Purchase iPhone 7 in USA to use in UK

[kendo88]

guys, I am trying to find a couple of things out and wondered if anybody had any experience.

I am in the USA when the iPhone 7 launches, and if I can manage to get my hands on one, then I would like to purchase the phone SIM free and bring it back to the UK.

1. Can I walk in to an Apple Store and purchase a GSM unlocked iPhone 7 plus to bring back and use in the UK?

2. Can I then purchase Applecare+ in the UK, so that the phone is covered and can be serviced in the UK. (I assume the standard warranty would not be valid in the UK)

Many thanks

 

[kendo88]

Nobody had any experience with this? It's more the warranty that I'm concerned about, with or without AppleCare +

 

[j2ono]

Did you get an answer?
I believe the warranty on AppleCare is now international, I asked someone in store recently.
I want to know if a T-Mobile USA phone will work in the U.K. On any network...

 

[kendo88]

Did you get an answer?
I believe the warranty on AppleCare is now international, I asked someone in store recently.
I want to know if a T-Mobile USA phone will work in the U.K. On any network...

Erm, kind of. I went and purchased an iPhone 7 plus, obviously it was clear the apple guy that I was from the UK. He asked me if I wanted AppleCare, said I wasn't sure that I would be covered back home, and he said it's no issue at all, take it in to a store back home and they will service it just like the Normal. But then I've looked at the t's and c's and it does state that service may be restricted to the country it was purchased from. So now I'm unsure again. I doubt the apple guy was knowingly lie about it, but he may have made a mistake. I have the hissing problem on this model, so I may need to take it back for a full refund before I go home

 

[RedTomato]

I'm thinking of doing this exact same thing, I'm in the UK, and a friend is visiting from the USA in couple of weeks. Thinking of asking them to pick up an iPhone 7+ for me before they come.

I would doublecheck that you have the right iPhone model. According to this

https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

there are TWO separate iPhone 7+ GSM models on sale in the USA and only one will work in the UK.

These models will NOT work in the UK / Europe:
(Edit: I'm not sure if these GSM phones actually will fail to work in the UK / EU. But the formatting of Apple's page implies that there may be issues. An article elsewhere implied subtle issues exist eg: what is called the '800MHZ band' is actually a slightly different frequency between some operators in the USA and UK.)

• iPhone 7
  • Model A1660 (GSM)
  • Model A1660 (CDMA)
• iPhone 7 Plus
  • Model A1661 (GSM)
  • Model A1661 (CDMA)
• Operators: Verizon, Sprint, Cricket, and many many others.

These models WILL work in the UK / Europe:

• • iPhone 7
    • Model A1778
  • iPhone 7 Plus
    • Model A1784
  • Operators: AT&T, T-Mobile.

Hopefully you got the right model. Did you have to pay sales tax?

 

[j2ono]

I'm thinking of doing this exact same thing, I'm in the UK, and a friend is visiting from the USA in couple of weeks. Thinking of asking them to pick up an iPhone 7+ for me before they come.

I would doublecheck that you have the right iPhone model. According to this

https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

there are TWO separate iPhone 7+ GSM models on sale in the USA and only one will work in the UK.

These models will NOT work in the UK / Europe:
(Edit: I'm not sure if these GSM phones actually will fail to work in the UK / EU. But the formatting of Apple's page implies that there may be issues. An article elsewhere implied subtle issues exist eg what is called the '800MHZ band' is actually a slightly different frequency between some operators in the USA and UK.)

• iPhone 7
  • Model A1660 (GSM)
  • Model A1660 (CDMA)
• iPhone 7 Plus
  • Model A1661 (GSM)
  • Model A1661 (CDMA)
• Operators: Verizon, Sprint, Cricket, and many many others.

These models WILL work in the UK / Europe:

• 
  
  • iPhone 7
    • Model A1778
  • iPhone 7 Plus
    • Model A1784
  • Operators: AT&T, T-Mobile.

Hopefully you got the right model. Did you have to pay sales tax?

Well that's lucky, I was very close to buying the AT&T model (A1660) but they wouldn't let me as a gophone customer. So I ended up getting the T-Mobile model (A1778) which had just momentarily come back in stock.

Portland was great, no sales tax, spent a fortune, saved a lot. It also had a lot of stock, little que, and I got an iphone a week after release by reserving one just a day before.

It does say on Apples website when you go to purchase now that these phones do work internationally, seems like they are totally open to this now with AppleCare also being international on the iphone.

I have to say, I really like the 7. It's a little big, coming from a 5, but it's rapid and everything you could want.

 

[RedTomato]

Well that's lucky, I was very close to buying the AT&T model (A1660) but they wouldn't let me as a gophone customer. So I ended up getting the T-Mobile model (A1778) which had just momentarily come back in stock.

Portland was great, no sales tax, spent a fortune, saved a lot. It also had a lot of stock, little que, and I got an iphone a week after release by reserving one just a day before.

It does say on Apples website when you go to purchase now that these phones do work internationally, seems like they are totally open to this now with AppleCare also being international on the iphone.

I have to say, I really like the 7. It's a little big, coming from a 5, but it's rapid and everything you could want.

Good for you. Are you sure they were offering the A1660 model with AT&T? I'm no expert but the Apple reference page suggests both AT&T & T-Mobile only use the A1778 model.

https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

 

[kendo88]

I purchased the A1778 on AT&T to use in the UK. I could have also got the T-Mobile variant as that is also the A1778. I ended up returning the phone though. It had the buzzing/hissing coming from the back, quite clear and was being picked up on video. I also purchased the apple care+, but after speaking to AppleCare uk, they did some research and suggested that you wouldn't get the full level of cover in the uk and advised me to cancel and return the phone if I wanted full coverage in the UK. I will pick one up here in the uk in the next few weeks