need advice on unlocked iPhone or Motorola Defy

[iaddict]

All of this "unlocked/jailbroken" stuff is not really clear to me. Here is my situation that I need advice from those of you that know about this stuff.

My daughter has an iPhone on ATT. The phone works fine except for the speakers. $100 to fix - prob not bad. But now I am just learning about TMobile. Once her contract with ATT runs out, she could go to TMobile and get an unlimited everything plan for $50. That would save her alot of money. So, a guy at a wireless store(not ATT just independent guy) is telling me that she would be better off with the unlocked Motorola Defy than a jailbroken iPhone. He said apps are free for the Motorola Defy on some thing(sorry don't remember the name) whereas lots of the apps on iPhone have to be purchased. Well, that's not my main question. My main question is: if I buy her a jailbroken 3GS or 4G, is it possible to transfer it to TMobile and ALSO - is it true that that phone can have stuff locked down on it from ATT or Verizon so that the apps or other items on the phone would just stop working and then I would be out all the money I paid for the phone?

My main interest is to get her a good smartphone to replace her messed up iPhone AND get it so she can save money on her phone bill.

Oh - one more thing: The guy also said on the jailbroken iPhone, she could have trouble with the wi-fi not working. Is that true, and if so, can you explain to me why?

 

[h1r0ll3r]

Have you taken the phone to an Apple store? They might be able to replace it depending on the warranty. Sometimes you'll get a nice employee that may even replace the phone you have now.

AT&T is in the process of acquiring T-Mobile so, eventually, you're going to be with AT&T (assuming the buyout gets approved). If your daughter buys the $50 unlimited plan now, I'm sure AT&T would still honor that even with the acquisition. However, if the acquisition happens then they might also pull some crap where you have to sign up for a different plan or something. I wouldn't put it past AT&T to do something like that.

As for the apps, there are lots of good free apps on the iPhone as well as lots of good paid apps. Just depends on what your daughter is in to.

Simply because an iPhone is jailbroken doesn't mean that it's unlockable as well. Only certain basebands are unlockable so you wouldn't necessarily be able to jailbreak your new iPhone and start using it on T-Mobile.

If money is the main thing here, just pick up an Android phone on T-Mobile. Or, scour eBay for an unlocked iPhone and then you should be able to use it on T-Mobile's network OR just go and buy a factory unlocked iPhone 4.

 

[iaddict]

So, jailbroken doesn't mean unlocked? What he was selling I think was unlocked. I don't know what the difference in the two is. She likes her iPhone.

As for the Apple Store - I don't know if they would fix it or not. I think she had apple care on it but it got dropped in a bucket of paint. It's amazing that everything else works great, but the speakers I think were killed. Nearest Apple Store to us is about 1 1/2 hour drive one way.

 

[h1r0ll3r]

Nope. Jailbroken iPhone and unlocked iPhone are two different things. With regards to the ultrasnow unlock, it is dependent on your phone being jailbroken however assuming a jailbroken phone to be also be unlocked is incorrect. If she really likes her iPhone then either hit eBay for one that's already unlocked or buy a factory unlocked iPhone.

If the Applecare is still valid, it would probably be worth the drive to the Apple store to see if they could do something for you. At the least, contact Apple support online and ask them if your phone can be replaced. Never hurts to ask so give that a try and see if that results in anything.

 

[iaddict]

Yes, she already called Apple about it and they said they couldn't help her. I've been told you cannot successfully jailbreak any iPhone that has software later than version 3.12. Just curious about that and if there are reliable places you know of to do that or is it something that I can do in my home?

 

[h1r0ll3r]

The latest jailbreak is for 4.3.3. There are tethered jailbreaks for 4.3.4/4.3.5 however you probably don't want to go that route. If you don't know what tetherer/untethered is, don't worry about it for now. The untethered jailbreaks are the best.

