Iphone 4 UK - Apple Officially unlocked device VS. (ultrasn0w) carrier unlock

[mgsolidsnak3]

Hi,

I have missed the 24th preorder date and I was wondering if by any chance even 1 in million manage to get on hold of a payg iphone 4 (uk) from a carrier like orange, 3 etc.

Is there a difference having an officially unlocked iphone from apple vs an ultrasn0w etc. unlock device?? (other than any ethical/moral issues ). Any specific stuff that I will not be able to perform with such an unlock?, any downsides like slowdowns (if it’s a 24/7 background running service etc) ?

I know that O2 official unlock iphones for $15, but I haven’t found any certain info on the other carriers. (note: the phone will not be used to UK at all, so some proposed actions from carriers like: “use the phone for 3 months with the carrier and then ask for an unlock” will not work in my case.)



Thanks for your help.

 

[appleguy123]

Every time you update your software on a hacked device you will have to wait on an unlock. It is not so with the official Apple ones.

 

[rritterson]

I know that O2 official unlock iphones for $15,

You are saying O2 will unlock your phone for $15? Maybe I will have to stop by an O2 store next time I am in London and see if I can convince/coax an O2 employee to try to unlock my AT&T phone.

 

[daleski75]

I found when I jailbroke my old 3GS the startup time more than doubled as well it just didn't feel so snappy.

Apart from that you get security issues, stability issues and all in all not worth the hassle.

 

[spicyj]

You are saying O2 will unlock your phone for $15? Maybe I will have to stop by an O2 store next time I am in London and see if I can convince/coax an O2 employee to try to unlock my AT&T phone.

Sadly, they don't have the codes to unlock phones from other carriers.

 

[RS232]

Using 'unlocking' software over the last two years have been adventurous and tedious... especially waiting for the Dev Team's updates, crossing fingers to avoid silly 1604 errors and trying to avoid 'bricking' the iPhone.

Don't get me wrong, the Dev Team have been great at helping the iPhone community at unlocking and jail breaking , but I've bitten the bullet and gone for the SIM free iPhone 4 to make my life easy. My wife has a factory unlocked iPhone too (3GS) - and that has been a dream!

 

[daleski75]

I think with the amount of officially unlocked handsets which will be shipping soon to different countries will soon make the software unlock a bit redundant.

As long as you are willing to pay the extra it is well worth it.

 

[iSimon]

Is there a difference having an officially unlocked iphone from apple vs an ultrasn0w etc. unlock device?? (other than any ethical/moral issues ).

Yes it's completely different - the official unlock (or factory unlocked) is done via the iTunes activation system and will be retained even if you restore or upgrade the software on your iPhone. In fact if you have to warranty replace your iPhone then the unlock will even be passed onto the replacement handset as the unlock will be passed along with the warranty to the new handset. ultrasn0w etc. require your handset to be jailbroken and are also dependent on the clever dev-team types being able to crack not only the iOS, but also the baseband too. You will be in a continual cat and mouse game with Apple if you go this route and will need to be wary of upgrading to new OS versions. Much easier to get it done officially if you can!

I know that O2 official unlock iphones for $15, but I haven’t found any certain info on the other carriers.

Yes O2 will unlock O2-locked iPhones (for free if with a contract or for £15 if PAYG), but unfortunately O2 won't be supplying the iPhone 4 on PAYG at launch and they are actually reserving all of their initial iPhone 4 stock (until the end of July) for existing O2 customers only. I think Orange may offer an iPhone unlock, but I'm not sure if it's dependent on x months of usage as a pre-requisite - I suspect it will.

Your best bet will probably be to try and get one from an actual Apple store where you will be able to buy it properly SIM free (if they have any left in stock). Unfortunately the online Apple store is showing the same thing as the US one - shipping for new orders is currently estimated at July 14th.

 

[mgsolidsnak3]

OK, thanks guys.

I will probably wait then to get it from apple, i thought the ultrasn0w unlock was one time thing and didn't need jailbreaking ...

Your best bet will probably be to try and get one from an actual Apple store where you will be able to buy it properly SIM free (if they have any left in stock). Unfortunately the online Apple store is showing the same thing as the US one - shipping for new orders is currently estimated at July 14th.

The thing is that a friend of mine was going to bring it to me and leaves from UK @30 June for vacations until August, so I thought of giving a chance on getting one from the carriers before he leaves (there is no apple store where he lives), or else the alternative is to get it from apple store and post it to me in mid-august.

 

[supremeMilo]

Is there a difference having an officially unlocked iphone from apple vs an ultrasn0w etc. unlock device?? (other than any ethical/moral issues ).

Wtf ethical and moral issues are talking about?

There is nothing immoral about unlocking a phone, and atlleast in the USA it is perfectly legal.

 

[myuserid08]

**For those of you with O2, you can unlock you iPhone for free (officially) for free:**

Just fill out the following form:
https://www.o2.co.uk/apps/help/help?qid=1&q1=2&route=unlocking&case=Handset Unlocking Form

 

[daleski75]

**For those of you with O2, you can unlock you iPhone for free (officially) for free:**

Just fill out the following form:
https://www.o2.co.uk/apps/help/help?qid=1&q1=2&route=unlocking&case=Handset Unlocking Form

Isn't that for the 2g,3g,3gs only so far?

 

[twoism]

Isn't that for the 2g,3g,3gs only so far?

I don't think it matters, I had my 3G done recently and all they needed was the IMEI number, which gets sent to Apple's servers so that it can be on the 'unlocked' list.

 

[mgsolidsnak3]

Wtf ethical and moral issues are talking about?

There is nothing immoral about unlocking a phone, and atlleast in the USA it is perfectly legal.

Well the price of a payg (locked) phone is slightly lower compared to an apple unlock handset, so some people may find the practice of buying a payg iphone and then using an unauthorized unlock as cheating / stealing from the carrier...