It would be very ironic if American ex-pats lined up at all of the stores in HK to buy up the supplies of dual SIM iPhones to ship back to the US.
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Carrier Good news for dual SIM fans, buy iPhones in Hong Kong
- Thread starter pika2000
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I would purchase one dual nano sim version online if it was reasonably priced.
As I mentioned in another post, biggest issue people seem to be missing with e-sims is what happens when your iPhone stops functioning? With a regular sim, you can just switch it into another phone. With the e-sim, you are at the mercy of Apple or whoever else repairs it before you can receive/make calls again. This is not a good solution if you are relying on your phone for work, etc. and this line is on your e-sim.
As I mentioned in another post, biggest issue people seem to be missing with e-sims is what happens when your iPhone stops functioning? With a regular sim, you can just switch it into another phone. With the e-sim, you are at the mercy of Apple or whoever else repairs it before you can receive/make calls again. This is not a good solution if you are relying on your phone for work, etc. and this line is on your e-sim.
My guess is that this is manufacturing cost nickel and diming. While I absolutely agree with you, I don't think the majority of US buyers care either way.
[doublepost=1537116331][/doublepost]
You could just get a standard sim from your carrier. It's not as fast or convenient but you certainly don't need to wait for Apple to fix things. There also may be a small fee for the sim (around $10-20 or so).
I'm not saying I like the esim. But this sort of thing was standard with cdma and people got along just fine. It's just way less convenient.
I have an lte Apple Watch. All I need to do to transfer the service to another watch is log into my T-Mobile account and get it done. Then load the new watch as brand new and go through the setup procedure. All of this can be achieved in about five minutes.
Id make sure the band you need for home is in the below list before going round the houses to find a dual sim model.
https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/#iphone-xs
Why not just wait till the esim kicks in and move your main line to that!!
https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/#iphone-xs
Why not just wait till the esim kicks in and move your main line to that!!
I just ordered my Iphone XS MAX from HK. i have been using a HK purchased iphone x for the last one year. I had made a vow that if apple launches a true dual sim... i am buying... and I did 
... so convenient for traveling anywhere
1. HK iphones are exactly the same, and have the same warranty (applecare) and same OS etc
2. They in fact have extra bands as someone already pointed out
3. HK is the second cheapest place to buy iphones. If you factor in US sales tax @5% average then they cost exactly the same as US. the 256GB including tax was about 1350 USD for me
4. XR and XS Max are the only ones that support dual nano sims ( even in HK/MAcau/CHina)
5. Currently, you can only ship within HK, from the HK store but can pay with any worldwide card. so, if you have personal travel or a friend traveling.. go for it
Personally, i think the XS Max will be too big for me, and i may switch to the dual nano sim XR when it comes out.
Happy to answer any questions. Currently, i travel with two iphones and its a real headache
... so convenient for traveling anywhere1. HK iphones are exactly the same, and have the same warranty (applecare) and same OS etc
2. They in fact have extra bands as someone already pointed out
3. HK is the second cheapest place to buy iphones. If you factor in US sales tax @5% average then they cost exactly the same as US. the 256GB including tax was about 1350 USD for me
4. XR and XS Max are the only ones that support dual nano sims ( even in HK/MAcau/CHina)
5. Currently, you can only ship within HK, from the HK store but can pay with any worldwide card. so, if you have personal travel or a friend traveling.. go for it
Personally, i think the XS Max will be too big for me, and i may switch to the dual nano sim XR when it comes out.
Happy to answer any questions. Currently, i travel with two iphones and its a real headache
I just ordered my Iphone XS MAX from HK. i have been using a HK purchased iphone x for the last one year. I had made a vow that if apple launches a true dual sim... i am buying... and I did
1. HK iphones are exactly the same, and have the same warranty (applecare) and same OS etc
2. They in fact have extra bands as someone already pointed out
3. HK is the second cheapest place to buy iphones. If you factor in US sales tax @5% average then they cost exactly the same as US. the 256GB including tax was about 1350 USD for me
4. XR and XS Max are the only ones that support dual nano sims ( even in HK/MAcau/CHina)
5. Currently, you can only ship within HK, from the HK store but can pay with any worldwide card. so, if you have personal travel or a friend traveling.. go for it
Personally, i think the XS Max will be too big for me, and i may switch to the dual nano sim XR when it comes out.
