What will happen when iPhone contracts end?

[jne381]

I was wondering what will happen to iPhones when the original two-year contracts end? Will owners be able to move their phone to a different carrier, and what will the limitations be besides the lack of visual voicemail?

 

[Satori]

I was wondering what will happen to iPhones when the original two-year contracts end? Will owners be able to move their phone to a different carrier, and what will the limitations be besides the lack of visual voicemail?

You'd have to get the phone unlocked (which Apple doesn't officially support or sanction) in order to work with another carrier. Everything works fine apart from VM.

 

[peteryan7hao]

I don't know about USA, but here in Australia you are eligible to unlock your phone (officially) after 6 months into the contract.

 

[Woomy123]

I don't know about USA, but here in Australia you are eligible to unlock your phone (officially) after 6 months into the contract.

how and by who

 

[razorianfly]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but seeing as though the iPhone 3G is now available
on PAYG here in the UK, wouldn't it just be like any other contract phone?

The contract ends, you buy a PAYG sim card, you top-up a certain minimum
amount (monthly) for the foreseeable future of that phone.

I'm not selling my 3G, I'm passing it onto someone who would prefer not to
pay for a second 2 year contract. I'm going to consult O2 on this, during the
next couple of weeks. 😎

R-Fly

 

[Chundles]

how and by who

The carriers submit the IMEI number to Apple who send down a Carrier Update file through iTunes. Restore your phone and voila, unlocked.

My iPhone is factory unlocked.

It is illegal here to sell a phone without an option to unlock it from the network.

 

[Ivan P]

how and by who

To add to what Chundles said, in addition to the three iPhone carriers here (Optus, Telstra and Vodafone) having to let you unlock after six months, Optus also gives you the option to buy the phone outright and pay an unlocking fee the moment you buy the phone. For example, where I live, Telstra is the only carrier. However, I prefer pre-paid phones over being on a contract, but Telstra only offers the iPhone on a contract with no option to buy it outright. So I can go to Optus, buy the 8GB iPhone for just over $800AU, pay about $100 to get it unlocked legitly, slide in my current SIM, connect it to iTunes and have a legally unlocked iPhone using a Telstra prepaid SIM that I own 100%.

All that's stopping me is I'm not stupid enough to pay over $900 for a phone and to get it unlocked when I can get an iPod touch, which is pretty much the iPhone without a camera or phone, for $550 - which also has 4 times as much memory as the aforementioned iPhone model.

 

[peteryan7hao]

To add to what Chundles said, in addition to the three iPhone carriers here (Optus, Telstra and Vodafone) having to let you unlock after six months, Optus also gives you the option to buy the phone outright and pay an unlocking fee the moment you buy the phone. For example, where I live, Telstra is the only carrier. However, I prefer pre-paid phones over being on a contract, but Telstra only offers the iPhone on a contract with no option to buy it outright. So I can go to Optus, buy the 8GB iPhone for just over $800AU, pay about $100 to get it unlocked legitly, slide in my current SIM, connect it to iTunes and have a legally unlocked iPhone using a Telstra prepaid SIM that I own 100%.

All that's stopping me is I'm not stupid enough to pay over $900 for a phone and to get it unlocked when I can get an iPod touch, which is pretty much the iPhone without a camera or phone, for $550 - which also has 4 times as much memory as the aforementioned iPhone model.

With Optus Pre-paid you pay $799 for the 8GB, $899 for the 16GB
When you recharge $120 credit you are eligible to have it unlocked.