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"Off Contract" AT&T iPhone 4Ss Already Come Unlocked

All prices are terrible

applefan27073 said:
In Australia we have always been able to purchase unlocked phones - and it is the only way to do it via the Apple Online Store. Have a look at the Australian prices for the iPhone 4S...

http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone/iphone4s?mco=MjU1NTYxODM

it is shocking!!

16 GB - $799
32 GB - $899
64 GB - $999

Only reason I am complaining is due to the average currency exchange at the moment!
Click to expand...

The pricing in Australia is aweful. Our dollar has increaded in value from about 0.80 USD to over 1.00 for at least 6 months, and is likely to stay there for some time to come. The net effect of this high dollar on the Apple list prices in Australia.....A big nothing.

My company was going to buy ten new mac pro tower systems recently. We compared the Apple US store site the the Australian, English and NZ sites and saw that we are all paying about 25-40% more. And some of the options we wanted were not listed either.

I lined up an Apple reseller in Hawaii and we were going to fly people over there to hand carry computers back to Australia. In the end Apple released a new version of the mac pro tower and shuffled the prices in Australia down a bit. We could still have saved $6000, but the logisitics were not worth the effort. At the initial $20,000 difference they were.

Apple used to have a system called "world parity pricing" but this is clearly gone out the window some time back. I remember when Richard Branson first started Virgin Airlines, people in England were able to fly from London to New York, buy a new apple system, have a nice day or two in a hotel and look around the city, and fly back to London with their new computer, and still save money. Looks like this is going to be an option again unless apple stops ripping off customers in non-american countries.

With power supplies that work in all markets, and world wide warranty, all they are doing is encouraging a grey (read ebay) market to exist where people buy online from dodgy companies rather than properly certified resellers.
 
WRXface said:
Did you buy the phone as a "off-contract device" and if so, I'm sure you can bring it back to apple and request them to unlock it or exchange for another one and do it properly.
Click to expand...

The problem is the device is in Brazil right now and I don't think Apple would give me a new phone because it's "locked". They will say I din't buy the oficial unlocked version.. I guess...

Well, let's wait for the jailbreak for iOS 5.1. I might have a chance.

Thanks guys.
 
Reminder

Hey guys,
Would someone be kind enough as to refresh my memory as to this thread. I bought the 4s last year but i activated new service with ATT, i somewhat paid attention to this thread though. What exactly was the deal, if you bought a new ATT iPhone and had it rang up as Device only or off contract then it was unlocked. First question, was this the case both at ATT stores and apple stores, as long as of course you tell the ATT assoicate not to associate it with any account and you are buying it off contact as a gift or whatever or was it only for phones sold at Apples stores. Also, was there any tricks or manipulations, any steps involved such as booting it initially with a certain sim before swapping a different carriers in or booting it initially with a non att sim or what was the process with that. I plan to do this and I'll be the guinea pig for the 5 this year gladly. Im hoping that with the rumors of it being a world LTE device that it will work on both ATT and Verizon LTE but im assuming theyve found some way to prevent that. I actually have a credit for 100 dollars at the apple store from 2007 when i bought the original iphone on launch day and they lowered the price two weeks later. Yes i still have the credit, crazy, i know. Apple tried to tell me it expired but i knew for a fact there was no expiration so i bought an external hard drive enclosure and popped my old dead power macs hard drive in and found the saved pdf with the code for the credit and checked the balance online, sure enough still good, I will be taking that complaint as high as possible since this ******* tried to tell me like it was written word and he knew for a fact that it was far too late to use it and he flat out lied to my ear. (phone support) .
Anyway someone please update me with the facts of how this went last year so i'll be prepared to try it out this year, yes i know theres no guarantees but im going to try it.
 
PPFee said:
Hey guys,
Would someone be kind enough as to refresh my memory as to this thread. I bought the 4s last year but i activated new service with ATT, i somewhat paid attention to this thread though. What exactly was the deal, if you bought a new ATT iPhone and had it rang up as Device only or off contract then it was unlocked. First question, was this the case both at ATT stores and apple stores, as long as of course you tell the ATT assoicate not to associate it with any account and you are buying it off contact as a gift or whatever or was it only for phones sold at Apples stores. Also, was there any tricks or manipulations, any steps involved such as booting it initially with a certain sim before swapping a different carriers in or booting it initially with a non att sim or what was the process with that. I plan to do this and I'll be the guinea pig for the 5 this year gladly. Im hoping that with the rumors of it being a world LTE device that it will work on both ATT and Verizon LTE but im assuming theyve found some way to prevent that. I actually have a credit for 100 dollars at the apple store from 2007 when i bought the original iphone on launch day and they lowered the price two weeks later. Yes i still have the credit, crazy, i know. Apple tried to tell me it expired but i knew for a fact there was no expiration so i bought an external hard drive enclosure and popped my old dead power macs hard drive in and found the saved pdf with the code for the credit and checked the balance online, sure enough still good, I will be taking that complaint as high as possible since this ******* tried to tell me like it was written word and he knew for a fact that it was far too late to use it and he flat out lied to my ear. (phone support) .
Anyway someone please update me with the facts of how this went last year so i'll be prepared to try it out this year, yes i know theres no guarantees but im going to try it.
Click to expand...

I think only Apple sold the "device-only" that was unlocked. I bought mine and it worked fine. The trick was: turn the iPhone on, put the new SIM card, plug it to iTunes, then you would see "Congratulation, your iPhone was unlocked". I did that with 4 devices and they all worked.

Good to know you will be our guinea pig. I want to buy the "device-only" again but I don't feel like trying. :) Hahahahah
 
gguerini said:
I think only Apple sold the "device-only" that was unlocked. I bought mine and it worked fine. The trick was: turn the iPhone on, put the new SIM card, plug it to iTunes, then you would see "Congratulation, your iPhone was unlocked". I did that with 4 devices and they all worked.

Good to know you will be our guinea pig. I want to buy the "device-only" again but I don't feel like trying. :) Hahahahah
Click to expand...

Haha yea i dont mind, im buying unlocked its just a matter of when and how so yea. Turn iPhone on with no sim card in it? and put a tmobile or any sim in it or an att sim ?
 
PPFee said:
Haha yea i dont mind, im buying unlocked its just a matter of when and how so yea. Turn iPhone on with no sim card in it? and put a tmobile or any sim in it or an att sim ?
Click to expand...

Turn the phone on with the original sim, then don't do anything. Put the tmobile (or any other sim), and then plug into your computer with internet and itunes opened. That should do the trick.
 
gguerini said:
Turn the phone on with the original sim, then don't do anything. Put the tmobile (or any other sim), and then plug into your computer with internet and itunes opened. That should do the trick.
Click to expand...

cool thanks, can anyone confirm that you could indeed only do this from phones bought at apple store and not at att store, i thought it was through either but not positive
 
Wait I thought that only the new IP5 came in 16, 32, an 64, and the 4S went to just black or white 16GB for $99

I am not sure why every year when Apple puts the free phone out there they bring the 3GS and 4 from their base of 16GB down to 8GB, I know to keep the price low and offer it free, but C'Mon 8 GB is really not much considering my new 5 is 16GB and after the OS there is only 13 usable.
 
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