will a US iphone 4 work in the UK??

[ustahir1]

I know its been asked before n I have read other threads about it but there is no definative answer!

My sister is going to new york and I know if you bu an iphone direct from the apple store its unlocked, but if she bought them n brought them back to the uk could they be activated with a O2 sim card via a hack or just through iTUNES??

Or would a AT&T sim be needed to put it??

Appericate any help

 

[OllyW]

Why do you want to buy one from the US?

 

[draz]

All iPhones sold in the US are locked to AT&T, even from the Apple Store.

Save yourself the hassle and buy it unlocked in the UK.
Getting it in the US would take a lot of hassle and involve contract signing and breaking and too much effort and won't be worth it. Just get it in the UK.


But if it will work? Yes all iPhones are the same around the world just locked to various carriers, but the phone is still the same and works just fine in the UK regardless of where you bought it. But if it is locked it needs to be unlocked via jailbreaking + unlock.

 

[ustahir1]

Tbh main reason is its cheaper over there, direct from apple a 32gb is $300 compared too £599 in the uk,
I had the 1st iphone n the 3g so I know about unlocking n jailbreaking etc

 

[Applejuiced]

Tbh main reason is its cheaper over there, direct from apple a 32gb is $300 compared too £599 in the uk,
I had the 1st iphone n the 3g so I know about unlocking n jailbreaking etc

That's only with a 2 year agreement with AT&T. Full price is $599 and $699

 

[ustahir1]

Draz- if its locked to AT&T would I need an AT&T sim card to activate it much like using an O2 sim in the uk??

unlocking & jailbreaking shouldn't be a problem just the activating is the problem, also my friend in the uk bought his directly from apple n his was already unlocked I'm not sure if that's coz there are other carriers that sell it now

 

[OllyW]

Tbh main reason is its cheaper over there, direct from apple a 32gb is $300 compared too £599 in the uk,
I had the 1st iphone n the 3g so I know about unlocking n jailbreaking etc

You can only get the 32GB for $299 if you sign up for a 2 year contract with AT&T. You can buy it without a contract for $699 but it will still be locked to AT&T.

unlocking & jailbreaking shouldn't be a problem just the activating is the problem, also my friend in the uk bought his directly from apple n his was already unlocked I'm not sure if that's coz there are other carriers that sell it now

If you buy direct from Apple in the UK without a contract then the iPhone is unlocked. They don't sell unlocked iPhones in the US.

 

[ustahir1]

You can only get the 32GB for $299 if you sign up for a 2 year contract with AT&T. You can buy it without a contract for $699 but it will still be locked to AT&T.

$699 is still cheaper than the uk price of 599

 

[Rajani Isa]

Tbh main reason is its cheaper over there, direct from apple a 32gb is $300 compared too £599 in the uk,
I had the 1st iphone n the 3g so I know about unlocking n jailbreaking etc

The $300 price is with the two year contract subsidizing it. The ETF is somethng like $350, so total price would be $650 or more (acivation fees, etc.)

 

[OllyW]

$699 is still cheaper than the uk price of 599

True, but you know the UK one is definitely going to work properly with a UK sim card and it comes with a UK 12 month warranty. Apple will not replace or repair faulty iPhones bought from other countries.

 

[ustahir1]

The $300 price is with the two year contract subsidizing it. The ETF is somethng like $350, so total price would be $650 or more (acivation fees, etc.)

Hmmm, on the US apple site it says you can't get an iphone without an AT&T contract, it does seem a little pointless signing up for the contract, in the uk you can't get out of them not really sure about the us not worth the hassle!

 

[draz]

Have you checked the conversion rates?
http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi?Amount=699&From=USD&To=GBP
699.00 USD = 452.604 GBP

Now what does Apple UK sell it for?
http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone?mco=OTY2ODA2OQ
16gb £499, 32gb for £599

Tell me which one looks cheaper to you? US obviously But the hassle involved in getting out of the contract is too much... Just get it in the UK.

 

[IrishVixen]

Many of the phones in Apple stores in the US now are sold with 4.0.2--which at this time is NOT jailbreakable and NOT unlockable. And while we're **fairly** sure that a JB/unlock for 4.1 will eventually be released, only the Dev Team knows for sure. So buying a locked phone right now when you know you need an unlock to use the phone is pretty shortsighted.

And again, because you don't seem to understand this point: ALL IPHONES SOLD IN THE US ARE LOCKED. Even when you buy them from the Apple store. Even if you buy them at the non subsidized full retail price. It doesn't matter. And you cannot get the cheaper $300 price you refer to without an AT&T account and a two year contract--which requires a US credit card and a US address.

You're a million times better off than we are in this instance--you have the option of walking into any Apple store in the UK and walking back out with a factory unlocked phone that can be used anywhere in the world, and a mere firmware update can't break that unlock. Buy one there if you need it unlocked. The extra money it costs is well worth it in this case.

 

[OllyW]

Hmmm, on the US apple site it says you can't get an iphone without an AT&T contract, it does seem a little pointless signing up for the contract, in the uk you can't get out of them not really sure about the us not worth the hassle!

You wouldn't be allowed to sign up for the contract anyway. You need a US Social Security Number, US address, US bank account etc. Contract free is your only option.

 

[Aboo]

$699 is still cheaper than the uk price of 599

Get it from Canada instead. If you buy from Apple directly in Canada, I believe the 32gb is 749 Canadian dollars, which is slightly more than the 699 USD, but it will come factory unlocked. Do you have any friends in Canada who could buy it and ship it to your US address?

 

[OllyW]

Get it from Canada instead. If you buy from Apple directly in Canada, I believe the 32gb is 749 Canadian dollars, which is slightly more than the 699 USD, but it will come factory unlocked. Do you have any friends in Canada who could buy it and ship it to your US address?

Hong Kong is even better...

 

[ustahir1]

Apppreciate all the help, that chart is superb olly!

I do have a family friend over in canada n it still works out cheaper than buying one in the uk but only be £50, major kick in the groin is I had a friend spend 5 weeks in malaysia/hong kong area :-(

Thanks all again!