So can we unlock our iPhones now?

[Brradley]

In the UK, it's sometimes cheaper to buy the iPhone unlocked from Apple than buy it subsidised on a contract. Then use it on PAYG or sim-only contract.

For example, for £10 ($16) on giffgaff (O2 MVNO) I can get 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet without a fair-use policy for a month.
- if any Britons want this deal or ones with more minutes, send me a PM as I can get you a sim with £5 free credit applied after being topped up £10, then you just cut your sim down to size if you have an iP4.

 

[bob616]

So pretty much we will never be able to unlock our iPhones. Isn't that unfair? What if I plan on moving from the United States some time? I legally own the devices, since I have paid for it and the contract is over. AT&T should have no right to tell me who I can and can not use my own phone with.

errr.. this frustrates me.

 

[Geckotek]

So pretty much we will never be able to unlock our iPhones. Isn't that unfair? What if I plan on moving from the United States some time? I legally own the devices, since I have paid for it and the contract is over. AT&T should have no right to tell me who I can and can not use my own phone with.

errr.. this frustrates me.

Now you understand my frustration.

 

[Andeavor]

I'm pretty sure you can have the phone unlocked at a local Apple store if AT&T won't do it for you before you move away.

 

[Geckotek]

I'm pretty sure you can have the phone unlocked at a local Apple store if AT&T won't do it for you before you move away.

Nope, Apple won't do it. Only AT&T can.

 

[bob616]

Nope, Apple won't do it. Only AT&T can.

Once my iPhone 4 contract expires I'm going to have a nice little chat with AT&T. I don't usually get mad about things like this, but this is just unfair.

 

[polishmacuser]

what irritates me is, I just want to roam without charges. Unlocking my iphone for tmbile makes no sense. Either way, its painful that I can't even unlock an old iPhone. oh well gotta love the land of the free

 

[Phil A.]

But how much are you paying for the cellular data with a sim-only contract? Here in Switzerland we can get about three packages (it varies with the carrier), the most expensive one includes unlimited internet access.

As for changing the phone mid-contract, this is a given for European cell phones as the contract doesn't bind you to a specific phone but it makes sense buying a smartphone with a contract since you still need to set it up first to work with your sim card.

The sim-only contracts are exactly the same as the subsidized contracts (same data, same minutes, same texts and visual voicemail). The only difference is they are cheaper by the amount of subsidy the standard contracts include to pay for the phone.

Once you've got the contract, you can use it with any phone - I don't understand your last paragraph?

In the UK, it's sometimes cheaper to buy the iPhone unlocked from Apple than buy it subsidised on a contract. Then use it on PAYG or sim-only contract.

For example, for £10 ($16) on giffgaff (O2 MVNO) I can get 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet without a fair-use policy for a month.
- if any Britons want this deal or ones with more minutes, send me a PM as I can get you a sim with £5 free credit applied after being topped up £10, then you just cut your sim down to size if you have an iP4.

Interestingly, Giffgaff is actually owned by O2 and seems to be an experiment in alternative marketing. Being owned by O2 is a bit of a double edged sword: On the one hand you have the confidence of knowing there is a massive company behind it. One the other hand, I guess O2 could pull the plug at any time if they decide the experiment's run its course

 

[Andeavor]

The sim-only contracts are exactly the same as the subsidized contracts (same data, same minutes, same texts and visual voicemail). The only difference is they are cheaper by the amount of subsidy the standard contracts include to pay for the phone.

Once you've got the contract, you can use it with any phone - I don't understand your last paragraph?

I know you can use it with any phone but you still need to differentiate between a surfing and a telephony-only contract so if you use a telephony-only contract with a smartphone it's going to cost you an arm and a leg if you surf the net.

Let's say I bought the 32GB iPhone for CHF899 at the Apple store and got a contract for CHF169 Francs per month with unlimited calling and internet, but I can just walk into my local mobile store and get it with a contract for just CHF399. So, where exactly did I save buying them separately?

I can still use my "new" sim card with my old phone or get another smartphone without contract. It may cost me full price, but it'll be unlocked.

