I would contact his carrier to find out details.
You shouldnt have to buy a new iphone 5 on every country that you visit.
It might be a mistake on his account cause obviously his iphone is not unlocked for some reason.
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iPhone 5 is not a world phone
- Thread starter Whipper666
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I would contact his carrier to find out details.
You shouldnt have to buy a new iphone 5 on every country that you visit.
It might be a mistake on his account cause obviously his iphone is not unlocked for some reason.
Perhaps try to back up the phone and fully restore the phone via iTunes. Maybe when 3 activated it in HK, something went amiss and the IMEI did not get added to the whitelist in Apple server correctly. (Thus not unlocked despite being an unlocked model)
By fully restoring the phone, it should "reactivate" it with iTunes and hopefully it'll correctly detect the phone as "unlocked". You should get a notification iTunes when it happened.
Should be something like this
By fully restoring the phone, it should "reactivate" it with iTunes and hopefully it'll correctly detect the phone as "unlocked". You should get a notification iTunes when it happened.
Should be something like this
Sometimes the "congrats" message doesn't appear on iTunes even when the phone is unlocked. I got the message with my iPhone 4, but not with 4S and they are both unlocked.
Anyway, yeah, try restoring the iPhone (do a back up first) and set it up as new.
This is what I expected. There are at least 2-3 levels of unlocking. From 10 years ago when unlocking Nokia's I learned this.
A true unlocked iPhone works anywhere.
HK seems to unlock for carriers in HK but not elsewhere. Apple and AT&T unlock for worldwide. He sort of got ripped off. Or maybe that is the extent of HK law. Or maybe you are right: Apple does not yet sell unlocked iPhone 5 retail so maybe they don't allow fully yet for any one.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, carriers are not allowed to SIM-lock a phone for the sole purpose of tying customers to their network. But Hong Kong carriers can SIM-lock a phone to protect the handset subsidy, to enforce mobile plan contracts or to protect from theft.[30] After the initial purchase subsidy has been recovered, or the full cost of the equipment has been paid up under a rental or installment agreement, the carrier must provide a detailed procedure for unlocking the equipment free of charge upon request.
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No. If an iphone is purchased from Apple it should be completely unlocked and work anywhere in the world.
See the HK Apple Store (for the 4S as the 5 is not yet available): http://store.apple.com/hk/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone/iphone4s
It says clearly: "if you prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad, the unlocked iPhone is the best choice".
See my comments above post 29. Apple does not sell the 5 yet unlocked themselves, so HK version maybe country locked. Untill Apple sells it , it may not be.
The 5 is hardware capable but maybe in HK it was not sold fully unlocked
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Really?
So all phones, even the ones on carrier contracts are unlocked?
That's awesome!
I agree with Applejuiced. Your friends phone is NOT UNLOCKED! That's why it does not get a signal with a Canadian SIM.
They do: http://www.apple.com/hk/en/retail/iphone/
It is not yet available on the online Apple Store, but they have had the iPhone 5 in the physical Apple Store since day one; fully unlocked.
Now of course if the OP purchased it from a mobile operator or a shop which is not the Apple Store, then it might be locked for various reasons (carrier lock or grey market unit which is not Apple factory unlocked).
OP, where did you buy it?
If purchased from Apple, you should email the HK Apple support and tell them you are having issues using a foreign simcard with your phone.
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No signal bars with the Canadian sim but no sim rejected message? Sounds to me like the phone is unlocked but the sim isn't active.
Yes you are correct. For the HK I was wrong, it is available unlocked from Apple. I think the OP must have gotten it from a carrier instead.
For the OP, this is from the HK apple page on the iPhone 5
Can I use my iPhone outside my home country?
Yes. iPhone is enabled to work on networks using GSM around the world. Because the iPhone sold by the Apple Online Store is SIM-free, you can purchase a SIM card and service from a local carrier at your destination. Or check with your home carrier regarding international roaming charge
http://store.apple.com/hk/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone
The iPhone 5 has limitations on using LTE when traveling. However it should be able to use 3G/2G without any problems. Here's a good article from Arstechnica explaining the whole thing
What SIM rejected message? In my locked iPhone 4, if I put in any other SIM, it just shows "no service" without any messages. The SIMs are active and I can use them just fine in an unlocked phone.
