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Noob question about buying an unlocked iPhone

T

TheEpicFilmCo

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 31, 2008
129
0
Uk
Hello.
Sorry for the noobie question, but I have never bought a mobile phone before and I do not know anything about them.
I have seen an unlocked iPhone for sale and I am wondering what "unlocked" means exactly.
Will I be able to pop in any sim card and then just use it on Pay As You Go?
I am in the UK by the way if that makes any difference.
 
Yeah. I emailed him and he said

Hy ,
The price for the Apple iPhone 3G 16GB is 250 USD including all
the shipping taxes.
All the phones are brand new in sealed boxes , equiped with all
accesories , unlocked and 2 year international warranty provided
by factory.
I have a stock with a 20 phones and i want to sell it until this
month.I have a big offer(4 phones at 900 USD and recive 1
phones free).
The phones are Brand New .
Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Buying so called 'unlcoked iPhones' is a little dodgy. I've heard of many people buying them, only to find their SIM not working. I'd only buy it if you 100% trust these people. You can always unlock an iPhone 3G for FREE on your own, permitting it isn't on the latest 2.2.1 firmware (2.2 is fine).

Funny thing you're on GumTree... because so am I atm :p

Looking for a cheap Mac to buy.
 
So, I can buy an iPhone on contract and then I can just unlock it? Won't that cause problems with the contract?
 
that price is way too low. when they sell on ebay for 600.00 I doubt anyoen would sell one for that price when they can get far more.
 
TheEpicFilmCo said:
So, I can buy an iPhone on contract and then I can just unlock it? Won't that cause problems with the contract?
Click to expand...

Would you keep on making your monthly payments as spelled out by the contract? If yes, then the fact that the phone happens to have been unlocked shouldn't present you with any severe contract issues.

Of course, in that case, there is less incentive to want to unlock the iPhone in the first place. (Still some reasons, though, for example if you take it with you on an international vacation.)
 
Agreed its a scam.

After reading his message to you, it's certainly a scam. "Buy 4 get 1 free"?

And, "I need to sell them by the end of the month" = scam.
 
TheEpicFilmCo said:
Hello.
Sorry for the noobie question, but I have never bought a mobile phone before and I do not know anything about them.
I have seen an unlocked iPhone for sale and I am wondering what "unlocked" means exactly.
Will I be able to pop in any sim card and then just use it on Pay As You Go?
I am in the UK by the way if that makes any difference.
Click to expand...

TheEpicFilmCo said:
Yeah. I emailed him and he said...
Hy ,
The price for the Apple iPhone 3G 16GB is 250 USD including all
the shipping taxes.
All the phones are brand new in sealed boxes , equiped with all
accesories , unlocked and 2 year international warranty provided
by factory....
Click to expand...

First, Unlocked means that the iPhone 3G is not "locked" to a single phone carrier's SIM card. You can use any carrier's SIM. "Pay As You Go" options vary by carrier and may or may not include a data feature.

Second, there is no such thing as a 2 year international warranty from the Factory. Apple iPhone 3Gs are only warrantied in the country that they are configured for sale in! Apple even provides a web page that lists the part numbers of the valid device by country. Just check the table: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1937

See if the seller will provide you with the part number?

Dave
 
When things seem too good to be true, they usually are.

I would avoid this, unless you can get the phone in your hand and check it out before you pay for it (which seems unlikely :) )

We see regular threads on here from people saying "how was I supposed to know?" after paying out hundreds of pounds/dollars/etc. I hope you do not become one more. If you really want an iPhone, get it from O2.
 
I have probably a stupid question.

If I currently have AT&T and want to get and iPhone (2G or 3G...whichever), but don't want to sign up for an iPhone data plan (I would only use WiFi for data at home or work), can I just get an unlocked phone and then AT&T won't care or hit me up for the data plan cost? Or is there anything else I would need to do? Essentially, I want to use it like a co-worker who has T-Mobile and uses a 2G iPhone, but I want to keep my AT&T phone service. Thanks!
 
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