Happy to answer any questions. Currently, i travel with two iphones and its a real headache
Care to share how you ordered one from HK? I'd love a physical dual sim iphone for my travels. Was thinking of stopping in HK on my next business trip
A little more info about the China, Hong Kong, and Macau model.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209086
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209086
you need to have a local HK shipping address.
Basically, you go to apple site and at the bottom choose HK store. check out as a guest and it will work
[doublepost=1537169238][/doublepost]I choose to buy in HK area, coz incidentally as an expat I am here a lot (pretty much every week) so it was definitely easier for me and makes more sense as i come to the US once every 6-9 months nowadays
Ok thanks for the tips. I dont have a HK shipping address (unless I can find a company who will accept delivery and then send onwards), so its probably easier to travel there myself and purchase in store.
Just for info, this is under HK (Asia Pacific) warranty info:
https://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/ios-warranty-rest-of-apac-english.html
I suspect if you try to get a phone repaired and any of the components are specific to the dual-sim model, Apple may refer to the above clause as they probably won't have the parts.
https://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/ios-warranty-rest-of-apac-english.html
I suspect if you try to get a phone repaired and any of the components are specific to the dual-sim model, Apple may refer to the above clause as they probably won't have the parts.
True to that it will and can be serviced only in HK and places with the option of the physical dual sim.
With the one Sim 2 numbers from china mobile for example u may end up with 4 phone numbers into the same iPhone
Agree with this. I ended up moving the SIM card back to my spare iPhone 7 Plus in order to receive iMessage on that number.
For me, this will be most useful for inserting a separate SIM for data when travelling.
How does voicemail work with both numbers? I assume both work with visual voicemail?
Data is my number 1 use case when traveling... ideally I'd like to separate work and personal calls as well.
I don't use voicemail (it's a separate charge here in Asia), so can't really test it out. Sorry
I only want this for receiving iMessages and FaceTimes on both numbers, and it seems it doesn't even allow that anyway.
When I travel I want to use a local SIM; I don't want to use my existing SIM at all as even receiving calls is expensive. So apart from removing the physical "effort" of switching SIM cards there's no advantage, for me, in having dual-sim capability.
When I travel I want to use a local SIM; I don't want to use my existing SIM at all as even receiving calls is expensive. So apart from removing the physical "effort" of switching SIM cards there's no advantage, for me, in having dual-sim capability.
Apple always have the language on their policy from way back. Of course, it would be interesting in practice. With Apple prioritizing servicing your existing iPhone instead of replacing it with a "new" one, imo it might not be an issue.
Eg. I have a Japanese 6S. We all know Japanese iPhones is special (the camera cannot be muted, and it is hardwired). Yet I can have it serviced in Singapore just fine.
I have several China and Hong Kong iPhones. No FaceTime Audio on the China ones. The Hong Kong ones were fine, but really a hassle unless I'm in China. I was in Shenzhen, probably should have just crossed over to check…
Also the Apple Store in the US refused to service any of them. Doesn't matter if I pay or not.
Also the Apple Store in the US refused to service any of them. Doesn't matter if I pay or not.
That's not what I expected to see. Only 6 months ago I was struggling to get a genius bar appointment in SZ and they wanted to send me to an apple store in HK instead (i still don't understand why a city less than half the size has 6x as many apple stores)
I had a Chinese version of the iPhone 7 Plus, screen cracked, I offered to pay, but the Apple Store Genius showed me the the option for them to order parts was greyed out. The only solution was depot service and even then it wasn't guaranteed I would get my phone fixed.
For an iPhone X, my friend visited from Hong Kong, she also cracked her screen, again I went to the Apple Store, the option to fix the phone was greyed out and even the option for depot was not available.
Even a MacBook Pro that I bought in China with the failed keyboard they couldn't fix in store. They had to send it out to the depot. Overall a really big hassle. Could have been a few days, ended up being two-three weeks.
The Apple Store I go is always pretty flexible and very lenient (they've done me a many out-of-warranty repairs for free), so I don't think they were BS'ing me for these especially since I was ready to pay.
It seems the only restriction is Apple and China.