Or are there such certain requirements, so his SIM card would work?

One thing I know is that the iPhone itself has to be unlocked; however, I'm seeing so many iPhones by either Verizon or AT&T... so, which one should I choose in this situation?

Any suggestions are welcomed as well. Thanks in advance!

 

[r.j.s]

If the phone is unlocked, then yes, he can insert a SIM card and go.

As for Verizon or AT&T, those aren't unlocked, so stay away.

 

[Nermal]

Make sure that any unlocked phone you buy has been officially unlocked and isn't jailbroken. You probably don't want a phone that needs special care when installing updates.

 

[hieuky]

Thank you two very much for your responses! So, just to clarify... I'll have to find the one that says "factory unlocked" which indicates that it's not by any carrier (Verizon or AT&T) -- correct?

 

[Nermal]

Yes, factory unlocked is what you want.

 

[awadeee]

Thank you two very much for your responses! So, just to clarify... I'll have to find the one that says "factory unlocked" which indicates that it's not by any carrier (Verizon or AT&T) -- correct?

If your friend is not tech savvy, avoid buying one that has been unlocked via jailbreak method as there are many things to avoid and special precautions to take. If you purchase a factory unlocked model, the phone is unlocked no matter how many times you restore or update it.

 

[hieuky]

Oh snap, I just purchased the one which says "Gevey Sim Unlocked" thinking that it was factory unlocked... turned out that it isn't! Am I in a huge trouble?

 

[r.j.s]

Not in huge trouble, but if the person you are sending it to has to restore it ... they will have trouble as it will no longer be unlocked.

 

[hieuky]

Bummer... I don't want him to have any troubles. Thanks for all of your help; I'll definitely be careful next time and exchange for the correct one!

 

[Applejuiced]

Oh snap, I just purchased the one which says "Gevey Sim Unlocked" thinking that it was factory unlocked... turned out that it isn't! Am I in a huge trouble?

Yep, you messed up dude.
If your friend is not tech savy to jump through all the hoops that gevey unlock makes you do or updates his phone then he's stuck with a nonusable iphone.

 

[awadeee]

Oh snap, I just purchased the one which says "Gevey Sim Unlocked" thinking that it was factory unlocked... turned out that it isn't! Am I in a huge trouble?

You're not in huge trouble but if I were you I would have read up on what Gevey SIM unlocked meant before purchasing the phone.

Now, I've been out of the tech game for a while but as far as I can remember, the unlock process with a Gevey includes dialing 112 (which is 911) and you must do this every time the phone reboots. The above described process is technically illegal and if your friend isn't technically inclined, this could prove to be inconvenient.