 

[TBi]

I know you can use it with any phone but you still need to differentiate between a surfing and a telephony-only contract so if you use a telephony-only contract with a smartphone it's going to cost you an arm and a leg if you surf the net.

Let's say I bought the 32GB iPhone for CHF899 at the Apple store and got a contract for CHF169 Francs per month with unlimited calling and internet, but I can just walk into my local mobile store and get it with a contract for just CHF399. So, where exactly did I save buying them separately?

I can still use my "new" sim card with my old phone or get another smartphone without contract. It may cost me full price, but it'll be unlocked.

It depends where you are. In ireland it's cheaper for me to buy unlocked and pay as i go. I get unlimited texts for 20 euro per month, and it's 1 euro for 50MB per day. Assuming i use data everyday my usual monthly contract is 30-35 euro (i don't make phone calls much). But i can save money for a month by not using cell data.

iPhone 4 is 700 euro SIM FREE or 380 + 35 euro pm contract. However on contract i have to pay for txts so that would mean a bill close to 50 euro.

Lets say you spend 30 on pay as you go, so it's a 20 euro difference. So after 16 months it works out. Also i have a sim free phone i can use anywhere.

It's different if you talk a lot though.

 

[goosnarrggh]

I've always wondered this as well. What if you bought an iPhone locked in the U.S. but were moving to Europe/Asia? Can AT&T still deny the unlock or can you just simply unlock when you get to your place of destination?

Apple is the gatekeeper of all official unlocking mechanisms for the iPhone. They abide by the wishes of the carrier through which the iPhone was issued in the first place. If the carrier has told them never to unlock any phones sold by them, then Apple will comply, and will never unlock said phones.

If carrier X sold the phone, and then the customer moves over to carrier Y and asks carrier Y to unlock the phone, Apple will reply that they will not even talk to carrier Y about unlocking a phone provided by carrier X -- they need to go back to get carrier X's permission first.

Even if an individual customer service agent working for carrier X wants to have pity on a customer, and tries to help them officially unlock their iPhone, they'll still need to go through Apple to provide the official unlocking mechanism. And they will have no official channel to submit such a request to Apple, because Apple already knows that on a corporate level, carrier X simply prohibits it in all circumstances. So the customer service agent will have absolutely zero ability to actually follow through with any such attempt.

 

[goosnarrggh]

Unfortunately the sim-only plan is not an option in the US.

AT&T does advertise something called "Bring your own phone", which is essentially a SIM-only plan.
http://choice.att.com/flash/customersdevices.aspx

However, the price plans you'll get from a SIM-only service agreement are exactly the same as the price plans you'd get if you signed up for service bundled with a subsidized phone purchase - there's no price reduction to cover the difference in subsidy. The only difference is in your eligibility to terminate the service early without penalty.

And SIM-only plans are still subject to the same set of restrictions. For example, a Smartphone must use one of the designated Smartphone data plans, regardless of whether the customer signed up for a subsidized contract or a SIM-only plan.

 

[Phil A.]

I know you can use it with any phone but you still need to differentiate between a surfing and a telephony-only contract so if you use a telephony-only contract with a smartphone it's going to cost you an arm and a leg if you surf the net.

Let's say I bought the 32GB iPhone for CHF899 at the Apple store and got a contract for CHF169 Francs per month with unlimited calling and internet, but I can just walk into my local mobile store and get it with a contract for just CHF399. So, where exactly did I save buying them separately?

I can still use my "new" sim card with my old phone or get another smartphone without contract. It may cost me full price, but it'll be unlocked.

The examples I gave were for a smartphone sim only contract - as I said, it's exactly the same as a "normal" iPhone contract but without the add-on to pay the subsidised cost of the phone. The saving is purely because you aren't paying for the purchase of a handset with your monthly payments

The following is applicable in the UK: Things may be different in other countries

If you see out your contract and them immediately change your phone then there's no difference in total cost.
However, if you don't change your phone at the end of your minimum period, the telco will continue to charge you the same monthly payment (i.e. you're paying an additional £15 a month for no benefit at all)

Also, if you want to change your phone half way through your contract, you have no choice but to pay full price for your phone and still continue to pay the original subsidy for the phone you no longer have

Overall, getting a subsidised phone won't save you any money at all and the only way to make it work is to change your phone each and every time you get to the end of your minimum period.
Buying the phone outright costs you more up front but gives you far more flexibility to change your phone when you want to, not when the telco wants you to and separates the provision of your telephone service from the physical device

 

[goosnarrggh]

Are their legal regulations for unlocking phones in europe, canada and elsewhere? I guess what I'm asking is why can it be done in many parts of the world but not the US.

