Help! Keep "baseband" untouched? What does that mean?

[jinxednuance]

Hello, I am buying an iPhone 4 and the person selling it (not Apple) but a guy I usually buy phones from said that it's an international phone that can be used anywhere.

He said that if I wanted to update the iPhone I can so but I have to keep the "baseband" intact because otherwise I won't be able to use the phone internationally, can someone please explain what does he mean? and wether or not I can go ahead with the purchase?

 

[Crystal-RX]

Hello, I am buying an iPhone 4 and the person selling it (not Apple) but a guy I usually buy phones from said that it's an international phone that can be used anywhere.

He said that if I wanted to update the iPhone I can so but I have to keep the "baseband" intact because otherwise I won't be able to use the phone internationally, can someone please explain what does he mean? and wether or not I can go ahead with the purchase?

Base on your information above, you have the Iphone 4 with 01.59 baseband. This phone is unlocked using ultrasn0w. It is not a factory unlocked phone.

What he means that you can upgrade your Iphone to the latest firmware buy using pwnage tool to create a firmware that will not upgrade your baseband and then update your phone to that firmware. You can't not just hook it up to itunes and click update, by doing so, your iphone baseband will become 03.10 which can't be unlocked at the moment.

 

[jinxednuance]

I see... Would I still be able to use the full functionality of the phone and transfer all my info from the current iPhone?

Also, do I have to pay for this software to do the update? What is the level of hasseleness?

 

[Crystal-RX]

1. Yes,
2. No, you don't need to pay any thing.

 

[eastercat]

The person who sold it to you lied about it being an international phone. If it was really international, it'd be factory unlocked. I hope you didn't pay too much for it.
Software unlock is a hassle. You can't update the iOS whenever you please and you have to take precautionary steps to stop the loss of your unlock. Stupid mistakes will make you lose your unlock.