Let me clarify- in order to do LTE in the US and Canada, you must have a phone that is compatible with the LTE frequency used there. So unless you specifically purchase an iPhone 5 designed to work in the US/Canada somewhere overseas, it will not do LTE in either country.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
There are two different GSM model iPhone 5's. The one purchased in Hong Kong uses a different LTE Band than a GSM iPhone 5 purchased in Canada
There are two different GSM model iPhone 5's. The one purchased in Hong Kong uses a different LTE Band than a GSM iPhone 5 purchased in Canada
Are you sure? You definitely should get an error message if you insert a different SIM into a carrier locked iPhone.
Anyway, to answer the original question: if your canadian SIM doesn't work in Canada, but the same SIM works while roaming in HK, it means there's a problem with the SIM. If the iPhone were locked, it would reject the SIM, even while using it in HK. I would contact the canadian carrier and ask for a new SIM, or more in general, troubleshoot the issue with them. But I can assure you that the iPhone 5 does work on all GSM/3G networks worldwide, if it is properly unlocked.
And yes, Apple sells unlocked iPhones in Switzerland, too. You actually can't buy a locked iPhone from Apple in Switzerland. If you want that (and a subsidized price) you have to go to a carrier. Many people want unlocked iPhones over here, because people like being able to switch carriers at any time. We have 3 carriers, all GSM, all supporting the iPhone.
this thread is full of a lot of misinformation
Here are the facts:
Normaly if you travel, with work paying your bills, or if you are rich, you would want an ATT account and phone. virtually all their phones work overseas for voice and some types of data connection even "locked".
If you travel and pay your bills yourself you normally would get a sprint or Verizon worldphone, ie one of the models that is combo CDMA/GSM, since VZ and spritn will unlock your phone so you can use a prepaid sim overseas whcih is way cheaper than roaming.
In the case of the iphone 5 the combination of radios and capabilities means travelers should get the Verizon or sprint model. Why, because the LTE frequencies used on the VZ and Sprint IP5s are the same as the ones used/planned for Europe and the ATT's ones are not. Now both Vz and Sprint normally require you either be a customer in good standing already, and they will unlock your phone the day you get it, or if you are a new customer you have to wait a coupe of months (60 to 90 days respectively). In the case of the iphone 5 if you are new customer and plan to travbel in teh next three months (or resell your phone) you want the VZ because it is actually unlocked out of the box. If you are an exisitng sprint customer they will unlock it right away anyway.
Phone are not locked to jerk you around, they are locked to avoid the gray/arbitrage market that would result in selling subsidized phones that people could jump the contract on.
Here are the facts:
Normaly if you travel, with work paying your bills, or if you are rich, you would want an ATT account and phone. virtually all their phones work overseas for voice and some types of data connection even "locked".
If you travel and pay your bills yourself you normally would get a sprint or Verizon worldphone, ie one of the models that is combo CDMA/GSM, since VZ and spritn will unlock your phone so you can use a prepaid sim overseas whcih is way cheaper than roaming.
In the case of the iphone 5 the combination of radios and capabilities means travelers should get the Verizon or sprint model. Why, because the LTE frequencies used on the VZ and Sprint IP5s are the same as the ones used/planned for Europe and the ATT's ones are not. Now both Vz and Sprint normally require you either be a customer in good standing already, and they will unlock your phone the day you get it, or if you are a new customer you have to wait a coupe of months (60 to 90 days respectively). In the case of the iphone 5 if you are new customer and plan to travbel in teh next three months (or resell your phone) you want the VZ because it is actually unlocked out of the box. If you are an exisitng sprint customer they will unlock it right away anyway.
The verizon one isnt locked at all, even though it is subsidized.
No it isnt "awsome." anti-locking phones laws REDUCE consumer choice. what happens is the carriers stop subsidized phones. In the US after the initial run you will have a choice between subsidized and unlocked (say $200 and $650) in countries with sense no lock laws your only choice is $650.
Phone are not locked to jerk you around, they are locked to avoid the gray/arbitrage market that would result in selling subsidized phones that people could jump the contract on.
They do. Everywhere in the world except the US. I have one on my desk like this right now.
Anyway, the iPhone 5 is as much a world phone as the 4S was. The only region-specific bits are in the support for LTE which is currently a bit of a mess world-wide.
Are you sure the SIM you were trying is active?
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Nonsense. They are locked to discourage people from jumping their contracts, period. Any gray market has nothing to do with it, it's all about income from contracts.
By the by, here in .nl the phones are sold subsidised and factory unlocked at the same time. (And also off-contract at full price of course.)