In Canada, it's entirely up to the carrier's discretion to decide whether or not to allow phones to be unlocked. For the longest time, Rogers (and Fido) officially didn't unlock any phones at all.

This past year, in response to increased competition due to Bell and Telus moving in to the 3GSM market, Rogers has started unlocking their phones, for a fee. Telus will start doing so later this year.

I can't find a primary source to confirm what Bell's unlocking policy is, but anecdotally, Bell has allowed unlocking of their devices ever since they switched over to 3GSM -- except for iPhones.

 

[goosnarrggh]

The day American cell phone carriers unlock their phones for their customers is the day when we get communication chips built into our cranium, and even then, there's a chance they continue locking anything that comes with a contract of theirs. (Future cell phone zombie apocalypse)

There's only one solution, move across the boarder or overseas.

T-Mobile USA unlocks their customers' phones if they've had an account in good standing for at least 40 days, and they haven't submitted another unlock request within the past 90 days. They'll also unlock their customers' phones on request if the customer provides proof that they paid for the phone outright instead of getting it under a subsidy.

AT&T will unlock most phones upon request after completion of the subsidized contract. The iPhone is an exception for AT&T, rather than a rule.

 

[ikaveh]

unfortunately not for now TS, who knows if maybe in the future


Also Canada & Mexico...

pretty much every where except us.

 

[kdarling]

Yes, ATT might have to unlock the iPhone

ButterflyOfDoom brought up a lawsuit in a post just the other day.

There was a class action lawsuit about this. AT&T now has to provide unlock codes for phones sold after March 12, 1999 that had an exclusivity period of under 10 months provided the customer is 90 days into their contract. So, actually, depending on what the terms beteeen Apple and AT&T are, the iPhone 4 might be sbject to the same SIM unlock terms.

Link to Engadget about the class action suit: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/24/p...ck-almost-any/ Their wording says proposed, but IIRC it was the. final outcome of the settlement.

Does anyone know the outcome of this lawsuit?

Of course, if ATT can wiggle-claim a more-than-10-month exclusive on say, the "GSM model", then all bets are off.

 

[jav6454]

ButterflyOfDoom brought up a lawsuit in a post just the other day.





Does anyone know the outcome of this lawsuit?

Of course, if ATT can wiggle-claim a more-than-10-month exclusive on say, the "GSM model", then all bets are off.

I had hoped on that, but I think that judgement becomes null since the manufacturer has the entire rights here seeing as AT&T has a signed agreement with them.

 

[sicmac]

incorrect

come to Canada

Do you have much unlocked iphones in Canada ?

What is average price: higher or lower that on ebay USA ?

 

[goosnarrggh]

Do you have much unlocked iphones in Canada ?

What is average price: higher or lower that on ebay USA ?

Every iPhone sold direct from an Apple Store in Canada is unlocked.
If you buy it on a contract from one of the wireless networks, it will be locked.

The iPhone 3GS 8GB sells direct from Apple Canada for CDN$549. (Approx US$551)

The iPhone 4 16GB sells direct from Apple Canada for CDN$659. (Approx US$662)

The iPhone 4 32GB sells direct from Apple Canada for CDN$779. (Approx US$782)

The comparison to prices on eBay depend, to some extent, on whether you'd be willing to deal with a jailbroken unlocked device from eBay, or if you'd insist on a factory unlocked device.

On eBay, factory unlocked devices cost more than jailbreak unlocked devices. But with a factory unlocked phone, you wouldn't have to worry about any possible consequences (real or imagined) associated with jailbreaking.