As the jailbreaks themselves are free, you can do them in your own house by yourself. I wouldn't recommend seeking help on this from someplace/someone unless you know them. Otherwise, they'll try and charge you to jailbreak your phone when you can do it for free yourself.

Whenever you get your new phone, open Safari and go to jailbreakme.com. This route is the simplest way to JB your phone. I believe it'll jailbreak your phone firmware up to 4.3.3 (I think). If your phone can used the jailbreakme.com hack, then follow the instructions on the website and it'll do all the work for you.

 

[nebo1ss]

It depends a lot on how she intend to use the phone and how much you want to get involved. As previously stated you have to both JB and UL the 3GS to get it to work on Tmobile. Since only the older baseband are unlockable it is likely you will have to use a hack with the IPAD baseband to get your phone unlocked.

This hack has some problems. You will never have GPS working on the phone and you will never be able to update to newer firmwares without using custom tools to create custom firmware.

The last problem is that T-Mobile 3G service is not compatible with the iphone and hence while it will work it will only work on edge not 3G. ie Slower data speeds.

Unless you already have an iphone you might well be better off buying a phone from Tmobile which has 3g capability.

 

[Diode]

Unlocking means the phone can be used on any carrier. There are two ways to aquire this - buy a phone already unlocked from Apple or do this yourself through jailbreaking the phone.

Unless you really know what your doing, jailbreaking and then unlocking will just lead to problems and confusion.

The only two options if she really likes her iPhone is to wait and see if the next phone will be released on tmobile or buy a factory unlocked phone from Apple for $$$.

 

[awadeee]

All of this "unlocked/jailbroken" stuff is not really clear to me. Here is my situation that I need advice from those of you that know about this stuff.

My daughter has an iPhone on ATT. The phone works fine except for the speakers. $100 to fix - prob not bad. But now I am just learning about TMobile. Once her contract with ATT runs out, she could go to TMobile and get an unlimited everything plan for $50. That would save her alot of money. So, a guy at a wireless store(not ATT just independent guy) is telling me that she would be better off with the unlocked Motorola Defy than a jailbroken iPhone. He said apps are free for the Motorola Defy on some thing(sorry don't remember the name) whereas lots of the apps on iPhone have to be purchased. Well, that's not my main question. My main question is: if I buy her a jailbroken 3GS or 4G, is it possible to transfer it to TMobile and ALSO - is it true that that phone can have stuff locked down on it from ATT or Verizon so that the apps or other items on the phone would just stop working and then I would be out all the money I paid for the phone?

Oh - one more thing: The guy also said on the jailbroken iPhone, she could have trouble with the wi-fi not working. Is that true, and if so, can you explain to me why?

$100 to fix the speakers is far too much considering the part only costs $15. Also, with T-Mobile you will not be able to have 3G, only EDGE data speeds.

AT&T and Verizon cannot have control over your apps, I don't even know why Verizon would be a concern since they literally have nothing to do with the iPhone you currently own. They do not have the power to make apps "not work".

The wi-fi issue I've never even heard of. I don't think this guy you were speaking to necessarily knows what he is talking about.

Yes, she already called Apple about it and they said they couldn't help her. I've been told you cannot successfully jailbreak any iPhone that has software later than version 3.12. Just curious about that and if there are reliable places you know of to do that or is it something that I can do in my home?

You can jailbreak up to 4.3.3 untethered, and 4.3.5 untethered as well as the iOS 5 betas.

So, jailbroken doesn't mean unlocked? What he was selling I think was unlocked. I don't know what the difference in the two is. She likes her iPhone.

As for the Apple Store - I don't know if they would fix it or not. I think she had apple care on it but it got dropped in a bucket of paint. It's amazing that everything else works great, but the speakers I think were killed. Nearest Apple Store to us is about 1 1/2 hour drive one way.

Jailbreaking gives you root access to the file system so that you are able to install apps that are not approved by Apple as well as tweak the system in any way that you desire. Unlocking allows you to use the iPhone on any GSM wireless provider.