iPhone Country Unlock???

P

painholic

macrumors member
Hi all,
I am trying to use my GSM iPhone in Korea but the carrier in Korea says I cannot use my phone because it is not country unlocked.
I did a carrier unlock thinking that this is all I needed but how can I do a country unlock?
I tried to google it but I cannot seem to find a relevant info.
can anyone help me please?

Thanks
 
awadeee said:
It shouldn't make a difference. If your phone is unlocked, it's unlocked.
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I was told that I need the carrier unlock AND the country unlock in order to use the iphone.
I used Ultrasn0w to unlock my phone. Does Ultrasn0w supposed to unlock both of them?
 
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which model iPhone are we talking about here? could it be possible that "country unlock" is something made up by someone who's just not technically inclined and possibly means that your particular iPhone doesn't have the proper frequencies to operate in the country desired? if i remember correctly, only iPhones with 3G capability will operate in Korea, just like Japan, because neither country used the GSM EDGE standard. and if so, then there's nothing you can do to overcome it without buying a new phone.

since you specifically called it a "GSM iPhone" I get the feeling it's an original iPhone you're trying to activate and is the actual problem.

but like I said, I'm just guessing due to you not bothering to mention what model iphone is involved.
 
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oakie said:
which model iPhone are we talking about here? could it be possible that "country unlock" is something made up by someone who's just not technically inclined and possibly means that your particular iPhone doesn't have the proper frequencies to operate in the country desired? if i remember correctly, only iPhones with 3G capability will operate in Korea, just like Japan, because neither country used the GSM EDGE standard. and if so, then there's nothing you can do to overcome it without buying a new phone.

since you specifically called it a "GSM iPhone" I get the feeling it's an original iPhone you're trying to activate and is the actual problem.

but like I said, I'm just guessing due to you not bothering to mention what model iphone is involved.
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It is an iPhone 4. I called it a GSM iPhone because it's an AT&T iphone.
Someone told me that I can only activate factory unlocked iphone. BUT is there any difference between the factory unlocked phone and a software unlocked(ultrasn0w) phone? Aren't they the same?
I don't know why I cannot activate my phone!
It is very frustrating.
 
Ah. You won't be able to just pop in a sim card and use an unlocked phone in Korea. They have different standards, and to use a device bought in another country, you have to register it with some office.

:(

Are you living there or on holiday?
 
I'm sure I'm stating the obvious, but are you sure your iPhone 4 is unlockable, OP? What's the baseband? There should be no difference between a software unlock and a hardware one, so if it's truly unlocked it should work fine.
 
iFiend said:
I'm sure I'm stating the obvious, but are you sure your iPhone 4 is unlockable, OP? What's the baseband? There should be no difference between a software unlock and a hardware one, so if it's truly unlocked it should work fine.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
If your phone is unlocked with ultrasnow all you gotta do is stick the simcard in.
What kind of iphone, firmware version and modem firmware on it?
 
solowmodel said:
Ah. You won't be able to just pop in a sim card and use an unlocked phone in Korea. They have different standards, and to use a device bought in another country, you have to register it with some office.

:(

Are you living there or on holiday?
Click to expand...


Korean government recently changed the regulation so I do not have to register my phone anymore. KT(korean carrier) says all I need to do is to unlock the country lock -.-

I will be living here for about four months




Applejuiced said:
That would explain it.
Lets see what he says.
Click to expand...


It's 1.59.00. I've been using T-Mobile for a year so it is definitely unlocked!
 
If I am not mistaken, the main Korea carrier uses CDMA, that's probably what they meant by you need a country unlock.

You should be able to pop in a pre-paid GSM SIM in it and have it work instantly.
 
I've used my iPhone 3GS to roam in Korea (paying exorbitant AT&T rates) so technically the phone is able to access the system there. If it's unlocked, you should be able to just use a local SIM there.

I did run into roaming issues with AT&T when I first traveled to the Far East. I had an international plan but when I first got to Taiwan my phone wouldn't work. I had to call AT&T from another phone to get it enabled there. Due to fraud problems they had some restrictions on where they would let you roam internationally.

I don't know all the details behind it, and this was a few years ago, but they definitely had to do something to let me use my phone over there. I had previously used the phone in Europe so it was not restricted everywhere, just in certain regions.

Now this was for using the phone abroad roaming with an AT&T SIM card. It may not apply for what you are trying to do, but it might be worth looking into. Maybe there's some sort of additional requirement to enable your phone to be used in certain regions, regardless of SIM lock status.
 
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