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What are my options? Going to Hong Kong

C

cambridge1807

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 13, 2006
80
0
I currently have the 16GB iPhone 3G and will be studying abroad in Hong Kong for the fall semester (approximately Sept-Dec). If I jailbreak and unlock, I should be able to stick in a prepaid sim card bought in HK and will work flawlessly, right? What about text messaging, just buy one of those free SMS apps? I checked with AT&T and the roaming and data charges are just not worth it.

Another thing, I'm eligible for an upgrade, which is weird considering I upgraded last year. Do you think I should upgrade to the 3Gs, even though I'll be gone for 4 months? I probably won't be on a data plan abroad, just WiFi, so I should still be able to benefit from the faster speeds I'm think. Any other benefits to upgrading? If I sell my current iPhone for ~300-350, then i should be up at least 100 right?

Any other opinions on my situation is greatly appreciated. I really can't imagine using another phone, so I'd like to be able to use my iPhone instead of purchasing an unlocked phone.
 
If you fancy an upgrade, why not wait until you get there and buy an unlocked 3GS in Hong Kong, then put in your existing SIM?
 
everything will work with your existing phone, cuz hk has the exact same thing as yours. you might have to install some of the apps which hk carrier might support (thats how it is in japan softbank as well, such as MMS app and phone number transfer app)

if you want the new one, then get the HK one

but you will have no problem with ur current one. HK is very free country :) virtually everything is possible in HK
 
Just a quick update...

I went ahead and sold my 3G and upgraded to the 3Gs for the subsidized price. I checked the price for the 3Gs in Hong Kong and it's about $700US for the 16gb I got for $250.

So how much of a difference is it to have a factory unlocked phone compared to one that is jailbroken/unlocked through ultrasn0w? I can't think that it'll be much different right? Also, doesn't the warranty only apply to the country you bought the phone in? I do know that a factory unlocked phone will probably more valuable than one unlocked through software though. If there is enough of a difference, I'll sell the one I have now and buy the unlocked one in HK.
 
eshiku said:
If you buy the phone in the US then the warranty only good in US
Click to expand...

So basically I should just keep my current phone instead of going through the effort of getting the factory unlocked version in HK, correct? I'll be back in a couple months so it would be best to have my US warranty when I'm back in the US.
 
For those familiar with the Hong Kong cell phone system, I need some advice.

So i have my iPhone unlocked and ready to go overseas, but I'd like be clear about what I will be doing. What I want to do is remove my AT&T sim card when I land, and buy a prepaid sim card with minutes. I will probably won't need cellular data and wifi will be fine with me. So essentially I am somewhat turning my phone to an iPod Touch, with just prepaid minutes, correct? Will I need to call AT&T beforehand and tell them to disable any data or voicemail to phone? What I want is just a phone with iPod Touch capabilities (iPhone without data), do I have the right idea?
 
cambridge1807 said:
For those familiar with the Hong Kong cell phone system, I need some advice.

So i have my iPhone unlocked and ready to go overseas, but I'd like be clear about what I will be doing. What I want to do is remove my AT&T sim card when I land, and buy a prepaid sim card with minutes. I will probably won't need cellular data and wifi will be fine with me. So essentially I am somewhat turning my phone to an iPod Touch, with just prepaid minutes, correct? Will I need to call AT&T beforehand and tell them to disable any data or voicemail to phone? What I want is just a phone with iPod Touch capabilities (iPhone without data), do I have the right idea?
Click to expand...

AT&T doesn't have any practical account suspension service for civilians travelling overseas. They can suspend the account to avoid incurring any additional usage or roaming fees, but last time I checked, you'd still be expected to pay the full baseline price for your plan, including data service, while you're away.

However, if you remove your AT&T SIM card and keep it out for the entire duration of the trip, then there would be no way for you to utilize any additional roaming services or incur any unexpected roaming charges anyway - hence yielding virtually the same benefit as you would have had if you'd formally suspended your account through AT&T.

(Military personnel deployed overseas can suspend their AT&T wireless account for up to 999 consecutive days and pay only one cent per month for the entire time they're gone, and reconnect for free with their original phone number when they get back home.)

As far as disabling data while you've got a Hong Kong SIM card inserted -- AT&T has absolutely no control over that. As long as you've got a Hong Kong SIM card inserted, it will be up to the Hong Kong carrier (and your phone's APN settings) to determine whether or not you receive any data, and what charges you'll incur for such data.

By the way, theoretically, now that you've jailbroken and unlocked your iPhone by unauthorized means, all your earlier concerns about warranties are moot anyway - you've already voided the warranty by violating the EULA.

Depending on how good you are at covering your tracks, Apple's representatives may have a hard time determining the fact that these unauthorized modifications have been made. In which case, if something unfortunate does happen and you need to get your iPhone serviced, you may luck out and pass under the radar.
 
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